Hinduism And Buddhism Should Be Regarded As One Religion. Agreed?

Question

Sonu, have you even been inside a Buddhist temple??? Are you telling me that they don't have small idols of deities there???

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Job, give me the source of where Buddha said there were no Gods and goddesses...Buddha NEVER denied the existence of Gods..what Buddha said was that one does not achieve moksha by worshipping deities...That is what he said and that is different to saying that there are no Gods...I think you should stick to your Islam and leave us dharmic followers alone as you don't know nothing of our religions.

Capn edib...my forefathers were idiots and that is why they divided Buddhism and Hinduism...I am hell bent on uniting them and once again bringing Buddhism home to Hinduism where it belongs. It would be good if maybe sunnis and shias could follow my example and start building their bridges. :-)

Answer 1

Buddhism is a branch and Hinduism is a tree.

Answer 2

What goes for Hinduism is very diverse however although Buddhism emerged out of an early form of Hinduism in reaction to certain aspects Hindu culture (as did Jainism at about the same time in history) and although what we now call Buddhism was the dominant religious philosophy in India for nearly 1000 years, Buddhism and Hinduism are quite different. If you want to know how different they are, try to become a spiritual practitioner of both simultaneously. It's quite difficult. Among other things, the dogma is in conflict regarding the nature of God and self. In Tantric systems some of the practices and observances are very similar but ideological distinctions still exist. Early Advaita Vedantic treatises by Shankaracharya and also Kashmir Shaivite treatises (by Kshmeraja, for example) as well as Buddhists texts often critically compare their belief systems against each other pointing out many ideological differences. Two main points of contention in early literature was the nature of "Emptiness" and also "Absolutism." Hinduism essentially is theistic, Buddhism essentiall is not. In later Hinduism, when the idea of the avatara was being developed, Buddha was included into an idea about there being 10 classical avatars of Vishnu. Buddha is revered in Hinduism because of this--but some Hindus also believe (as a previous responder guilelessly noted) that the Buddha was some kind of weird trickster avatar who introduced confusion into the Hindu religion for a while so that the faith would naturally aright itself. (I'm sure Buddhists really find that idea charming . . . )

Answer 3

Is it possible to get the whole tree with all its branches back into the seed ?
This is the case not only with Hinduism but any and every religion in the world
As an organisation grows it attains power and influence
Then is the question of succession after the death of the Original Founder
Cracks appear and then the claims as to who is the real and who is the false successor
Difference in interpretation of the 'sayings' 'dictum's' etc., follow
New literature appears, groups emerge and then comes the split
lo and behold you have a new religion
Buddha was well versed in the Vedas but then......

Answer 4

No as they are very different.

Prince Sakiyumani, who became the Gotamo Buddha upon his awakening, denied the existence of any god or goddess, taught a spiritual path that was no extreme by either being too harsh nor too easy and taught person to seek thier own wisdom and enlightenment rather than the same as coming form some other source. He also abanodonned all dogmatic practices and beliefs.

Buddhis is not Hindusim which contain all of the things the Buddha left behind.

Ma'a salaam

After the Buddha reached enlighhtenment, he told the adherents that he had passsed thorugh all of his past lives and did not see any "god".

This is found in the Pali canon.

Answer 5

The only part of you question I can agree with is
Your Forefather must have been an Idiot
Clearly Your understanding of Buddhism is very shallow and in parts naive to say the least You have Buddhists worshiping Idols
Buddhism has held it's own for 2600years and does offer a workable and practicable route out of Samsara It also happens to be the fastest growing belief on the Planet I would like to see it remain that way
Your avatar shows how little respect you have for Buddhism
and how little you have gained from the belief you claim to be a devout follower of
My advice to you would be to try as best as you are able to learn from your own tradition and leave Buddhism to those that understand what they are doing

Answer 6

Hinduism does not bear any relationship with Buddhism.

Although Lord Buddha was born in Nepal (which is the only Hindu-state in the world), he did not find God but Enlightment and taught non-violence. On the other hand, Hinduism was (and is still) divided on castes and practised violent form of existence.

Answer 7

No
As you are already aware Hinduism believes in a Permanent Self Buddhism doesn't
It would edge things a little closer to this
"ONE WORLD FASCIST STATE" we here so much about if they can bring the Major World Religions together but Thankfully that will never happen in my life cycle or yours

Blessings to you

edit
Hell bent on bringing them together.... Hmmm
Best leave Buddhism to Buddhists

Answer 8

Lord Buddha was a Shaktyavesa Avatar of Vishnu. He was a partial manifestation, ie, a living soul endowed with a few powers.

People say Buddha rejected the Vedas. But they are deluded. Buddha rejected the mechanical RITUALS of the Vedas. He never rejected the profound philosophy of the Upanishads.

Here is proof.

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.

Simlarly the principles of the Four Noble Truths and the 8 Fold path are not Buddhist inventions. The Rig Veda details it all. So, Buddha, while telling people to follow their path, was drawing His Philosophy from the Upanishads.

Ahimsa, Vegetarianism, Tolerance, etc. are all part of Hinduism as well. Only, people do not follow it nowadays, sadly enough. The caste system is a human invention.

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 ben 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.

One more significant saying:

For Brahman I know," the Buddha tells them, "and the realm of Brahman, and the path that lead eth to it. Yea, I know it even as one who has entered the Brahman realm, and has been born within it.

Here is an example of the trickery that Lord Buddha exhibited. It reminds one of how Lord Krishna defeated the Kauravas:

The philosopher Vachgotta questioned the Buddha repeatedly whether he believed in the existence or non existenceof the soul. The Buddha remained silent until Vachgotta left. He later explained, "If I had answered, 'there is a soul', that would have only confirmed the doctrine preached by the Brahmins. If I had answered, 'there is no soul', that would have only confirmed the doctrine of those who say the self dies with the body."

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.

Lastly, the 8 Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism such as the Dharma Chakra, Conch, Lotus, etc. are actually the divine ornaments of Lord Vishnu. We can see the connection here itself.

Thus, the Bhagavad Gita is truth in entirety, Buddhism is a part of that great truth. Buddha was Vishnu. He imparted a half-truth. If we can summarise the message of Bhagavad Gita in 5 words, Buddha would describe only the first 3 words of that message and leave it to the people to figure out the last 2 words.

EDIT: Just to make this clear, This does NOT mean that Buddhism is a part of Hinduism. Lord Buddha meant it to be a different religion, a Nastika sect. Hence, never equate it to Hinduism or try to claim all Buddhists are Hindus.

Give respect to Buddhists.

And also, to the person who asked the question, stop insulting Lord Buddha by calling Him your brother. Do not try to make jokes about things that are beyond your level of understanding.

Answer 9

Bhuddha's words mean hat one cannot attain moksha just by worshipping deities .One can attain moksha by his virtues and not commiting sins .He has not denied the existence of God.what he meant was that jus by confessing yur sins , you can not attainmaoksha.that is all.o0ne who continues to commit sins will not be blessed by god If one were to seek the blessings of God to murder comebody and rob his property , God would not bless him.so by worshipping deities alone one does not go to heaven.It is one's karma that decides one's fate That is what Bhuddha means .What Bhuddha teaches is not anythng different from the Hidnu philosophy..Hinduism can take anything and everything in its fold .
The yogas referred to in ?bhagavad Gita are meant to attain enlightenment - the highest wisdom which is /god .thisis what Budhha also teaches .Instad of god he mentions enelightenment -what Lorad Kraihna also says to be the ultimate seat of god .It was the miosunderstnding of the teacheings that led to the killing of the bhuddhists by the Hindu fundamentalists .

Answer 10

Where is the need for that? Although the Truth is one, yet, each can have their own way to reach the goal depending on the circumstances, mental make up and the support available.Unity in diversity is what we must practise,not ironing out all differences and hammer it down to mythical unity!Truth is multifaceted,multidimensional and let there be multiple pathways to traverse from different angle by different people; let us respect all of them!

Answer 11

It is unfortunate that your forefathers thought otherwise..........


During the 7th century a Brahmin King Shashank inflicted severe atrocities on Boddhs. He demolished Boddh Vihar of Buddh Gaya and raised it to the ground. He uprooted & burnt the Bodhi Vrikchha where Buddha is said to have been enlightened.

" Sasanka, the Raja of Bengal, proved in the middle of 7th century A.D. an inveterate enemy of Buddhism and endeavoured a number of times to uproot Bodha tree."--[The Life and Teachings of Buddha - Anagrika Dharmpal]


Another Brahmin King Pushyamitra Shung proved to be more crual towards Buddhism. He destroyed all Bodh Vihars from Patliputra to Jalandhar. He declared a reward of 100 golden Mudras to anyone who killed and showed the beheaded skulls of Buddhists.


" King Pushyamitra who adored and sacrificed to the Devas, destroyed in the 2nd century B.C., many Sanghrahmas and killed the Bhikshus who dwelt therein."--[The Life and Teachings of Buddha - Anagrika Dharmpal]


During 16th century the king of Sinhali iseland, Raja Jai Singh, just to please SHAIVA Sadhus, killed so many Buddhists within 4-5 years that there remained none in his kingdom.


" The Buddhist literature was completely destroyed by the Hindus during Hindu revival headed by Shankracharya."--[The Mahabodhi Journal, Feb-1927]


I am afraid History has another story which differs from yours.


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