How does an ordinary man understand an Enlightened Man? A man who questions in order to understand is taking the right approach. Buddhism and Hinduism walk hand-in-hand because Buddha is considered to be the 9th Avatar of Lord Narayana (Vishnu) Dasa (10) Avatars. In his teachins of the Eight Fold Noble Path, sammaditthi i.e. right understanding is the first item. Buddha taught three methods to live in this world and to rid of our suffering...to learn, to understand and to practise.

He was born in Lumbini, Nepal but attained Nirvana in Bodhgaya, India. He did not travel all over India and Tibet. But his monks did. The Great King Asoka is the main personality who spread Buddhism in India. The great monk Milerapa brought Buddhism into Tibet. But eventually the original Buddhism as taught by Buddha was modified to suit various societies. Buddha did not start any religion. He gave TEACHINGS. It was the Greeks who first made images of Buddha. However, in order to practise teachings given by an Enlightened One, we do not need images.

According to the Mahayana school of Buddhism there are 3 bodies of the Buddha or 3 kayas...sambhogakaya, nirmanakaya & dharmakaya. He used the first two for physical activities. When he attained parinirvana these 2 bodies disappeared. Only dharmakaya of the Buddha remained. Whether Buddha appears or not, DHARMA exists forever. To practise Buddhism it is not necessary for us to know where the Buddha is, or where he went. Take for example, electricity. Is it necessary for us to know the person who discovered electricity, where he is and from which country he came and his name? Our duty is to make use of the electricity.

Hence, our duty is to practise our dharma....irrespective of who taught it.