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Jenny	Subject: Conflict Posted: 1 Dec 2004 9:25 pm [Buddhists and Hindus don't agree on a lot of matters, but the chief dispute is about where Buddha came from. Hindus maintain that Buddha is the last reincarnation of Vishnu, after the reincarnations as Rama and Krishna; Buddhists, however, believe Buddha was the Indian Prince Siddhartha, a real person rather than the reincarnation of a Hindu god. Over this difference, the religions fell out.] This extract is not correct and it is better take suggestions from many, many Indians or ask the Dalai Llama himself. How many christians are there in Israel? How many Hare Krishna's are there in America? Just like that there aren't many Buddhists in India! Since the Hindu phylosophy is scientific, it will never die! Unlike Jesus, Buddha is a historical figure and there was no conflict between Hindus and Buddhists! The followers of Buddha started a new religion. Rajnish's followers call their religion OSHO and Hare Krisnas call themselves Hare Krishnas after their Guru death they too named themselves Hare Krishnas. The followers of each guru start own offshoot and give a different name. All are Hindus just as mythical Jesus was not a christian, in fact he was Jew and so on! Post a Reply
Mark Moxon	Subject: Confusion Posted: 2 Dec 2004 11:52 am Hi Jenny. It's quite possible that my statement is wrong - I'm no world expert on religions, I have to admit - but you don't say what exactly is wrong about it. Can you expand on what it is that's factually incorrect in my piece? I wrote: "Buddhists and Hindus don't agree on a lot of matters, but the chief dispute is about where Buddha came from." Is this not the case? After all, there is a huge difference between the two faiths, particularly around the identity of Buddha. "Hindus maintain that Buddha is the last reincarnation of Vishnu, after the reincarnations as Rama and Krishna." Again, is this not true? When I say "last", I mean it in the sense of "latest", of course, as I believe Vishnu is still due to reappear at the end of the world... but isn't the above purely a statement of fact? "Buddhists, however, believe Buddha was the Indian Prince Siddhartha, a real person rather than the reincarnation of a Hindu god." Again, isn't this the case? Buddhists certainly don't believe that Buddha was an incarnation of a Hindu god - indeed, Buddhism is non-theistic and more of a life philosophy than a religion, whereas Hinduism has a whole pantheon of gods. "Over this difference, the religions fell out." This, again, I thought was true. I don't mean the two sides went to war, just that they diverged over different belief systems. From my experience, most Buddhists would be surprised to hear that they are thought of as part of Hinduism; the Buddhists I've met certainly don't see it that way, in the same way that Christians don't see themselves as part of Judaism. Sharing common roots doesn't make you the same, it just makes you related. Also, you say that there aren't many Buddhists in India, which is true, but there are plenty in Nepal and Thailand, which I also visited on my travels, so I'm not just talking about inhabitants of India here. My comments are based on facts and observations in a number of countries, and I'd be really interested to hear where I've got it wrong. I look forward to hearing from you, and many thanks for posting. Best wishes, Mark Post a Reply

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Message

Jenny

Subject: Conflict
Posted: 1 Dec 2004 9:25 pm

[Buddhists and Hindus don't agree on a lot of matters, but the chief dispute is about where Buddha came from. Hindus maintain that Buddha is the last reincarnation of Vishnu, after the reincarnations as Rama and Krishna; Buddhists, however, believe Buddha was the Indian Prince Siddhartha, a real person rather than the reincarnation of a Hindu god. Over this difference, the religions fell out.] This extract is not correct and it is better take suggestions from many, many Indians or ask the Dalai Llama himself. How many christians are there in Israel? How many Hare Krishna's are there in America? Just like that there aren't many Buddhists in India! Since the Hindu phylosophy is scientific, it will never die!

Unlike Jesus, Buddha is a historical figure and there was no conflict between Hindus and Buddhists! The followers of Buddha started a new religion. Rajnish's followers call their religion OSHO and Hare Krisnas call themselves Hare Krishnas after their Guru death they too named themselves Hare Krishnas. The followers of each guru start own offshoot and give a different name. All are Hindus just as mythical Jesus was not a christian, in fact he was Jew and so on!

Post a Reply

Mark Moxon

Subject: Confusion
Posted: 2 Dec 2004 11:52 am

Hi Jenny.

It's quite possible that my statement is wrong - I'm no world expert on religions, I have to admit - but you don't say what exactly is wrong about it. Can you expand on what it is that's factually incorrect in my piece?

I wrote:

"Buddhists and Hindus don't agree on a lot of matters, but the chief dispute is about where Buddha came from."

Is this not the case? After all, there is a huge difference between the two faiths, particularly around the identity of Buddha.

"Hindus maintain that Buddha is the last reincarnation of Vishnu, after the reincarnations as Rama and Krishna."

Again, is this not true? When I say "last", I mean it in the sense of "latest", of course, as I believe Vishnu is still due to reappear at the end of the world... but isn't the above purely a statement of fact?

"Buddhists, however, believe Buddha was the Indian Prince Siddhartha, a real person rather than the reincarnation of a Hindu god."

Again, isn't this the case? Buddhists certainly don't believe that Buddha was an incarnation of a Hindu god - indeed, Buddhism is non-theistic and more of a life philosophy than a religion, whereas Hinduism has a whole pantheon of gods.

"Over this difference, the religions fell out."

This, again, I thought was true. I don't mean the two sides went to war, just that they diverged over different belief systems. From my experience, most Buddhists would be surprised to hear that they are thought of as part of Hinduism; the Buddhists I've met certainly don't see it that way, in the same way that Christians don't see themselves as part of Judaism. Sharing common roots doesn't make you the same, it just makes you related.

Also, you say that there aren't many Buddhists in India, which is true, but there are plenty in Nepal and Thailand, which I also visited on my travels, so I'm not just talking about inhabitants of India here. My comments are based on facts and observations in a number of countries, and I'd be really interested to hear where I've got it wrong.

I look forward to hearing from you, and many thanks for posting.

Best wishes,

Mark

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