Did the Buddha Break Away from Hinduism?

[Peter]

Ok. Neither do the Hindus consider Buddha 'Hindu'. He is not a part of true Dashavatar, Balaram is.

In Bengal we consider Buddha as an avatar.

 

[A chauhan]

The point is not whether Hindus believe in a God or not, the point is Hinduism is a religion very much like the others. If it weren't you wouldn't have globally recognized Hindu festivals of Diwali, Dusshera, Ganesh Chaturthi etc. Just because the belief systems of Hinduism are varied doesn't make it any less of a religion. There doesn't have to be one organized head, Christianity has many (Catholics, Church of England, Orthodox.. the list goes on they may or may not have unity between each other), so does Islam (Sunni, Shia etc...). Hinduism might have started as a way of life just like any other religion but man's constant need for structure, context, rituals etc. have made it into the World's 3rd largest religion, that is actually a good thing. No way of life can spread by itself.

There are many common beliefs among Hindus and disorganized as the religion may seem, it still brings some sort of unity within the community.

Spoiler

Noun : Religion
A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny.

An institution to express belief in a divine power.

Hinduism is not easy to understand, it's a collection of philosophies and many of its philosophies are Atheist in nature which means you can be a Hindu and an atheist at the same time, i.e. Nasadiya Sukt, Brihadaranyak Upanishad, Mundakopanishad, Isha Upanishad and at some places Rig Veda itself takes Brahman as everything and nothing as well.

Hinduism (misnomer) doesn't have the concept of "Conversion" but the way of life spread !! didn't it ? ain't the concept of conversion and theism the most important feature of a religion ? (I have quoted the definition of the religion in the above spoiler) Hinduism is yet to achieve the form of a religion but it will never, since it will wash its beauty. The words I used in my last post are the words of the H'ble SC and not mine :-

Hinduism does not satisfy the traditional features of any religion or creed, and that "it may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more".

 

[asingh10]

The H'ble SC has also taken Hinduism as a way of life, and has dealt upon the origins of it, the SC came to realize that unlike Abrahmic religions Hinduism has no single source of origin making it difficult to collectively call it an organized religion, Hinduism is a loose unification of religio-philosophical fragments, fragmented yet unified. "Religion" (Panth) is a western term and Hinduism does not satisfy the traditional features of any religion or creed, and that "it may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more".

It would be a good question to consider whether Budhhism is also a way of life or a religion ?



Ghalib's ghazal "Na tha kuchh to khuda tha, kuchh na hota to khuda hota..." seems a Islamized copy of this ! :biggrin2:

BTW @asingh10 what are your views on the origins of Sufism and Bhakti-Marga ? which one predates ?

Bhakti is mentioned in Gita & Upanishads. Afaik Bhakti as a mass grassroots movement already existed in South with Alvars and Nayannars, much before Muslims came. Sufism is a plagiarizing medium - it's a combo of ideas and techniques that Islam borrowed/hijacked from Mithraic, Zoroastrian, Greek, Mongol Shaman, Buddhist, Hindu & Xtian mysticism. It was Ghazali who brokered a marriage of Sufism with Islamic priestcraft. Many Muslims aren't comfortable with Sufism being in the Islamic fold due to obvious pagan influences, others see it as a useful tool to subvert and tranquilize non-Muslim societies.

 

[asingh10]

The Indo-Mongolian Relationship:A Retrospective Outlook On Buddhism Prof. Sh. Bira (Mongolia)

Even now Sanskrit words are used not only in literary but also in colloquial Mongolian. It is interesting to note that in Mongolia when the need arises for new scientific terms it is

often preferred to have them adopted from Sanskrit, rather than from Latin or any other languages. Sanskrit terms relating to diverse branches of science and philosophy, from cosmonautics to medicine and botanics have been adopted in modern Mongolian terminological lexicon. The names of planets and stars, including the cosmos, in modern Mongolian are named in Sanskrit:


Sanskrit Mongolian

Adya Adya (Sunday, Sun)

Somya Sumya (Monday, Moon)

Angäraka Angaraq (Tuesday, Mars)

It is worthwhile to mention that some Sanskrit words have been Mongolized to such an extent that the Mongols do not event suspect their foreign origin:

Sanskrit Mongolian

Sansāra Sansar (space)

Abhyasa Avyas (talent)

Punya Buyan (good deeds)

Kšana Agshin (instant)

Dvipa Tiv (continent)

Graha Garig (planet)

Jātaka Tsadig (tales, stories)

Šloka Shuleg (poems, verses)

Padaka Badag (strophe)

Rašayana Arshan (mineral water, nectar)


The Mongols have a long tradition of having Sanskrit names:


Sanskrit Mongolian

Arya Arya

Aditya Adya

Vajravali Ochirbal

Dharma Darma

Čandra Zandra

Ratna Radna

Utpala Udval

http://www.mongolianculture.com/ProfBira-Lect.htm


A Mongol song recalling the old Indic idea of the sun of Jambudvipa:

 

[Screambowl]

this thread is still running? LOL

Buddha followed the path of Gyan Yoga , any more explanation is not mandatory after this.