God Becomes His Creatures
In Hindu belief, the attributes of Brahman are manifest as different gods. The attribute of creation becomes the creator god, Brahma, the attribute of preservation becomes the presser god, Vishnu, and the attribute of destruction becomes the destroyer god, Siva. The most popular one amongst them, Vishnu, becomes incarnate among human beings at different points in time. This incarnation is called in Sanskrit avatar, which means "descent." It represents the descent of God into the human world by becoming a human being or one of the other creatures of this world. Primarily, the term avatar refers to the ten main appearances of the god Vishnu. Among them is Matsya, the incarnation of God as a fish; Kurma as tortoise; Varaha as boar
(a wild pig); Narasimha as a half-man, half-lion; Vamana as a dwarf; and probably the most common one is Rama, the human incarnation. Rama is the hero of the epic, Ramayna, about which movies are made and shown regularly in India. The other popular god is Krishna, the other incarnation of Vishnu as a human being. His epic is the Mahabharata, which describes the descent of the gods in human forms to save the Goddess Earth, oppressed by demons, burdened by overpopulation and the danger of dissolution3. There are different variations of this belief regarding how many incarnations there are and what other animal forms they adopt, but all generally follow these manifestations. Consequently, in Hinduism, the belief of
one-fifth of humankind, man is God or part of God. The difference between the Greator and His creation is only superficial.
Popular Buddhism shares the Hindu incarnation concept with its own modifications. It teaches that every conscious being possesses the "Buddha nature" and is, therefore, capable of becoming a Buddha. Buddha, in earlier teachings4 , was truly a human teacher who lived and taught. However, in Mayahana Buddhism, the idea of the "eternal" Buddha, embodying the absolute truth, developed, and Buddha was elevated to Godhood. In order to reveal his message to humankind, this eternal Buddha manifest himself from time to time as an earthly Buddha to lie and work among humans. Thus, Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, became just one of the earthly appearance, a phantom apparition created by the eternal Buddha5 . Buddhism incorporated the elements of the Indian system of the gods and heavens and responded to the popularity of Bhakti Hinduism, personal devotion to savior deities. The Absolute or Buddha nature was seen by some as having attributes manifest as eternal Buddhas and bodhisattvas6 who existed in spiritual realms and offered their merits, protection and help toward enlightenment to all their followers who were devoted to them.
The chief ones among the eternal bodhisattvas were Avalokitesvara, a personification of wisdom. And among the eternal Buddhas were Aksobhya (the Imperturbable), Amitabha (Eternal Light) and Amitayus (Eternal life).
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3The theological centerpiece of the epic is the Bhagavad Gita (Dictionary of World Religions, p.448).
4Theravada Buddhism, Doctrine of the Elders, is essentially a discipline, which an individual practice in order to achieve salvation for himself by himself. Only monks who have the stamina and will power to lie the strenuous religious life can reach this goal, and now who achieves it is called an arhant. There are two types of Nirvana, one with residue and one without. The first is achieved by the arhant here and now, the fie aggregates (skandhas: which comprise all individuals; matter, sensation, perception, predisposition and consciousness) are still present, although the cravings that lead to continued rebirth are extinguished. Nirvana without residue refers to the state of the arhant after death about which the Buddha remains silent. There can only be one Buddha in an eon and enlightenment is reserved for an elite few. This aspect of Buddhism is called Hinayana, or Lesser Vehicle.
With the passage of time after the Buddha's death, Theravada monks were criticized as being too narrow and individualistic in their teachings. Dissensions arose and Buddhism evolved. A new form, Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, came to dominate. (Dictionary of World Religions, pp. 126-127)
5Dictionary of World Religions, p.129.
6Originally this term referred to former Buddhas while they were still in their quest for enlightenment. In Mahayana the bodhisattva postpones his final complete enlightenment and attainment of nirvana in order to aid all other beings in their
quest for enlightenment. (Dictionary of World Religons,p. 112).