in whom do we trust?

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam,

Well, Mike, have our answers been helpful at all? It's always nice to get some feedback to our efforts.

On a side note, not all sects within Sanatana dharma believe in the concept of avatar at all, let alone whether or not Buddha is one.

Aum Namasivaya

[Stefos]

Hello Mike, Namaste

The 'self' of Buddhism is not the same as the 'Self' of SanAtan Dharma, Hinduism.

For Buddhism, 'self' is your current personality. Obviously it is transient, changing. From moment to moment, year to year, birth to birth. It is this 'self' that one should not be attached to, and this is the momentariness of Buddhism. Sort out everything that changes, as that is not shAswat (eternal), and hence not the ultimate to worry about.

This is what vedAnta says as well. The difference? vedAnta focuses on "then what is it that is unchanging, THAT, which remains when you sift out everything that is changing?"

Buddha taught nothing but vedAnta, except he focused on the transient, what to sift out, what NOT to do, it is the same neti-neti. The difference? He stayed silent about BhagavAn, Brahman, THAT, He, Self, and its Glories,
THAT which remains after SiddhArtha Gautam Buddha's original instructions are followed. He did not mention WHAT REMAINS. He just said -- "Sift this and this out, and that and this"

According to me, Buddha's teachings were distorted when Buddhism left India OR people started focusing on the "tarka", the conclusion, rather than the process. Buddha wanted people to focus on the process. Because He did not think the people in his fold in those times were ready for the conclusion. Thus He engaged the atheists in spirituality and goodness, pious living.

In Hinduism or SanAtan Dharma, Buddha is considered an avatAr of BhagvAn VishNu.

om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya

Hi Smaranam,

I can say that what you posted is quite true.

I'm not sure about Buddha being an avatar of Bhagavan Vishnu however.

I can definitely confirm that many Buddhists talk about the conclusion but there is no real uniformity regarding the process.
From Zen to Theravada to Dzogchen to Pure Land........No clear process is laid out as the definitive Buddhadharma for all of them.....and this is a glaring problem with Buddhadharma actually!

I posted on a Buddhist forum and they avoided my questions regarding 2 key areas:
1. No uniform process to reach Enlightenment! Every tradition does what it sees fit
2. No acknowledging of any meditational accomplishments outside the Buddhist fold! As if Shakyamuni Buddha lived in a vacuum or something...very strange.

Thank you & Namaste,
Stefos