Guest guest Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 I have a questing about budda. He is considered the 9th avtar of Lord Vishnu. For some reason I thought that Lord Vishnu incarnates only once in each yuga, if that is true that what about Kalki Avtar. It would be great if someone can also tell me if Budda is mentioned in any of the earlier scripture (as a prophacy, like kalki bhagwan). Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 No, there is no prophecy. The Buddha was turned into an avatar (which is a common thing in India) sometime during the 5th century AD. Avatar lists of Vishnu can be found in all Puranas and sometimes more than once in the same Purana. Many of them do not list the Buddha as an avatar. They directly jump from the 8th avatar Krishna to Kalki. Besides some of the alleged prohecies are pure garbage. For instance, there is reference to a Buddha in the Bhagavata Purana, which does not sound anything like the real Buddha, not to mention that his mother's name and origin are also incorrect. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 I have a questing about budda. He is considered the 9th avtar of Lord Vishnu. For some reason I thought that Lord Vishnu incarnates only once in each yuga, if that is true that what about Kalki Avtar. It would be great if someone can also tell me if Budda is mentioned in any of the earlier scripture (as a prophacy, like kalki bhagwan). Thanks I don't think Gautama Buddha is an avatar. However, if you wish to know "Buddhist-like" Avatar in Hindusm, I suggest Vamana Avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Buddha is considered an avatar by myself, not as one who taught "wrong things" or whatever it may be.... Buddha is an avatar of Vishnu because he preached a teaching that has led people away from mindless rituals. the power and influence of brahmins were at its height then and the people simply did rituals as pescribed and not with any goodness of mind. They werent mentally devout, they were physically devout. At that time, there were only two real roads to go. Physical devotion to the social setup (castes), using a mediator to access god (brahmins), just doing rituals to hope for the best rather than improving oneself to make themselves better. The other road was firm asceticism. Buddha taught that there was a middle way between these. Although his teaching is the foundation of Buddhist reliogion and philosophy, which those here may not agree with. i also dont agree with all Buddhist philosophy. But that doesnt change the divinty of Buddha himself and shouldnt influence the level of respect we give Buddha. One cannot hate on Jesus because of the atrocities caused by the European colonists. Jesus had nothing to do with that. In the same way, one cannot dislike Buddha because they dislike Buddhists or Buddhists teaching/philosophy Due to the influence and impact that Buddha had on his respective society and how much for the better he brought his society, I would have to say that Buddha is another important avatar of the Lord. -------- As for Vamana, I do believe the avatar symbolizes the extent of Vaishnavite influence and infiltration into South India during the mid 1st millenium BC. It gives justification for Brahmin rule and respect within a non-Brahmanical framework in indigeoneous Tamil south India. Is this bad? not neccessarily. Is Vamana fake? NO Should he not be worshipped? thats up to you and your take on whether Vaishnavism was good or bad for the Tamil culture. Does this discredit Hinduism in any way? No Is this a true descriptiuon of the avatar? Perhaps. It definately makes ALOT of sense and is not so far fetched. But i cannot be sure since I wasnt there during the time of the North Indian cultural influence into South India. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 by Ratheesh Buddha is considered an avatar by myself, not as one who taught "wrong things" or whatever it may be.... Buddha is an avatar of Vishnu because he preached a teaching that has led people away from mindless rituals. the power and influence of brahmins were at its height then and the people simply did rituals as pescribed and not with any goodness of mind. They werent mentally devout, they were physically devout. Hmm ... Maybe. I cannot disagree with this. As for Vamana, I do believe the avatar symbolizes the extent of Vaishnavite influence and infiltration into South India during the mid 1st millenium BC. It gives justification for Brahmin rule and respect within a non-Brahmanical framework in indigeoneous Tamil south India. Personally, I believe Vamana Avatar is the First Buddha. According to Sutras (Words written by His followers - known as Smirti by Hindus), Gautama Buddha mentioned that He was NOT the first Buddha to come to this World nor will He be the last One. I believe Vamana Avatar is the first Buddha - taken direct form by Vishnu to bring order in other ways other than through Violence (He did it by putting down firm standing ... with respect to His strides ). The way Vamana Avatar born, lived and work for benefits of others is similar to what Buddhists monks are doing today. Vamana Avatar didn't just went around stepping on people's heads (Ahem) nor did He favour the Dewas over Asuras or vice versa. He delivered a fair judgement to all - Heavens return back to the Dewas, Netherworld is given to Asuras and Pact with Him is established and the World of Man is return back to Man. To me, that is what Gautama Buddha and Vamana Avatar have in common (except Gautama Buddha didn't step on anyone's head). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Buddha is an avatar of Vishnu because he preached a teaching that has led people away from mindless rituals. the power and influence of brahmins were at its height then and the people simply did rituals as pescribed and not with any goodness of mind. Interestingly, history books discussing early Jain & Buddhist literature, suggest the Brahmana factor was not as big as is made out in the avatar stories. These texts mention and debate with other contemporary systems of their time, of which Brahmana religion does not get any special attention. To the Buddhist/Jain authors, it was just another of the many (~63) religious beliefs that existed during that time. Based on these sources, it may not be true that the Buddha's primary goal was to rebel against Brahmana atrocity. Winternitz and Nakamura are good sources of these details. Both are out of print although they should be available in libraries and stores specializing in out of print books. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 To add, it is not clear what impact Buddhism had on the practice of vedic style animal sacrifice by the Brahmanas. Madhva who lived as late as in the 13th century - as per his biography - forecefully argues with people of his community and replaces live animals with flour animals for sacrifice, thus indicating this practise still existed during his time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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