Forums → WEPR → Who is Buddha?

well i know some of the hindu ,
so i also know a bit about buddha
there are 2 kinds of indians faith's, i don't know the name but i do know what they believe in,
the first faith of the hindu believes in the bible, just like christians, its almost the same but they act diffrent than the christian faith.
the second faith of the hindu's is they believe in statues and more gods, like buddha, and krishna.
so they actually make an statue of god's, who they see as god

and i see buddha as.. a child's fantasy too tell the truth... (no offence)

^^ Well, first of all, Hindus do not believe in the bible, AND their are polytheistic. (which means that they believe in many Gods.) The Hindu "Holy books" were the Vedas and the Upanishads. Hmmm, don't really know where you got that. Hindus also do not follow the Buddha as I know it. Buddhism came after Hinduism, but they still don't follow those beliefs.

Buddhism is more of a lifestyle than a religion, but still has religious aspects. Buddhism started when Siddhartha Guatama went on a spiritual journey to seek enlightenment. After awhile, while meditating under a tree, he claimed to have achieved the understanding of the cause of world suffering. He was then known as the Buddha (Enlightened one)

~Strider~

well mine aunt came from india and she said the hindu do believe in the bible, well an part of it,
they wear an mark, you know that circle on their head? thats the sign you believe in the bible, and the colour of it is saying in what clan,
or els search on wikipedia i geuss..

Wikipedia is WRONG!!!! Did you know I could go on there and change it all up? I really don't think you should base knowledge off of a site like that. So your aunt came from India, but is she Indian? Or was she there on vacation? Anyway, this may be a recent occurance, but anyone can believe parts of different religions.

~Strider~

she is born in india, she barely can speak dutch.. i hardley understand, but mine mom can explain.. lucky for me.. i believe the story about buddha cuz i remember that also.. a bit of it.. but if mine aunt tells me that there is an part of hindu's that believes in the bible and she even have an own bible in her handbag when she comes over, i geuss i have too believe it,

Well, you don't have to believe it, but I am saying that she is a buddhist, but she chooses to believe parts of the bible. From what I know, Buddhism doesn't traditionally believe in the bible. Of course, I could be wrong....

~Strider~

well, it actually is the same as the bible, i had the same thought's as you but its true, i thought it was more like statues and those pictures with strange gods on it but there was also one that believes in the bible, thats why some wear an circle on their head, mine mom and mine aunt got an red circle but i forgot what it means.. there's also an blue one if i'm right,

i've also been in surinam and i got family there, i stayed with mine family an few weeks, and also met the neighbours.
the strange thing i noticed was that the neighbours had pictures of krishna and buddha and we didn't.
mine aunt said if i would become one of them she would beat me up :P
but that was like 6 years ago

Well, then what your aunt believes in, is a branch off of the traditional Buddhism. Traditional Buddhists are polytheistic, so your aunt believes in God?

she said too me theres a jesus and an god, so i geuss, and actually i don't really care :P
i don't believe most of the bible, i believe there is an god but not a ' son of god' ( so jesus).
and iam still young, so i will not keep mine mind on the bible, or something i don't believe in ( no offence)

It's okay. I take no offense for you not believing in the same things that I do. Anyway, to get back on topic, the first Buddha was Siddhartha Guatama.

~Strider~

question.. are you some kind of hindu or do you just know alot about them? cuz i even got an aunt that is hindu or buddhists or w/e and you still know more than me
( or maybe if i could understand what mine aunt said it wouldn't be an prob)

Nope! I am a full devoted Catholic. I just happen to know alot of history. I also took a few peeks in my text book, haha :P

~Strider~

'Buddha' is an interesting figure because like central historical figures, they become an embodiment, more of a thing than a person.

However the history of this Buddha and therefore Buddhism is fairly well established. I will be taking the most literal approach, that followed by proponents of the Zen Buddhist school of thought, as opposed to the multitude of symbolic representations, metaphors and myths that one might encounter today.

Like Estel said, the original Buddha was Siddharta Gautama: he lived from 566-486 B.C.E., allegedly as a prince, initially in Lumbini (near the current borders between India and Nepal), but then gave up his wealth and fortune to study the Hindu texts, the Vedas, after which he wandered as a yogi ascetic for several years, until he almost died from it and realised subsequently that it wasn't exactly going to work out. That's when he entered meditation and came out 'enlightened', after which he continued preaching and alleviating suffering until his death in Kushinagara (modern day Uttar Pradesh).

That's the biography in a nutshell- but the interaction of these histories are complex as Buddhism came to be surrounded by rituals and, religious beliefs and was incorporated into other doctrines as it spread throughout the nations and through time.

(Also, as from the previous thread, comparisons between Buddha and Jesus can be quite interesting, if not acrimonious. There is one variant of Mahayana Buddhism that could be closely related to the theistic approach ascribed to Christianity and religion in general, and that is pureland Buddhism, which advocates that the way to nirvana is that not merely of meditation but of devotion. Otherwise for the most part, the varied philosophies of Buddhism almost uniformly reject the worship of any particular person.)

actually the question is, what image do you have of buddha :P...
like an fat god, or.. child's fantasy.. story that passed from child too child? :P..