Buddhism and Hinduism - Early History

Early History

The Land lying on the southern side of the Hindu-Kush Mountains was considered the land of the Hindus or Hindustan and the religion followed by the people there was known as Hinduism. This was before the dawn of Islam in the region. Hinduism it is clear has heavily influenced and inspired most of the religions which sprung from this land namely Sikhism, Jainism etc. including Buddhism. In Hinduism, Buddha is the last avatar of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu. This is evidenced by the fact that most of the concepts of soul, physical form, moksha, samsara and Brahman are all identical to Hinduism including the use of the same terminology. However the distinguishing aspects arise in the concepts of Dharma and Karma . While the word Buddha was not used to describe the last avatar of Vishnu, the description, time and place of his arrival is well chronicled in scriptures prior to the advent of the Buddha. Consequently the word Buddha is mentioned in several of the Puranas that are believed to have been composed after his birth. Certain Buddhist teachings appear to have been formulated in response to ideas presented in the early Upanishads – in some cases concurring with them, and in other cases criticizing or re-interpreting them.

In later years, there is significant evidence that both Buddhism and Hinduism were supported by Indian rulers, regardless of the rulers' own religious identities. Buddhist kings continued to revere Hindu deities and teachers, and many Buddhist temples were built under the patronage of Hindu rulers. This was because never has Buddhism been considered an alien religion to that of Hinduism in India, but as only one of the many strains of Hinduism. However 'Buddhism' which had its birth in Indian state of Bihar could not spread to the rest of India due to the other strains of Hinduism. So was compelled to move east toward China where it flourished for a while.