Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu

[mani at srirangam.esd.sgi.com]

* Later Hinduism absorbed/appropriated several traits of Buddhism.
* Sankara was called "prasanna bauddha (hidden buddhist)" by Ramanuja.

Just FYI, Ramanujacharya never referred to Sankara or his philosophy
of nirviSesha advaita as "prachanna bauddha".  Although Vedanta Desika
(a 14th century Visistadvaitin) uses the term at least once, it is 
primarily a favorite of the Dvaitin AnandatIrtha and his followers.

Mani