Was Siddhartha Gautama a Hindu before he became the Buddha?
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Absolutely! \n\nSiddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha was born into a Hindu family. He even had an arranged marriage. When he left his family and the trappings of luxury at age 29, he studied many aspects of Hinduism including Yoga and Brahmin meditation. He spent time as a Hindu mendicant monk and later a ascetic monk while practicing vigorous techniques of physical and mental austerity. It is said that Siddhartha Gautama was adept at these practices and was even able to surpass many of  his teachers. However, finding no answers to his questions and no end to suffering, he sat under a pipal tree and vowed not to rise until he found the truth. It was at this time that he reached enlightenment and started teaching what is today called Buddhism. \n\nI hope this helps.
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No.  Buddhism is an atheistic religion in that they do not believe in deities.
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Prince Siddharta Gautama was born some 2,500 years ago as a prince in what is now called Lumbini in Nepal. At his birth, many special signs appeared. His father asked a sage living in his kingdom for advice on his son. The sage predicted that Gautama would become either a great King or a great spiritual teacher.\n\nThe King wanted his son to be his successor and tried to keep his son far away from all matters of life that could incline him to a spiritual life. Gautama usually spent his life in his father's palace, surrounded by all possible luxuries of the time. He proved to be a special child, being quite intelligent as well as an excellent sportsman. He married to a beautiful woman he loved, and they had a son.\n\nWhen he was 29 years old, he discovered there was much suffering in the world around him. Traditionally it is explained that he suddenly recognised the problems of sickness, old age and death when visiting the city. Being shocked by the suffering of all living beings, he decided to search for way to end it. He left his wife and child, the palace and even his royal clothes, and started out on a spiritual quest.\n\nGautama studied under various teachers and followed their practices until he mastered them all. His first teacher was Alara Kalama who taught a form of meditation leading to an exalted form of absorption called "state of no-thingness", a state without moral or cognitive dimension. Gautama saw this was not going to solve suffering, and continued his search.\nThe next teacher was Udraka Ramaputra who taught him meditative absorption leading to “the state of neither perception nor non-perception”. Again, Gautama realised this was not the state he was looking for. (Both Alara and Udraka are by some scholars considered Jain followers.)\nNext, he tried extreme ascetic practices at Uruvilva, with five other ascetics who turned into his followers. In the end, Gautama nearly died of starvation.\nAfter about six years of searching, he realised that just wearing down his body did not generate new insights, but rather leads to weakness and self-destruction. When he decided to give up extreme asceticism, his students left him.\nHe then sat down in a place now called Bodhgaya (North India) under a Bodhi-tree and decided not to get up anymore until he discovered the truth. Just a short time later, he became a fully enlightened Buddha. This means that he actualised all positive potentials of a sentient being and rid himself of all negative qualities. With this, he realised the true nature of existence and suffering (emptiness), and how suffering can be ended. \nSeven weeks after enlightenment, the Buddha gave his first discourse in Sarnath, near Varanasi . Here he taught the 4 Noble Truths. The Buddha continued to teach during his life, until passing away at the age of  81.\n\nThe Buddha once summarised his entire teachings in one sentence:\n\n    "I teach about suffering and the way to end it".
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Hinduism, Islam, Budhism, Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism are main
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Sanatan Dharma means Eternal Dharma. Hinduism is collectively all religious philosophies born in India. They are inter related even if highly diverse. Buddhism, Jaininsm, Sikhism , all are branches or sects of Hinduism. \n\n Hinduism never rejects any older theory about God , only modifies it and incorporate newer ideas. So you ger mother goddess worship, Annimism to Upanishads , Buddhism to Krishna worshippers. You will find even Hindu Atheist.\n\nThats why it was called Sanatan Dharma.\n\n"Hindu " word literally meant Indian. The name was given by persians. and original word was Sindhu but they had no "s" sound or something. Then it reached Greece and Greeks turned the word in "Ind" and added customeary "ia" to it and the word India came into existence.\n\nSo Indian and Hindu were synonums till Semetic religions like Islam entered India.\nregarding flameslivewire post: \n\nWell you should not learn Hinduism from Islamic sites. We know there is no mohammad in Vedas and Hinduism does not forbid Iconworship. It says it is first step towards meditation. \n\nYes, we believe in one god that is formless , yet we also believe god is in ever one and everywhere. Only non Hindus confuse it with polythiesm. even uneducated Hindu villager will tell you there is only one god. \n\nMuslims use symbols too moon, kaba , black stone situated there and Kuran and number 786, so does christians. Cross is very much a symbol.\n\nWe are just honest enough to accept we need symbols to worship god.
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Bodhidharma was asked what is the fundamental principle of Buddhism and he said, "Vast Emptiness with nothing Holy in in."  Buddhism is not a religion!  To worship Buddha is a mistake, unless you are bowing to the Buddha inside, your true self.  Just as in other religions, people make the mistake of making the founder a God, thereby rendering his message meaningless, for no mere mortal could possibly emulate it.  So with religious objects like incense sticks, altars, etc.  Nothing sacred there.  What is sacred cannot be the product of man's thought.
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Hinduism (real name Sanatan Dharma or eternal religion) started with the humanity...it is the oldest and have all in its philosophy all what Pagans, christians, muslims, buddhists have...and more than that is its Philosophy which deals with the mysteries of Universe, life, death and God
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Yes Buddha did not say yes to God, but he strongly believed in Karma.\n\naccording to him, it is the Karma which is responsible for our life death and reincarnation.\n\nFor God he just kept quiet and said it as only a big VOID
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Have you ever heard of Buddha?
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Actually, I think enlightenment was from Buddhism but reincarnation and karma originated from Hinduism.
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well I was a catholic ,then a Christain ,then an atheist and now I do agree with a lot of buddhist beliefs.Buddhism alwyas will put experience over scripture.Buddha was an enlightened person.nothing more.\n Buddhism accepts that science and spirtuality can coexist.......are in fact facets of the same "godhead"
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Buddhism started after the buddha became awakened and began attempting to show people a way to enlightenment.  He sought a cessation to suffering.\n\nBuddhism affected many civilizations in many ways.  Kubla khan, the emperor of china when Marco Polo came to visit, had been converted to tibetan buddhism sometime prior to Marco polo's voyages.  Marco Polo was also given the task of converting Kubla Khan to christianity but he failed in this when Kubla Khan asked him to show him the benefits of chrisitanity.  whatever marco Polo showed him, it didn't work because the tibetan monk who had converted Kubla had apparently showed him how to levitate things.  These kinds of powers are known as mind jewels in tibetan buddhism.  \n\nSome other influences it has had are very evident in Tibet which was previously a theocracy run by the yellow hats.\n\nAlso, 97.4% of Thailand are theraveda buddhist and the king's puported role is to support buddhist practices.\n\nBuddhism has had its influences on ethics, philosophies and politics of many eastern countries, sometimes dominating the mainstream.\n\nMany buddhist are at the forfront of religous pluralism, as adapting to new cultures and ways of life rather than altering them, have almost always been a part of spreading the dharma, as the dharma can take any form.\n\nBuddhist are supposidly numbered at about 354 million worldwide, and while they don't hold much sway in the scope of geopolitics, there are a few outstanding figures like the dali lama, the king of thailand and many of the leaders of taiwan, japan and korea.\n\nHope that answered your questions.
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Yes, Buddhism is atheistic as it has no god figure. Buddha is viewed only as a prophet and their view of reincarnation is controlled by a universal force, not a conscious being.
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HInduism. it existed before romans or greeks or even christanity.
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"God" A term designed by humanity to describe a postulated preternatural being usually complete with special divine powers.\n\nYou asked Who is the God? And you mentioned a few names, Jesus, Allah, Buddha and Mahadeva. (one of the faces of Shiva) Well, let's look at them.\n\nJesus is the proposed son of man. God the father, (Yahweh or Allah) made flesh and sent to Earth to free man from sin. The source of the teachings of Jesus and what he believed is exclusively found within the documents known as the gospels. If you are a Christian, then Jesus is your god, as is his father (Yahweh) and the holly spirit. \n\nAllah, or 'god' is the proposed being that created the world. This is the same god of Hebrew torah and the Christian old testament. If you are a Muslim, then this is your god. Then again, technically, if you are a Christian or Jew, this is still your god sicne the same name can be found is all three faiths. \n\n"Mahadeva" or more accurately Shiva, is "the Pure One" or the "One who purifies everyone by the utterance of His name." And is one of the primary gods of the Hinduism and the head god of the Śaivism, a branch of Hinduism. If you subscribe to the Hindu faith, then Shiva is your god.\n\nBuddha, the enlightened one, was once stopped on the road and asked by a man, "Sir, are you a god." The mans asked the Buddha when he saw how peaceful he appeared.  "No." Said the Buddha.  "Are you a demigod then?" asked the man. "No." replied Buddha.  "Then are you great man?" asked the passerby. "No." replied the Buddha again. "Then what are you sir." The man final asked. "I am the one who is awake." Replied Buddha as we went on his way.  Buddha is not a god. He is not thought of as a god and he did not think of himself as a god. Buddha was a man that sought and found the truth and was awakened form the dream of life & death. He was a great teacher, but he was not a god, a profit or a savior, for according to Buddhism, no one can be saved by anyone except themselves. \n\nSo, who is god?  That's not something anyone can tell you. You need to look and find out for yourself. Who do I think god is? I don't. I think god is a man made myth used to scare people into doing what churches want them too.  This is why the history of god based religions is so bloody. Still, if the belief in a god helps a person feel better, then perhaps it is not a total waste. \n\nI hope this helps.
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Gautama Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. He studied and practised Hindu discipline.\n\nKing Suddhodana and his queen Maha Maya ruled Kapilavastu. The queen gave birth to a baby boy on the way to her father’s place at Lumbini. The boy was named Siddharth. Queen Maha Maya died seven days after his birth. His maternal aunt (or step-mother?), Maha Prajapati Gautami brought up the child. \n\nAccording to legend, an astrologer foretold his father, the king, that young Gautama would give up the throne and luxury and renounce the world the day he would see four things (i) an old man, (ii) a sick man, (iii) a diseased man and (iv) a dead man. Hence, the king confined Gautama in a special palace which was provided with all worldly pleasures. He was married at the age of sixteen to Yasoddhra.
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Among all the religions Hinduism is the oldest. Buddhism originated from Hinduism. Hinduism originated in India, Buddhism in India / Nepal. Some of the teachings in Buddhism are similar to Hinduism. I will list mainly similarities. Answer is quite big so hope u will read it. For Hinduism read my answer in\n\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuWA4OkO7pG27o7HQyUVPKzsy6IX?qid=20061105200549AAtcPGl\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArkcX6TbHB8AmP6Sqh1a_Wvsy6IX?qid=20061112105239AAHLRXF\n\nFor Buddhism the philosophy is the four noble truths and the 8 fold path that i mentioned below.\n\n\nMany people may know about Buddhism, but few seem to understand its connections with Vedic / Hindu culture and how many aspects of it have origins in the Vedic / Hindu philosophy. To begin with, it was several hundred years before the time of Lord Buddha that his birth was predicted in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: "In the beginning of the age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear in the province of Gaya as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, to bewilder those who are always envious of the devotees of the Lord." (Bhag.1.3.24)\n\nThis verse indicates that Lord Buddha was an incarnation of the Supreme who would appear in Gaya, a town in central India. But some historians may point out that Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was actually born in Lumbini, Nepal, and that his mother was Queen Mahamaya. Therefore, this verse may be inaccurate. But actually Siddhartha became the Buddha after he attained spiritual enlightenment during his meditation under the Bo tree in Gaya. This means that his spiritual realization was his second and most important birth. Furthermore, Siddhartha's mother, Queen Mahamaya, died several days after Siddhartha's birth, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother, Anjana. So the prediction in the Bhagavatam is verified.\n\nWhen Lord Buddha appeared, the people of India, although following the Vedas, had deviated from the primary goal of Vedic philosophy. They had become preoccupied with performing ceremonies and rituals for material enjoyment. Some of the rituals included animal sacrifices. The people had begun to sacrifice animals indiscriminately on the plea of Vedic rituals and then indulged in eating the flesh. Being misled by unworthy priests, much unnecessary animal killing was going on and the people were becoming more degraded and atheistic.\n\nThe rituals that included animal sacrifices, according to the Vedas, were not meant for eating flesh. An old animal would be placed in the sacrificial fire and, after the mantras were chanted, it would come out of the fire in a new and younger body as a test to show the potency of the Vedic mantras. However, as the power of the priests deteriorated, they could no longer chant the mantras properly and, therefore, the animals would not be brought back to life. So in the age of Kali all such sacrifices are forbidden because there are no longer any brahmanas who can chant the mantras correctly. Thus, Lord Buddha appeared and rejected the Vedic rituals and preached the philosophy of nonviolence. In the Dhammapada (129-130) Buddha says, "All beings fear death and pain, life is dear to all; therefore the wise man will not kill or cause anything to be killed."\n\nThe Vedic literature also teaches nonviolence, but Buddha taught the people who used the Vedas for improper purposes to give them up and simply follow him. Thus, he saved the animals from being killed and saved the people from being further misled by the corrupt priests. However, he did not teach the Vedic conclusions of spiritual knowledge but taught his own philosophy.\n\nBuddha was born in the town of Lumbini in Nepal as the son of a king of the Shakya clan. He is generally accepted to have lived during 560-477 B.C. but has been shown to have been born in 1887 B.C. and died in 1807 B.C.\n\nHis mother, Queen Mahamaya, before she conceived him, saw him in a dream descending