Hi all, since this is one of the most active board for nepalease people, I thought I would ask a question regarding how many people who use this site are buddhist? I grew up in Nepal for 12 years before I came to United States, and as I grew up I knew nothing about Buddhism. They tried to introduce the subject matter when we were a kid, back then but that was it. No one knew anything about it. Part of the reason could be that I went to Notre Dame school that was established by christian missionaries. They didn't teach us anything about christianity either. We did however got breaks for christmas and things, but buddhism for sure wasn't there. My theory on this, is that even though Buddhism started in Nepal, it got pushed aside because of Hinduism. Even in India today, Buddhism is not very prevalent. The home of Gautama Buddha (Nepal) is 99% Hindus. The real Buddhist teachings however went to Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, China and other eastern countries. I discovered Buddhism here in the US. Eversince I got into it I've found it as the most fascinating philosophy I've ever known. It deals with Spirituality and at the same time it is Scientific. The core teachings are in accord with modern scientific laws and theories. It emphasizes meditation which is far more superior than simply going to temple and ask things from God. Not saying that everyone does this, but only few are looking into their own minds and bodies for conflict resolution, weather it is with the relationship or the world in General. I still consider myself hindu in terms of keeping some family traditions, but it is only a tradition, It doesn't help me in looking into who I am. What do people say about this. I'm sure some of you are still going through, the spiritual phase where one looks for some answers on things, like what the heck is this? Why am I here and so fourth. I'd like to hear some things from nepali people. Oh by the way please be respectful of people's opinion. Thanks.

It's not 99% Hindu...Actually it's 93% Hindu+Buddhists

Well, well well, what I think in this is, Gautam Buddha himself was a Hindu before is a great belief and the fact that Lumbini was a hindu kingdom supports this. I consider hinduism and buddhism as parts of each other. I mean they are not so much different religion as hinduism and christianity is or hinduism and islam is. What I also think is Buddhism is not a religion but a pholosophy and the theory where as hinduism is a religions which has been followed for thousands of years. I might be wrong but, it helps me to believe in both. mystery man said 93 % both but, that percent is dominated by hindus, u can check that again. Since nepal dude also talked about sprituality and scientific, I not only think but also believe that hinduism also has all the spirituality that we are looking for. It is fully scientific and in some cases even more than science has thought. If it was not scientific, do you think all these goras who chant hare krishna and hare rama would be chanting that, no way. Might be some of them are doing it for fashion and fun but most of them believe in that and are following hare krishna............. Hinduism is a huge topic to talk about. We have to decide on what part we want to follow. What we are doing now is just followint a religion, not a specific path of that religion, this shows that we are going without any kind of destination but if u follow a certain path to reach your destination, hinduism is not less than others.

If the religion one believe is sooo good... why they have to advertise it ... just curious.

There are fundmental difference between Buddhism and Hinduism

Concept of god is absent in Buddhism. There is no almight god to handover punishment or rewards for one's action in the supposed judgement day.

netajii, both hindusim and buddhism has no judgement day. Both beilive they have direct contact with god/self. Yes you are right, there is no cetral concept of god in buddism, but there is a belief just like Hindusim that god exist in a being as a unity.

Hello there,

I find your observations very interesting and would like to respond to it . I too have tried to comprehend the things that you speak of in your message and have some theories and observations on it, however, they are mostly opinions than facts.
The home of Siddartha Gautam is Hindu, why? It is so because when Buddha himself was ?born? into a Hindu family .Siddartha Gautam did not mean to be establish a religion, what his real goal was to share his knowledge on how to lead a spiritual , karmic life. In short , to achieve what ,in his opinion, a soul on earth should achieve. In Nepal and other countries, you noticed that Buddhism sort of goes hand in hand with Hinduism. That?s because Buddhism is more of a guide to how to lead a spiritually productive life whereas Hinduism provides the answers to who created the world? Who is in control here ? etc. This mix of these two kind of philosophies fulfils ones life on the daily level ( with Buddha?s teachings) and on the religious level (with Hinduism).

In addition, Hinduism and Budhism are highly integrated with each other ( You can hardly distinctly separate the two religions now. For example, the whole principle of Karma originates from Hinduism, there are also things that come into Hinduism from Buddhism) For example, I live in France and when somebody asks me if I am Buddhist or Hindu, my reply is ? I am both? or ? I don?t know?. I was lucky enough because I really got to understand what Hinduism really is (besides all the temples and the pujas and the bells in Nepal). I actually genuinely really like my religion which is great . I don?t mean I am Hindu as in the typical representation of an average Hindu who prays every morning in Nepal but I am a big believer of its principles and Buddhism alike!! As for the question of what is the significance of life? These religions ( if you study them) give you a very satisfying answer, that god is not an individual ,its more of process where we are all a part of it. Its like Krishna says, the little stone there is a part of you and the you are a part of the little stone because all of this is a part of the universe and god and therefore, there is god in you - yourself. Anyway, I am not here to preach but this is what really fulfils my appetite for the obsession of truth
.
As for Buddhism not really existing in India and Nepal after King Ashokas great contribution in spreading Buddism in the South east of asia, I suppose it?s the Muslim invasionthat completely destroyed Buddism in these areas ( Except for Srilanka where the true Buddism still very much exists). In Nepal, Buddism was destroyed too as influence from India but it did come back but in another form, as Tibetan Buddism that you find in the contemporary Nepal. The Tibetans who fleed Tibet during the Chinese invastion and other times when Tibetan immigrated to Nepal brought this religion back to the birthplace of Buddha. Those are my opinions, what do you think? Sorry I am replying in such a rush but do tell me if you would like to further discuss , I welcome the opportunity.

Well i'm a Buddhist....but i also respect and pray to hindu Gods...!!! The funny thing is that i have no idea of Buddhisium....i used to go and pray once in a year and that is on the Vesak Day when i was back in Singapore....but after coming here in UK....i don't even do any more ... hehehe...coz can't find a Buddhist Temple here...i'm not sure if there is one....Anyway in this world that's only one GOD, who came to the earth at different time, in different location and with different identity (that's what i believe so that i would conflict with other religion)....so since i can't find a Buddhist Temple....therefore i go to a church and pray to all the buddhist and Hindu God..(wahahaha...no no i don't do that....was just joking)

Keep Rocking I hope you are still rockin! Just read your comments above, and I thought I had to say something. I did spend a considerable amount of time studying about Buddhism last summer, and the statement you made about Buddha being God is not true. Buddhism does not believe in a creator Capital (G) god. There however, are divine beings, that can be called gods if you want. Buddha denied being a GOD. He however is a teacher of (g)ods, humans, pretas, and many other beings on other realms of existences. This is in accord with Hinduism because there are gods for almost anything.. As far as the ultimate creator of the Universe, Buddhism says that there is no creator. There is no beginning and no end. The universe is created and destroyed by contraction and expansion of the universe respectively, and there is no end to this process. This basically is the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of the system is constantly increasing. There are actually quite a bit of differences between hinduism and Buddhism. It is true that Siddhartha, first learned about Meditation techniques from Hindu masters, but he left them at the end, since they weren't able to answer the ultimate question he was asking for. After he came back enlightened, I think actually taught his previous teachers about the way things are. In several Buddhist scriptures, Buddha talks about the fact that there are one only one Brahmas, but many Brahmas in many places. Brahmanhood according to buddhism is an utmost purification of the mind from greed, hatred and delusion. If one is pure from these defilements in mind, then they reach the state of Brahma. He said that there are even more subtle Brahmas that some Brahmas wouldn't know of. There is a sutta in Majima Nikaya where Buddha talks to Brahma, and shows how he is not the creator of Universe. It is actually quite interesting.

Remember that 2500 years ago, before Buddhism came to India, the rituals and ceremonies where very old. After Buddha's teachings, the upanisads were changed considerably. Therefore, the modern upanisads reflect Buddha's teachings quite a bit. The creation story in Buddhism is evolution, eons and eons of evolution.

The concept of Karma on Buddhism is differnt from Hindu concept. My understanding was that the word karma used in hinduism is linear, in that, every reincarnation follows with being a higher being, eventually reaching brahmanhood. Buddhism says that this is clearly not the case. The next life depends on ones Karma. If bad karma has been acumulated, then higher state of being will not be achieved in next life. So I think this is pretty important to note.

The concept of reincarnation is also different between Hinduism and Buddhism. Reincarnation according to Buddhism is the process of rebecoming from past consiousness. My understanding in Hinduism is that, reincarnation refers to being reborn as a same person, so this is clearly not the case.

-Hinduism deals with Atman ( a permanent soul), Buddhism says that there is nothing that is permanent and there is no soul that is everlasting.

-Buddhism has no Authority. No one in Buddhism is governed by Authoratative Normality, The sense of right and wrong is to understood, in other words it is experiental. No one says you shall do this or that. Since the choice is ultimately yours. Choose to do bad things, then the shadow of darkness follows, do good deeds then good results will follow, but you choose, where u want to go.

In any case, I think Buddhism is the most peaceful religion/philosophy in the world. On it's name no blood has been shed. In any case, Buddha said that any form of religoin is proper, if it contains, Nobel Eightfold Path.

*Physics is now makinga lot of advancement in String Theory. This theory is very much in accord with Buddhism. I find it really interesting. Anyways here is question to ponder upon. Here is a question to think about those of you who believe in laws of science. Matter is not created or destroyed. Total mass in the system is always constant. So who created you? Your body is a matter rite? and how will it end?

wow....nepaldude...your knowledge on Buddhism is very deep....thanks for all the information....it was really knowledgeable... as being a buddhist i'm too very keen on knowing more about Buddhism...where can get more information and knowledge on this issue....i bet i can't do this in UK....coz i haven't even came across a Buddhist Temple yet....

Well, I guess both Hinduism and Buddhist have lots in common. Buddhism came in much late, and is more modern and scientific. Hinduism is old, degenerated with time, mainly perhaps, priests misused it.

Both are practiced in two ways?one, more in terms of cultural, like visiting temples, and doing some puja to get blessings and of course Prasads. And, another, in term of understanding their deep philosophical teachings, which we rarely do. The stuffs like Geeta and Purans, I guess, are meant to teach us things like meaning of life. Yoga, a part of hinduism, is a kind of meditation that teaches us controlling our mind and body to make one self happy. And, in Buddhism, also, people do lots of puja, just like in hindu. We see that in Budhhist temples, and Bahas in KTM, lots of puja happens there.

In Thailand, a budhhist kingdom, people not only worship Buddha, they also worship living monks, who preach Buddhism. It is quite normal there to have pictures of living monks hanging side by side with a picture of their king, in places like restaurants and shops. These monks then have great influence in their daily life. For example, PM and other top business man in Thailand regularly visit these widely respected monks to get blessings during election time, and before starting business. At least, in Nepal, there is no such thing like worshipping and following any monk. We hang picture of budhha's only.

I guess in Nepal, we are just ignorant of religions, we are never taught what religions are all about, except for listening to interesting stories, or visiting temples.

nepaldude I agree with ur thoughts abt buddhism. Though I haven't read Dhammapaad and thought I am not a buddhist , One think I can say is ,Buddhidm is really a higher and important concept for spiritual jorney. Its really a path for the transformation of an ordinary person to the higher level of consciousness with the help of meditation. Instead of worshipping other gods and spiritual masters it teaches one to reach the state of enlightment.

*Physics is now makinga lot of advancement in String Theory. This theory is very much in accord with Buddhism. I find it really interesting. Anyways here is question to ponder upon. Here is a question to think about those of you who believe in laws of science. Matter is not created or destroyed. Total mass in the system is always constant. So who created you? Your body is a matter rite? and how will it end?

Nepalidude, you are wrong. The view you have demonstrated is the view from classical physics, which is conservation of matter, but Einstein came along then there is a law in physics called, conservation of energy. It was Einstein who came with the equation, E=m^2, which means energy can be converted to mater and mater as energy. Atoms can be destroyed, but hereby it will add energy to the universe, similarly energy can also be converted to matter.

at i also dont understand how string theory is releated to Buddhism? can you expalin, it maybe i do not know much about budhism.

Your body is a matter rite? and how will it end?

it is stored as energy here in the universe.

Here's what a great mind of all time thought...
"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity" --Albert Einstein

Note: To be a Buddist, one doesn't have to convert to Buddhism. Person who has knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil, and religion and philosophy (in other word "Gyani") is a Buddist. Buddha never said he was a god. As a matter of fact, he was atheist who didn't believed in god and worshiping them. His ultimate contribution to us is understanding life and its cycle. Well, i don't think one can describe Buddhism in short notes. If you care to know more, just hit the libraries.

Here's what a great mind of all time thought...
"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity" --Albert Einstein

Note: To be a Buddist, one doesn't have to convert to Buddhism. Person who has knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil, and religion and philosophy (in other word "Gyani") is a Buddist. Buddha never said he was a god. As a matter of fact, he was atheist who didn't believed in god and worshiping them. His ultimate contribution to us is understanding life and its cycle. Well, i don't think one can describe Buddhism in short notes. If you care to know more, just hit the libraries.

Confused..

Your statements are self-conflicting as always.

When there is no such concept like god in Buddhism in the first place then how it is possble that the same doctrine would teach that the Buddhist teachings will lead someone to have direct contact with god ?

The way you understood is like telling somebody to go inside the building and touch its concrete walls when the supposed building doesnt exist at all.

To show the way someone towards achieving NIRVANA is the ultimate goal of all Buddhist teachings. NIRVANA is not a direct contact with god since the concept of god
doesnt exist in Buddhism the first place.

By the way the supposed judgement day exist in Hinduism (therefore marks a stark difference with Buddhism).

Ever heard about YAMARAJ in Hindu stories who brings people to his kingdom of YAMALOK by the help of his junior assistants called YAMADOOT where the dead people are made accountable of their personal sins and good deeds committed during their lifetime.

Ever heard about CHITRAGUPTA, the persoanl assistant of YAMARAJ who keeps a huge logbook of persoanl sins and good deeds committed by each individuals during their lifetime. Based on the sins or the good deeds of very individual logged into logbook of CHITRAGUPTA the individual is handed down a judgement wether that individual will have the opportunity to go to heaven or be condemmed to the misery of hell.

Are you still going to tell me that Hinduism does not believe in supposed judgement day ?

However Hinduism and Buddhism do share the concept of rebirth but Buddhist doctrine of rebith is vastly different from Hindu beliefs of rebirth when it comes to details.

Hindu concept of rebirth is a transmigration of a conscious entity (soul) from one life to another until it is saved and dissolved with god.

Buddhist concept of rebirth is a transmigration of NOT a conscious entity (since Buddhist doctrine does not recognize the existance of soul) from one life to another but transmigration of influence of karma from one life to another until the negative influnence of karma is totally exausted therefore enabling to escape from the cycle of death and rebith into total emptiness (Ananta Sunyataa).

neta ji k ho, ek thau ma yamaraj ko kura garne arko thau ma rebirth ko kura garne..maile ni bujhina..can you explain in detail??

now, for me, sorry if i confused you, here i will make it clear.

as far as of my knowledge, hindusim and buddhism both beilive in god being present in every single particle in this universe. Just like the pharse, universe is the god and god is the universe. SO THERE IS A BELIEF OF GOD. Now, in buddism, and hidusim, it is very much possible to attain truth by following (four noble turths) and (dont know what is it called in hindusim)., hence, there is no central concept of god. example: GOD doesnt come to come and give you the secret code to attain the truth you can find it yourself.

Whoever mentioned that Buddha was a atheist, can you source that out, and tell us how do you know such stuff?? eager to learn.


and netajii, thank you for sharing the differnce between rebirths on hindusim and buddhism.

We can talk and talk and talk. At the end, what matters is how you practise it. No matter how many times you go to monastry or temple, it makes no difference if your mentality and attitude is focked up.

What's important is that you respect others, think positively and hope for the best for everyone. Same shitty mentality like netas we have will take you nowhere. And the result is the present situation we have. Ego and anger is what we have to destroy. Compassion and positive thinking is what we have to cultivate.

Look at us. All we got is god damn ego, "Our country is 90 or 99 percent Hindu". And then Pasupatinath showing only Rs. 250,000 profit in a year. That is what I mean. Sort of like loser talking....