Cover of the must read "Jesus and Buddha the paralell sayings" Edited by Marcus Borg
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More and More Evidence is Coming to Light that May Indicate that Jesus was in Fact a Buddhist
Have you ever wondered about the similarities between the Christian and Buddhist faiths? If you have, I am willing to bet that if you have then you may have noticed some striking similarities between the teachings of Buddha and Jesus. Well If you have your not alone. More and more people (regular citizens and scholars alike) are entertaining the possibility that Jesus was in effect a practicing Buddhist or at the very least the his views about the world (views that later shaped the Christian faith) were influenced by Buddhism. To understand how and why this may in fact be the case we must first examine how this influence could have occurred and why it is Jesus who would have been influenced and not the other way around.The reason that Jesus could have been influenced by the teachings of Buddha and not vice versa is very simple, Jesus lived around 500 years after Buddha did thus it was impossible for Buddha to learn of the teachings of Jesus but it is possible and indeed plausible that Jesus in fact learned of the teachings of Buddha. You may be thinking: "How can there be no record of this in the Bible?" Well there are two very good reasons there is no biblical record of Buddhism influencing Jesus first you must remember that the bible is a book and books get edited and the bible is no different. In fact it is printed on the cover of most bibles "The King James Version" this means it was edited by King James and many things were omitted from the final draft that we use today. The second reason we see no biblical reference to Buddhist influence is a good chunk of the life of Jesus is missing. From age 13-30 there is no written record of Jesus's life. Upon his return however he is obviously a changed and "enlightened" man. Most Christians accept that he went out into the wilderness to search for the truth (just as Sidhartha who would become Buddha did 500 years earlier) during the missing years of his life. This prompts us to ask the questions of: Where exactly did Jesus go? Who did he encounter on his travels? And what did he learn on his journey that changed him so profoundly and where did he learn it from?
Comments
Leslie Miller
(Guest)
(Guest)
01/19/2010
This is an excellent article, but lend credence to your work by getting your grammar right, dear. Have someone proof for you and learn your weaknesses (your/you're?) so you don't repeat mistakes.
Thought provoking and done with integrity! Wouldn't it be ironic if there really is just one god and he messes with people by sending different messengers to different religions just so we can't figure it out? Merry Christmas!
It just amazes me how people are happy to follow doctrine and dogma, instead of being a seeker like Christ, Buddha and so many more.
God knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless. "Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins"."Many shall come in my name, saying I am he". When you come to know him you can feel compassion for those who do not.
Frank Lee Jennings
Joben behanan
(Guest)
(Guest)
08/23/2009
My friend Jesus is the Son of God how can he get influenced by anything, he was moved by the holly spirit, not by Buddhism teachings
Derek Schaeffer
(Guest)
(Guest)
06/09/2009
Likewise parallels have been drawn between Horus (http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa5b.htm)and Julius G. Caesar (http://www.carotta.de/subseite/texte/esumma.html). Remixing themes and plagiary used to be rule rather than exception in aural traditions.
Re: Mark
You must be on drugs. Your actually telling me that the Bible of today is written exactly as it was in its original text. That's about the dumbest thing I have ever heard! The bible has has several authors and translated a million times over and we know its been abridged many many times just take into account the simple fact that Jews, Catholics and other Christians cant even agree on the exact wording of the 10 commandments.
Get some facts, talk with some biblical historians then come back and try to spout your garbage.
shepherdboy
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/15/2009
God being sovereign knew all this things. That is why the old testament bible has full of prophecy about Jesus life, death and resurrection that was written some 700 years before his coming to earth, which none of this man made prophet has. Jesus claims about himself and the many miracles that he'd done is what makes the difference, his claims that he will be put to death and he will rise from the dead in 3 days!! Making his statement that he is the creator of the universe and the savior.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
One source for these ideas is Holger Kersten's Jesus went to India. Unfortunately there is very little evidence for a contact between Jesus and Buddhism, as the author points out. It is plausible that some Buddhist ideas influenced the Essenes and other spiritual communities. As for the terrible editing of the Bible, don't blame King James, blame Emperor constantine. Many Gnostic Christians including the Christian commentator, later made a heretic Origien believed in a form of reincarnation. Christian monasticism was influenced by Manichaeism and the latter did borrow from Buddhism. This last sentence is backed by a scholar I know. Christmas on the other hand is a substitute for a Roman Celebration on the 25 December from Mithraism. I enjoyed this article.
Wesley D King
(Guest)
(Guest)
03/01/2009
A good, intellectual article. As with most things in life, it comes down to what your core beliefs are. Jesus never sought truth. He said, in fact, He was Truth. When checking out His background and that of His upbringing, it can't be overlooked He was orthodox Jewish. In fulfiling the Law (which is what He said about His ministry on earth, any and all pagan (or what we call New Age spiritualism)would not, and was not, entertained. Unlike, Buddha, Jesus believed and taught everything we read in the Old Testament, most of which contradicts Buddha ("we are created in the image of God", "shall have no other god before me", etc). Jesus was greatly influenced by His relationship with His Father and the inspired words He dictated to His prophets. No need for spiritualism and the occult that had led Israel away from God.
But seriously. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate a good, honest debate. Truth (which was personified in the person of Jesus) will always stand up to scrutiny and
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