V
Vouthon
Guest
Although this might seem hard to believe, and whether one likes it or not, Siddharta Gautama the founder of Buddhism is liturgically venerated on November 27th under the name of “Iosaphat” which despite popular misbelief does not stem from the biblical Valley of Josaphat but the sanskrit term for the Buddha, namely “Bodhisatva”.
Even the ultra-conservative and atiquaited Catholic encloepedia admits that:
The story is a Christianized version of one of the legends of Buddha, as even the name Josaphat would seem to show. This is said to be a corruption of the original Joasaph, which is again corrupted from the middle Persian Budasif (Budsaif=Bodhisattva)
Although some might consider this an unfortunate “accident of history”, might not the Buddha - a pre Christian holy man - really have been purified by Christ’s salvation when he entered into Hades upon his death, and now dwell in heaven as part of the Church? God works in mysterious ways.
Can the Church make an accident like this? I think not.
Now some might argue, “The Buddha was an atheist”.
Not true the Buddha did not DENY that there is a God. He admitted that there is a Supreme Dharma which governs the Universe. He seems rather to my eyes to have preached something akin to via negativa.
There were atheists or materialistis philosophies at the time of the Buddha. The Buddha did not align himself with these schools of thought.
Rather he said that his teaching was like If a man is wounded by a posoined arrow. Would the man say to people: “No don’t get a doctor! First I want to know the caste of the man, how tall he was, what colour of hair he had” etc. Of course not. We would just want somebody to lift the arrow out of our side!
In this way the Buddha said that he came as doctor. He never discussed metaphysical questions, he merely came to “heal people” through his Noble Eightfold Path.
So the Buddha cannot be called an “ATHEIST” like some of the Buddhist sects who came after him. Rather we must admit that he never clearly expressed his views on God.
Whether we like it or not it would appear to me that the Catholic Church has recognized in the tale of Josaphat and Barlaam that the Buddha lived a life of heroic virtue and hence was worthy enough to be liturgically venerated on the 27th November.
Now I want a RESPECTFUL discussion of Buddhism here, as the Magisterium of the Catholic Church demands of us:
"…Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing “ways,” comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men…" *(Nostra Aetate) *
Buddhism has divinely inspired truths in it. The Church has told us so and we must work with, we must seek out those facets of Buddhism which are compatible with Christianity and dispel those which are not. We must not be disrespectful and refer to Buddhism as a “false religion”. We must be like Pope John Paul II.
MASS FOR WORLD PEACE: HOMILY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II :National Stadium of Bangkok (Thailand) Thursday, 10 May 1984
“…You find yourselves in a world where the majority of your fellow citizens embrace Buddhism, that complex of religious beliefs and philosophical ideas which is rooted in Thai history, culture and psychology, and which profoundly influences your identity as a nation…As people of Thailand you are heirs of the ancient and venerable wisdom contained therein… your cultural heritage as Thai people is intimately linked to the indigenous Buddhist tradition, which provides a fertile terrain for the seed of God’s word, proclaimed by Jesus Christ, to take root and grow. In the practice of Buddhism can be discerned a noble tendency to strive to separate oneself from an “earthly wisdom”, in order to discover and achieve an interior purification and liberation…Here too, as people who are enriched by the Buddhist tradition of your country, you are endowed with a special sensitivity to the renunciation of violence in the vindication of personal rights, and so the Lord’s injunction to be peacemakers strikes a resonant chord in your minds and hearts…”
The concept of “Dharmakaya”…this often approaches a reality very close to God in Mahayana Buddhism, as does “Nirvana” and the Dharma in earlier Therevada Buddhism…
According to the wikipedia entry on “Dharmakaya”:
“Dharmakaya…constitutes the unmanifested, “inconceivable” (Sanskrit: acintya) aspect of a Buddha, out of which Buddhas – and indeed all “phenomena” (Sanskrit: dharmas) – arise, and to which they return after their dissolution… The Dharmakaya may be considered the most sublime or truest reality in the universe”…
As you can see the Dharmakaya is almost identical to the idea Unknowable God in via negativa theology.
Buddhism even has a concept comparable to the Trinity - dare I say a primitive attempt to reach it?
The Trikāya doctrine says that a Buddha has three kāyas or bodies: the nirmanakaya or created body which manifests in time and space; the saṃbhogakaya or body of mutual enjoyment which is a body of bliss or clear light manifestation; and the Dharmakaya or Truth body which embodies the very principle of enlightenment and knows no limits or boundaries.
Even the ultra-conservative and atiquaited Catholic encloepedia admits that:
The story is a Christianized version of one of the legends of Buddha, as even the name Josaphat would seem to show. This is said to be a corruption of the original Joasaph, which is again corrupted from the middle Persian Budasif (Budsaif=Bodhisattva)
Although some might consider this an unfortunate “accident of history”, might not the Buddha - a pre Christian holy man - really have been purified by Christ’s salvation when he entered into Hades upon his death, and now dwell in heaven as part of the Church? God works in mysterious ways.
Can the Church make an accident like this? I think not.
Now some might argue, “The Buddha was an atheist”.
Not true the Buddha did not DENY that there is a God. He admitted that there is a Supreme Dharma which governs the Universe. He seems rather to my eyes to have preached something akin to via negativa.
There were atheists or materialistis philosophies at the time of the Buddha. The Buddha did not align himself with these schools of thought.
Rather he said that his teaching was like If a man is wounded by a posoined arrow. Would the man say to people: “No don’t get a doctor! First I want to know the caste of the man, how tall he was, what colour of hair he had” etc. Of course not. We would just want somebody to lift the arrow out of our side!
In this way the Buddha said that he came as doctor. He never discussed metaphysical questions, he merely came to “heal people” through his Noble Eightfold Path.
So the Buddha cannot be called an “ATHEIST” like some of the Buddhist sects who came after him. Rather we must admit that he never clearly expressed his views on God.
Whether we like it or not it would appear to me that the Catholic Church has recognized in the tale of Josaphat and Barlaam that the Buddha lived a life of heroic virtue and hence was worthy enough to be liturgically venerated on the 27th November.
Now I want a RESPECTFUL discussion of Buddhism here, as the Magisterium of the Catholic Church demands of us:
"…Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing “ways,” comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men…" *(Nostra Aetate) *
Buddhism has divinely inspired truths in it. The Church has told us so and we must work with, we must seek out those facets of Buddhism which are compatible with Christianity and dispel those which are not. We must not be disrespectful and refer to Buddhism as a “false religion”. We must be like Pope John Paul II.
MASS FOR WORLD PEACE: HOMILY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II :National Stadium of Bangkok (Thailand) Thursday, 10 May 1984
“…You find yourselves in a world where the majority of your fellow citizens embrace Buddhism, that complex of religious beliefs and philosophical ideas which is rooted in Thai history, culture and psychology, and which profoundly influences your identity as a nation…As people of Thailand you are heirs of the ancient and venerable wisdom contained therein… your cultural heritage as Thai people is intimately linked to the indigenous Buddhist tradition, which provides a fertile terrain for the seed of God’s word, proclaimed by Jesus Christ, to take root and grow. In the practice of Buddhism can be discerned a noble tendency to strive to separate oneself from an “earthly wisdom”, in order to discover and achieve an interior purification and liberation…Here too, as people who are enriched by the Buddhist tradition of your country, you are endowed with a special sensitivity to the renunciation of violence in the vindication of personal rights, and so the Lord’s injunction to be peacemakers strikes a resonant chord in your minds and hearts…”
The concept of “Dharmakaya”…this often approaches a reality very close to God in Mahayana Buddhism, as does “Nirvana” and the Dharma in earlier Therevada Buddhism…
According to the wikipedia entry on “Dharmakaya”:
“Dharmakaya…constitutes the unmanifested, “inconceivable” (Sanskrit: acintya) aspect of a Buddha, out of which Buddhas – and indeed all “phenomena” (Sanskrit: dharmas) – arise, and to which they return after their dissolution… The Dharmakaya may be considered the most sublime or truest reality in the universe”…
As you can see the Dharmakaya is almost identical to the idea Unknowable God in via negativa theology.
Buddhism even has a concept comparable to the Trinity - dare I say a primitive attempt to reach it?
The Trikāya doctrine says that a Buddha has three kāyas or bodies: the nirmanakaya or created body which manifests in time and space; the saṃbhogakaya or body of mutual enjoyment which is a body of bliss or clear light manifestation; and the Dharmakaya or Truth body which embodies the very principle of enlightenment and knows no limits or boundaries.
Do we have definite proof that St Iosaphat was “dropped” from the list?
Its simply a Christiaized version of the Buddha - so he DID EXIST!