Question
From David — Subject: Buddha and Bhagavatam
Dearest Jagannatha prabhu,
I wanted to ask you another question which has some relevance to my own spiritual path and will help me clarify some things.
Is the Buddha viewed as the incarnation of the supreme reality, is the supreme reality called "Buddha" which is beyond material existence, equivalent and existent with the term "nirvana"?
Is Buddhism a form of Eastern gnosis?
May you be overflowing with blessings…
— David
Response
Reply from John of AllFaith
Hi David,
I hope you had a nice holiday ;-)
In Hindu scriptures like the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.3.24), the Buddha was foretold as the 21st incarnation of Lord Vishnu hundreds of years prior to his birth. Most Hindus still accept him as such.
For Buddhists however, Gautama is not seen as a god (with a couple of minor exceptions), but as an awakened ("buddha") and honored master.
It is not so much that supreme reality "is" Buddha as it is that one who awakens to or realizes supreme reality is "buddha," or awakened and one with all that is. The state of being awake is nirvana, the plane of "nir" (cessation of) all activities or continuances.
As to whether this is Eastern gnosis, I'd say it depends on where one stands. I'd say it is the "transcending" of all knowledge rather than the "realization" of all knowledge, and so I'd say no, it's a different thing; but many people do define it thus. If one attains full gnosis then arguably one awakens… It would be truer perhaps of the Vajrayana than of Zen. Buddhism is quite broad.
Peace
What Does It Mean to Be a Buddha?
The word Buddha means "the awakened one" — not a god, not a creator deity, and not a prophet speaking on behalf of a divine authority. A Buddha is a human being who has, through their own effort and insight, penetrated the illusion of separateness and perceived the true nature of reality directly. This awakening is not a gift bestowed from above; it is a realization achieved through meditation, ethical living, and the cultivation of wisdom.
This distinction is crucial for understanding Buddhism's relationship to other spiritual traditions. In Hinduism, the Buddha is revered as an avatar of Vishnu — a divine descent sent to restore cosmic order. Buddhists, by contrast, honor Gautama as a extraordinary teacher who showed the path to liberation, but not as a god to be worshipped. The difference is not merely doctrinal; it reflects a fundamentally different understanding of the relationship between the individual and the ultimate. In Buddhism, the ultimate is not a person but a state — nirvana — which means the cessation of suffering and the ending of the cycle of rebirth. One does not worship nirvana; one realizes it.
Whether Buddhism constitutes a form of "Eastern gnosis" — a direct, salvific knowledge of ultimate reality — is a question that depends on the tradition and the definition. The Vajrayana, with its emphasis on direct realization and esoteric transmission, bears closer resemblance to Gnostic traditions than does Zen or Theravada. But across all schools, the central insight remains: awakening is not about acquiring knowledge about reality; it is about dissolving the barrier between the knower and the known, so that reality reveals itself as it truly is — interconnected, impermanent, and empty of separate selfhood.