A Facepalming good time.

[Aupmanyav]

Hinduism considered Buddha to be one of their gods, and Buddha said not to waste your time with trying to understand reality which is what science does. .. Hinduism and modern Buddhism both have magical thinking, prayers, and rituals which are not compatible with science even if science is excepted.

Hinduism is not a monolith. There are many strains in it. Buddha, of course, is the ninth avatara of Lord Vishnu for a majority of theist hindus but that is 'Vaishnavas' (those who consider Lord Vishnu as the Supreme God). For 'Shaivas', Shiva is the Supreme God, and for 'Shaktas', the mother Goddess Durga is the Supreme Power (Shakti). Then, there are those who go by Vedas, they are termed as 'Smartas'. The latter three do not accept Buddha as a God. In 'advaita' (non-duality), either all things may be considered God (Pantheism), or none can be considered God. I follow the atheistic 'advaita'.

As for prayers, Manduka Upanishad said:
"In darkness are those who worship the manifest, in greater darkness are those who worship the unmanifest."

That I suppose should make things clear.

[Aupmanyav]

What does "pure consciousness" even mean, and what does it have to do with Buddhism or Hinduism?

It is a difficult subject and I do not subscribe to it. However, I tried and found a good explanation of what it means in hinduism. I give that below:

"Brahman is the one Consciousness in all manifested forms. As gold remains gold alone, whether it is molded into coins, jewellery, idols or anything else, the universal Consciousness remains the same, no matter in which form it is manifested. Whatever we see or know as this universe, as God and as ourselves, is nothing but the play of this one Consciousness. It is the light of Consciousness that illumines everything, both within and without. Sankara retells a story from the Upanishads, which is actually a dialogue between a guru and his disciple.

The guru asks the disciple, by what light do you see? The disciple replies, by sunlight in the daytime, and by lamplight at night.
G: By what light do you see these lights?
D: By the light of my eyes, naturally.
(Without the eyes, all other lights prove useless for the purpose.)
G: And by what light do your eyes see?
D: By the light of consciousness, indeed!
(Even when the eyes are open, one can miss seeing an object right before one's eyes if the awareness is directed elsewhere.)
G: That is true!
Thus, know that Consciousness is the Light by which all else is seen."

In buddhism, it may be 'dhammakaya', 'tathagatagarbha', 'buddha-nature', or 'bodhikaya'.

[Aupmanyav]

That's a lot of words to say basically nothing...

No problem if you have this opinion. For me it joins my religion with science, and lets me remain true to my religion and culture without contravening it in any way. If you have time, you may read about 'Atheistic Roots of Hindu Philosophy'. It is just one page at http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... e-shankara

[Colanth]

For me it joins my religion with science

Again, science says that you can't have consciousness without a brain.  Your religion says you can.  If you can join "can" and "can't", more power to you, but people who understand what words mean don't try to delude themselves that way.

[Aupmanyav]

Colanth: Your religion says you can.

You see, Colanth, my religion is a ocean. There is no end to what my religion can say. For me, as an atheist advaitist Hindu, science and religion are same.