Energy vibrates and synchronises

 B

DR

In Buddhism, Buddha as God vs Buddha as man, which view has more followers and which view will lead a follower to the true message of Buddha? Is it ideal to think of him as God initially and then realize he is man or vice versa?

Well, in Mahayana Buddhism, Buddhas (of which there are many) are viewed as greatly powerful beings of infinite light residing in Buddha Kshetras or Buddha Fields which are like celestial worlds. The Buddhas are transcendental, Lokuttara (of the Highest World) beings with unimaginably long lifetimes, countless eons long, and endowed with many other supernatural attributes and qualities. Prayer and devotion are directed toward them, and they give mystic revelations to practitioners.

Do you call that a “God”? Buddhists don’t, when speaking English, but depending on definition of God, the distinction may be slippery.

In Theravada Buddhism, the view is far closer to what you call “Buddha as man”, but still quite an extraordinary man. They hold that a Buddha (again, of which there have been many) is a sentient being who has reached Nibbana and then taught the Dhamma to others. A Buddha is believed to have abhinna or extraordinary powers such as mind-reading and supernatural flight, but nowhere near the level recognized in Mahayana.

So, which view has more followers? Mahayana, by far. There are at least 330 million Mahayana Buddhists, and about 150 million Theravada Buddhists. Neither of them traditionally teaches an ideal of “thinking of him as God initially and the realizing he is man” or vice versa; that isn’t really a Buddhist concept.