Buddha Gautama Buddha
Anyone who believes in Buddhism knows that Gautama Buddha is the Buddha.
The Buddha was born in the border area of present-day Nepal and India. He
became a monk at the age of 29. He later accepted disciples and preached in
North India, established a sangha and promoted Buddhism. Buddhism and Hinduism
both developed in Indian culture, so of course they are not unrelated. For example,
the six paths of reincarnation in Buddhism are derived from the concept of
Brahmanism. When Hinduism was weak, it also absorbed many Buddhist concepts to
strengthen itself.
Crow Betty said to Agudemba: From a certain perspective, Buddhism is a
reaction to Hinduism. Many believers do not know that Gautama Buddha was
against the Hindu god Vishnu. Never would I have imagined that Buddha is
actually one of the most influential incarnations of Vishnu.
Crow Betty told Agudumba:
The Bhagavad Purana, which is widely circulated and well-known in India,
records in detail the ten incarnations of Vishnu and the stories of his 24
descents. Among them, Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, is the ninth incarnation
of Vishnu. Therefore, when the Buddha came to the world, Brahma, Sakyamuni and
other gods led the gods to come to bathe the Buddha.
Vishnu is one of the three main gods of Hinduism, the orthodox and
handsome main god. He is the savior in Hinduism, and Vaishnavism is also a
salvation religion in a sense. Whenever the world is in crisis, Vishnu will
come down to save the world. Each time he descends to earth, he creates an
incarnation in a way similar to "reincarnation."
In terms of religious organizations, incarnation is also a way for the
Vaishnavite sect to attract believers. Whenever there are heroes, great kings,
religious leaders or even some kind of spiritual events in the mortal world,
the Vaishnavism priests will jump out and start flipping through the books.
Pointing to a piece of Sanskrit that no one could understand, he said: Let me
just say, this great man is actually the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Lord
God, and he came specifically to save the world. The most powerful case is that
recent Hindu mythology describes Buddha as the incarnation of Vishnu, and thus
incorporates Buddhism.
Agudumba asked:
Why did Vishnu come to the world as Buddha? Since he is an omnipotent god
who can destroy demons and monsters with a snap of his finger, why does he have
to work so hard to come to the human world?
crow betty says:
The absorptive power of Hinduism is reflected in the Puranas, which
created pantheons that brought together numerous deities that were originally
the focus of independent worship. The inclusion of Buddha in the avatar of
Vishnu is often cited as an example of the syncretic nature of Hinduism. Here's
the thing: the Puranas' depiction of the Buddha is anything but flattering, and
there was a lot of negative talk about Buddhists in the early days, describing
them as evil, tainted, and a symbol to be avoided. Even dreaming about them is
unlucky. Therefore, although Buddha is considered an avatar of Vishnu, he is
never worshiped in a Vishnu temple.
Viewing Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu is a strategy to subordinate
Buddhism to Hinduism. This method is also used by Buddhists. Buddhist texts
tell the story of Theravada Vajra, where Hruka, the incarnation of Vajrapani,
became angry with Shiva Mahabhara and crushed him under his left foot,
destroying him. He then resurrected Shiva and his consorts as Uma Maheshwara,
gave them a new name, Bhairava-Bhairavi, and accepted them into Buddhism as his
followers. Religious conflict is also reflected in the many images of angry
Buddhist Tantric deities trampling Hindu gods and vice versa.
Crow Betty continued:
Early Buddhism valued reality, denied the divine creation of the world,
and advocated the origin of the four surnames. The Buddha's practice of
"interpretation of the world" was deeply popular and was a
substantial blow to the early Brahmanical beliefs, which were dominated by
Aryans.
After the birth of Hinduism, it encountered strong challenges from
Buddhism. The challenge to Buddhism came from the time of Ashoka. After Ashoka
unified India for the first time, in order to consolidate his power and contain
the Aryan powerful, he vigorously supported Buddhism against traditional
Hinduism.
Just like Indians are divided into three, six or nine grades, cattle in
India are also divided into three, six or nine grades. King Ashoka advocated
the idea of "equality for all living beings".
From King Asoka's perspective, in order to establish a unified kingdom
and be the king of all people, it is necessary to support the Indian natives to
fight against the old aristocratic group, so the explanation that Gautama
Buddha is an Indian native is more reasonable.
In the 6th century BC, Sakyamuni founded Buddhism. He opposed Brahman
supremacy, denied the authority of Veda, and put forward a series of new
theories from the perspective of experience and psychology, such as the theory
of dependent origination and the four truths. These theories were refreshing
and innovative in an era when the Vedic revelations were believed in and
sacrifices to the Almighty were prevalent.
Regardless of whether Gautama Buddha was an Aryan or not, the followers
of Buddhism are the lower class people of India. Buddhism is an authentic
native religion of India, and its idea of "equality of all living
beings" is a natural weapon to suppress the caste hierarchy. On the other
hand, Sakyamuni grew up in an Indian environment and received an Indian
upbringing. Therefore, his ideas could not have arisen out of thin air without
inheritance, nor could they have been influenced by Brahmanism.
In the 6th century BC, Buddhism, as a new religion, first emerged in the Kingdom
of Magadha, where Brahmanism was relatively weak. Because Buddhism opposes
caste discrimination and promotes the idea of equality, it is very popular
among lower castes. Therefore, it has developed rapidly and attracted a large
number of Brahmans to convert to Buddhism. During the Mauryan Dynasty (324 BC
to 187 BC), with the strong support and promotion of King Ashoka, Buddhism
ushered in its development climax. Not only did it become a major religion in
India, it also began to spread overseas. King Asoka personally sent his son
Mahada to the Island of Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka) to spread Buddhism and
succeeded, establishing a Buddhist temple there. Since then, Buddhism has
gradually spread to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, China, Japan, North Korea, and
Vietnam, and developed into a world religion.
The rise and rapid development of Buddhism had a huge impact on
Brahmanism at that time, and also had a profound impact on it.
Crow Betty sighed:
It's just that Ashoka's career did not last, because soon after Ashoka's
death, India was divided. Buddhism, which symbolizes India's native sect,
gradually declined in the game with Hinduism founded by the Aryans, and was
eventually submerged in the dust of history. The Nalando Temple where Tang
Sanzang studied for Buddhist scriptures eventually fell.
The process of the decline of Buddhism implies the suppression of the
conquered lands by the conquerors, that is, the suppression of the indigenous
culture and ideology of India by the Aryans. The competition between Buddhism
and Hinduism is equivalent to the competition between local religions and
religions created by outsiders. The fall of Buddhism means that the Indian
natives have given up on the idea of "equality" and their spirits
have been completely conquered. Looking at the history of world religions,
among the larger religions, only Buddhism has been extinguished in its
homeland.
Crow Betty sang "Prayer to the Buddha":
According to
Hindu teachings,
The world has a
cyclical pattern,
Follow birth,
abiding and passing away.
But the world is
rotten,
and begins to be
destined to be reborn,
Its demise
should be hastened.
The Buddha
appeared at the right time,
accelerator in
the cycle chain,
This is how the
world changes.
There should be
no hierarchy between humans and animals;
All things are
born equal,
Pray for the
Buddha to show his power.
