Praying to Buddha

[Inquiringperson]

I thought about how Saints become canonized because I realized that someone had to pray for their intercession without knowing whether they are in heaven or hell. It then led to the thought about praying for the Buddha’s intercession because he is a good example of someone trying to seek Christ.

 

[nfreak141]

RIght, we totally should! I’ll get started right now!

…Heeeeey… wait a minute… wasn’t that the guy that tried to reach nirvana? A concept that existed 600 years before Christ?

 

[JamestheOlder]

I thought about how Saints become canonized because I realized that someone had to pray for their intercession without knowing whether they are in heaven or hell. It then led to the thought about praying for the Buddha’s intercession because he is a good example of someone trying to seek Christ.

On what information do you base this (“seek Christ”)?

 

[Joan1969]

I thought about how Saints become canonized because I realized that someone had to pray for their intercession without knowing whether they are in heaven or hell. It then led to the thought about praying for the Buddha’s intercession because he is a good example of someone trying to seek Christ.

Hi Inquiring,

Catholic saints are exactly that- Catholic. The Buddha had a radically different view of reality and the supernatural. Not to judge his moral goodness, but he is obviously far from being any sort of a canonization candidate.

I would read more Catholic literature, because I think your viewpoint is so very different from anything the Church would teach and you need more orthodox (name removed by moderator)ut. Your post seems to me like an extreme example of syncretism.

God Bless,
Joan

 

[Inquiringperson]

On what information do you base this (“seek Christ”)?

As the Buddha was far away from where Judaism was started, he didn’t know about God. But he did his best to find God while meditating, and he came to a close conclusion about God. His ideas and principals were founded by love. He just got it wrong.

 

[nfreak141]

As the Buddha was far away from where Judaism was started, he didn’t know about God. But he did his best to find God while meditating, and he came to a close conclusion about God. His ideas and principals were founded by love. He just got it wrong.

Really? Because I seem to remember that Buddha rejects the whole idea of a god and do not condone the spread of a god. He only wanted to reach spiritual enlightenment, which, admittedly, is what we try to do when we try to keep our minds on God.

He came nowhere near God. He just concluded that things would be better if we would stop unhealthily needing things, which, according to the Book of Psalms, Kings David and Solomon already figured this out ~300-400 years BEFORE he did, except what they said is that they needed God.

 

[PiousTemplar]

But we don’t know he is in heaven. The saints are in heaven so we know we can pray to them to pray for us to the Lord our God.

 

[tlimon]

@Inquiring. I see what you mean about having to pray to someone before that person was ever known to be a saint. I heard once that the official title of saint does not create the saint but rather the Church is simply acknowledging a reality. In other words, the saint is already a saint and the Church is now saying, “Yep, Josemaria Escriva is a saint alright.”

The Buddha is a lot different a concept than that. It’s pretty much impossible to tell whether the Buddha is in fact a saint or not. As a matter of fact, I am not even sure whether the Buddha would want to be a saint or was even trying to be a saint. The Buddha struggled for personal enlightenment. Jesus struggled for the salvation of all humanity. In other words, following the Buddhist tradition, Jesus is more like a boatman-like bodhisattva than the Buddha.

However, I do think that we cannot condemn the Buddha. And you are right, maybe the Buddha did have enough grace to be among the saints. I think we are all going to be really suprised who goes where. The royal court in heaven will probably include people Buddha, the septic tank cleaner guy, and the little old grandma who baked cookies all day. There is a great Flannery O’Connor story about a judgemental person who comes to know that she is judgemental and has a vision of a band of freaks and misfits marching to heaven - cannot remember the name of the story off the top.

Best Regards

 

[JamestheOlder]

As the Buddha was far away from where Judaism was started, he didn’t know about God. But he did his best to find God while meditating, and he came to a close conclusion about God. His ideas and principals were founded by love. He just got it wrong.

In my limited reading (and very limited knowlege) about Buddha, he does not seem to be searching for G-d, and that would seem to eliminate any thoughts on Christ, who would have been described only in the prophetic texts of the Hebrew Scriptures at the time of Buddha (around 500 BC).

What he appears to have searched for, and found, was an inner peace completely generated by his own efforts. His principle were excellent, and his teaching of those principles have moderated mankind’s behavior, at least in the East where his tenets were taught.

But he was, himself, regarded as a “god”, so it would appear that once he achieved his inner satisfaction with a way of life, he pursued the idea of divinity no further.

All of this would make him an unlikely “saint” in our way of thinking as Catholics. We pray for intercession to those who have been shown to be true followers of Jesus Christ…not just “good people” who lived in a different state of mind about how they fit into the world.

So, just stick with the real saints, who can provide intercession with Jesus.

 

[valentino]

I believe the Buddists see everything as being God.Not one superior being.The tree is god.The universe is god.

 

[GEddie]

RIght, we totally should! I’ll get started right now!

…Heeeeey… wait a minute… wasn’t that the guy that tried to reach nirvana? A concept that existed 600 years before Christ?

Not to mention, the whole issue of nirvana (a loss of being) is irreconcilable with the Christian hope for Heaven (life everlasting).

ICXC NIKA

 

[rossum]

I thought about how Saints become canonized because I realized that someone had to pray for their intercession without knowing whether they are in heaven or hell. It then led to the thought about praying for the Buddha’s intercession because he is a good example of someone trying to seek Christ.

The Buddha was a saint for a time. See Barlaam and Josaphat:The story is a Christianized version of one of the legends of Buddha, as even the name Josaphat would seem to show.

rossum

 

[GEddie]

The Buddha was a saint for a time. See Barlaam and Josaphat:The story is a Christianized version of one of the legends of Buddha, as even the name Josaphat would seem to show.

rossum

???

The name Josaphat derives from one of the kings in the OT. It’s not a part of oriental syncretism.

ICXC NIKA.

 

[Warrior1979]

But he was, himself, regarded as a “god”, so it would appear that once he achieved his inner satisfaction with a way of life, he pursued the idea of divinity no further.

FWIW, Buddha (assuming your referring to Siddhartha Gautama) did not consider himself god nor did he want to be worshipped.

 

[JamestheOlder]

FWIW, Buddha (assuming your referring to Siddhartha Gautama) did not consider himself god nor did he want to be worshipped.

A direct quote from Wikipedia:
He is also regarded as a god or prophet in other world religions or denominations, including Hinduism, Ahmadiyya Islam[10] and the Bahá’í faith.

Best regards!

 

[JamestheOlder]

???

The name Josaphat derives from one of the kings in the OT. It’s not a part of oriental syncretism.

ICXC NIKA.

It does get interesting, though. You may want to follow the link. Here’s the quote from Wikipedia:
Other religions
Buddha depicted as the 9th Avatar of god Vishnu in a traditional Hindu representation.Main article: Gautama Buddha in world religions
Gautama Buddha is also described as a god or prophet in other religions. Some Hindu texts say that the Buddha was an avatar of the god Vishnu, who came to Earth to delude beings away from the Vedic religion.[51]

The Buddha is also regarded as a prophet by the Ahmadiyyas[10][52][53] and a Manifestation of God in the Bahá’í faith.[54] Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to be a reincarnation of Lao Tzu.[55] The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches integrated the Buddha into their faith through St. Josaphat.

However, when you do research Josaphat, you find at least one other saint who does NOT relate to Buddha.

Isn’t this fun?

 

[Warrior1979]

A direct quote from Wikipedia:
He is also regarded as a god or prophet in other world religions or denominations, including Hinduism, Ahmadiyya Islam[10] and the Bahá’í faith.

Best regards!

As we know, Wikipedia is the best source of information available.

I’m no expert in Buddhism, but I believe calling him a “god” is inappropriate. The concept of “god” is entirely different from the western concept, and at the most basic level, Buddhists neither confirm nor deny the existence of a god.

 

[rossum]

I’m no expert in Buddhism, but I believe calling him a “god” is inappropriate. The concept of “god” is entirely different from the western concept, and at the most basic level, Buddhists neither confirm nor deny the existence of a god.

It is said that soon after his enlightenment the Buddha passed a man on the road who was struck by the Buddha’s extraordinary radiance and peaceful presence. The man stopped and asked,

“My friend, what are you? Are you a celestial being or a god?”

“No,” said the Buddha.

“Well, then, are you some kind of magician or wizard?”

Again the Buddha answered, “No.”

“Are you a man?”

“No.”

“Well, my friend, then what are you?”

The Buddha replied, “I am awake.”

rossum

 

[Ahimsa]

???

The name Josaphat derives from one of the kings in the OT. It’s not a part of oriental syncretism.

ICXC NIKA.

The “Josaphat” as applied to the Buddha is not the “Josaphat” of the OT. Rather, the word “Bodhisattva” (which was the Buddha’s title before He become the Buddha) was tranformed (via Persian) to the more recognizable (for early Christians) “Josaphat”.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia: “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).”

 

[Ahimsa]

As we know, Wikipedia is the best source of information available.

I’m no expert in Buddhism, but I believe calling him a “god” is inappropriate. The concept of “god” is entirely different from the western concept, and at the most basic level, Buddhists neither confirm nor deny the existence of a god.

Calling Buddha “God” is inappropriate not because Buddhists have no opinion on “God”, but because “God”, for many people in the West, is connected to many ideas that Buddhists reject.

However, the Buddha is called “Lord” or “Blessed One” (“Bhagavan”).