The Mahayana school of Buddhism is so riddled with Hinduism, Brahmanism, and Vedantic ideas that it is hardly Buddhism at all, but rather a continuation of what the Brahmins of the Buddha's day taught, which he rejected in no uncertain terms. But the Brahmins insisted they had the ultimate teaching, which could not be improved on, the "Eternal Dharma." Is there a self, a True Self, a supreme atman at one with Brahman (godhead, godhood, the reality behind the illusion)? Yes, according to Hinduism and many Mahayana Buddhists who fail to study the historical Buddha's Doctrine. The one thing the Buddha taught for sure is that there is no self (anatta), and everything that appears to be a permanent-self separate from its supporting conditions (the Five Aggregates clung to as Self) is, in fact, utterly impersonal, empty, devoid of a self (atta or atman). This is the point of Mahayana's most popular discourse Heart Sutra and many discourses by the historical Buddha as recorded in the Pali canon. Yet, Watts and others correctly state that Mahayana is more in line with Hinduism than Buddhism.
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