A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

THE RELATION OF BUDDHISM TOHINDUISM.Hamnot a Buddhist, as you have heard, and I am.<yetIf China,* or Japan, or Ceylon follow the teachings ofIthe Great Master, India worships Him as God incarnate on earth. You have just now heard that I amgoing to criticise Buddhism, but by that I wish you tounderstand only this. Far be it from me to criticise himwWom I worship as God incarnate on earth. But our viewsupon Buddha are that he was not understood* p-icperly byhis disciples. The relation between Hinduism (by Hinduism, 1 mean the religion of the Yedas) and what is calledBuddhism at the present day, is nearly the same asbetween Buddhism and Christianity. Jesus Christ was aJew, and Shakya Muni was a Hindu, but with this difference ;the Jews rejected Jesus Christ, nay, crucified Him,and the Hindu has exalted Shakya Muni to the seat ofDivinity and worships Him. l^ut the real difference thatwe Hindus want to show between modern Buddhism andwhat we should understand as the teachings of LordBuddha, lies principally in this ; Shakya Muni came topreach nothing new. He also like Jesus, came to fulfil andnot to destroy. Again, 1 repeat, Shakya Muni came notto destroy, but he was the fulfilment, the logical conclusion, the logical development of the religion of the Hindus.The religion of the Hindus is divided into two parts,the ceremonial and the spiritual ;the spiritual portion isspecially studied by the monks.