Yoga and Buddhism

      The roots of yoga can be traced back to the Rig Veda, which is the oldest Hindu text. Although yoga in the West is not considered to be traditionally religious, the practice derives its teachings from Hinduism, the Hindu Dharma, and other aspects related to Indian culture. Although six Vedic yoga systems existed originally, those systems evolved to create the many different types of yoga the world knows today. Like Buddhism, yoga emphasizes its own form of mindfulness through the breath. Both can utilize meditation and awareness in order to help followers transcend karma and rebirth or samsara. One the surface, the two ideologies appear to go hand in hand. However, many Buddhist teachings directly reject certain teachings of the Atman, Ishvara, Brahman, and Vedanta (Hindu teachings). For example, we’ve learned that Buddhism rejects the notion of a self. Traditional Yoga-Vedanta practices emphasize followers to strive for self-realization. Therefore, self-realization through Yoga-Vedanta practices allows one to observe his or her true nature. In An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, D.T. Suzuki names a Buddhists true nature as one’s original face, or Buddha face. The differences between observing one’s true nature and discovering one’s Buddha face seem to be difficult to describe. Throughout his book, D.T. Suzuki also brings up the idea that meditation is not even necessarily required for one to be considered Zen. From his perspective, yoga could potentially create the circumstances for one to discover his or her own Buddha face, but yoga does not seem to be directly endorsed by many Buddhists. 

Additional Info: http://www.vedanet.com/2012/06/yoga-and-buddhism-similarities-and-differences/