“The more superficially one studies Buddhism, the more it seems to differ from the Brahmanism in which it originated; the more profound our study, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish Buddhism from Brahmanism”

— Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

Ananda Coomaraswamy, Hinduism and Buddhism
Context: The more superficially one studies Buddhism, the more it seems to differ from the Brahmanism in which it originated; the more profound our study, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish Buddhism from Brahmanism, or to say in what respects, if any, Buddhism is really unorthodox. The outstanding distinction lies in the fact that Buddhist doctrine is propounded by an apparently historical founder, understood to have lived and taught in the sixth century B. C. Beyond this there are only broad distinctions of emphasis. It is taken almost for granted that one must have abandoned the world if the Way is to be followed and the doctrine understood.... but nothing could be described as a 'social reform' or as a protest against the caste system. The repeated distinction of the 'true Brahman' from the mere Brahman by birth is one that had already been drawn again and again in the Brahmanical books.

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Ananda K. Coomaraswamy 4

Ceylon-American art historian 1877–1947

John Woodroffe (1865–1936) English orientalist

Sir John Woodroffe (originally under pseudonym Arthur Avalon): Shakti and Shakta, p.5., quoted in Elst, Koenraad (2002). Who is a Hindu?: Hindu revivalist views of Animism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and other offshoots of Hinduism. ISBN 978-8185990743

“The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism but to study ourselves. You are not your body. You are the Big Activity. You are just expressing the smallest particle of the Big Activity. That is all. But when you become attached to a temporal expression of the Big Activity, it is time to talk about Buddhism.”

Shunryu Suzuki book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Part 3, No. 3 "Study Yourself"
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973)

“In reality, however, Buddhisms and Jainism have been no more than movements within the larger body of Hinduism, not significantly different from Lingayats, Saktas or Bhaktas of more recent times.”

Girilal Jain (1924–1993) Indian journalist

page 24-25, The Hindu Phenomenon, ISBN 81-86112-32-4.
On Hinduism, On relation of Hinduism with Jainism and Buddhism

“To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.”

Dogen (1200–1253) Japanese Zen buddhist teacher

Source: As quoted in Exploring the Inner World : A Guidebook for Personal Growth and Renewal (1974) by Tolbert McCarroll, p. 6

“Students of the Way must not study Buddhism for the sake of themselves. They must study Buddhism only for the sake of Buddhism. The key to this is to renounce both body and mind without holding anything back and to offer them to the great sea of Buddhism.”

Dogen (1200–1253) Japanese Zen buddhist teacher

V, 2
Shobogenzo Zuimonki (1238)

“We find that in the beginning every religion is inspired by the spirit of reform, but eventually it succumbs to rituals and ceremonies it originally denounced. Buddhism underwent a similar metamorphosis. It became a victim to the evils of brahmanism against which it had fought in the beginning.”

Ram Sharan Sharma (1919–2011) historian

Quoted from Arun Shourie (2014) Eminent Historians: Their Technology, Their Line, Their Fraud. HarperCollins.

“Reality becomes illusory and observer-oriented when you study general relativity. Or Buddhism. Or get drafted.”

Joe Haldeman book The Forever War

Source: The Forever War (1974), Chapter 10 (p. 46)
Context: Relativity propped it up, at least gave it the illusion of being there... the way all reality becomes illusory and observer-oriented when you study general relativity. Or Buddhism. Or get drafted.

“Just study Buddhism. Don't follow the sentiments of the world.”

Dogen (1200–1253) Japanese Zen buddhist teacher

V, 9
Shobogenzo Zuimonki (1238)

“To study Buddhism under me is to adopt a new way of life.”

Cheng Yen (1937) Taiwanese Buddhist nun

Source: Master of Love and Mercy: Cheng Yen, p. 20

“The more we study, we the more discover / Our ignorance.”

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English Romantic poet

Calderón, “Scenes from the <i>Magico Prodigioso</i>” fourth speech of Cyprian, as translated by Shelley, found in The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Scott, William B, ed. https://archive.org/details/poeticalworksofp1934shel/page/577
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“The more superficially one studies Buddhism, the more it seems to differ from the Brahmanism in which it originated; the more profound our study, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish Buddhism from Brahmanism”

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Ananda K. Coomaraswamy 4

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