Brahma worship in Buddhism

Pictures of revered teachers, places, rupas, temples, bhikkhus, shrine rooms etc. that bring inspiration to our members. Pilgrimage advice, devotion etc.
thomaslaw
Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Apr 19, 2013 12:55 am
Location: Australia

Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism

Post by thomaslaw »

Hi all,

This is a symbolic image of the Buddha and the two Brahmas.

Regards,

Thomas
Attachments
Buddha and Brahma 2.1.gif
Buddha and Brahma 2.1.gif (417.21 KiB) Viewed 4495 times
User avatar
CedarTree
Posts: 254
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 9:37 pm

Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism

Post by CedarTree »

No_Mind wrote:
thomaslaw wrote:
No_Mind wrote:Brahma and Ganesh are worshipped in Thailand. There is significant presence of their idols in Thai homes and shops. :
Are both idols also found in Buddhist temples for worship?

Thomas
Image

Image
Some cool photos :) Thanks for sharing!


Practice, Practice, Practice

User avatar
Kim OHara
Posts: 5584
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:47 am
Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism

Post by Kim OHara »

Re Ganesha - I was in Bali recently and Ganesh images were everywhere. The island is Hindu, although with a fairly strong Buddhist influence, but the locals were quite definite that he wasn't a god, like Shiva or Brahma, but only a 'protector'. I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?

:namaste:
Kim
User avatar
Coëmgenu
Posts: 8150
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:55 pm
Location: Whitby, Canada

Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism

Post by Coëmgenu »

Kim OHara wrote:but the locals were quite definite that he wasn't a god, like Shiva or Brahma, but only a 'protector'. I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?
This is, apparently (and I am someone who has never been there and has only read this), very indicative of the current religio-political climate in Indonesia.

Religions ambiguous "need" to be at least quasi-monotheistic to be legal for practice (like, I am pretty sure you can be anything you want at home, but if you want to build a religious centre of some kind it needs to be for a "recognized" religion, as far as I know).

This is why you have things like the classifying of Confucianism as a monotheistic religion worshipping God/Tian in Indonesia so that the ethnic Chinese could go back to their traditional temples (and continue to build and maintain them) and still observe rule of law.

It could be worse. Buddhism doesn't even exist in Israel***. Christians cannot gather publicly for worship outside of churches in Egypt (and are banned from constructing new churches).

***apparently this is based on dated info from the 90s. Israel now has "legal" Buddhism and Dharma Centres, apparently.
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
thomaslaw
Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Apr 19, 2013 12:55 am
Location: Australia

Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism

Post by thomaslaw »

Kim OHara wrote:Re Ganesha - ... I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?
:namaste:
Kim
Possibly there is no clear distinction between Brahma and Ganesha about the rank/importance in Thai Buddhists.

But Ganesha worship seems completely irrelevant to the Pali Buddhism. Is this worship only found in the Thai Buddhist tradition?

I personally feel that Brahma worship has better connection to the Pali Buddhism. This is because only Pali texts mentioned Brahma Sahampati requested the Buddha to teach the Dhamma to the world. The Buddha accepted the Brahma's request, out of compassion (see CHOONG Mun-keat, 2014, 'A comparison of the Pali and Chinese Versions of the Brahma Samyutta, a Collection of Early Buddhist Discourses on Brahmas, the Exalted Gods', Buddhist Studies Review 31 (2): pp. 187-188).

Thomas
Post Reply