Thank you!
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Thank you!
I will agree with the last line of your statement anyway, mon ami. But "Jesus taught Buddhism?" It is not strange then, that Jesus, who was careful in His teaching to give credit to those He quoted, never once credits Buddah? The only thing similar in the two religions is that both teach a simple life. For the Buddhist, enlightment is obtained by ones own actions and decisions in life. For the Christian, Salvation is obtained when one realizes that the best one can do is not good enough and one must rely on the Grace of God through the Blood of Jesus. They were first called Christians at Antioch because they were "Christ-like" in their actions. Buddhists came into being from Siddhartha Gautama, hereafter referred to as "the Buddha" , around 5th century BCE. Why? Because they imitated The Buddha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starving Buddha
Well, not so strange if you consider that the words spoken by Jesus have been handed down to us through the filter of history. There are lost writings from India which speak of a man named Isus who was from Palestine at exactly the time of "Jesus' lost years..." Perhaps Jesus did learn Buddhism. Since Palestine was a very cosmopolitan area, bring in the ideas of beliefs all over the world, it is not inconceivable that Jesus would have been exposed to Buddhism. As with all great spiritual figures, they speak to the people through the psymbolism that the people will understand. To Jesus' people he spoke in terms of folk ideas based on the Hebrew belief system. That he never credited "Buddha" is may be because he choose to make his message specifically "Jewish."Quote:
Originally Posted by Pendragon
The similarities do not just include a comparison between Xianity and Buddhism, but the mystical aspect of every religion. They are all teaching the same thing. Islam, Zoroastrianism, the mythologies of the American Indians... There is only one spiritual message that is delivered in various forms to the mind in ways that it is able to receive it. Which is to say, the psymbols are always the same, it is only the form they take that appears different.
To be perfectly honest, yes, I am aware of these writings. I am assuming by "lost years", you refer to the time between His birth and the beginning of His ministry. Jesus came as a poor man, a carpenter. I see no reason to suppose He had the means to travel out of Israel. Nor that He had a large education, for the Priests at the Temple wondered at His authority, asking who taught Him. If He had “disappeared” for a good while to a foreign land they would have likely noticed, as they seemed to know every detail about His life and threw it in His face. The Hebrew spelling of His name is Yeshua, I believe, definately not Isus, which is more of a Latin spelling. But let us not quarrel:Quote:
Originally Posted by Starving Buddha
Rom.14
[5] One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Note the part of the verse I highlighted.
God Bless
Pen
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l1...lies/Peace.gif
The highlighted quote is perfect! That is the universal message. It is up to each individual to seek it out. If you look for it, you will find it. "Knock and the door will be opened..." But how many of us stand on the threshold of the door and fear walking through???Quote:
Originally Posted by Pendragon
Much Metta my friend
That also, is a true verse, found two places in the Bible:Quote:
Originally Posted by Starving Buddha
Matt.7
[7] Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Luke.11
[9] And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Many fear to knock or to ask, because they are unsure of what lies beyond the open door. The question should be: What are you seeking?
Matt.7
[8] For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luke.11
[10] For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Are people afraid they might find the very thing for which they are looking?
God Bless
At the end of the day, all religions come down to this-finding everlasting peace and happiness.Some people will never find it in this life, whatever religion or combination of religions they follow, Buddhism Christianity, Islam or whatever.Some people may find it without following any religion,by only seeing the truth.( Siddhartha in Hermann Hess's novel). So in a sense your question is too shallow and the answer to that question does nothing to enlighten
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Originally Posted by Timur
Your response indicates that you see all religions as merely some means to an earthly end; that is not so - and not all religions are created equal. Religion in and of itself does not contain Truth - only the divine being that that religion is predicated on can contain Truth. Truth is God - so following Truth (capital T) always leads one to God.
Not exactly, Red. God is truth, yes, but things that can be truth are not of necessity God.Quote:
Originally Posted by Redzeppelin
Prov.16
[25] There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Perhaps this way is based on something known to be the truth. So it must be God's way, right? No.
Isa.55
[9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God's standard of truth is greater than human standard. We place truth in terms of what we can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. God's truth goes beyond that into the realm of Faith. Many follow only what they can see and we cannot deny that what they have is truth. It simply places God out of the picture. So following just truth alone will not lead one to God. One must dare to reach beyond one's senses and take hold of Faith to touch God.
God Bless.
Pen
God is Truth (capital T); yes we can claim truth (lower case t), but true reality is God. The search for Truth (not the claim of truth) leads always towards God.
I don't think my post and yours are at odds, because I'm not claiming that humanity has, or can completely know the Truth - but if we seek God and attempt to know Him, He will reveal Truth to us, because the revelation of God is the revelation of Truth.
I agree with Dale; all he's saying is that God views things a different way than we do. Our view is short-sighted. Even as well as we understand right and wrong, with our best judgment we could still be wrong. The idea is that the end result is good, according to God's plan. Even if some bad things happen, God has a plan and everything that happens is according to his will. This isn't a contradiction of free will, because it's a rather abstract thing. In Buddhism the idea is to always sow seeds of enlightenment, and if we always do this, the seeds will grow. It's common sense and logical. That is, I believe, something like the gist of what Dale's saying; although I don't really agree with his last statement, One must dare to reach beyond one's senses and take hold of Faith to touch God.
Anyway about the right and wrong; it's like we don't see the full consequences. We don't see what happens after or later, and we are always being proven wrong, by things working out or something like that. And, of course, there's suffering, and shouldn't we try to alleviate it? Ah, but that requires taking up the cross, doesn't it?
Anyway, again about the right and wrong; it's very similar to Shin Buddhism, and in that, they describe it in terms of self-power and other-power. Interesting stuff, any Christian should read, because it's so similar to Christian philosophy; of original sin, and self-power and God.
Regarding the truth issue: surely, if there is a God like Christians, Jews, and Muslims believe, who created the world ex nihilo, who was there before all else, He must be the source of reality. Thus, anything that is real is according to God, anything that is unreal is not. The question that follows is not, is anything true from God, but, what is real?
I am of Christian background and at thesame time Buddhist, Atheist and a devout worshipper of Flying Spaghetti Monster - don't think the above clash
Hmmmm.... I think they do. Christianity definently worships God, clashing with agnostics. I don't object to being devoted to the "flying spagetti monster" but that might just be another crazy thing, like Santa Claus.
Of course they don't, if you are content with the "Christianity-and-water" approach, or, as it is sometimes called, the "humanitarian gospel." If you accept only the moral teachings of all the religions, they do appear quite similar. But then, so does the teaching of almost all moralists, atheist, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, or Spaghetti-Monsterist. Let's not point out the obvious and call it profound- of course the moral teachings of all religions are the same. But, all religions are NOT the same.Quote:
Originally Posted by birdFlu