[Ngdyoysv]

According to Paul Williams, Hindu influence probably gained momentum starting in the fourth century AD....Hinduism was reaching an apex at the time and Buddhism was coming under competitive pressure. So it's likely that certain doctrines were reinterpreted in a way that would appeal to the "Hindu market", if you will.

North India during the last century or so BCE and the first three centuries CE was subject to foreign invasions and fragmentation.
Impermanence (lack of inherent existence) was present in the very fabric of the socio-political environment! With the rise of the Gupta empire in the fourth century, however, all changed. For two centuries the Gupta empire dominated India, and this domination marks the high point of classical Indian civilization…More ominously for the history of Indian Buddhism, it is from the Gupta period that we can see the flowering of Hinduism in its classical Purapic form, the form in which it is now familiar. (The) Tathagatagarbha sutras are associated with the Gupta period, the high period of vigorous classical Hindu culture. There is some evidence in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra itself of yet another crisis in the wake of the Hindu renaissance (Nakamura 1980: 213-14). It is tempting to speak of Hindu influence on Buddhism at this point, but simply to-talk of influences is almost always too easy. One tradition will only ever influence another if the tradition which is influenced is capable of making sense of the influences in terms of its own tradition. The influenced tradition is already halfway there, there is never a complete change of direction. There was already within Buddhism a long tradition of positive language about nirvana and the Buddha, relating this to an experiential core found within in meditation. Having said that, of course the Mahaparinirvana Sutra itself admits Hindu influence in a sense when it refers to the Buddha using the term 'Self in order to win over non-Buddhist ascetics. The cross-fertilization apparently went both ways, however -- as Advaita Vedanta shows distinct Buddhist influence.

I think we can see similar processes at work today. Certain strains of Asian Buddhism seem to pick up on elements found in Christianity (devotionalism, focus on the laity, providing moral teachings as the basis for a virtuous life, philanthropic and social outreach movements, youth groups, etc). Or, to be more accurate, they foreground certain aspects of Mahayana doctrine which have similar appeal. It's hard not to believe there hasn't been some conscious effort to compete.

Aik Theng Chong's talk of "final deliverance" sounds a bit Christian to my ear...