Is Hinduism And Buddhism Idolatry? Written by Manashantii an ex-Buddhist and ex-Hindu. 17th September 2012

I was Buddhist for 25 years and experimented with Hinduism for 4 years.

This is a short definition of Idolatry.

1. Worship of idols.
2. Extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone.

3.The Deification of celebrities is also a form of idolatry.

4.Worship of money and or love of money is idolatry.

5.Sex before marriage is idolatry.

Most Hindus worship one or a few gods.
Hindus believe, that they believe, in one god with many names and features and genders.

There are over 330 million+ gods in Hinduism. There are many creator, maintainer and destroyer gods in Hinduism.

Hindus believe in many gods and that all of them have one of these three categories.

1. Creator gods (for example-Brahma)

2. Maintainer or Preserver gods (for example-Vishnu)

3. and Destroyer gods (for example Shiva or Goddess Kali).

Hindus believe that there are 7 Heaven worlds and 28 Hells in Hindu religion.

Christians do not believe that God has a destructive quality, they believe that the devil or Satan has destructive qualities, therefore Christians worship a different God to the gods in Hinduism.

Hindus give offerings like Indian sweets and flowers to their idols/statues which they believe to be God.

Chanting and meditating to Hindu gods is actually chanting to Demons.

Buddhism can cause depression and suicidal ideation and feelings of meaninglessness because Buddhism teaches that rebirth is suffering. Buddhism teaches that your only hope from (cycles of lives) rebirth is eternal death, also trying to not get in touch with feelings makes you feel detached, numb and depressed.

Religious Suicide by Starvation (Known as Sallekhana or Santhara  was practiced by Mahavira the founder of Jainism) Mahavira also known as Prince Nayaputta Vardhamana committed suicide by Starvation.

Meditation can cause Depersonalisation disorder which is a dissociative disorder, this is a psychological disorder of the mind. Meditation is Yoga of  the mind. Yoga of the body consists of breathing yoga (called Pranayama) and movement yoga (called Asana). Tantra is Sex Yoga. Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Sufis all practice Movement and Breathing Yoga.

Meditation (which is Mind Yoga) can be Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Sufi, Baha’i or (Freemason) /or any other type of Lodge.

The Hindu caste system is the reason why I stopped being a Hindu. I disagree with Hinduism ideas concerning the Hindu caste system, I believe this is a racist and classist view point.The caste system promotes the belief that pale skinned or white complexion people are superior in comparison to dark or black skin. This belief is part of the Hindu religion, “Brahmins, Aryans and Anglo-Indians are racially superior to any other Indian caste.” The German named Adolf Hitler adopted some Hindu ideas for example a reversed swastika and the Aryan race etc.. I believe racism is a political agenda with the intention to psychologically and socially oppress, control and abuse the masses, it is also Spiritual warfare, and the antithesis of racial harmony and unity.

Hindus also worship Yoni and Lingam which is female and male genitalia this is part of Tantra yoga. Shiva’s Lingam and Shakti’s Yoni is the oldest form of fertility worship. Some Buddhists,  Ancient Egyptian religions and other ancient religions to name a few practice fertility worship.

Aghori is a Hindu sect who usually worship Shiva, the Sadhus (Hindu holy men) eat dead human flesh (Cannibalism), they also eat faeces (Coprogenics)  and rub dead burnt human ashes on their bodies. They drink human blood from a human skull, they usually carry the human skull with them wherever they go. I believe this is a  satanic ritual. Drinking human blood from a human skull is also satanic, and is a lodge ritual, particularly Freemason lodge.

If you leave Hinduism and want to go back to Hinduism you have to drink the blood of a decapitated lizard in order to revert back to Hinduism.

Jesus paid for our sins, and bought our souls with his blood. Jesus’ blood gives eternal life. A Divine Spiritual blood transfusion. Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Agnostics, Atheists, vegetarians and vegans find it hard to understand the need for blood sacrifice especially Christianity sacrifice of Jesus. I explain about sacrifice in here. Jesus as a Sacrifice and here Sacrifice 

Buddhists believe in rebirth. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs believe in reincarnation.

What Buddhism is… It is neither a metaphysical path nor a ritualistic path. It is neither sceptical nor dogmatic. It is neither eternalism nor nihilism. It is neither self-mortification nor self indulgence. It is neither pessimism nor optimism but realism. It is neither absolutely this-worldly nor other-worldly. It is not extrovert but introvert. It is not Theo-centric but Homo-centric. It is a unique path to enlightenment.” (This is a quote by Theravada Buddhist Monk named Narada Maha Thera, From the book The Buddha and his teachings.)

Paying reverence to symbolisms in Buddhist religions is idolatry (for example “Hail to the jewel in the lotus” which is a Tibetan Buddhist chant that I have translated into English. “Devotion to the ultimate mystical law” which is the Nichiren Daishonin sect’s chant that I translated into English is idolatry). I have decided not to write down the chants in their original language because I don’t want to regress or advertise Buddhism and I want to keep this website as Christian as possible.

The Buddhist scriptures (is called the Tripitaka in Sanskrit language or Tipitaka in Pali language) is 13 times bigger than The Holy Bible but says nothing about God, sin and salvation.

Buddha is a word and a title which means enlightened one. Most Buddhist sects give offerings like flowers to a Buddhist statue, this is considered as a form of idolatry by Christians. Prince Siddharta Gautama (Prince of the Sakya tribe, born in Lumbini, Nepal) is known as Sakyamuni Buddha the founder of Buddhism and is respected by the followers of Buddhism.

There is no God in Buddhism. Many people see Buddhism as a philosophy. Buddhism mixes flavours of animism, with ancestral worship and reincarnation which originally is Hindu. Buddhism, Jainism, Shinto, Pantheism, Pantheism, Serer, Paganism and Neopaganism all practice some form of animism. Buddhists believe in 24 hells and 7 heavens. Buddhists believe in rebirth. Hindus and Jains all believe in reincarnation.

Since there is no belief and acknowledgement of God in Buddhism, Buddhism encourages individualism and pessimism because there is no creator and no judge ; as result of this the Buddhist becomes ideocentric as he acknowledges the existence of a devil but no God, no saviour, no creator, this is why I believe Buddhism is pessimistic, this causes a feeling of depression and hopelessness as a Buddhist because you have to rely on yourself alone. Buddhism encourages you to admire the beauty of all of nature and animals without appreciating the Creator, this leaves one with a sense of incompleteness.

Buddhism as a philosophy possesses wisdom for living; moral principles like humility and forgiveness is greatly valued in Buddhism; however Buddhism has limited understanding of the Spirit and lacks full knowledge of sin, redemption, eternal truth and God.

Buddhism teaches that bad experiences are caused by bad karma (Bad luck) and is therefore your fault that you are experiencing suffering, this causes guilt feelings. Buddha teaches that the solution for becoming free from suffering by becoming detached from people and your own feelings and by doing this you may end the cycle of rebirth; the goal of a Buddhist is to not be reborn but to transcend by no longer being reborn; to escape endless cycles of rebirth; this is why death is the ultimate goal for the Buddhist.

Christians believe that you have a soul which is eternal and that you have one life on Earth and after that you will be judged by God and by your actions; God decides where you spend the rest of eternity in hell or in heaven.

In Christianity there are denominations, in Buddhism also there are sects.There are five main Buddhist sects in Buddhism.     1. Theravada Buddhism.  Theravada Buddhism is Buddhist Scriptures focused. There are four types of Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism Zen practised in Japan. There are many types of Zen Buddhism in Japan, Rinzai Zen, Dogen Soto Zen and Obaku Shu Zen. / Chan Buddhism is practised in China  / Son Buddhism is practised in Korea / Thien Buddhism is Vietnamese Zen Buddhism. All  Zens (Rinzai Zen, Dogen Soto Zen, Obaku Shu Zen, Chan, Thien and Son) are different forms of Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhisms are meditation focused. 3. Tibetan Buddhism is practised in Tibet and Mongolia. 4. Pure land Buddhism. 5. Nichiren Daishonin / Soga Gakkai Buddhism. Nichiren Daishonin / Soga Gakkai Buddhism is a cult. The teachings in Theravada Buddhism, Zen Buddhism,  Pure land Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism are predominantly about loving self and loving others. Buddhism teaches very strongly about self-love, compassion, peace and forgiveness without a belief in God. Human love without a Creator God as an example is an aimless and lost path. Buddhism teaches about Karma (the law of cause and effect) and teaches about many heaven and hell worlds without the existence of a creator God. Most Buddhists claim that they don’t believe in the devil and that Mara (the devil in Buddhism) is an aspect of a negative mental state within yourself.

Buddhism is in essence educational it is a very psychological, philosophical and also a physical religion ; Buddhism uses and encourages behaviour modification and develop a relationship with the self, but from a human’s perspective. Buddhism is a mind religion, encouraging its followers to look within and depend on self to solve all problems that are spiritual or non spiritual. The Buddhist idea of putting self first is self-centred love or selfish love. Selfish centredness in extreme can lead to arrogance and selfish love is a form of idolatry. Self exaltation is idolatry despite this fact it is encouraged in psychotherapy and is called self-esteem. Buddhism denies knowledge of absolute truth and at times encourages trusting your own moral authority and inner knowledge of truth and also by using self-intuition as a way to gain insight into yourself. Self-Intuition without knowledge of God and also without relationship with God, is not even half knowledge and is therefore imperfect insight.

Christianity is in essence Spiritual knowledge and being relational to God as well as being sociable to others. Christian Prayer is motivating, praying is therapeutic and edifying to mind, body, soul and spirit. Obedience to God is a priority. Virtues without obedience to God will not get you into Heaven. I believe that all glory should be given to God, no man should give glory to him or herself. Christians believe in self-sacrifice and loving your neighbour equally to the way you love yourself. Jesus Christ made an example of self-sacrifice by laying his life down for us as a sacrifice. When Christians pray they are being filled with the Holy Spirit. Christians learn about eternal truths and about God. Christian meditation is thinking, reflecting and examining what you have read in the Holy Bible or Silent reflection after reading a Christian book or the Holy Bible or silent reflection after Christian prayer or praise. I prefer to call Christian meditation as silent reflection.

Buddhists meditate to empty their minds. Tibetan Buddhists have a meditation practice in which you meditate on death, the aim of this is that you will make the most of your life and live a full and abundant life. Buddhist meditation touches the physical realm and nothing more.The aim of Buddhism is to focus on acceptance, acceptance of pain, acceptance of suffering and letting go off all emotions. I have experience of this and I now realise that this is morbid and causes depression, it is encouraging psychological and emotional dissociation which Buddhist call detachment. Buddhist meditation causes repression, resistance, psychological dissociation, detachment and alienation. Depersonalisation disorder is a dissociative disorder which can be caused by Buddhist and Hindu meditation. Buddhism teaches that pain and suffering is an illusion, I believe that pain and suffering is not an illusion. Buddhism focuses on self centredness, self-discipline and detachment.

Mara the devil (the demon of death) in Buddhism is symbolic of Sin, Egotistical pleasures, sensuality, temptation, death and of a negative mental state.

Christianity gives freedom from fear of death, freedom from preoccupation with death and deep depression which Buddhism creates but Christianity gives hope and true peace of mind. No more curses caused by fear, sin and guilt. Christianity encourages selfless love. Jesus Christ who Christians believe is God is a perfect example of selfless love. Christianity encourages many moral values including love, peace, and forgiveness. Christian prayer communicates directly with God and enters the Spiritual realm.

“Neither Buddhists or Hindus pray to or worship idol/s”. You will find this statement in many Hindu and Buddhist texts.

Christians believe that giving offerings is a form of worship and therefore that is a form of idolatry. Christians also believe that admiration, love, reverence and devotion to Prince Siddhartha Gautama of the Sakya tribe (who is Sakyamuni Buddha) Buddha or following Nichiren Daishonin Buddha is idolatry.

Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism are very centred on kindness to animals and Veganism and following a man (Siddharta Gautama is the founder of Buddhism) or Mahavira (the Prince Nataputta Vardhamana who is the founder of Jainism). Hinduism focuses on vegetarianism and the worship of animals, this is because most of Hindu gods are usually part animal and part human and because they believe in reincarnation. Jains believe in 7 hells and 16 heavens.

Christians disagree with giving any form of offering to any statue, including idols of the virgin Mary and idols of Jesus. I personally do not believe in offering anything to idols or worshipping idols, because The Holy Bible which is Christian, speaks against idolatry.

Christians and Jewish people believe that God is completely pure, sacred and holy and therefore He (God) cannot be like the yin and yang symbol (which is from Chinese philosophy and cosmology, Taoist metaphysics and Confucianism) has a bit of black and a bit of white in it which means that good is not absolutely good, and bad is not totally bad. This pantheistic belief is not in harmony with Christianity and the ideas of the Holy Bible.

Christians believe that humans need God to rescue us from our sinful nature and that Jesus who is God The Son, sacrificed his life and shed his blood in order to bring us back in union with God the Heavenly Father. We are saved because of our faith in God and Jesus alone, and not by our works or good actions. Christians live by having faith in daily life and living by God’s law in The Holy Bible.

Buddhists who follow the Buddhism of Prince Siddharta Gautama Buddha (except for followers of Nichiren Daishonin Soga Gakkai  Buddhism) who believe in the middle way theory, an example of this is the above paragraph quote by Buddhist Monk named Narada Maha Thera . The middle way theory teaches that you should not be extreme in your beliefs or actions and that you should be in the middle, if you follow the middle way theory then you would be neutral which is not good, because you would be of worldly consciousness and spiritually away from God. For example the middle way theory of Optimistic or Pessimistic would be to be neither Optimistic nor Pessimistic but to be “Realistic”. Whilst trying to be realistic is a matter of perception and also this would make you neutral, spiritually dead and away from God’s presence.

Christians believe that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God. Christians believe that humans are spiritual beings and that they possess a soul. Christians believe that sin has moral and spiritual consequences. Christians believe that God is love and follow His (God’s) example by being loving and kind to mankind. Jesus is a sin-bearing messiah and a life-giving Spirit. Jesus is the King of the universe, The only true God of complete Peace and Justice.

Buddhists believe that you don’t have a spirit and follow the “no soul” doctrine. Buddhists also believe that having emotions and desires means that you are not enlightened, to be desireless and end mental, physical and sexual “craving” is the main interest for Buddhists. In Buddhism compassion is promoted not love, since love is an emotion and the aim of Buddhism is to not have any emotions. Buddhist meditation on death and thinking about death is important to Buddhists because they believe it helps them to live totally in the present moment, the aim of the Buddhist is to break the cycle of rebirth which can be achieved through non-existence (Nirvana) which is death. Buddhism makes you emotionally and spiritually dead.

You cannot become Spiritually perfect by your own human effort alone, you need The Holy Spirit’s help. Be aware of what you believe, what you believe worships God or worships the devil. All false religion leads causes spiritual slavery, demonic deception and false religion puts curses on the person following the false religion. You are not saved and cannot be saved so long as you are in false religion. Christianity is the only religion that leads the way to be with the True God eternally. Jesus Christ is LORD and is also God and the Holy Spirit is also God; to understand this you need to read my article named “Bible Trinity Explained” on this website and also the link at the end of this article.

Christians believe you should learn to be with your emotions in a positive way and not be ruled by negative feelings but by following the guidance of The Holy Bible, feelings are a part of you and should be appreciated and controlled at times. God made us to have emotions, so we should be emotional but in control of the emotions. If emotions are not necessary, then God would have made us all without emotions. Christians should be guided by God’s Spirit this happens when we invite God to help us change our emotions and our perspective.We must follow God’s wisdom and insightfulness. Christians believe that humans and planet Earth are suffering because of original sin of Adam and Eve and also due to our sins past and sins today. Eliminating desires and practising detachment from emotions does not end suffering. God is a saviour who forgives sins and is loving. God will end your suffering when you become a Christian, worship Him, and He will heal you on judgement day.

It is better to know The Real Supreme Truth which is The Heavenly Father and live a virtuous life. May you know True Peace. The Heavenly Father is Supreme Truth and Loving Forgiveness He is True Peace and all that you need. May you experience this. To Know The Supreme True God is to be complete. Experience Absolute Completeness In The True God of Peace. It is better to live knowing The Supreme Truth than living with the lie. Virtues without obedience to God will not get you into Heaven. Self conquest of mind does not make you master of your destiny and you have only one Earthly life. You do have a soul, and your soul is eternal. You can never be master of self without union with God. God is the only Master of Self. Self realisation and finding peace within is not absolute peace. Peace without Justice is incomplete and impure peace. Self enquiry without Spiritual union with God is failure.

Buddhism and Jainism religions are about peace and being moralistic without acknowledgement of God. Peace from the world without knowledge of the Biblical God is not true peace. Peace without God is only temporary peace, it is this world centred and is incomplete peace. The peace of mankind and the peace of this physical world is greatly flawed. Your Most Holy Heavenly Spiritual Father gives Perfect Peace Eternally.

Only in Christianity and in the Holy Bible does God The Father offer forgiveness and Eternal Peace through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is The Prince Of Peace who is The Messiah. God deserves the praises and the glory. May you be filled with The Holy Spirit.

Buddhist thinking in action aims at motivating yourself to have no desires, and intellectually reasoning with one’s thoughts to have no feelings by emptying one’s mind through the exercise of Buddhist meditation. Buddhism encourages being logical about everything and telling yourself not to desire anything that seems unattainable.

In Christianity we encourage each other to develop and build up our faith and trust in God even for the impossible and know that He can fulfill your requirements, if it is His will. Christians fill their minds with positive thoughts regarding God during prayer, reading the Holy Bible and in daily life; Christians rely on God for physical, psychological and spiritual strength.

Towards the later years of my Buddhist experience which was 25 years I thought about becoming a Buddhist Nun. I know from experience as I was a Theravada Buddhist and a Dogen Zen Buddhist and also was a Hindu who worshipped Shiva, Vishnu and Krishna. At one point I was also a Hindu Atheist. I now renounce my former beliefs in Buddhism and Hinduism and any other religions I experimented in.

My biggest regret in my life is not becoming Christian sooner. Hinduism and Buddhism as worship is a Sin and a curse of yourself. Please learn from my mistake. If you the reader of this article have any questions, please feel free to contact me. The Wisdom of God is powerful. I trust the Wisdom of God not a dead man ( Siddhartha Gautama founder of Theravada Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhisms and Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhism) or Nichiren Daishonin (Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Soga Gakkai Buddhism). My answer to your question is YES  Hindus and Buddhists practice idolatry.

I recommend that you contact a Pentecostal, Baptist or Non-Denominational Pastor to pray with you and study The Holy Bible.

Psalm 14 v1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good….

Psalm 96v5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Psalm 97v7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship Him, all ye gods.

1 Timothy 2v5-6 ( Amplified Bible) 5 For there is (only) one God and (only) one mediator between God and mankind, the Man Jesus Christ 6 who gave Himself as ransom (a substantial sacrifice to atone) for all, the testimony given at the right and proper time.

1 Corinthians 1v18  For the message of the cross is foolishness (absurd and illogical) to those who are perishing and spiritually dead (because they reject it), but to us who are being saved (by God’s grace) it is (the manifestation of ) the power of God.

Jeremiah 17v5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart department from the Lord.

John 14v27 (N.L.T. )27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Psalm 100 v 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.

When you read the Bible, God will speak to you through the Bible. Read the book of John especially John 3.  John 3 verse 3  John 3 v5-8, John 3 v9 – v21
Acts chapter 4 verse 12 says:- Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be.
Philippians 2 verse 10 says:- that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. 1st John Chapter 1 verse 8- If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Titus Chapter 3 verse 5- He (God) saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His (God’s) own mercy.

Matthew 7 v13-14 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[f] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

I hope this helps.

See also 

Buddhism, Christianity and Psychotherapy 

Jesus as a Sacrifice and Sacrifice 

Bible Trinity Explained

Buddhism

Manashantii