Nalanda University reopens after hundreds of years!

[DarkSeid]

Wow, is that Sinhalese? If it is then it sounds like Sanskrit

No, it's Pali. But Sinhalese language was influenced by Pali & Sanskrit.
Sinhalese equivalent is "Mama Budun Sarana yami".

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Ya, that's something not easily understood by the West or by the followers of the Abrahamic religions. I remember hearing about a survey where about 70%-80% of those polled in Japan said that ther religion was Shinto and a similar number said the same about Buddhism. Exclusivity in religion is more an Abrahamic concept, not as much in the eastern religions.

There is a very important philosophical concept in Hinduism, some consider it to be an underlying concept.
It says: .....neti,neti......
Which has been translated commonly as: ....not this, not this..... (though some translate that as: not yet final, not yet complete).
In other words: Hindu philosophy of Faith, of Belief; accepts "uncertainty" as an underlying principle. While the Abrahamic Religions stand on the idea of: finality, of a conclusion. That rules out inclusiveness, and disallows disagreement. Hence the idea(s) of Apostasy and Blasphemy were born, with all their ramifications.

As S.Radhakrishnan explains: therefore Hinduism does not demand certainty. He has said there has never been 'a uniform, stationary, unalterable Hinduism; whether in Belief or in Practice' and Hinduism 'is a movement, not a position; a process not a result; a growing tradition not a fixed revelation'.
Thus Hinduism accepts all; the faithful and the faithless; the believer and the disbeliever, the gnostic the agnostic and the atheist, all of them.
These considerations and traits seem to be common across all Dharmic Religious philosophies. Buddhism certainly too.

 

[DARIUS]

I heard that in parts of China the Buddha is referred to as the Amitabha because of the reddish complexion of the Buddha of Compassion!!! Is this true??

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

I heard that in parts of China the Buddha is referred to as the Amitabha because of the reddish complexion of the Buddha of Compassion!!! Is this true??

I don't know about the reddish complexion part, but we definitely do call him "阿彌陀佛" (Amitabha Buddha).

Amitabha supposedly means "Infinite light" which is why we use the term "無量光佛" (Buddha of Infinite Light).

It's also translated as the "Buddha of the Western paradise" (Western paradise referring to the Indian subcontinent).

 

[Capt.Popeye]

The Abrahamic faith and it's more strict adherents are ignorant of the nuances of the Eastern philosophies.

because greed, love and compassion are timeless values.
Those extremist Buddhist Monks needs to go back and examine the teachings of Buddha again

Why only those guys???
All of us need to reflect on our beliefs....... Faith was not intended to be a stationary, unchanging thing. Look around us: even Nature has not stood still, continously changing and evolving.
How can we be immune then?

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Not just to the caste system, Buddha was contemtuous of Brahmins and of all the religious sacrifices that took place (direct challenge to the Brahmin's livelihood), he didn't think much of the vedas either. His philosophy (along with Mahavira's) was a direct challenge to the established order and the support they got essentially undermined the priesthood since the followers tended to be rich city dwellers who were the primary targetto perform sacrifices for.

Not exactly Brahmins primarily - but the rituals. The rituals had their own meaning, but it became ritual for ritual's sake. There was a lack of simplicity. And the caste system had solidified. And the sacrifices! Thank God we reformed. We need to reform more, <- this is my opinion though.

Very. Most people have no idea how the Buddha came to be an avatar of Vishnu.

I don't know. How?

clear heresy under Islam and Christianity of course

Sssshhhhh

Wrong on all counts . Invaders did not discriminate between Hindus/Buddhists or anybody for once . Secondly death of Buddhism in India has much more to do with Hindus than with Islamic invaders . Read about Collapse of Harsha Empire and how it spelled doom for Buddhist . And then comes effects of invasion .

It started with the White Huns. This lead to the destruction of Taxila - the premier hub of Buddhism.
Then after lack of state patronage post Harsha Empire and Guptas, Buddhism went into slow and steady decline. Indian history states the reason was 'Brahmanism'. Anyway, even post Shankaracharya, there were many followers - they were decimanted by the 'Invaders' culminating with the destruction of Nalanda. After that there remained only individual pockets.

Why only those guys???
All of us need to reflect on our beliefs....... Faith was not intended to be a stationary, unchanging thing. Look around us: even Nature has not stood still, continously changing and evolving.
How can we be immune then?

Very true. We have and should continue to change.

Don't you think the Hindu tolerance is a bit 'overrated.'

Depends. Everything is relative. In a global context it is not overrateed at all. Hindus are among the most tolerant. But on a more local level there have been Hindu kings, generals and religious head who have shown intolerance. But the extent of intolerance is far different from Abrahamic faiths.

@scorpionx dada and @Joe Shearer sir - pls check this thread.

 

[DarkSeid]

One, Gautam Buddha was himself a hindu prince , Sidharth was his name.
Two, buddhism and hinduism both emphasize on non violence and compassion towards other living beings.
Three, both the religion stress on karma.
Four, like hinduism buddhism also believes in transmigration of souls,cycles of birth and death.
Buddhism is hinduism sans its elaborate rituals.
Ask me and I would say hinduism is a science that I live by and I would hate to call it a religion....hinduism is a way of life and so is buddhism.

Agree to the points. But one cannot simply say 'Buddhism branched out of hinduism'.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Depends. You can argue it either way. Hinduism had schools of thoughts (and was influenced by) similar to Buddhist thought. Atheism is not completely an unknown concept within Hinduism.

In fact Atheism is considered to be one of six ways of thinking in Sanatan Dharma, and perfectly acceptable at that!

 

[Bang Galore]

Don't you think the Hindu tolerance is a bit 'overrated.'

Depends. On what you are comparing it to. Most look at a lack of interest in opposing different gods but that is to be expected in a faith open to polytheism. On the other hand, it was extraordinarily intolerant to some of its adherents. If Hinduism is deemed tolerant, it has to be understood in terms of what the competition was like. Some Hindu thought could be extraordinarily tolerant & deep but actual practice was a completely different matter.

Did caste system exist at the time of buddha??

It did.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Agree to the points. But one cannot simply say 'Buddhism branched out of hinduism'.

'Branching out' is our perception. It need not be your perception. We are comfortable with each other's beliefs. If you think Buddhism is entirely diff (I know you don't but let's just say), no one will take much offence. There are similarities, there has been a great deal of mixing and intermingling. You can call them sister faiths or anything else if you wish. This is the advantage with eastern faiths. Buddhism is incomplete without reference to Hinduism as is Hinduism without Buddhism. This is a bond we share, something that is so foreign to so many.

 

[Yogijaat]

Depends. On what you are comparing it to. Most look at alack of interest in opposing different gods but that is to be expected in a faith open to polytheism. On the other hand, it was extraordinarily intolerant to some of its adherents. If Hinduism is deemed tolerant, it has to be understood in terms of what the competition was like. Hindu thought could be extraordinarily tolerant & deep but actual practice was a completely different matter.



It did.

I thought it was implemented at the time of Chandragupta and chanakya and if Ashoka was buddhist why he didn't abolish the cast system??

 

[Chronos]

@Bang Galore @SarthakGanguly @Capt.Popeye

engaging discussion gentlemen. One of the more refined conversations here. I take my leave of you know. Got to hit the hay

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Depends. On what you are comparing it to. Most look at alack of interest in opposing different gods but that is to be expected in a faith open to polytheism. On the other hand, it was extraordinarily intolerant to some of its adherents. If Hinduism is deemed tolerant, it has to be understood in terms of what the competition was like. Hindu thought could be extraordinarily tolerant & deep but actual practice was a completely different matter.



It did.

Your first part was exactly similar to mine!!! Intellectual theft

BTW - this thread got positive vibes

I thought it was implemented at the time of Chandragupta and chanakya and if Ashoka was buddhist why he didn't abolish the cast system??

Caste system was there. In fact it had become far more rigid.

 

[Bang Galore]

One, Gautam Buddha was himself a hindu prince , Sidharth was his name.

That's a bit like claiming Jesus was Judaism's greatest success story.

Two, buddhism and hinduism both emphasize on non violence and compassion towards other living beings.

Not really. Hinduism at that time relied heavily on animal sacrifices & Buddha was himself a non-vegetarian (partial to pork) and there was no ban on eating meat. That thought came from the Jains

 

[TejasMk3]

BTW - this thread got positive vibes

Yup! A thread that turned religious, but had zero trolling, and interesting discussions.... on pdf! Buddha truly is great!


Regarding Buddha being a Vishnu Avatar, there are many puranas that talk about a "buddha" perhaps there are many people called buddhas...it basically refers to enlightened/learned ones.

Here is one that I remember SB 1.3.24 | Bhaktivedanta Vedabase Online