Hinduism & Buddhism

I saw a show about India the other day on PBS. It was part of a longer series of about five episodes. India's culture, history and religions were the main topics of discussion. Hinduism was, of course, the most discussed with Buddhism also quite prominently featured. Gautam Buddha was a Hindu prince, who by turning away from his opulence and life of ease and going into meditation started Buddhism, was featured and discussed at length. Every time a documentary about Hinduism is produced or an article is written about it, Nepal is very seldom mentioned. So it is not surprising that there were a few misnomers and incomplete bits of information.

First, the host of the show kept mentioning India's Hindu culture and how old it was. No mention was made that the same religion furnished alongside in Nepal . The same deities worshiped in India are revered in Nepal. In fact, Nepal is the only recognized Hindu nation. Though the show was about India, a few bits of info on Nepal and the Hindus there would not have detracted from the show. On the contrary, it would have been enhanced because of the new vistas which would have opened up. Nepal and India do border each other with the latter completely hugging Nepal on the southern and western boundaries.

Second, although Siddhartha (another name for the Buddha) went to India and stayed there meditating, he was actually a Nepali born in the Lumbini region of southern Nepal. He was Nepali by birth. Almost every article I have read on this subject and every documentary I have watched on the same fail to mention this. Many still believe that Buddha was from India. You can verify his birthright by examining the United Nations records during Secretary-General U Thant's time. U Thant, a devout Buddhist, wanted to develop and recognize Lumbini as a shrine for Buddhists all over the world. He fervently believed in this cause and had even made a few visits to Lumbini during and after his tenure as United Nations chief.

We now come to the crucial question: Does it really matter what Buddha's origin was? The answer is that it matters a great deal. People take pride in various things - patriotism, ethnicity, race, color and a myriad of lesser "connections." People are proud to have gone to the same school as a famous person. Living in Hoboken, New Jersey is a source of pride to many who revere Frank Sinatra. Being of Italian heritage makes many adopt the Italian soccer team as their own during the FIFA World Cup. So why should we Nepali not be able to "connect" with Buddha? Why should we not relish the fact he was one of us? Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal and will always be a Nepali.