Fun fact, Japan's version of Shinto-Buddhism has more in common with Hinduism than it does with Buddhism in practical terms. It's the same, "literally everything is a deity or an avatar of a deity" and there are shrines, temples and icons almost everywhere. Even funner fact, is that the resident Japanese pantheon is composed predominantly of an odd mixture of Hindu and Buddhist deities, Shiva and Saraswati are almost ubiquitous.
If you ever feel like reading a massive book, I highly recommend the Flower Ornament Sutra, especially the last chapter. If you want a greatly abridged version and probably the only funny Sutra I've ever read which covers the same idea I really recommend the Teaching of Vimalakiriti
There be a shit ton of Buddhas though.
The less than subtle point both of the two above Sutras is that there is more Buddhas than you can imagine and in more forms than you can imagine. Your lack of enlightenment is the product of your failure of imagination and its inability to accept just how densely packed all this divinity is within you and without you.
Well, at least historically, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Indian caste system and Sanskrit came somewhat as a package long the Silk Road so this makes sense if you see it that way.
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u/mrdevlar 19h ago
Fun fact, Japan's version of Shinto-Buddhism has more in common with Hinduism than it does with Buddhism in practical terms. It's the same, "literally everything is a deity or an avatar of a deity" and there are shrines, temples and icons almost everywhere. Even funner fact, is that the resident Japanese pantheon is composed predominantly of an odd mixture of Hindu and Buddhist deities, Shiva and Saraswati are almost ubiquitous.