Hi, may I know if Yogananda ever said anything about Buddhism? I don’t think I have ever found anything he said regarding that, and I am curious to know his perspective.
—Sam, Singapore
Dear Sam,
Yes, Yogananda said that Buddhism originally wasn’t without God: it was devotional. In other words, Buddha spoke about God. Yes, he emphasized self-effort, not blind dependence on God’s grace. But today’s Buddhism has strayed from his original teachings.
Yogananda for example said: “Buddha taught, ‘Meditate on God.’… Buddha showed us God’s benign intelligence, working through dharma or cosmic law.”
Yogananda also wrote: “Buddha appeared in India to prevent cruelty to men and animals. He incarnated there when the message of mercy was extremely needed. He emphasized the necessity of developing sympathy for men and animals, in order to feel the presence of God in all. Through Buddha many sacrifices of animals in the temples were stopped.”
Other than that, Yogananda teaches that Buddha was a true avatar, the highest level of being, on the same level as Jesus and Krishna. He “had many liberated disciples.”
Yogananda also shares his personal experience with Buddha: “When I went back to India in 1935, I visited Bodh Gaya and sat under the tree where Buddha sat in meditation until he received enlightenment. I could exactly feel his feelings, his thoughts, his ecstasy.” (The Divine Romance).
Original Buddhism was a search for ecstasy — not for annihilation, as it is sometimes taught today.
All the best,
Jayadev
