Buddhist and Hindus believe in how many Gods? who are they?

Answer 1

Hinduism

God is a one being, yet we Hindus understand Him in three perfections: Absolute Reality, Pure Consciousness and Primal Soul. As Absolute Reality, God is unmanifest, unchanging and transcendent, the Self God, timeless, formless and spaceless. As Pure Consciousness, God is the manifest primal substance, pure divine love and light flowing through all form, existing everywhere in time and space as infinite intelligence and power.God is all and in all, great beyond our conception, a sacred mystery that can be known in direct communion.

Hindus believe in one Supreme Being. In the Hindu pantheon there are said to be three hundred and thirty-three million Lords(divine beings). The plurality of Lords are perceived as divine creations of that one Being. So, Hinduism has one supreme God, but it has an extensive hierarchy of Lords.

Hinduism views existence as composed of three worlds. The First World is the physical universe; the Second World is the subtle astral or mental plane of existence in which the devas, angels and spirits live; and the Third World is the spiritual universe of the Mahadevas, "great shining beings," our Hindu Lords. Hinduism is the harmonious working together of these three worlds.

Buddhism

Buddha and Buddhism form an intimate part of Hindu consciousness. Buddha was a Hindu, and Buddhism is Hindu in its origin and development, art and architecture, iconography, language, many of its beliefs, psychology, names, nomenclature, religious vows and spiritual disciplines. Hinduism is not all Buddhism, but Buddhism forms part of the ethos which is essentially Hindu.Nevertheless, the followers of Buddha defy the concept of God.
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Answer 2

Hindus believe in one god which manifests itself through many avatars. Some Buddhists are the same, whilst others don't believe in any gods.

Answer 3

Hindus recognise something like 800,000,000 gods. Every stream and mountain has one, for example. Obviously, most people only know of a very small percentage.

Buddhism in and of itself recognises no gods. In fact, Asian Buddhists generally do not consider Buddhism to be a religion. (it's a philosophy) Many Buddhists are also Hindus and thus recognise the Hindu gods.

Answer 4

Buddhists are supposed to be a atheistic religion, and does not really subscribe to the concept of God. However in some places like India or Malaysia, Buddhism is combined with mainstream Hinduism or Taoism, and accordingly, they pray to the corresponding gods.

Hinduism believes the Supreme God, shows itself as a multi faceted gem. The 3 Supreme deities, Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Protector) and Shiva (Destroyer) are but facets of the Supreme God.

And similarly, all lesser gods are but fragments or reincarnation of the Supreme Trio. Like Rama who is the reincarnation of Vishnu. Hence, when it boils down to it, there's only 1 God who manifests in many forms

Answer 5

Buddha was a Hindu, for what it's worth. Hindus believe in one omnipotent Supreme Being which manifests itself into many avatars (manifestations).

Answer 6

Buddhists believe in no gods.

Answer 7

Buddhists believe in as many or as few gods as they want - there is no requirement or tenet of the religion defining a god or gods. Hinduism, on the other hand, has many gods, including (but not limited to) Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, as well as other, lesser gods - their numbers vary from one part of India to the next.

Answer 8

Hindus believe in one god, Brahman. Brahman is in everything although they aren't considered monotheistic. Buddhists don't believe in a god. They believe Siddhartha Guatama was a holy man and reached enlightenment on Earth, but he is not a god.

Answer 9

SRIMAN NARAYANA, THE SUPREME LORD

Sanatana Dharma has One Supreme Lord. He is Brahman. And Brahman is Sriman Narayana, otherwise called Vishnu. Not Shiva, Not Brahma. There is no Trimurti. Only Sriman Narayana (Vishnu), who is all Pervading,is Supreme.

The concept of many gods, or all gods being manifestation of Brahman, is a misinterpretation and is false. Only Maha Vishnu is the Lord. The other 'Gods' are living souls like us, but have special powers, that's all.

Its like a government, with Lord Vishnu as Ruler and the Devas (Demi-Gods) as His appointed ministers. These Devas are equivalent to the 'Angels' of mordern religion.

Many people claim that Shiva is Supreme, or that Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu are equal. It isn't true, because the Scriptures clearly say that Vishnu created Brahma, and that Shiva is the Son of Brahma. Thus, Sriman Narayana is the Primordial Lord.

Here is proof:

----In the Vedanta, we find the verse "Eko ha vai Naaraayana Aasit? Na brahma nesaanaha" and "Apahatapaapma Divyo devaha Eko Naaraayana:" These verses clearly says that the supreme self called as "Sat", "Aatma" and "Brahman" is none other than "Narayana".

----Naaraanaam Ayanam" means "Naaraayana is the base/support for all chit and achit tatvas". This shows the "Bhahir Vyaapthi" - the manner in which Naaraayana pervades the universe.

----"Yesya Naaraaha Ayanam" means "Naaraayana is present inside all chit and achit entities as the ultimate controller (anthar-yaamin, soul) and owner (Seshi-Lord) of everthing. This shows the "Anthar Vyaapthi" - the manner in which Naaraayana is present inside everything.

----The Vedas also say "Siva Eva Kevala:" meaning "Siva is alone". But this does not pertain to the Demi-God Shiva. The name 'Siva' means 'Auspicious'. We learn from Vishnu Sahasranama that since Lord Narayana is Supreme, He is also Auspicious. Hence, Narayana's name is Siva as well. In fact, just like we name ourselves Krishna or Rama, Shiva has named himself after the Lord, as a token of respect.

----Veda itself has clearly stated that "Na Brahma Neshaanaha Divyo Devaha Eko Naaraayanaha" meaning, "in the beginning (ie., before creation) only the Divine Supreme Self Naaraayana alone existed".

----We can learn from the vedic scriptures that different personalities in the past have meditated on Lord Shiva, goddess Durga devi and Lord Brahma desiring to become immortal. When they are satisfied with the penance of their devotees, offered them to ask for their desires. When these devotees expressed their desire to become immortal, none of these deities could grant liberation to them, and they explicitly explained their inability to award Salvation.

---The devotees who pleased Sriman Narayana are always granted with liberation. This the litmus test for us to know the supremacy of the Lord.

---The water that was used to wash the Divine Feet of Lord Narayana was accepted by Shiva as he allowed the water to fall on his head. Then Shiva imparted this water from his head to the Earth, which became the Holy Ganga River.

---- Lastly, refer scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. Lord Krishna says that He is Supreme, very clearly (Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu). He also says 'I am Brahma, I am Shiva'. This does not mean they are equal, but that Krishna is IN everyone.

Shiva has never said, 'I am Vishnu'. Only Vishnu can say 'I am Shiva'. But Shiva has said this, 'Only Through Narayana, there is deliverance.'

Thus, Sriman Narayana is Supreme. All others are Devas or Demi-Gods, who are subservient to Him.

BUDDHISM (FROM A HINDU PERSPECTIVE)

Now Buddhism is a rather speculative religion. Buddhists do not believe in a God, but their primary purpose is to strive for Nirvana.

The Mahayana Branch tends to worship certain deities, but the Theravada Branch is atheistic.

However, it can be proven that Buddhism is incomplete Hinduism and that Buddha was an incarnation of Vishnu. Allow me to explain.

Lord Buddha was a Shaktyavesa Avatar of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. The Srimad Bhagavatam was written 2500 years before Lord Buddha and it has prophesised His coming:

"In the beginning of the Kali Yuga, the Supreme Lord Vishnu will incarnate as Buddha, Son of Anjana, at Gaya to delude the Atheists."

When Buddha came, people were misinterpreting the Vedic Texts and were slaughtering animals. So Vishnu came as Buddha and decided to mislead them into rejecting the Vedas. That way, they wouldn't misinterpret the texts and kill animals if they disowned the Religion.

Buddhists do not accept this, but the fact that this Prophecy is legitimate can by proved by studying Buddha's life and His philosophy. The Message of Lord Buddha and Lord Krishna's words in the Bhagavad Gita parallel each other more closely than many people think.

I shall now prove that Buddha was none other than Lord Vishnu in disguise.

1) Buddhists argue that Buddha was born in Nepal, not Gaya and that His mother was Maya, not Anjana. Actually, although that is true, Buddha attained enlightenment at Gaya, which is His true birth as Buddha and His mother died a few days after His birth, so He was raised by His Step-Mother of the Anjana Clan. Hence, the Prophecy is correct.

2) Buddhism talks of Anatma, ie, Lord Buddha said that the Skandha, the material existence, is not the Self. Buddhists interpret this in such a manner that they claim Lord Buddha said that there is no 'Self' or 'Soul'. This is not true. Buddha said the Material Existence is not Self, but He didn't say there was no Self. He remained silent on what exactly was the Self.

In the Bhagavad Gita, it is stated that the body and the Material Existence is the 'Field of Activity'. One who knows this 'Field of Activity' is the 'Knower of the Field' and he knows that he is different from the body. A true knower should also know the distinction between the Soul and the Supersoul (God). The Lord knows All bodies and all Individuals as well, hence He is the Superknower (Adi Buddha).

Lord Buddha said that the 5 Skandhas (Material Existence)are Non-Self. The Bhagavad Gita emphasises that the Material Body (Field of Activity) is different from the Self. So, if we correlate the Skandha to the Field of Activity, Lord Buddha says that the Skandha is not Self, and the Bhagavad Gita says that the Self is distinct from the Field of Activity. Both have become somewhat similar teachings now.

Hence, Buddha imparted the message of the Bhagavad Gita in a partial manner. He gave part of the truth and left the rest for all kinds of interpretation by the common people.

2) Buddhists ignore a few significant sayings of Buddha in their own scriptures. I quote Lord Buddha now, from the Scriptures of Buddhism:

"I am not a 'Deva', (demigod ), I am not a 'Gandharva' (celestial angel), nor 'Yaksa' (fierce guardian spirit), or human being." ~ Donasutta.

So, He is not a Demi-God, an Angel or a Demon/Guardian Spirit, or a Human. Then what is He? In a hidden manner, Lord Buddha has revealed that he is Vishnu, the Supreme Lord.

And in the Saddharma Punarika He announces to all :-

yam eva'ham lokapita swayambhu cikitsakah sarvaprajnan natah

"I am the self born, Father of all, the Lord of all beings and the remover of all ills."

This is a very clear statement. He has openly declared His true identity.

"Vakkali, he who sees the dhamma sees me; he who sees me sees the dhamma. Indeed, Vakkali, seeing the dhamma is seeing me; seeing me is seeing the dhamma" ~ Vakkali Sutra.

Buddha claims that He is the embodiment of Dharma. Lord Krishna, a previous Avatar of Vishnu, said the same thing in the Bhagavad Gita. The exact same message has been given by both Avatars of Vishnu.

"They talk to me under these names, yet they fail to recognise that they are all my own appellations. There are some who call me the Self-existing One (svayambhuva), the Leader (nayaka), the Remover-of-obstacles (vinayaka), the Guiding One (parinayaka), Buddha, Rishi, Bull-king, Brahma, Vishnu, Isvara [God], the Originator (pradhana), Kapila, the Destroyer (bhutanta) [or: the Extreme of Reality], the Imperishable (arishta), Nemina, Soma (moon), Fire, Rama, Vyasa, Suka, Indra, the Strong One (Balin), or Varuna............ Teaching the Cause of Buddhahood, the All-Knowing, the Conquering One or the Will-Body." ~ Lankavatara Sutra.

Kapila, Rama, Vyasa, Suka, etc. are all previous Avatars of Vishnu. Isvara means 'God'. In addition, the Lord has often described Himself to be in everyone, even demi-gods like Brahma, Indra, Varuna, etc. Thus, one can gather that Lord Buddha is indeed Vishnu, from this statement.

"While I am thus known in hundreds of thousands of three-asamkhyeyas of titles, not only in this world, but in other worlds [too], my names are not exhausted; I am like the moon casting its shadow [reflection] on water, I am neither in it nor our of it. Those who know me will recognise me everywhere, but the ignorant who cannot rise above dualism will not know me." ~ Nirvana Sutra.

3) Lastly, Buddhism is also a truth. But it is an incomplete Truth, so the Path to liberation is more difficult. In Buddhism, you have to go searching for the truth by much struggle and you may even fail. But if you surrender to Lord Vishnu directly, truth will come to you automatically.

An incident occured in which Buddha's disciples asked Him if there were any truths greater than what He thought. Lord Buddha took a leaf from a tree and asked them who had more leaves now, the tree or Him. Just like the tree has more leaves as compared to the one leaf in Buddha's hand, there was more truth than what He had imparted.