Editing The Buddha (section)

=== Hinduism ===
[[File:Buddha incarnation of Vishnu, from Sunari, Medieval period.jpg|thumb|Buddha incarnation of [[Vishnu]], from [[Sunari]], Medieval period. [[Gujari Mahal Archaeological Museum]]]]{{Npov|date=October 2024}}{{Main|Gautama Buddha in Hinduism}}
After the lifetime of the Buddha the [[Hindu synthesis]] emerged, between 500{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2013|p=12}}–200{{sfn|Larson|1995}}&nbsp;BCE and {{Circa|300&nbsp;CE|lk=no}},{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2013|p=12}} under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and Jainism.{{sfn|Vijay Nath|2001|p=21}} In response to the success of Buddhism, Gautama was incorporated into Vaishnavism as the 9th [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]].<ref name="google260" />{{sfnp|Gopal|1990|p=73}}{{sfnp|Doniger|1993|p=243}}{{efn|name="balarama"|This belief is not universally held as Krishna is held to be the ninth avatar in some traditions and his half-brother Balarama the eight.<ref name=britannica-balarama>{{citation|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Balaram|date=19 February 2015|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Balarama|access-date=17 April 2022|quote=Balarama, in Hindu mythology, the elder half brother of Krishna, with whom he shared many adventures. Sometimes Balarama is considered one of the 10 avatars (incarnations) of the god Vishnu, particularly among those members of Vaishnava sects who elevate Krishna to the rank of a principal god.|archive-date=26 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526204320/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Balarama|url-status=live}}</ref>}} The adoption of the Buddha as an incarnation began at approximately the same time as Hinduism began to predominate and Buddhism to decline in India, and the inclusion is ambiguous, as the co-option into a list of avatars may be seen as an aspect of Hindu efforts to decisively weaken Buddhist power and appeal in India. While his inclusion has been [[Gautama_Buddha_in_Hinduism#Rejection|rejected by some traditionalists]], many [[Neo-Vedanta|modern Hindus]] include the Buddha in their conception of Hinduism.<ref name=varieties-religious>{{citation|title=Varieties of Religious Invention: Founders and Their Functions in History|editor-last=Gray|editor-first=Patrick|last=Muesse|first=Mark W.|chapter=Crossing Boundaries:When Founders of Faith Appear in Other Traditions|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-935971-4|year=2016|page=184|quote=Although orthodox Hinduism regards Buddhism as a ''nastika darshana'', a heterodox (sometimes translated as "atheistic") philosophy, many modern Hindus nevertheless wish to include Gotama as part of the Hindu traditions. Gandhi, for example, insisted that the Buddha was a Hindu, a claim that many Hindus today affirm. The traditional belief that the Buddha was the ninth avatar of the god Vishnu, one of the cosmic deities of Hinduism, is often cied in support of this view. Many Hindus who claim the Buddha as one of their own, however, fail to recognize the ambivalence of this tradition. ... The adoption of Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu seems to have commenced at roughly the same time Hinduism gained in ascendancy in India and Buddhism began to decline. Thus, the Hindu inclusion of the Buddha in this traditional list of Vishnu's ten avatars may in fact represent a part of Hindu efforts to eviscerate Buddhist power and appeal.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Doniger |first1=Wendy |title=The Hindus: An Alternative History |date=30 September 2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-959334-7 |pages=481–484 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNsXZkdHvXUC&pg=PA484 |access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref>

Buddha's teachings deny the authority of the [[Vedas]] and the concepts of [[Brahman]]-[[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]].<ref name="sep">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Buddha|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/buddha/|encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|access-date=13 July 2015|archive-date=3 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903184503/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/buddha/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Sushil Mittal & Gene Thursby (2004), ''The Hindu World'', Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-77227-3}}, pp. 729–730</ref><ref>C. Sharma (2013), ''A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy'', Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0365-7}}, p. 66</ref> Consequently, Buddhism is generally classified as a ''[[Nastika|nāstika]]'' school (heterodox, literally "It is not so"{{efn|"in Sanskrit philosophical literature, 'āstika' means 'one who believes in the authority of the Vedas', 'soul', 'Brahman'. ('nāstika' means the opposite of these).<ref>Andrew J. Nicholson (2013), [[Unifying Hinduism|Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History]], Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-231-14987-7}}, Chapter 9</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-link=G. S. Ghurye |last=Ghurye |first=G. S. |title=Indian Sociology Through Ghurye, a Dictionary |editor-first=S. Devadas |editor-last=Pillai |year=2011 |isbn=978-81-7154-807-1 |page=354 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |oclc=38215769}}</ref>}}) in contrast to the six orthodox schools of Hinduism.<ref>{{cite web |work=The Buddha and his Dharma |last=Ambedkar |first=B. R. |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_buddha/01_5.html |title=Book One, Part V – The Buddha and His Predecessors |access-date=18 May 2015 |archive-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502231847/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_buddha/01_5.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Paul |last1=Williams |first2=Anthony |last2=Tribe |title=Buddhist thought a complete introduction to the Indian tradition |date=2000 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=London |isbn=0-203-18593-5 |pages=1–10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BVvFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT18 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111053957/https://books.google.com/books?id=BVvFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT18 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Flood|1996|pp=231–232}}