Re: Gautam Buddha is indeed a Hindu
Originally Posted by
srivijaya
Hi PD,
Whilst this is correct for Hinduism, it's not the case with Buddhism. Buddhist Nirvana is not union with any deity (however one chooses to define it).
It is very helpful for a spiritual seeker to compare and contrast the teachings of the two traditions, as they are both sublime in their own way.
If Buddhism is simply dismissed as Hinduism, or even vice versa, then the valuable contrast is overlooked.
Namaste
Hi Srivijaya,
We all overlooked this point, it seems. Thanks for the precise observation. Its not the case of Hinduism either to unite with Brahman, since it is an impossibilty. Brahman is ever purna -- the full. How can a second come from outside and unite with Brahman?
When we talk of uniting, it is really the bhakti, which derives its meaning from its opposite vibhakta -- the divided. Bhakti means uniting the mind with its source -- the God, Brahman or whatever you may like to call it.
Many Hindu gurus actually place bhakti higher than yoga, since yoga involves a striving to unite whereas bhakti is effortless unity of mind and its source.
I hope I am not saying something which you will easily catch as anomalous with your precise understandiing.
Regards,
Om
That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.
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