Gauthama

Buddhism and Vedanta-Yoga have interacted and overlapped intimately in the lives of American practitioners, many of whom have drawn liberally from both. Each has helped to legitimize the other, smoothing the way to mutual acceptance in the West. Their compatibility makes sense, given the Buddhism is part of Vedic legacy. Siddhartha Gautama, the man we call Buddha, was brought up in northern India and became classic renunciate – a yogi, if you will. He was a reformer, much as Jesus was a reformer of the Hebric tradition, and the religion that developed in his name stands in relation to Hinduism as Christianity does to Judaism. Also like Christianity, Buddhism entranced in foreign lands even as it faded in its place of origin. ~ Page 4 (Introduction) American Veda by Philip Goldberg