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is it possible?

Seeker567Seeker567 Explorer
edited December 2010 in Buddhism Basics
If im correct, didnt buddha say that another buddha will come when the world needs him the most to teach and change the world? Is it possible that could have been jesus or Muhammed (sorry if i didnt spell that right)?

Comments

  • CinorjerCinorjer Veteran
    There are scattered prophesies about a future Buddha called Maitreya, although these don't appear in the earliest Sutras. He is supposed to appear only after the teachings of Gautama Buddha have been completely forgotten and all the relics will have been gathered up and cremated. The Maitreya will usher in a new golden age of Buddhism, etc.

    Both inside and outside of Buddhism, this figure has been used by all sorts of self-styled holy people who want to lay claim to some spiritual divinity. No, considering the rather specific prophesy, neither Jesus nor Muhammed taught the Dharma or filled the shoes of the Maitreya.

    What you will find today are lots of claimants, in fact at any given time there are several gurus who proclaim the title.
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    If im correct, didnt buddha say that another buddha will come when the world needs him the most to teach and change the world? Is it possible that could have been jesus or Muhammed (sorry if i didnt spell that right)?
    There is a certain prophecy regarding maitreya in some sutras and I dont think any of the conditions have been fulfilled just yet ;)
    Geshe-la has often likend Jesus to a great Bodhisattva, And Muhammed is certainly not a candidate.
  • MountainsMountains Veteran
    edited December 2010
    Boy, you advocate killing infidels *one* time and you get nothing but abuse for the rest of your life :)
  • VangelisVangelis
    The current teaching needs to pass away before another Buddha can arise.
  • NirvanaNirvana aka BUBBA   `     `   South Carolina, USA Veteran
    edited December 2010
    To me, this seems like a conflation of early verses of the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita with Buddhist sutras; notably verses 7 & 8:
    Whenever there is a decline of Dharma and a rise of Adharma, then I embody myself, O Bharata. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of Dharma, I am born from age to age.

    Undeniably, this kind of thinking is also endemic to Buddhist thought.
  • VangelisVangelis
    Yes, but in Buddhism (Theravada Buddhism at least) there is no Adharma and the Buddha is not the same being born from age to age. Otherwise there would be no cessation.
  • karmadorjekarmadorje
    Cessation from whose point of view?
  • SherabDorjeSherabDorje
    Cessation from whose point of view?
    Really. How are you using the concept of cessation here? It sounds inconsistent with even my poor knowledge of Theravada. Does Theravada not use the Heart Sutra, in which it says there is no cessation?
  • karmadorjekarmadorje
    I wasn't using the concept, I was seeking clarification. The buddha ceases to be in terms of a specific nirmanakaya, which has more to do with the karmic vision of beings who are to be aided. If the buddha totally ceased, then mahabodhi would be impermanent, no?
  • NirvanaNirvana aka BUBBA   `     `   South Carolina, USA Veteran
    edited December 2010
    This is all above my head, except that I know the difference between the noun prophecy and the verb
    prophesy (@Whoever).

    Oops, I HATE it that you can't delete posts anymore!
  • CinorjerCinorjer Veteran
    Huh. I'm a writer, and that one slipped past me. Just goes to show even spellcheckers aren't enough. It's also another of those frustrating quirks of that wonderful english language.

    A person prophesies prophecies.

    I've never read a definitive explanation as to where and how the Maitreya prophecies ended up in Buddhism. I suppose it's natural for the mystic side of Buddhism to have a personification of a future saviour.
  • VangelisVangelis
    Does Theravada not use the Heart Sutra, in which it says there is no cessation?
    No. Theravada uses the Pali texts. You can get more info and translations of many of them from the accesstoinsight website.

  • VangelisVangelis
    Cessation from whose point of view?
    There is no "who".
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    There is only the cessation of suffering, and only that if you apply right effort toward walking the path. :)

    From what I understand of the Theravada tradition where Maitreya is referred to as Metteyya, the coming of this Buddha would only occur when all of the previous Buddha's teachings had been lost and the world was once again plunged into the darkness of suffering-without-release.
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