Lal Mani Joshi
Published: 2008-01-01
Total Pages: 298
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Description: Modern enlightened Hindus wedded to the Vaidika/Sanatana Dharma tradition hold that the Buddha was a Hindu reformer, Buddhism a Hindu sect; that original Buddhist teaching was Vedantic or Hinduistic, and that the Buddhists have misunderstood the fulfilment of the Hindu religion and distorted the original teachings of the Great Master! On the other hand, stalwarts like Swami Vivekananda and Sarvapalli Dr Radhakrishnan also say that the Buddha is one of the makers of Hinduism. The former even said that the Buddha was the greatest Hindu seer, philosopher, Vedantin, Karmayogin, and the only God who walked on the earth. Satkari Mookerjee has declared that every Hindu is a Buddhist. The Puranas inform us that the son of Suddhodana, born among the non-Aryan tribe of Kikatas, was no other than the Supreme Lord Visnu who had assumed a false avatara for the sole purpose of misleading demons! This Incarnation of God had criticised the Vedas, opposed the sacred Vedic ceremonies, and questioned the supremacy of the Brahmanas. The present book attempts an analysis and a systematic study of the traditional Brahmanical now called Hindu attitude to Buddhism in India. The bulk of the volume, however, is devoted to an exposition of the fundamental doctrines of Buddhism in the Indian context. The evolution of Hinduism, the differences between Buddhism and Brahmanism/Hinduism, the differences between the ancient and medieval representatives and modern representatives of the Brahmanical tradition to Buddhism, Buddhist responses to this modern Hindu attitude, and a review of Buddhist contributions to Indianism, are some of the subjects discussed in this book. One of the most important parts of the book deals with what the author has called God's Alternative in Buddhism. An outline of Buddhology as a systematic study of the idea of Buddhahood, is one of the new themes discussed here.