World religions

Hi dattaswami.I have read your post and I believe you may have made a misrepresentation of Buddhism: namely, that Buddhism consists of several differnet branches of philosophy, and isn't under one label. The main branches are Theraveda and Mahayana Buddhism. (There is also Zen Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and so on. But I will refer simply to Theraveda and Mahayana).I agree with your assertion that some Buddhists believe the Buddha is treated as God in flesh, but only in Mahayana Buddhism, not Theraveda Buddhism. Theraveda Buddhism sees Gautama(Buddha) as simply a mortal who achieved Nirvana through his own means. Mahayana Buddhists see the Buddha as a Bodhisattva- an eternal, divine and compassionate being that can help the suffering achieve Nirvana and, essentially, moksha. So, you might have a misunderstanding of exactly what is Buddhism.P.S. I also do not have a strong grasp on it, but know some details.This message has been edited by Infixion, 04-01-2006 04:05 PM

Hi Brian.I sure can. I do not have a link, so I'll type from my text."A second prinicple that began to develop in Mahayana Buddhism between the third century B.C.E. and first century C.E. was that Gautama(the Buddha) was really more than a man. In contrast to the teachings of early Buddhism and those of the Theraveda school, the Mahayanists began to teach that the Buddha was really a compassionate, eternal, and almost divine being who came to earth in the form of a man because he loved humankind and wished to be of assisstance".Just took a midterm on religions originating in India and South Eastern Asia. I hope I was of some assistance.

Sure. Not in proper citation form, MLA, I think, but here you go.Hopfe, M., Lewis, & Woodward, R., Mark (2005). Religions of the World. Ninth edition. Pearson Education, New Jersey.