What Hindu Gods can go with Buddhism?

DaftChris

Although my religion/philosophy is Buddhism, I also draw inspiration and rituals from Hinduism. I'm currently making an alter (Tibetan) and I would like to know:

1.) What items are usually required for a Tibetan alter?

2.) What Hindu gods can go with with Buddhism? I want the Buddha to be accompanied.

taiyaki

Indra!

caz

Hindu deities are to be respected but they shouldn't be placed on the same alter as Buddha because these deities are worldly gods and not appropriate objects of refuge.

how

I find Kali with a side order of chaos can bring some teaching to a Buddhist but I'd keep the meeting to a one off affair.
I'd also let the Buddha arrange his own dates.

vinlyn

@DaftChris, I think you're asking the wrong question.

What Hindu god do you believe in? And why?

Jason

DaftChris said:

2.) What Hindu gods can go with with Buddhism? I want the Buddha to be accompanied.

Definitely Vishnu.

lobster

What Hindu gods can go with with Buddhism? I want the Buddha to be accompanied.

Ganesh is on the side of my alter and is a tantric deity. A protector of Buddhism.
Tara is a manifestation of Kali/Durgha.
Do you have any favourites you wish to include?

OM GAM GANAPATAYA NAMAHA

DaftChris

@lobster @vinlyn

I like Ganesha and Kali.

@Jason

I've heard of Buddha being an incarnation of Vishnu. Good suggestion.

lobster

. . . and they all lived happily ever after . . .
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kankiten-idaten-other-tenbu.html

jll

i think you ask the wrong question.
the correct question is,
'What hindu gods can buddhism go without?'
answer: shiva, ganesh, kali, etc.

DaftChris said:

Although my religion/philosophy is Buddhism, I also draw inspiration and rituals from Hinduism. I'm currently making an alter (Tibetan) and I would like to know:

1.) What items are usually required for a Tibetan alter?

2.) What Hindu gods can go with with Buddhism? I want the Buddha to be accompanied.

buddhakai

I think this a large problem plaguing many aspiring buddhists. Let go of the altar if you feel it is necessary. So many people get caught up in having Malas and statues and figurines, robes, teas, incense, bells etc. and the point is to be able to heighten your awareness. If you find things that help you to focus on that, then sure use them. But don't let your practice hinge on them. The idea is to have your practice integrate with your daily life. When we get so entrenched in the dogma surrounding these ideas, it is very easy to lose sight of the path. Just be cautious and know your true aim is all I'm saying. I myself have many trinkets and a mala and all of those things. But they mean nothing to me as far as my practice. I can practice anytime, anywhere, in any environment, hell I've even carried on conversations with my wife during my sitting meditations.

FoibleFull

My teacher (one of the Dalai Lama's monks) advises the altar have:
- a picture or statue of the Buddha
- a candle
- a water bowl (or any odd number up to 7 bowls)
- a flower
- an offering of food
- incense

As for Hindu gods ... none of them fit into Buddhism. Buddhism is about what lies inside you, not about outside higher powers.
Whenever anyone in Buddhism class asks about god(s), our lama shrugs his shoulders and says "Who knows? It's not really a topic of Buddhism."

I was raised by a woman who had been a primary student of Yogananda, so I am more than familiar with the Hindu gods. Hinduism and Buddhism look similar on the outside, but the differences are actually quite significant.

lobster

I was raised by a woman who had been a primary student of Yogananda, so I am more than familiar with the Hindu gods. Hinduism and Buddhism look similar on the outside, but the differences are actually quite significant.

I was raised by tara. She says the similarities are more significant.
http://www.wildmind.org/mantras/figures/greentara

andyrobyn

Jason said:

DaftChris said:

2.) What Hindu gods can go with with Buddhism? I want the Buddha to be accompanied.

Definitely Vishnu.

Radha - definately, she had Vishnu as a consort and they were usually depicted together.

misecmisc1

in Hinduism, everything comes back to Matter and Consciousness. Matter is referred to as Prakriti and Consciousness is referred to as Purusha. Prakriti is Shakti or Parvati. Purusha is Shiva. The meeting of Shakti with Shiva is the end objective of Kundalini Awakening. Shiva and Shakti are one and are two forms of the same.

As far as Hindu mythology which i have read, the story goes like this - initially there was a sound AUM which is Shiva and except this it was sunyata(emptiness) everywhere - then Shiva decided to manifest itself - so from that AUM sound vibration, the matter or Shakti arose - then Shiva created Brahma for the creation of world and Vishnu for the protector and runner of the world. Then Brahma created the universe - which was basically using matter - Prakriti or Shakti. The other Gods and Goddesses, all life forms were then created by Brahma using matter - Prakriti and the Consciousness splitted from Shiva. The individuation of consciousness being covered by material body - created ignorance leading to egotism, leading to attachment and aversion creating this whole Samsara.

So that is why, the ultimate goal of human life as described in Bhagwad Geeta, is Self-Realization and Yoga describes it as the meeting of Shakti back with Shiva at crown chakra at the last stage of Kundalini Awakening, to end this Samsara for that splitted consciousness, by getting that splitted Consicousness merging back into Universal Consciousness.

andyrobyn

My Hindu friends who practice Bhakti yoga describe the romance RadhaKrishna as symbolizing the meaning of life - a deeply philosophical story about origin of matter and emotions with direct practical application.

lobster

Some say Buddhism is a reform of Hinduism . . . they are both dharmic
"I do not regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism."
Ghandhi

Is the Pope a Catholic? (not even sure he is a Christian)
Is the Dalai Lama a Hindu? :scratch:

. . . and now back to the Buddhist shrine with a chalice, rose and pic of Mary on it . . . one of my old ‘not quite Buddhist’ sites . . .
ah well My shrine. My karma.

May all be Blessed

David

Jason said:

DaftChris said:

2.) What Hindu gods can go with with Buddhism? I want the Buddha to be accompanied.

Definitely Vishnu.

That's my feeling as well. Afterall, Buddha was taken to be a god himself in Krishnas' lineage. Some even feel that Jesus was the next avatar of Vishnu after Buddha.

For some reason it strikes me that Vishnu would make the most sense in relation to Buddhism but only if we are all Vishnu. Waking up could then be to see that we are Vishnu but that we were even before Vishnu... If that makes any sense.

Sorry to go off topic but yeah... Vishnu is my pick for the alter. Maybe the whole Trimurti bowing to Buddha.

The Tibetan alter at the Burlington Sangha close to me even has Yoda.

music

Why Vishnu, specifically? Why not siva or brahma?

David

Because Vishnu is the preserver of wisdom and the aspect of Brahman that manifests as a living being.

person

I wouldn't worry so much about metaphysical compatability or anything like that, the important thing is your mind so if you feel like you want something pick something that inspires your practice.

Jason

music said:

Why Vishnu, specifically? Why not siva or brahma?

Because some started considering the Buddha to be an avatar of Vishnu some time around the 8th century. In this sense, the Buddha was often seen by many outside of Buddhism (and even some within) as simply a reformer of the Vedic religions — to apparently straighten out the Brahmins — but without ever directly referencing his supposedly divine nature, being associated with promoting non-violence (ahimsa) in contrast to the Brahmins and their ritual animal sacrifices (e.g., see DN 5).

Dakini

@DaftChris Kali is Tara. I've just begun reading some scholarship that discusses how the Hindu protector deities morphed into the Tibetan equivalent. I'll get back to you after I read the book. But Tara/Kali is a good choice.

Jeffrey

Isn't Kali death and destruction and Tara compassion. That doesn't make sense. Tara is the female Buddha.

caz

Jeffrey said:

Isn't Kali death and destruction and Tara compassion. That doesn't make sense. Tara is the female Buddha.

Thats because Tara is not Kali.

andyrobyn

In the words of a poet -

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
Rumi

Dakini

Jeffrey said:

Isn't Kali death and destruction and Tara compassion. That doesn't make sense. Tara is the female Buddha.

Kali has a tantric aspect, and so does Tara. They both are aspects of Shakti.

Jeffrey

Tara is the female Buddha. Kali is a consort of Shiva.

The Buddha is not an image of Shiva. Unless you are a Shivite of course. Then Jesus is also Shiva.

Jeffrey

The Buddha does consume the obstacles to learning dharma though. There is a fire in us that simply burns up obstacles such as attachment. That's what the fire puja is about.

Just making conjectures, this isn't based on a text teaching solidly enough to say that I am just being intuitive with some basis in studies.

Takuan

I've heard of some Tibetan Buddhists that are devotees of Ganesh, but that's really about it in my experience.

caz

Takuan said:

I've heard of some Tibetan Buddhists that are devotees of Ganesh, but that's really about it in my experience.

There is a Buddhist form of Ganesh Known as Ganapati If im not mistaken, An emanation of a Buddha in order to counter act the worldly deity.

TheEccentric

Is it neccesary to believein Hindu gods because i don't believe in any of that stuff or want to have to worry about displeasing a god

vinlyn

No, it is nonsense to think one has to believe in Hinduism to be Buddhist.

caz

TheEccentric said:

Is it neccesary to believein Hindu gods because i don't believe in any of that stuff or want to have to worry about displeasing a god

Its no necessary but its better to keep an open mind about hidden phenomena.

Jason

TheEccentric said:

Is it neccesary to believein Hindu gods because i don't believe in any of that stuff or want to have to worry about displeasing a god

No, not at all (e.g., see this). But Buddhism has traditionally respected the deities of local cultures, as well as people's beliefs in them, adopting many into Buddhist mythology as protectors of the Dhamma. In the Pali Canon, for example, one can find things like DN 20, which is essentially a tribute to many of the heavenly beings and nature spirits known in ancient India at the time.

As for whether the Buddha himself accepted their existence, his many interactions with them in the Suttas and MN 100 seems to suggest that he did, although Prof. David Kalupahana suggests in Buddhist Philosophy the Buddha took a more nuanced position in MN 100 than a lot of traditionalists believe:

A careful study of these concepts of heaven and hell, gods and evil spirits, reveals that they were accepted in Buddhism as regulative ideas or concepts only. The fact that they are merely theories based on speculation is well brought out it certain statements by the Buddha. To a Brahman who questioned the Buddha as to whether there are gods, he replied, "It is not so." When asked whether there are no gods, the Buddha's reply was the same, "It is not so." And finally to the Brahman who was baffled by these replies, the Buddha said, "The world, O Brahman, is loud in agreement that there are gods" (ucce sammatam kho etam brahmana lokasmin yadidam atthi devati).

lobster

TheEccentric said:

Is it neccesary to believein Hindu gods because i don't believe in any of that stuff or want to have to worry about displeasing a god

You have to work very hard to displease gods. Apart from the pastafarian flying speghetti monster, who loses his noodle if anyone starts worshipping his Holy Sauciness.

:wave:

gouraff

Here is what I have read about how Buddha looked.

But before moving away from his palace, he looked more like Ri¢hie Ri¢h Prince with ornaments all over his body. LOL

federica

@gouraff, Thread is over 4 years old.
Read here, thanks!