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Gautama Buddha is mentioned as an Avatar of Vishnu in the Puranic texts of Hinduism. In the Bhagavata Purana he is twenty fourth of twenty five avatars, prefiguring a forthcoming final incarnation. A number of Hindu traditions portray Buddha as the most recent of ten principal avatars, known as the "Dasavatara" (Ten Incarnations of God).

However, Siddhartha Gautama's teachings do not confirm the existence of the Creator God and consequently Buddhism falls under one of the nāstika (heterodox, literally "It is not so") schools according to other Dharmic schools, such as Dvaita. Other schools, such as Advaita, are very similar to Buddhism in nature and philosophy.

Views of the Buddha in Hinduism

Due to the diversity of traditions within Hinduism there is no specific viewpoint or consensus on Buddha's exact position in reference to the Vedic tradition. According to popular Hindu beliefs, in the age of Kali Yuga the general populace become more ignorant in regards to spiritual values and religious life. There is a belief that at the time of Buddha's arrival many of the Brahmins in India were abusing the Vedic system for their own selfish purposes, and were especially involved in needless animal sacrifices, and that as a result Buddha appeared as an avatar to readdress the balance.

A number of prominent proponents of Hinduism, such as Gandhi and Vivekananda, consider Buddha as a much-needed reformer for the Vedic Religion of the time and for mankind in general.

When we read Buddha's discourses, we are impressed by his spirit of reason. His ethical path has for its first step right views, a rational outlook. He endeavors to brush aside all cobwebs that interfere with mankind's vision of itself and its destiny.-- Dr. S Radhakrishnan

In the Khuddaka Patha(1:38), Buddha is one who "burns the jungle of views" and lays the path clear, so that the seed of true merit (punya) may be planted.

Different traditions within Hinduism each have their own subtly different perspectives on Buddha's teachings and their relevance after this time period. Teachers from the Advaita schools are more likely to see Buddhism as being eternally relevant, due to the philosophical similarities between the schools, whereas the Dvaita and bhakti traditions more commonly view Buddha's teachings as being relevant to that specific time period only. Within Hinduism, avatars such as Rama or Krishna are popularly worshipped as the Supreme God, but it is much less common to find Buddha the avatar being worshipped by Hindus in the same way.

Reaction to reforms instigated by the Buddha within Hinduism

A number of revolutionary figures in modern Indian history, including Vivekananda, Gandhi and Ambedkar, have been inspired by the life and teachings of Buddha and many of his attempted reforms.

Many Hindu scholars are of the opinion that Buddhism should be regarded as "reformed Hinduism", and many Hindus believe that Buddhism, like Vaisheṣhika and Lokāyata, is one of the sects of Sanatana Dharma. According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Buddha did not look upon himself as an innovator, but only a restorer of the way of the Upanishads.

Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda wrote in glowing terms about Buddha, and visited Bodh Gaya several times.

Buddhism even finds favor in contemporary Hindutva movement, with Lama Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama being honored at Hindu events, like the Vishva Hindu Parishad's second World Hindu Conference in Allahabad in 1979.

Buddha's teachings on God

Some Hindu traditions refer to Buddha as a nāstika. However, the majority of traditions which follow the Puranic texts would treat the above statement as scripturally incorrect, with Buddha clearly listed among the forthcoming avatars of the Kali-yuga. Even though a majority of Hindu schools accept Buddha as an avatar, his teachings are sometimes considered to be a form of atheism when taken as being against the belief in the Creator God.

The Buddha in Hindu scriptures

Amongst the Puranic texts he is mentioned as one of the ten Avataras:

The Buddha is described in important Hindu scriptures, including the Puranas. A partial list of Puranas mentioning the Buddha is as follows:

• Harivamsha (1.41)
• Vishnu Purana (3.18)
• Bhagavata Purana (1.3.24, 2.7.37, 11.4.23)
• Garuda Purana (1.1)
• Agni Purana (16)
• Narada Purana (2.72)
• Linga Purana (2.71)
• Padma Purana (3.252) etc. (Dhere Ramchandra Chintaman)

Other important scriptures which mention him is an Avatar are Rishi Parashara's Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (2:1-5/7), while the Amarakosha-grantha, a Sanskrit dictionary, lists many of the names and epithets by which the Buddha is traditionally known.

During the Gupta dynasty, one of the nine gems of the court of the king, Amarasimha, the Buddhist author of the Amarakosha refers to the Buddha in his dictionary thus:

sarvajñaḥ sugato buddho dharmarājas tathāgataḥ |

samantabhadro bhagavān marajil-lokajij-jinaḥ ||

ṣaḍabhijño daśabalo ’dvayavādī vināyakaḥ |

munīndraḥ śrighanaḥ śāstā muniḥ śākyamunis tu yaḥ ||

sa śākyasiṃhaḥ sarvārthasiddhaḥ śauddhodaniś ca saḥ |

gatamaś cā 'rkabandhuś ca māyadevīsutaś ca saḥ

Translation: He who is the All-knowing One, the One who has Well-gone, awakened, the King of Righteousness, the One who has Thus Gone, Universal Goodness, the Blessed One, the Conqueror of the Demon Mara, the Conqueror of the Worlds, the Victorious One, the Possessor of the Six Supernatural Knowledges, the Possessor of the Ten Strengths, the Speaker of Non-dualism, the Guide, the Lord of Sages, the Auspicious One, the Teacher, the Sage and the Sage of the Śākya Clan -- that one is the Lion of the Śākya clan, He who has accomplished all goals, the Son of Śuddhodana, Gautama, the Kinsman of Scholars and the Son of Mayadevi. .

In some of the Puranas, he is described as having taken birth to "mislead the demons":

mohanārthaṃ dānavānāṃ bālarūpī pathi-sthitaḥ |

putraṃ taṃ kalpayām āsa mūḍha-buddhir jinaḥ svayam ||

tataḥ saṃmohayām āsa jinādyān asurāṃśakān |

bhagavān vāgbhir ugrābhir ahiṃsā-vācibhir hariḥ ||

- attributed to Brahmanda Purana

Translation: In order to delude the demons, he (Lord Buddha) was present in the form of a child on the way while the foolish Jina (a demon), imagined him to be his son. Later on, Lord Sri Hari (as avatara-buddha) expertly deluded Jina and other demons by his strong words of non-violence.

The name of the Buddha appears in the verse that describes the ten avataras in Srimad Bhagavatam:

matsya-kūrmo varāhaś ca nṛsiṃha-vāmanas tathā |

rāmo rāmaś ca rāmaś ca buddha-kalkiś ca te daśāḥ ||

The Buddha is said to have taken birth to restore the devas to power:

tataḥ kalau sampravṛtte sammohāya sura-dviṣām |

buddho nāmnāñjana-sutaḥ kīkateṣu bhaviṣyati ||

- (srimad-bhagavatam 1.3.24)

Translation: Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga will become the Buddha by name, the son of Anjana, in Bihar, for the purpose of confusing those who were enemies of the devas.

Reactions & viewpoints within Buddhism

Buddhism does not confirm the existence of the Creator God. Hinduism believes in the Creator God. Moreover, Hinduism accepts the Buddha as an incarnation of God. Adherents of Buddhist philosophy do not accept any being, mortal or celestial, to be either equivalent or superior to fully awakened Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. This is sometimes seen as conflicting with the Hindu view of the Buddha being an avatar of the greater God.

The oldest school of philosophy in Buddhism as preached by the Buddha is known as Theravada Buddhism or Hinayana Buddhism. Adherents of Theravada Buddhism do not perform puja to deities of the Buddha. In addition the adherents of Theravada Buddhism also do not believe in the Bodhisattvas. The various schools of Mahayana Buddhism, on the other hand, consider the Buddha as the supreme soul or the highest being, akin to the Brahman of Hinduism and worship him in the form of images and icons.

Buddha is said to be a knower of the Veda (vedajña) or of the Vedanta (vedântajña) (Sa.myutta, i. 168) and (Sutta Nipâta, 463).

See also

• Buddhism and Hinduism
• God in Buddhism
• Yoga
• Brahman
• Adibuddha
• Brahmavihara
• Dharmic Religions

References

1. Bhagavata Purana, Canto 1, Chapter 3 - SB 1.3.24: "Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist." ... SB 1.3.28: "All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord "
3. Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same? by David Loy, National Univ. of Singapore (p69-p70): "The similarities between Mahayana and Advaita Vedanta have been much noticed; they are so great that some commentators conceive of the two as different stages of the same system. Curiously, both Shankara and his predecessor Gaudapada were accused of being crypto-Buddhists, while on the other side, Theravadins criticized Mahayana for being a degeneration back into Hinduism."
4. Bhag-P 12.2.1 The Symptoms of Kali-Yuga
5. Lecture 1974 "Because people were addicted so much in violence, in killing the animals, therefore Buddha philosophy was needed"'
6. Mahatma Gandhi and Buddhism
7. e.g., John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon): Shakti and Shakta. Koenraad Elst: Who is a Hindu (2001). Christian Lindtner: “From Brahmanism to Buddhism”, Asian Philosophy, 1999
8. Radhakrishnan: Indian Philosophy, vol.2, p.469.
9. Sister Nivedita: The Master as I Saw Him. Koenraad Elst 2001: Who is a Hindu
10. McKean, Lise: Divine Enterprise. Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement. Chicago University Press, 1996. Elst, Koenraad: Who is a Hindu (2001)
11. Bhagavata Purana 1.3.24
12. Dhere Ramchandra Chintaman, Shri Vitthal: ek maha samanvaya, Shri Vidya Prakashan, Pune, 1984 (Marathi)
13. Bhagavata Purana 1.3.24
14. Hinduism and Buddhism by V Jayaram

External links

• Buddha: The Refiner of Hinduism? (hinduism.about.com)
• The Buddha as an Avatar of Vishnu (article by A. Seshan)
• Are Buddhists Hindus? (voiceofdharma.com)
• Mahatma Gandhi and Buddhism (pdf file)

v t e Avatars of Vishnu
Dashavatara (for example)	Matsya Kurma Varaha Narasimha Vamana Parashurama Rama Balarama Krishna Buddha Kalki
Other avatars	Four Kumaras Narada Nara-Narayana Kapila Dattatreya Yajna Rishabha Prithu Dhanvantari Mohini Vyasa Prsnigarbha Hayagriva Hamsa
The list of the "ten avatars" varies regionally. Two substitutions involve Balarama, Krishna, and Buddha. Krishna is almost always included; in exceptions, he is considered the source of all avatars.

• Comparative Buddhism
• Forms of Vishnu