Welcome home! Please contact
lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site.
New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days.
Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Did Jesus and Buddha really teach the same thing(if one looks deep enough)
Comments
You can check out Amitabha Sutra.
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/amitabha.htm
My hope is that we'll have the answer to this within our lifetime. The most recent report is that the Indian government wants to take control of the site, but it's in a very politically touchy region. Kashmir has always been a powderkeg, and the tomb is in a Muslim neighborhood that has turned militant. But they want to develop the site for tourism, and do DNA studies on the body inside the tomb. If they manage to do that, it'll be a earthshaking. Don't hold your breath, though; it won't happen soon.
As someone mentioned already, negative (apophatic) theology has much in common with Mahayana's Emptiness or Advaita Vedanta's Absolute. Plus I think many moderners take Christ's words out of context. Sure, he said that no one comes to the Father except through him, but he also points out that scripture says that all are called to be "sons of God". In the the first verses of the Gospel of John, it is said that Christ is the Word, or Logos, of God, and also that the Logos is the "light that shines in every man". This seems to me to be similar to the Buddha-nature idea of Mahayana.
John the Baptist says, "I must decrease so that He may increase". Jesus says: "Before Abraham was, I AM", which speaks to an identification with the Timeless (unbound, uncreated, etc.). And in addition to the many parallel sayings of Jesus and the Buddha (there are several collections of these online and in print; for example, see Marcus Borg's book), the early Church fathers and mothers, particularly in Christianity's monastic expression, practiced and taught hesychasm (stillness; silence), and nepsis (mindfulness; watchfulness).
Christ's teachings are placed in a kind of mytho-poetic narrative, which in itself becomes a means of spiritual engagement, and which includes all kinds of symbolism (which, at least for a long time, seemed the ideal spiritual tool for the western mind). For example, kenosis (self-emptying) is symbolized by the crucifixion. Jesus' recognition of Mary's way as being superior to Martha's way shows how the calling to complete renunciation of the world (monasticism) is superior to business (and even service) in the world.
The Buddha taught in parables and such, too, but it seems that his teachings are much more methodical and systematic, whereas Jesus' teachings weren't really turned into a methodological "spiritual science" of sorts until they were systematized through the practice and experience of the early church, and especially the desert fathers and mothers (see any volume of the Philokalia).
I think fewer humans can engage traditional, mystical/mythical religion nowadays because of a left-brain, black-and-white kind of thinking that has led more or less to a dichotomy: religious literalism vs. dogmatic materialism/atheism. I believe that what Christ and his saints teach leads in very much the same direction as Buddhism does, but has to be entered into in a pragmatic and experiential way, which is not easy for people living outside of, say, Romania or parts of Greece. It's hard to find qualified teachers of "Prayer of the heart" in North America, for example, whereas it seems that Vipassana instructors are a dime a dozen! Another difficulty many have with Christianity is faith, which doesn't come easily for people taught to regard skepticism as a virtue!
For interest's sake, there is a modern Eastern Orthodox Christian teacher named Bernadette Roberts who has written and published a few books regarding her own arrival at an experiential understanding of No-Self (anatta) through her lifelong practice of Christianity. http://www.amazon.com/Experience-No-Self-Contemplative-Journey-Revised/dp/0791416941
BTW, I am not saying that Buddha and Jesus had the exact same teachings or anything, and I believe that some of the differences are insurmountable from a practical point of view. Just throwing this out there for consideration...
Great post, Stavros!
@Stavros, I don't think it's necessary to live in the East (of Europe) to be able to be more balanced between right- and left- brains. One need only be raised in the culture of the Orthodox Church. There are plenty of Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Romanian communities around the US, recreating their cultural milieu of origin in the home. Speaking as someone who was raised in two worlds and two languages in an Orthodox community, I can say from experience that the hustle, bustle, consumerism, etc. of contemporary life gets left behind not even when you enter the home, but when you enter the neighborhood, where a very different reality is the norm.
Thank you for a thoughtful post. Don't stop there, you're on a roll!
Thanks for the kind words, Dakini and c_w!
Faith and works.
There are two equally convincing arguments that support Jesus as only a man, and as Divine.
Follow what works for you, the importants lies on what he taught. The golden rule, the beautitudes, the our father, the parables, the importance of following the spirit of the law. Etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_God#Islam
Don't forget, Canada has some Dukhobor communities. Maybe they could help you, if there are any in your area.
I've used Russian liturgical music as background music in my massage practice. People find it very ethereal and calming. What's really interesting is that my Native American clients go into a deep trance as soon as the first notes are played, and don't come out of it until after the music is over. They go into such a deep trance, that their mind disconnects from their body, so they're not able to move at all. I see them struggling to move an arm even slightly, and they can't.
I think this is pretty good proof of the mystical power in that tradition. Awesome!
Jesus is very big in Islam. He's going to return someday, and establish Islam as the only religion, did you know? Says so in the Quran. @Lady_Alison You might find this book I'm reading interesting: "Saving the Savior: Did Christ Survive the Crucifixion?" by a Muslim author who has researched the history of Jesus' tomb in Kashmir. I think he was raised a Catholic, so he examines the Gospels, including the apocryphal Gospels, to support his views, as well as the Quran and other sources.
Let me put you at ease. No man can condenm another to eternal hell for what they believe. If they knew the horrors of hell they would not speak such ignorance.
I would not condemn nero or hitler to a place like that, let alone someone trying to see inner truth. So remember that when you listen to a spiritual leader.
the central tenet of any religion is to love your neighbour as yourself.
the Buddha taught Loving Kindness and Compassion... so I really don't understand what it is you're referring to?
It's a means to an end, sure.
but there's a whole lot more to it than that.
I hope.
Well, the text the you've entered reveals that you know nothing about religions...
I, Myself, am born as muslim, studies kabbalah, Christianity , Bahai , eckenkar and some of other god related stuffs. neither of them where useful for human, in all of these caes there's a god who decides who to be alive and who to be died, they all caused wars, limitation and lag. I'm just sick and tired of god and his prophets.
Well, I know there are lots of people who are idiot enough to fight , kill and be died for their hidden and unknown god, so I would stay out of this, but to say my last sentence:
Ice is cold, fire is hot, and water always drops down, if we pray god(s) till eternity, neither of those materials would change...
~~ Supreme lord buddha.
Did you know that in Real academic history , no jesus could be found?!!
Did you know that muses was a dictator who was killed by his own soldiers?
Did you know that mohammad had more than 41 wives?!
Did you know that bahais are allowed to marry their siblings?!!
Oh!!! funny! very funny!
No.
/Victor
The arrogance of man, purporting to be a devout follower of god, causes war and he cites religion as a reason, when in fact it is but a poor, redundant and pitifully lame excuse.... what has this comment got to do with anything?
It's off-topic and has no relevance to the subject matter. who was as human as you or I, and did not seek supremacy or to be elevated in anyone's eyes. So perhaps it is you who has the wrong end of the stick, friend.
What they are trying to say cannot be said.
Words and concepts are tools, stepping stones, fingers pointing at the moon.
Jesus’ finger is not Buddha’s finger but they point at the same moon.
When I stayed in the guesthouse of a Catholic monastery there was a very old priest looking after us. He noticed I wasn’t much of a Catholic but he didn’t try to get to the bottom of our differences.
He just looked me in the eyes and said: “ultimately it is a mystery”.
Hmmm.. seems like you are person who can convince herself with irrelevant theories in order to get rid of the questions.
Just to clear my beliefs for others :
I, Myself,prefer to consider dalailama as a political person than a spiritual one,well, obviously this is what I think and ... probably can be wrong, but , as buddha said, praying god is useless!!! so, any one who follows him should think in that way...
It's not only me , as a buddhist, who talk against the GOD's prophets,but also Paul Twichle , the founder of eckenkar religion,has talked many things against God prophets.
About being supermacy thing that you said, well, lol ,lol i just can't stop laughing...
Well, would you do me a favor and tell me why and how did you find supermacy thing in some one who can not be found in in history ( I mean jesus) and discuss my beliefs about some one who has brought the idea of peace, comfort and equality for human ( I mean SUPREME lord buddha) ?
Well, Actually I think I'd better to leave you with your FANTASTIC theories alone...
Just to clear my beliefs for others : The Dalai Lama is retired from politics - as I'm sure you are aware - and concerns himself solely with the spirituality of his position. Please provide a reference to this comment. Unless you find direct reference to what you seem to believe he said, I think everyone is doing just fine, 'following him'.... this is not the topic of discussion here, and we do not hold with divisive, antagonistic and inflammatory comments. you seem easily amused. I can't see why.... You're making huge assumptions here, as I never implied he was or is supreme. I didn't even mention the supremacy of Jesus, so i have no idea where you got this idea from. I don't really care what your beliefs or opinions are.
The Buddha himself tells us he is not supreme, so that's good enough for me.
I don't need your word or anyone else's on that. Very good idea.
Thanks for stopping by.