Question asked by Vritra0912
Dear Sir/Mam
Kindly forgive me if I have written something which hurt someone sentiments??????????
It is just out of curiosity that when I read about Buddhism and I also encountered Hinduism and I was curious how Lord Buddha and Shiva differ and why he is not the supreme and how he got enlightened by grace of lord buddha because on internet there is no information regarding this and everybody belives that lord shiva avatars inspired Buddhist deities. And there is also a painting where a lord Chakrasamvara had Shiva and his wife under the feet and what does it symbolizes and what is the story behind it.
Also why Ganesha is considered enlightened in Buddhism too.
I will be thankful if you answer all these????
Dear Vritra0912,
Thank you for your interesting questions. Lord Buddha showed us the path to Nirvana or Moksha through meditation, contemplation and practice. In doing so he did not rely on any external deity that he prayed to or relied upon to achieve that state. Neither did Lord Shiva, as he is a god.
Yes, you are right that Lord Shiva and his consort Kalaratri (a form of Parvati) are depicted under the feet of Heruka Chakrasamvara. The reason for this is to show the world and practitioners that you need to overcome desire. The story goes that Lord Shiva and Kalaratri manifested a lot of desirous energy which was affecting all beings. Their energy was so strong, it was affecting people to the point that they acted in very desirous ways. Lord Buddha saw this and knew that he had to teach a method to overcome desire and lead people to Moksha. So he manifested in a form that looked like Shiva, but more powerful, with more arms. That is why Heruka looks like Shiva, with matted hair, the crescent moon on top of his head, covered in ash and wearing a tiger skin loincloth. When Shiva and Kalaratri saw Heruka, they realised he was more powerful (in the sense that he has overcome desire) and they offered themselves under the feet of Heruka to show sentient beings that they need to overcome desire. In this regard, you can regard the event as a Divya Leela or divine play, to show practitioners that they need to overcome desire in order to reach Moksha.
Within Buddhism there are actually multiple deities that look like Ganesha. One is the god Ganesha, who is the son of Parvati. Another known as Ganapati Ragavajra is actually a form of Avalokiteshvara, also known as the Buddha of Compassion. Therefore there is are different forms of Ganesha, some of who are considered enlightened. I hope this helps. Thank you.