Ahura Mazda and Zarathushtra

Genryu1989

I was wondering your guyses opinions on Zarathushtra and the God he preached for, Ahura Mazda compared to Buddhism. The phrase "Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds" is very close to the Noble Eightfold Path. The gathas actually introduced democracy, and Zoroastrianism is called "The Reflective Religion". Now keep in mind im talking about Early Zoroastrianism, before the priests and others added more and more to whats called The Avesta, after reading this and if you dont know anything about Zoroastrianism, make sure you look up the "gathic" texts and not the stuff added on..

Now more to the point, the reason I even bothered with this is because although now I am pretty much an atheist, I am always searching for proof of God or Gods (that proof being flawless teachings/scriptures), and as of now my journey has stopped here at the early gathic texts of zoroaster and his companions. What I want is the opinions of learned and experienced buddhists on the comparison between Buddhism and Gathic Zoroastrianism. Here are a few sites that will help those who are unfamiliar with the gathas and Ahura Mazda..

http://www.zoroastrianism.cc/god_in_the_gathas.html
http://www.aza.org.au/Documents/The%20Gathas%20-%20DJI.pdf
http://www.vohuman.org/Article/Twin%20Mainyus%20-%20The%20Gathic%20Doctrine.htm

Please read these and other sites carefully before posting, but the basics of what i learned and what attracted me are these teachings...

Democracy, seperation of church and state... leaders are to be chosen by how righteous and able they are...

The meaning of our life is to sustain and protect earth, to become enlightened beings...

Women are equal...

It is a reflective religion...

Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds...

and a few more but im in a hurry, and just by reading the gathas you will be amazed at how modern the teachings are...

Lol anyways, let me know your (Learned and Experienced Buddhist) opinion on the early Gathic Zoroastrian texts compared to what the Buddha taught...

You pal in the Dharma,
Genryu

Palzang

Zoroastrianism is fascinating as it supplied the basis for most of Christianist beliefs, such as the ultimate battle between Good and Evil, etc. Of course, it suffers from the same problem that all theistic religions do, that god is somewhere "out there" and we are apart from him/her/it.

Palzang

Peter_Schogol

In my reading of Zoroastrianism, the good/evil dichotomy has been literalized owing, most probably, to later developments in the religion. In Zarathushtra's Gathas there is no mention of a cosmic battle between good and evil, and the term "Angra Mainyu" which is taken to mean "evil spirit" seems more moral than ontological.

The best book in English I've found on the subject is Farhang Mehr's The Zoroastrian Tradition, which is still in print.

ansanna

there are scholars that pointed out there Zoroastrianism and it's derived cults gave profound contribution to the development of Christianity and Pure land sects of the Mahayana Buddhist school

shanyin

I studied Zoroastrainism a few months ago when I was finishing high school

Aparently the founder performed mircales, that's all I can remember but I do remember noticing other similarities.