Hindu and Taoist Influences on Buddhism

[Guest guest]

>

>Hi Richard,yes thanks for your acknowledgement.

i have just finished writing my newsletter.i'm wondering if you would do

me the honour,if you think it is suitable and worthy, of submitting it to

sacred objects.

thanks again

regards

terry

 

---Hi Terry, the reason I had to acknowledge it was because when it passed it

never showed up in the messages, So I had to go dig it up and repost it. Good

one! Sure, send any articles. Best wishes, Richard

 

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Greetings,i hope you are well and with vital spirit.

Although there are basic differences ,Buddhism,Hinduism and Taoism are all

closely

inter-related .Lord Buddha was born as a Hindu Prince of the Sakya clan in

Lumbini, Nepal.

It is well known that the Sakyamuni Buddha spent time with many of the

leading

yogis,prior to developing the Middle Way and his enlightenment.After

renouncing his

throne he wandered alone to seek the Brahman rishis and for some time He

lived under

the two great rishis Alarakalama and Udraka Ramaputra, from whom He learnt

the

philosophy of the Arupa Brahmaloka. Not satisfied with the results of

dhyana yoga

leading to moksha, the Bodhisattva came to Uruvela to spend the ascetic

life, and

for six years He mortified the body in the hope of reaching the highest

bliss. His

body by strict fasting was reduced to a mere skeleton, and one day he fell

down

unconscious,having reduced his daily food to 3 grains of rice.When he

awoke from the

swoon, he abandoned the path of yogic asceticism and just meditated after

regaining

health.It can be assumed that he had learnt many of the most developed yoga

knowledge and would have been well acquainted with Patanjali yoga

sutras.Therefore

It is apparent there are many similarities with Buddhist philosophy and

basic Hindu

Advaita knowledge,the realisation of non-duality. " Brahman is the only

truth, the

world is illusion, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and

individual self. "

 

After the passing of the Buddha the path of Buddhism initially

spread in

India especially under the patronage of Emperor Ashoka,and reached into Sri

Lanka and Burma in it's pure form.Later as it spread further east into

Thailand and Cambodia it transformed with the juncture of the Hindu kingdom

of Kham[from pre-Buddhist Angkor] and assimilated yogi practises and the

animist amulet cult.Even today in Thailand,although pure Buddhism can be

found,animist ancestor worship is prevalent and many temples will also have

Brahma, Ganesh,and sometimes even Shiva murthis.

 

By 520 A.D. Buddhism was introduced north into China by the great sage

Bodhidhamma and was influenced by the prominent Taoist yogis and scholars

of the

time.Both added to each other leading to the development of Cha'an,or Chinese

Zen.The mystical philosophy of Lao-tzu,and the appended traditions of the

I-Ching,combined with the wisdom of Zen masters,resulted in the 'Study of

Inner

Design' and 'the Diagram of the Great Ultimate',which greatly influenced

Chinese

society,and later Korea and Japan.

" The Ultimate way is without difficulty,it's only averse to

discrimination.Trying

to get rid of existence is obscuring being,Trying to follow emptiness is

turning

away from emptiness.When enlightened there is no good or bad.All dualistic

extremes come from subjective considerations " .....

 

As pure Buddhism was introduced into Tibet[8thc A.D.] it combined

with the

traditional magical animist Bon religion.As Tibetan Buddhism began to

flourish on the plateau it was influenced by yogis who had studied tantra

in India.most prominent being Padmasambhava[Guru Rinpoche]who was invited to

Tibet by the King as his fame had spread regarding his ability to transcend

life and death,and to vanquish demons.So began an transformation of Hindu

deities and tantric practises into tantric

Buddhism.Ganesh[Vinayakha],Saraswati,Lakshmi[Yellow

Tara],Kali[MahaKali],Indra,plus many others are commonly respected.The local

Bon deities were also incorporated as guardians.Hence the tantric Buddhism

flourished with heavy overtones of Hindu pujas, rituals and cosmology into

the Tibetan ceremonies....

 

However in all Buddhist practises importance is placed on

discipline,concentration,wisdom,and refinement of action,leading to one's

paramount view , relating to suffering,impermanence,and the inherent

emptiness[or suchness] of all phenomena.

Nevertheless,because of it's roots in Hinduism,Buddhists are referred to as

'children of the vedas' by some gurus in India,and Lord Buddha was assumed

by some

to be the 9th incarnation of Vishnu.

 

 

sincerely

terry

http://www.natural-tribal-designs.com/

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