[Advaita-l] Budha & Advaita

[murali mohan]

Here are my doubts:
When we assume that Shankara (or any other Hindu sage) and Buddha are enlightened beings, how can they talk about different realities when there is only one ultimate truth? Can we not equate Shoonya to Nirguna Brahman? After all Emptiness and Fullness are two sides of the same coin - depends on how one looks at it. Also both Shoonya and Nirguna Brahman are quality-less and beyond name and form. Two enlightened persons experiencing the same truth will explain it differently due to verbal and other differences - need not mean they are talking about different realities. 
Regarding rituals, although Buddha was against all ritualistic worship, we see the 
most elaborate rituals in Buddhist monastries more than anywhere else. 
Buddha is also called Sankya Muni. Krishna explains Sankya as a sadhana path in Gita. Are they the same paths? How different is this Sankya marg from the Jnana or Vichara marga propogated mainly by Shankara?
Ramana Maharshi did not ask his followers to follow Karma Kanda - not even for laymen. His emphasis was purely on Vichara or self-enquiry for which rituals are not necessary (by rituals I mean ceremonial worship as prescribed in Vedas, not day-to-day activities). 

		
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