Buddhism and Hinduism - Notable Views

Notable Views

Various Hindu Indian scholars believed that Buddhism is a reformation of Hinduism. That the Buddha only wants to reform some of the malpractices within Hinduism, that is all. And they also assumed that he never wanted to create a new religion. In short, according to them Buddhism is correct Hinduism without any malpractice and evils. And that what is now called Hinduism is malpractice and distorted form of the Vedas. There is the trend of incorporating a certain principles of the Buddha's teaching, while leaving out many other aspect of his teachings unpracticed, or adding various practices from existing belief into the formula. For example, the practice of caste discrimination, aiming to achieve Brahma consciousness in the holy life, emphasis on rituals, etc. It is impossible to preserve his teaching in its pristine form without establishing an independent religion. The establishment of an independent religion is for the benefit of countless beings who have confidence in his teaching to carry them to Awakening, for generations to come. The dhamma is a gift for anyone who wish to benefit from it regardless of the creed they are following. If someone from a certain belief can only handle taking up a few teachings from him while keep practicing tantra, rituals, and the like, the person is more than welcome to do that. But the establishment of the new religion is for those who are ready to practice the path as he taught it and experience the intended outcome of the path. Therefore, the Buddha established a new religion when he was alive. In the days of the Buddha, he himself already referred to his teaching and sangha as " this Religion". He entrusted the sangha he established to preserve his teaching in its undiluted form so that it will remain effective for later generations.

According to the Uposatha Sutta of the Anguttara Nikaya of the Pali Canon, the Buddha already considered his Dhamma-Vinaya as a distinct religion:

"Bhikkhus. Uposatha is comprised of eight factors which the Ariyan disciple observes, the observation of which brings glorious and radiant fruit and benefit... 1. "Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus:

"'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, have given up the intentional taking of life. The club and sword have been laid down. They have shame (of doing evil) and are compassionate toward all beings.' "All of you have given up the intentional taking of life, have put down all weapons, are possessed of shame (of doing evil) and are compassionate toward all beings. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arahants, and the Uposatha will have been observed by you. This is the first factor of the Uposatha.

2. "Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus: "'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, have given up taking what has not been given. They take only what is given, are intent on taking only what is given. They are not thieves. Their behavior is spotless.' "All of you have given up the taking of what has not been given, are ones who do not take what is not given, are intent on taking only what is given, are not thieves. Your behavior is spotless. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arahants, and the Uposatha will have been observed by you. This is the second factor of the Uposatha.

3. "Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus: "'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, have given up that which is an obstacle to the Brahma-faring. Their practice is like that of a Brahma. They are far from sexual intercourse, which is a practice of lay people.' "All of you have given up that which is an obstacle—this is the third factor of the Uposatha.

4. "Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus: "'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, have given up the telling of lies. They utter only the truth and are intent on the truth. Their speech is firm and is composed of reason. Their speech does not waver from that which is a mainstay for the world.' "All of you have given up ….. For all of this day and night, in this manner...This is the fourth factor of the Uposatha.

5. "Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus: "'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, have given up the taking of liquors and intoxicants, of that which intoxicates, causing carelessness. They are far from intoxicants.' "All of you have given up the taking ……..This is the fifth factor of the Uposatha.

6. "Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus: "'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, eat at one time only and do not partake of food in the evening. They abstain from food at the 'wrong time'." "All of you eat at one time only and do not partake of food in the evening……This is the sixth factor of the Uposatha.

7.Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus: "'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, have given up singing and dancing, the playing of musical instruments and the watching of entertainments, which are stumbling blocks to that which is wholesome. Nor do they bedeck themselves with ornaments, flowers or perfume.' "All of you have given up...This is the seventh factor of the Uposatha.

8. Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus: "'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, have given up lying on large or high beds. They are content with low beds or bedding made of grass.' "All of you have given up lying on large or high beds. You are content with low beds or beds made of grass. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arahants, and the Uposatha will have been observed by you. This is the eighth factor of the Uposatha.

Furthermore, the Buddha also laid down specific Patimokkha (basic code of monastic discipline) for those who want to take up the training as taught by him. It was recorded in the Vinaya Pitaka. On the new-moon and full-moon uposatha days, his ordained disciples would assemble to recite the Patimokkha rules. When each of the seven sections of the rules is recited amidst the assembled Order, if anyone among those present has infringed any of those rules, the person should confess and undergo any the process of correcting the behavior. Silence implies absence of guilt. The Buddha forbid his monks from showing off psychic powers to the laity for the sake of fame. The Parajika containing rules about expulsion from the sangha. That means there is a distinct and established sangha to be expelled from. It is not the case that he simply tries to reform some of the malpractices within Hinduism and say that it is okay for disciples to practice anything else they wanted out there while living in the holy life of his path.

For example :

"Should any bhikkhu -- participating in the training and livelihood of the bhikkhus, without having renounced the training, without having declared his weakness -- engage in the sexual act, even with a female animal, he is defeated and no longer in the sangha." "Should any bhikkhu sit in private, alone with a woman, it is to be confessed."

Before dying the Buddha also said :

Monks, abide becoming a light and refuge to yourself, not searching another refuge, consider the Teaching as a light, a refuge, and do not search another Teaching

The Buddha's dharma is for all, regardless of the faith they belong to. Setting up a religion is simply a way to preserve the teaching in its purest form and reduce the possibility of dilution so that it will remain effective for later generations when they want to experience liberation through his teaching.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan has claimed that the Buddha did not look upon himself as an innovator, but only a restorer of the way of the Upanishads, despite the fact that the Buddha did not accept the Upanishads, viewing them as comprising a pretentious tradition, foreign to his paradigm.

The Hindu philosopher, Vivekananda, wrote in glowing terms about Buddha, and visited Bodh Gaya several times.

Ananda Coomaraswamy, a proponent of the Perennial Philosophy, claimed:

Hinduism is a religion both of Eternity and Time, while Gautama looks upon Eternity alone. it is not really fair to Gautama or to the Brahmans to contrast their Dharma; for they do not seek to cover the same ground. We must compare the Buddhist ethical ideal with the identical standard of Brahmanhood expected of the Brahman born; we must contrast the Buddhist monastic system with the Brahmanical orders; the doctrine of Anatta with the doctrine of Atman, and here we shall find identity. Buddhism stands for a restricted ideal, which contrasts with Brahmanism as a part contrasts with the whole. —

He also maintained:

The more superficially one studies Buddhism, the more it seems to differ from Brahmanism in which it originated; the more profound our study, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish Buddhism from Brahmanism, or to say in what respects, if any, Buddhism is really unorthodox. —

Some Hindu scholars have also accepted Buddhism as a fulfillment of Sanatana Dharma philosophy:

The relation between Hinduism (by Hinduism, I mean the religion of the Vedas) and what is called Buddhism at the present day, is nearly the same as between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus Christ was a Jew, and Shakya Muni was a Hindu. The Jews rejected Jesus Christ, nay, crucified him, and the Hindus have accepted Shakya Muni as God and worship him. But the real difference that we Hindus want to show between modern Buddhism and what we should understand as the teachings of Lord Buddha, lies principally in this: Shakya Muni came to preach nothing new. He also, like Jesus, came to fulfill and not to destroy. —Swami Vivekananda,

Steven Collins sees such Hindu claims regarding Buddhism as part of an effort - itself a reaction to Christian proselytizing efforts in India - to show that "all religions are one", and that Hinduism is uniquely valuable because it alone recognizes this fact.

The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzing Gyatso, has stated that Hinduism and Buddhism are twins.

Some scholars have written that Buddhism should be regarded as "reformed Brahmanism", and many Hindus consider Buddhism a sect of Hinduism.

Alan Watts wrote the following:

Being a Hindu really involves living in India. Because of the differences of climate, or arts, crafts, and technology, you cannot be a Hindu in the full sense in Japan or in the United States. Buddhism is Hinduism stripped for export. The Buddha was a reformer in the highest sense: someone who wants to go to the original form, or to re-form it for the needs of a certain time... Buddha is the man who woke up, who discovered who he really was. The crucial issue wherein Buddhism differs from Hinduism is that it doesn't say who you are; it has no idea, no concept. I emphasize the words idea and concept. It has no idea and no concept of God because Buddhism is not interested in concepts, it is interested in direct experience only. —

Buddhist scholar Rahula Walpole has written that the Buddha fundamentally denied all speculative views, such as the doctrinal Upanishadic belief in Atman.

B. R. Ambedkar, the founder of the Dalit Buddhist movement, believed that Buddhism offered an opportunity for low-caste and untouchable Hindus to achieve greater respect and dignity because of its non-caste doctrines. Among the 22 vows he prescribed to his followers is an injunction against having faith in Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. He also regarded the belief that the Buddha was an incarnation of Vishnu as "false propaganda".

According to the biography of the Buddha, he was a Mahapurusha (great being) named Shvetaketu. Tushita Heaven (Home of the Contented gods) was the name of the realm he dwells before taking his last birth on earth as Buddha. There is no more rebirth for a Buddha. Before leaving the Tushita realm to take birth on earth, he designated Maitreya to take his place there. Maitreya will come to earth as the next Buddha, instead of him coming back again. Although in the Jataka the Buddha mentioned that Rama was one of his past lives, Krishna was a past life of Sariputra, a chief disciple of the Buddha. He has not attained enlightenment during that life as Krishna. Therefore, he came back to be reborn during the life of the Buddha and reached the first stage of Enlightenment after encountering an enlightened disciple of the Buddha. He reached full Arahantship or full awakening not long after became ordained in the Buddha's sangha. During the life as Rama, the Buddha was highly developed. But he was not yet enlightened in that life . The Pali Canon also indicated that, the next person coming will not be him either, because there is no rebirth in any realms for the a Buddha.

The Maha-samya Sutta of the Digha Nikaya is the discourse that is the closest thing in the Pali canon to "who's who" of the diva worlds. There was an occasion when many of the devas came to see the Buddha when he was dwelling in the Great Wood together with a large Sangha of about 500 bhikkhus, all of them arahants. The Buddha introduced their names to the monks, Vishnu was one of those present. The Buddha mentioned him by the name Venhu.

In the Devaputta-samyutta (The Young Devas) section of the Samyutta Nikaya, the Vendu Sutta shows Vishnu as one of the young devas who came to visit and talked with the Buddha.

At Savatthi. Standing to one side, the young deva Venhu recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One: " Happy indeed are those human beings attending on the Fortunate One. Applying themselves to Gotama's Teaching, who train in it with diligence." The Blessed One said: "When the course of teaching is proclaimed by me, O Venhu," said the Blessed One, "Those meditators who train therein. Being diligent at the proper time. Will not come under Death's control."

According to "Hinduism and Buddhism An Historical Sketch", Sir Charles Elliot who was a British diplomat mentioned that this correlates with the Rig Veda of Hinduism. Both texts mentioned that Vishnu and Shiva are minor deities instead of the Lords of the Universe as popularly known by worshippers:

Vishnu and Rudra (Shiva) are known even to the Rig Veda but as deities of no special eminence. It is only after the Vedic age that they became, each for his own worshippers, undisputed Lords of the Universe…..The Pali Pitakas frequently introduce popular deities, but give no prominence to Vishnu and Siva. They are apparently mentioned under the names of Venhu and Isana, but are not differentiated from a host of spirits now forgotten. ….The suttas of the Digha Nikaya in which these lists of deities occur were perhaps composed before 300 B.C. —Sir Charles Elliot