W
- Status
N
notself
Guest
The Buddha is not worshipped by Buddhists as a god. There is no supreme being in Buddhism and the Buddha did not claim to be inspired by any divine being. The incense and flowers in the Buddhist temples show respect for his memory and help focus the minds of the laypeople. The chanting is chanting of the Suttas, the words of the Buddha. It would be similar to chanting the New Testament for Catholics.
There are heaven and hell realms in Buddhism, but beings in these realms are mortal and when they die they will be reborn into other realms, such as the animal realm or the human realm. So the goal of Buddhism is to end the cycle of death and rebirth through moral living and meditation on the Eight Fold Path.
There was no prediction by the Buddha of the coming of Christ. This was just plain made up. The Buddha is one who on his own discovered the path to enlightenment. He taught that he was one of a long line of previous self-enlightened men. That each time the teachings of Buddhism completely disappear, they are rediscovered by another man who then becomes the next Buddha. So Christ is not the reincarnation of the Buddha because Buddhism has not disappeared.
If anyone wishes to know more about the Buddha, I recommend the book by Karen Armstrong called, The Buddha It is an excellent biography without too much jargon and she occasionally compares the teachings of the Buddha to some Catholic concepts. Ms Armstrong is a former nun who had to leave the convent because of health reasons. She is a well respected writer of religious history.
There are almost as many traditions of Buddhism as there are denominations of Christians. Just as all Christian denominations have certain beliefs in common, yet have differences as well, Buddhist traditions all believe in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path but there are significant differences between the traditions.
There are three main traditions of Buddhism:
Vajrayana is known as Tibetan Buddhism and is the tradition of the Dalai Lama. His Holiness is the leader of one lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and the secular leader of Tibetans in exile. He is not considered the Buddhist Pope. Buddhists have no universal leader such as Catholics do.
Mahayana Buddhism contains Zen Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism and several others. Most of China, Japan, and some parts of India and South East Asia practice a form of Mahayana Buddhism.
Theravada Buddhism is the oldest form of Buddhism in the world today. Theravada Buddhists follow the teachings contained in the Pali Canon also known as the Tipitaka. The Tipitaka is the Buddhist Canon tracing its history back to the First Counsel after the death of the Buddha (90 days after the death of the Buddha). The Tipitaka is accepted as the authoritative teaching of the Buddha by all traditions of Buddhism.
If you are reading something about Buddhism and the words Dharma and karma are used, you are probably reading something from a Vajrayana or Mahayana tradition. If you are reading something that uses the words Dhamma or kamma, you are reading something from the Theravada tradition.
I hope this helps.
There are heaven and hell realms in Buddhism, but beings in these realms are mortal and when they die they will be reborn into other realms, such as the animal realm or the human realm. So the goal of Buddhism is to end the cycle of death and rebirth through moral living and meditation on the Eight Fold Path.
There was no prediction by the Buddha of the coming of Christ. This was just plain made up. The Buddha is one who on his own discovered the path to enlightenment. He taught that he was one of a long line of previous self-enlightened men. That each time the teachings of Buddhism completely disappear, they are rediscovered by another man who then becomes the next Buddha. So Christ is not the reincarnation of the Buddha because Buddhism has not disappeared.
If anyone wishes to know more about the Buddha, I recommend the book by Karen Armstrong called, The Buddha It is an excellent biography without too much jargon and she occasionally compares the teachings of the Buddha to some Catholic concepts. Ms Armstrong is a former nun who had to leave the convent because of health reasons. She is a well respected writer of religious history.
There are almost as many traditions of Buddhism as there are denominations of Christians. Just as all Christian denominations have certain beliefs in common, yet have differences as well, Buddhist traditions all believe in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path but there are significant differences between the traditions.
There are three main traditions of Buddhism:
Vajrayana is known as Tibetan Buddhism and is the tradition of the Dalai Lama. His Holiness is the leader of one lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and the secular leader of Tibetans in exile. He is not considered the Buddhist Pope. Buddhists have no universal leader such as Catholics do.
Mahayana Buddhism contains Zen Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism and several others. Most of China, Japan, and some parts of India and South East Asia practice a form of Mahayana Buddhism.
Theravada Buddhism is the oldest form of Buddhism in the world today. Theravada Buddhists follow the teachings contained in the Pali Canon also known as the Tipitaka. The Tipitaka is the Buddhist Canon tracing its history back to the First Counsel after the death of the Buddha (90 days after the death of the Buddha). The Tipitaka is accepted as the authoritative teaching of the Buddha by all traditions of Buddhism.
If you are reading something about Buddhism and the words Dharma and karma are used, you are probably reading something from a Vajrayana or Mahayana tradition. If you are reading something that uses the words Dhamma or kamma, you are reading something from the Theravada tradition.
I hope this helps.
W
water
Guest
Thanks for the detailed post “notself”. I’d like to quote this part of your post to allow the few previous posters see and compare with their own belief.
N
notself
Guest
That’s fine. It appears that the other posters are quoting authors who say that this is what the Buddha said. But I do not see any links to the actual words of the Buddha. Almost all of the Suttas taught by the Buddha are on line so it would be very easy to verify a quote from the actual teachings themselves.
P
paarsurrey
Guest
Hi
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 1835-1908, the PromisedMessiahImamMahdi continues presenting evidences that Jesus came to India from Buddhist/Tibetan historic resources:
alislam.org/library/books…india/ch4.html
Evidence from books on Buddhism
“The Devil not having succeeded thus, called sixteen of his daughters, and asked them to reveal their beauty to the Buddha, but the latter was still unmoved. The Devil was balked in his designs. He adopted other means, but was unable to do anything against the steadfast Buddha, who continued to travel through higher and higher stages of spirituality, and after a long night, that is, after severe and protracted trials, he overcame his enemy the Devil; the Light of True Knowledge dawned upon him and, with the coming of the morning, i.e. as soon as his trials were over, he came to know all. The day this great battle ended was the day of the birth of Buddhism. Gautama was 35 years old then; he was called the Buddha or the Light and the Tree under which he was sitting at the time came to be known as the Tree of Light. Now, if you open and see the Bible you will find how the Temptation of the Buddha resembles the Temptation of Jesus, so much so, that the Buddha’s age was nearly the same at that time as the age of Jesus. As it appears from Buddhist literature, the Devil did not appear to the Buddha in a corporeal visible form. It was a spectacle seen only by the Buddha; the talk of the Devil was an evil inspiration, i.e. the Devil, as he appeared to him, suggested to the Buddha that he (the Buddha) should abandon his course, that he should follow him (the Devil), that the Devil would give him all the wealth of the world. Likewise, the belief of Christian doctors is that the Devil who appeared to Jesus did not come to him in a corporeal form – he did not come to Jesus as a human being – before the very eyes of the Jews, traversing the streets and lanes in his physical body and talking to Jesus so as to be audible to those present. On the contrary, the meeting was of the nature of a vision seen only by Jesus; the talk too was of the nature of inspiration, that is, the Devil, as is his wont, put into his heart evil suggestions. But Jesus did not accept, he rejected the Devil’s inspiration.
Now it is worth pondering why there was so much resemblance between the Buddha and Jesus. The Aryas in this connection say that Jesus became acquainted with Buddhism in the course of his journeys in India, and having acquired knowledge of the fact of Buddha’s life, made his gospel out of this on return to his native country; that Jesus composed his moral precepts by plagiarizing the moral teaching of the Buddha, that just as the Buddha called himself the Light and Knowledge and adopted other titles, so Jesus ascribed all such titles to himself, so much so, that, even the long story of the Temptation of a Buddha was appropriated by him. This, however, is a fabrication of the Aryas. It is quite untrue that Jesus came to India before the event of the Cross; he had no need to take such a journey at that time; he had need to take such a journey when the Jews of Judaea had rejected him and, as they believed, had crucified him. A fine divine design, however, saved him. Having thus exhausted his sympathy for the Jews and his solicitude to preach to them, and the Jews having become, by reason of their evil nature, so very hard-hearted as to be quite incapable of accepting the Truth, Jesus, on being informed by God that the ten tribes of the Jews had migrated towards India, set out for those regions. As parties of Jews had accepted Buddhism, there was no alternative for this true prophet but to turn his attention to the followers of Buddhism."
Unquote
Thanks
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 1835-1908, the PromisedMessiahImamMahdi continues presenting evidences that Jesus came to India from Buddhist/Tibetan historic resources:
alislam.org/library/books…india/ch4.html
Evidence from books on Buddhism
“The Devil not having succeeded thus, called sixteen of his daughters, and asked them to reveal their beauty to the Buddha, but the latter was still unmoved. The Devil was balked in his designs. He adopted other means, but was unable to do anything against the steadfast Buddha, who continued to travel through higher and higher stages of spirituality, and after a long night, that is, after severe and protracted trials, he overcame his enemy the Devil; the Light of True Knowledge dawned upon him and, with the coming of the morning, i.e. as soon as his trials were over, he came to know all. The day this great battle ended was the day of the birth of Buddhism. Gautama was 35 years old then; he was called the Buddha or the Light and the Tree under which he was sitting at the time came to be known as the Tree of Light. Now, if you open and see the Bible you will find how the Temptation of the Buddha resembles the Temptation of Jesus, so much so, that the Buddha’s age was nearly the same at that time as the age of Jesus. As it appears from Buddhist literature, the Devil did not appear to the Buddha in a corporeal visible form. It was a spectacle seen only by the Buddha; the talk of the Devil was an evil inspiration, i.e. the Devil, as he appeared to him, suggested to the Buddha that he (the Buddha) should abandon his course, that he should follow him (the Devil), that the Devil would give him all the wealth of the world. Likewise, the belief of Christian doctors is that the Devil who appeared to Jesus did not come to him in a corporeal form – he did not come to Jesus as a human being – before the very eyes of the Jews, traversing the streets and lanes in his physical body and talking to Jesus so as to be audible to those present. On the contrary, the meeting was of the nature of a vision seen only by Jesus; the talk too was of the nature of inspiration, that is, the Devil, as is his wont, put into his heart evil suggestions. But Jesus did not accept, he rejected the Devil’s inspiration.
Now it is worth pondering why there was so much resemblance between the Buddha and Jesus. The Aryas in this connection say that Jesus became acquainted with Buddhism in the course of his journeys in India, and having acquired knowledge of the fact of Buddha’s life, made his gospel out of this on return to his native country; that Jesus composed his moral precepts by plagiarizing the moral teaching of the Buddha, that just as the Buddha called himself the Light and Knowledge and adopted other titles, so Jesus ascribed all such titles to himself, so much so, that, even the long story of the Temptation of a Buddha was appropriated by him. This, however, is a fabrication of the Aryas. It is quite untrue that Jesus came to India before the event of the Cross; he had no need to take such a journey at that time; he had need to take such a journey when the Jews of Judaea had rejected him and, as they believed, had crucified him. A fine divine design, however, saved him. Having thus exhausted his sympathy for the Jews and his solicitude to preach to them, and the Jews having become, by reason of their evil nature, so very hard-hearted as to be quite incapable of accepting the Truth, Jesus, on being informed by God that the ten tribes of the Jews had migrated towards India, set out for those regions. As parties of Jews had accepted Buddhism, there was no alternative for this true prophet but to turn his attention to the followers of Buddhism."
Unquote
Thanks
N
notself
Guest
paarsurrey,
Although Buddhism reached Ancient Greece and Egypt by the time of Christ, there is no evidence that Buddhism had any influence on the Jewish culture or that Christ was exposed to Buddhism. Any statement that Christ was influenced by Buddhism is pure speculation.
The only mention of Buddhism by a Christian that I am aware of was by St. Origen.
Although Buddhism reached Ancient Greece and Egypt by the time of Christ, there is no evidence that Buddhism had any influence on the Jewish culture or that Christ was exposed to Buddhism. Any statement that Christ was influenced by Buddhism is pure speculation.
The only mention of Buddhism by a Christian that I am aware of was by St. Origen.
I find your quote to be, in a word, *fantastic * and not in a good way. What is your purpose in posting it? Do you have any questions regarding Buddhism that I may help with? Do you have any questions regarding Christ and Catholicism that the fine people on this forum can help with?
A
Ahimsa
Guest
[St.] Origen was not alone. St. Clement had something to say about Buddhism, natürlich:
That is, Buddhist give the title of “Lord” to the Buddha, as in “Lord Buddha”, “Lord” likely being the translation of “Bhagavan”.
P
paarsurrey
Guest
Hi
I am not yet finished. I am sorry, you shall have to wait for some time more or please access:
alislam.org/library/books…india/ch4.html
I think you would agree that Buddhism was widespread in Northern India,Northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, Gilgit and Kashmir. The PromisedMessiahImamMahdi 1835-1908, is bringing into light some pages of that period of ancient history.
I respect your faith, even when you differ with me. I love Buddha, as I love Jesus and Krishna.
I do have certain questions to ask from my Buddhist friends here. I would prefer to ask them sometimes later. Thanks for your offer. Please don’t mind.
Thanks
D
DylanO
Guest
That’s a very heretical statement. All the false relgions of the world, like Hinduism, Odinism, etc. don’t worship the one true God, thwy worship demons (aka Fallen Angels).
D
DylanO
Guest
N
notself
Guest
Thank you for the references. Of course it would be quite natural for early Chritiantiy to move East just as Buddhism moved West. The trade routes were very active. Northern India has always been part of that route to China.
N
notself
Guest
I didn’t think you were trying to show disrespect for any religion. I am merely pointing out that there are significant errors in the work you are quoting.
The story of the enlightenment of the Buddha may have similarities to the temptation of Christ but Mara is not the same as Satan. The Buddha never considered himself a god or the son of god or inspired by god.
The Buddha did not teach in Sanskrit. He taught in a dialect of Pali. In one of the Suttas, the Buddha specifically tells his followers that he wants the monks and nuns to avoid teaching in Sanskrit because it was the language used by the Brahman priests. He felt that Sanskrit was elitist. It wasn’t until 300 -500 years after his death and Buddhism had split into different Traditions that Sanskrit was used by Mahayana Buddhists. Sanskrit had by then become a common language of the people. Pali was and still is used by the oldest form of Buddhism, Theravada.
The word Buddha means awake, as in awake to things as it really exists. The term enlightened was used by translators during the Victorian Age because they felt it was more in keeping with the European concept of the Age of Enlightenment.
Here is something from New Advent, the Catholic Encyclopedia, about Buddhism. Naturally, I disagree with some of the comments about Buddhism and there are some inaccuracies, since the original article was done at the turn of the century. But over all, it is a better history of Buddhism then you are using.
Here is a link.
newadvent.org/cathen/03028b.htm
I also recommend The Buddha by Karen Armstrong.
Thank you for bring up this topic. I hope that some of the misconceptions about Buddhism will be corrected.
Metta
notself
P
paarsurrey
Guest
HiI didn’t think you were trying to show disrespect for any religion. I am merely pointing out that there are significant errors in the work you are quoting.
The story of the enlightenment of the Buddha may have similarities to the temptation of Christ but Mara is not the same as Satan. The Buddha never considered himself a god or the son of god or inspired by god.
The Buddha did not teach in Sanskrit. He taught in a dialect of Pali. In one of the Suttas, the Buddha specifically tells his followers that he wants the monks and nuns to avoid teaching in Sanskrit because it was the language used by the Brahman priests. He felt that Sanskrit was elitist. It wasn’t until 300 -500 years after his death and Buddhism had split into different Traditions that Sanskrit was used by Mahayana Buddhists. Sanskrit had by then become a common language of the people. Pali was and still is used by the oldest form of Buddhism, Theravada.
The word Buddha means awake, as in awake to things as it really exists. The term enlightened was used by translators during the Victorian Age because they felt it was more in keeping with the European concept of the Age of Enlightenment.
Here is something from New Advent, the Catholic Encyclopedia, about Buddhism. Naturally, I disagree with some of the comments about Buddhism and there are some inaccuracies, since the original article was done at the turn of the century. But over all, it is a better history of Buddhism then you are using.
Here is a link.
newadvent.org/cathen/03028b.htm
I also recommend The Buddha by Karen Armstrong.
Thank you for bring up this topic. I hope that some of the misconceptions about Buddhism will be corrected.
Metta
notself
Thank you for discussing about Buddhism here. My own way of studying comparative religions is that I start study from the revealed book of a religion, and I enjoy it. In Buddhism I could not find any Word revealed from GodAllahYHWH, so as soon I started one I lost interest in it. If you know any Word revealed on him from GodAllahYHWH, please do inform me, I would start studying it. Presently my knowledge about Buddhism is based on the writing of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the PromisedMessiahImamMahdi 1835-1908, the link of one of his books “Jesus in India” I have already provided. The second source is a book by Mirza Tahir Ahmad, a grandson of the PromisedMessiahImamMahdi, the title of the book is “Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth”, its Chapter-4 from pages 129-152 is on Buddhism where he has proved that Buddha believed in God, you may differ with this viewpoint, yet if you feel interested you may access:
alislam.org/library/books/revelation/index.html
My third source of information is an article, rather a Prophecy “Maitreya” which some Buddhist posted in another discussion forum. My own opinion is that there cannot be any Spiritual/Religious Prophecy without a Prophet from GodAllahYHWH, so that would in a way prove that Buddha did believe in God. Please don’t mind.
My question would be something like this:
- Is this prophecy of “Maitreya” a genuine?
- Which of the Buddhist denominations approve of it that it is true?
- What was the source of this prophecy? it could not be from devil or evil forces.
- Has it been fulfilled?
- PromisedMessiahImamMahdi has written that it was fulfilled by visit of Jesus to India, and because of this Prophecy many among the lost ten tribes of Israel, who were settled in these areas, who meanwhile got converted to Buddhism became follower of Jesus or Bagwa Mitteya/Maitreya or White Messiah.
Please reply if you feel comfortable, otherwise you may ignore my questions please.
Thanks
N
notself
Guest
There is no Savior or Messiah in Buddhism. Buddha taught about suffering and the way out of suffering. He showed the way, but each and every person must walk the path for themselves. It isn’t enough to believe what the Buddha taught. Each person must live it, experience it, and understand it for him or herself. This is accomplished by moral conduct and insight gained through mindfulness and meditation. Insight must come from the aspirant’s experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by faith. Every word of the Buddha should be examined and tested before it is accepted.
Although I have mentioned it before, I still think it will help you to understand Buddhism if you read Karen Armstrong’s biography of the Buddha. You should be able to find it at the Library if you don’t want to buy it.
Metta
notself
P
paarsurrey
Guest
Hi
Thanks
P
paarsurrey
Guest
Hi
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 1835-1908, the PromisedMessiahImamMahdi continues presenting evidences that Jesus came to India from Buddhist/Tibetan historic resources:
alislam.org/library/books…india/ch4.html
Evidence from books on Buddhism
“The Buddhist priests of that country expected the appearance of the ‘Messiah’ Buddha. Therefore, for Jesus’ titles, as well as some of his moral teachings like Love thine enemy; do not resist evil, and, as had been prophesied by Gautama Buddha, Jesus’ fair skin, for all these signs, the priests held him to be the Buddha. It is possible also that some of his titles and teachings and the facts of Jesus’ life may, consciously or unconsciously, have been ascribed in that age to the Buddha; for the Hindus have never given proof of much aptitude for recording history. The events of Buddha’s life had not been recorded till the time of Jesus. Buddhist priests, therefore, had a great opportunity to ascribe to the Buddha anything they wished to ascribe. So it is likely that when they came to know the facts of Jesus’ life and his moral teaching, they mixed these with many other things introduced by themselves and ascribed them to the Buddha.5 Presently I shall prove that the moral teaching of the bible – the titles Light, etc. which, as in the case of Jesus, are to be found recorded in respect of the Buddha as also the story of the Temptation by the Devil – all this was written in Buddhistic books at the time Jesus came to this country after the crucifixion.
There is, moreover, another resemblance between the Buddha and Jesus: Buddhism records that the Buddha during the Temptation was fasting; that the fast lasted for forty days. Readers of the Gospel know that Jesus also observed a forty days’ fast.
As I have just now stated, there is such a striking resemblance between the moral teaching of the Buddha and that of Jesus, that for those acquainted with both it has become something surprising. For example, the Gospels say: do not resist evil, love your enemy, live in poverty, shun pride and falsehood and greed. The same is the teaching of the Buddha6. Nay, the Buddhistic teaching lays greater stress on it, so much so that the killing even of ants and insects has been declared a sin. The outstanding principle of Buddhism is: sympathy for the whole world; seeking the welfare of the whole of humanity and of all the animals; promotion of a spirit of unity and mutual love. The same is the gospel teaching. Again, just as Jesus sent his disciples to different countries – journeying to one himself – so was the case with the Buddha. Buddhism by Sir Monier Monier Williams records that the Buddha sent out his disciples to preach, addressing them thus: ‘Go forth and wander everywhere, out of compassion for the world and for the welfare of gods and men. Go forth, in different directions. Preach the doctrine (Dharham), salutary (Kalayana) in its beginning, middle and end, in its spirit (artha) and in its letter (vyanjana). Proclaim a life of perfect restraint, chastity and celibacy (Drahmacariyam). I will go also to preach this doctrine’ (Mahavagga 1.11.1)7. The Buddha went to Benares and performed many miracles in that territory; he delivered an impressive sermon on a hill just as Jesus had delivered his sermon on the mount. Again, the same book states that the Buddha preached mostly in parables; he explained spiritual matters by means of physical analogies."
Unquote
Thanks
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 1835-1908, the PromisedMessiahImamMahdi continues presenting evidences that Jesus came to India from Buddhist/Tibetan historic resources:
alislam.org/library/books…india/ch4.html
Evidence from books on Buddhism
“The Buddhist priests of that country expected the appearance of the ‘Messiah’ Buddha. Therefore, for Jesus’ titles, as well as some of his moral teachings like Love thine enemy; do not resist evil, and, as had been prophesied by Gautama Buddha, Jesus’ fair skin, for all these signs, the priests held him to be the Buddha. It is possible also that some of his titles and teachings and the facts of Jesus’ life may, consciously or unconsciously, have been ascribed in that age to the Buddha; for the Hindus have never given proof of much aptitude for recording history. The events of Buddha’s life had not been recorded till the time of Jesus. Buddhist priests, therefore, had a great opportunity to ascribe to the Buddha anything they wished to ascribe. So it is likely that when they came to know the facts of Jesus’ life and his moral teaching, they mixed these with many other things introduced by themselves and ascribed them to the Buddha.5 Presently I shall prove that the moral teaching of the bible – the titles Light, etc. which, as in the case of Jesus, are to be found recorded in respect of the Buddha as also the story of the Temptation by the Devil – all this was written in Buddhistic books at the time Jesus came to this country after the crucifixion.
There is, moreover, another resemblance between the Buddha and Jesus: Buddhism records that the Buddha during the Temptation was fasting; that the fast lasted for forty days. Readers of the Gospel know that Jesus also observed a forty days’ fast.
As I have just now stated, there is such a striking resemblance between the moral teaching of the Buddha and that of Jesus, that for those acquainted with both it has become something surprising. For example, the Gospels say: do not resist evil, love your enemy, live in poverty, shun pride and falsehood and greed. The same is the teaching of the Buddha6. Nay, the Buddhistic teaching lays greater stress on it, so much so that the killing even of ants and insects has been declared a sin. The outstanding principle of Buddhism is: sympathy for the whole world; seeking the welfare of the whole of humanity and of all the animals; promotion of a spirit of unity and mutual love. The same is the gospel teaching. Again, just as Jesus sent his disciples to different countries – journeying to one himself – so was the case with the Buddha. Buddhism by Sir Monier Monier Williams records that the Buddha sent out his disciples to preach, addressing them thus: ‘Go forth and wander everywhere, out of compassion for the world and for the welfare of gods and men. Go forth, in different directions. Preach the doctrine (Dharham), salutary (Kalayana) in its beginning, middle and end, in its spirit (artha) and in its letter (vyanjana). Proclaim a life of perfect restraint, chastity and celibacy (Drahmacariyam). I will go also to preach this doctrine’ (Mahavagga 1.11.1)7. The Buddha went to Benares and performed many miracles in that territory; he delivered an impressive sermon on a hill just as Jesus had delivered his sermon on the mount. Again, the same book states that the Buddha preached mostly in parables; he explained spiritual matters by means of physical analogies."
Unquote
Thanks
N
notself
Guest
paarsurrey,
There is no independent evidence that Christ ever went to India.
*
Once a man named Kevatta went up to the Buddha, paid homage, and said, “Lord, Nalanda is a successful city. The people living in Nalanda are prosperous, and they have confidence in the Blessed One. Lord, it would be good if the Blessed One appointed a monk to work a marvel of supernormal power, so that the people of Nalanda might become much more confident in the Blessed One.”
The Buddha replied, “Kevatta, I do not teach the Law to monks in that way”. The Buddha gave the same reply when the question was put to him the second and third time. After the third question, the Buddha replied that there were three kinds of supernormal levels:
Another story illustrates the Buddha’s attitude towards miraculous powers. One day the Buddha met an ascetic who sat by the bank of a river. This ascetic had practised austerities for 25 years. The Buddha asked him what he had received for all his labour. The ascetic proudly replied that, finally, he could cross the river by walking on the water. The Buddha pointed out that this gain was insignificant for all the years of labour, since he could cross the river using a ferry for one penny!*
Perhaps you should review this web site which is the source of the above quote. It will give you a more accurate explanation of Buddhism.
parami.org/buddhistanswers/index.htm
paarsurrey,
I do agree with you that there is much in common between Buddhism and Christianity. But there is much in common with all religions. I don’t understand the purpose of your posts. What in particular is your point? Could you please clarify this for me?
Does your book have an actual quote from the Buddhist scriptures of this prophesy by the Buddha? I can find no such prophesy in the Pali Canon.
The Pali Cannon was written down in its present form by 29 BC, approximately 100 years before the New Testament began to be written and almost 400 years before the compilation of the New Testament at the Council of Trent.
There is no independent evidence that Christ ever went to India.
Buddha fasted when he was studying with a small group of other ascetics. He gave up fasting considering it an extreme practice, left the group and went on his own. He did not reach enlightenment for another year after he left.
There are similarities in these teachings as there are similarities between all great spiritual philosophies. Certainly different cultures had influences on each other. Christ could have taken some part of his philosophy from Egyptians, Greeks, and possibly Buddhism. But what Christ taught used the Old Testament as its base. He was very clear about that.
Yes, the Buddha did instruct his monks and nuns to teach the dhamma to others. There is also clear evidence that Buddhist missionaries were sent to the Middle East by King Ashoka around 300-250 BC.
The Buddha did not approve of using miracles to influence people or in an attempt to convert them. In this Sutta, Kevatta is trying to get the Buddha to use miracles to spread his teachings.
*
Once a man named Kevatta went up to the Buddha, paid homage, and said, “Lord, Nalanda is a successful city. The people living in Nalanda are prosperous, and they have confidence in the Blessed One. Lord, it would be good if the Blessed One appointed a monk to work a marvel of supernormal power, so that the people of Nalanda might become much more confident in the Blessed One.”
The Buddha replied, “Kevatta, I do not teach the Law to monks in that way”. The Buddha gave the same reply when the question was put to him the second and third time. After the third question, the Buddha replied that there were three kinds of supernormal levels:
- The marvel of supernormal power to appear as many persons, to pass through walls, to fly through the air, walk on water. All these are physical actions the ordinary people cannot perform.
- The supernormal power to read other people’s minds.
- The supernormal power to be able to guide people according to their mental development, for their own good, using suitable methods that fit these people.
Another story illustrates the Buddha’s attitude towards miraculous powers. One day the Buddha met an ascetic who sat by the bank of a river. This ascetic had practised austerities for 25 years. The Buddha asked him what he had received for all his labour. The ascetic proudly replied that, finally, he could cross the river by walking on the water. The Buddha pointed out that this gain was insignificant for all the years of labour, since he could cross the river using a ferry for one penny!*
Perhaps you should review this web site which is the source of the above quote. It will give you a more accurate explanation of Buddhism.
parami.org/buddhistanswers/index.htm
paarsurrey,
I do agree with you that there is much in common between Buddhism and Christianity. But there is much in common with all religions. I don’t understand the purpose of your posts. What in particular is your point? Could you please clarify this for me?
P
paarsurrey
Guest
Hi
It is not a small thing to know that all revealed religions have many a thing common. That in other words it proves that they had a common source of guidance.
Thanks
The writings of the stupas, I understand, prove that Buddha belived in one God.
N
notself
Guest
paarsurrey,
Having ideas in common just means that certain behaviors are respected by the majority of people such as kindness and compassion.
Catholics believe they are following the true teachings of God as received by the Holy Catholic Church. Muslims believe that Christians are in error and have distorted the word of God. Muslims blew up the ancient statues of Buddha in Afghanistan because they felt these statues were wicked. For all the similarities between religions, there are significant differences. Sadly, wars have been and are being fought over these very differences even within the same general belief system.
Why don’t you try reading the links I have previously provided? All of your information is from one source, alislam.org. This is a Muslim site. If you wish to know what Catholics believe, then ask a Catholic or read Catholic texts. If you want to know what Buddhists believe, then ask Buddhists or read Buddhist texts.
If you could quote from the Pali Suttas where the Buddha taught that he was inspired by God, I will be glad to learn. Perhaps in reading the actual Suttas, you will learn as well.
Metta
notself
Having ideas in common just means that certain behaviors are respected by the majority of people such as kindness and compassion.
Catholics believe they are following the true teachings of God as received by the Holy Catholic Church. Muslims believe that Christians are in error and have distorted the word of God. Muslims blew up the ancient statues of Buddha in Afghanistan because they felt these statues were wicked. For all the similarities between religions, there are significant differences. Sadly, wars have been and are being fought over these very differences even within the same general belief system.
Why don’t you try reading the links I have previously provided? All of your information is from one source, alislam.org. This is a Muslim site. If you wish to know what Catholics believe, then ask a Catholic or read Catholic texts. If you want to know what Buddhists believe, then ask Buddhists or read Buddhist texts.
If you could quote from the Pali Suttas where the Buddha taught that he was inspired by God, I will be glad to learn. Perhaps in reading the actual Suttas, you will learn as well.
Metta
notself
P
paarsurrey
Guest
Hi
The suttas were written much after Buddha, it is not even the writing of Buddha.
The writing on Stupas is more ancient and accurate than the Suttas.
Thanks
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