Apparently, the Buddha prophesied the coming of Jesus

[dyanaprajna2011]

Buddha Prophesized about the coming of Jesus

I was going to post this in the Buddhist DIR for the Buddhist to discuss amongst ourselves, but I decided to have everyone else chime in to see what they think about it.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Buddha! What were you thinking? *grin*

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Buddha Prophesized about the coming of Jesus

I was going to post this in the Buddhist DIR for the Buddhist to discuss amongst ourselves, but I decided to have everyone else chime in to see what they think about it.

My take on this is that, If it was so, Jesus or the 12 apostles would also talk about Buddha and that He prophesied about Jesus.
But in Zoroastrianism there is a Prophecy about a promised One who comes after 1000 years from Zoroaster, and the Maggies who were Zoroastrians wise men, based on that Prophecy followed a star to find the Promised One, which is described in Bible.


With regards to Prophecies of Buddha, there is another one that says:

...'I am not the first Buddha Who came upon this earth, nor shall I be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise in the world, a Holy One, a supremely enlightened One, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a Master of angels and mortals. He will reveal to you the same eternal truths which I have taught you. He will preach to you His religion, glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax and glorious at the goal, in spirit and in the letter. He will proclaim a religious life, wholly perfect and pure, such as I now proclaim.' His disciples will number many thousands, while Mine number many hundreds.'
Ananda said,

'How shall we know Him?'
The Blessed One replied:
'He will be known as Maitreya, which means He Whose name is "kindness.'"
Note: As you may already know, Baha'u'llah's given name, Husayn, is Arabic for "kindness."
A disciple asked Buddha,

"Is not Amitabha, the Infinite Light of Revelation, the Source of innumerable miracles?"


This Prophecy is regarding the promised one at the end times, which in Baha'i Belief and scriptures is fullfilled by Baha'u'llah.

Buddhist Prophecies Fulfilled by Baha'u'llah

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Buddhist Studies: Maitreya (Futrue Buddha)

Manjushri - Buddha and Bodhisattva Directory

Buddha Pronounces the Sutra of Maitreya Bodhisattva's Attainment of Buddhahood, ????????

At that period, brethren, there will arise in the world an Exalted One named Maitreya, Fully Awakened, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy, with knowledge of the worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to mortals willing to be led, a teacher for gods and men, an Exalted One, a Buddha, even as I am now. He, by himself, will thoroughly know and see, as it were face to face, this universe, with Its worlds of the spirits, Its Brahmas and Its Maras, and Its world of recluses and Brahmins, of princes and peoples, even as I now, by myself, thoroughly know and see them

“After my decease, first will occur the five disappearances. And what are the five disappearances? The disappearance of attainments [to Nirvana], the disappearance of the method [inability to practice wisdom, insight and the four purities of moral habit], the disappearance of learning [loss of men who follow the Dharma], the disappearance of the symbols [the outward forms, the robes and practices of Buddhism], the disappearance of the relics...”

“Then when the Dispensation of the perfect Buddha is 5,000 years old, the relics, not receiving reverence and honor will go to places where they can receive them... This, Sariputta, is called the disappearance of relics”

I fail to see anything Christian or Bahai in these.

 

[psychoslice]

For me personally I feel that religion such as Christianity is made up from many other belief systems, and this is why there are similarities. The coming of the lord is happening all the time, every time someone becomes enlightened, they are in a way the one who was prophesied.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

DharmaFlower.Net - Bodhisattva - Maitreya

A Brief History of Maitreya by Lama Thubten Yeshe

Who’s Who in Buddhism: Maitreya Bodhisattva | Buddha Journey

http://www.budsas.org/ebud/metteya/arimet04.htm

For those Abrahamics who believe that the Buddha predicted your particular prophet in Maitreya, here's some more reading that shows otherwise.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Syncretics trying to bring another system into the fold.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Buddhist Studies: Maitreya (Futrue Buddha)

Manjushri - Buddha and Bodhisattva Directory

Buddha Pronounces the Sutra of Maitreya Bodhisattva's Attainment of Buddhahood, ????????





I fail to see anything Christian or Bahai in these.

To be fair, I can point out to a few concepts that I can see, how those prophecies share with what Baha'i theology teaches.

For example, Buddha said: .'I am not the first Buddha Who came upon this earth, nor shall I be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise in the world"

In the above prophecy I can see the concept of 'Return' of Manifestations of God. So, Buddha says, He is not the first Buddha, nor the last...meaning that a Buddha always returns to the world to teach the Truth, and since all the spiritual Reality of these Manifestations is the same, it can be said, they are all "Buddha". So, for example, Jesus was a Buddha, Moses another, and Baha'u'llah another Buddha. Similar concepts exist in Christian Bible, and Islam. For example, Muhammad said 'I am all the Prophets". Jesus Promised He shall return. Elijah a Jewish Prophet is said, He would return, and Jesus said John the Baptist is the return of Elijah.
Likewise Krishna, a Manifestation of God said He comes again and again to teach the Truth. Likewise 'Ali', the first Imam of Islam, said 'I was with Noah, and with Jesus', meaning, I am the return of the previous Holy Ones.

Another sign in those, is that, according to Prophecies you posted, whenever the Truth is faded and disappeared, the Promised One comes to teach the truth again. This is a fundamental teaching of Baha'i Faith, and can be seen in the sayings of Krishna, Zoroaster, Muhammad...etc. All of these in a way Promised of yet another Manifestation in future who would teach same Truth, so for example Muhammad Prophesied of another Manifestation by the Name of 'Mahdi', who would come and teach the Religion again, when the Religion is corrupted, or when that truth is disappeared.
So, while those Prophecies may not point to some physical signs, but the concepts are Baha'i or Christian, which is note worthy, considering Buddhism is not even an Abrahamic Religion, and yet shares similar concepts.

 

[Sunstone]

Buddha Prophesized about the coming of Jesus

I was going to post this in the Buddhist DIR for the Buddhist to discuss amongst ourselves, but I decided to have everyone else chime in to see what they think about it.

Most likely crap, in my opinion.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

In the above prophecy I can see the concept of 'Return' of Manifestations of God.

...which was spoken by one who claimed belief in God was detrimental. Brilliant!

Another sign in those, is that, according to Prophecies you posted, whenever the Truth is faded and disappeared, the Promised One comes to teach the truth again.

A different "truth" each time it seems.

Maybe I just need to buy a better blender.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

In the above prophecy I can see the concept of 'Return' of Manifestations of God. So, Buddha says, He is not the first Buddha, nor the last...meaning that a Buddha always returns to the world to teach the Truth, and since all the spiritual Reality of these Manifestations is the same, it can be said, they are all "Buddha". So, for example, Jesus was a Buddha, Moses another, and Baha'u'llah another Buddha. Similar concepts exist in Christian Bible, and Islam. For example, Muhammad said 'I am all the Prophets". Jesus Promised He shall return. Elijah a Jewish Prophet is said, He would return, and Jesus said John the Baptist is the return of Elijah.
Likewise Krishna, a Manifestation of God said He comes again and again to teach the Truth. Likewise 'Ali', the first Imam of Islam, said 'I was with Noah, and with Jesus', meaning, I am the return of the previous Holy Ones.

Nice, there's only one problem- none of that fits with Buddhist philosophy. In speaking of Maitreya, the Buddha says that he will, like the Buddha himself, be a "teacher of gods and men". Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't seem to fit with Abrahamic theology. The Buddha also mentions that the next incarnation of Maitreya would be his last, indicating the Buddhist idea of rebirth, not the Abrahamic idea of 'one life, one death, then judgement'. When the Buddha was asked if he was a god, an avatar, an angel, or even a prophet, he denied each time, remarking only that he was 'awake'.

Another sign in those, is that, according to Prophecies you posted, whenever the Truth is faded and disappeared, the Promised One comes to teach the truth again. This is a fundamental teaching of Baha'i Faith, and can be seen in the sayings of Krishna, Zoroaster, Muhammad...etc. All of these in a way Promised of yet another Manifestation in future who would teach same Truth, so for example Muhammad Prophesied of another Manifestation by the Name of 'Mahdi', who would come and teach the Religion again, when the Religion is corrupted, or when that truth is disappeared.
So, while those Prophecies may not point to some physical signs, but the concepts are Baha'i or Christian, which is note worthy, considering Buddhism is not even an Abrahamic Religion, and yet shares similar concepts.

None of this fits with the topic at hand.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Nice, there's only one problem- none of that fits with Buddhist philosophy. In speaking of Maitreya, the Buddha says that he will, like the Buddha himself, be a "teacher of gods and men". Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't seem to fit with Abrahamic theology. The Buddha also mentions that the next incarnation of Maitreya would be his last, indicating the Buddhist idea of rebirth, not the Abrahamic idea of 'one life, one death, then judgement'. When the Buddha was asked if he was a god, an avatar, an angel, or even a prophet, he denied each time, remarking only that he was 'awake'.



None of this fits with the topic at hand.

It all boils down to how the scriptures are interpreted my friend.
I believe that Buddha and Krishna talked about mystical 'return', and 'rebirth', but generations of people took these sayings literally, and misinterpreted them as literally returning and reincarnation. I do not mean to be disrespectful of other beliefs but I say what I believe is the truth.
So, for example, in Christianity, there is the concept of 'to be born again', as Jesus said 'You must be born again', which is same as 'rebirth'. Buddha must have spoken the same, but the Buddhists interpreted that differently than Christians.
But Baha'i Scriptures explains these with a very good analogy. It says, just as there is a cycle of life in nature that life starts with Spring and death comes with fall and Winter, likewise there is a 'spiritual' cycle of life and death, which starts with appearance of a Manifestation who is the life giver, just as for example, in Bible, it is said by teachings of Jesus spiritually dead became alive.
As the time passes, after about a 1000 years (more or less), spiritual death, or spiritual Winter arrives, when that truth that was revealed is disappeared, distorted or forgotten among mankind. That is Spiritual Winter of Mankind. At that time again the Spiritual Spring comes, and this process and cycle of rebirth and death comes again and again. I believe this is what Krishna and Buddha meant by talking about 'cycles', 'return' and 'rebirth', but their message throughout generations was distorted and misunderstood.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

So, for example, in Christianity, there is the concept of 'to be born again', as Jesus said 'You must be born again', which is same as 'rebirth'. Buddha must have spoken the same, but the Buddhists interpreted that differently than Christians.

...except that's the exact opposite of what the Buddha would have said, seeing as freedom from suffering was freedom from samsara. "You must be born again" would have been anti-Buddha.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

I believe this is what Krishna and Buddha meant by talking about 'cycles', 'return' and 'rebirth', but their message throughout generations was distorted and misunderstood.

Or not.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

...except that's the exact opposite of what the Buddha would have said, seeing as freedom from suffering was freedom from samsara. "You must be born again" would have been anti-Buddha.

I would be interested to see a verse or two from Buddha talking about reincarnation.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

I would be interested to see a verse or two from Buddha talking about reincarnation.

Dona Sutta: With Dona

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.072.than.html

Feel free to do further research.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

The issue to me isn't necessarily theological, it's more philosophical. There are those in certain religions who just can't seem to accept the fact that there are those who would disagree with them, on a philosophically fundamental level. Eastern religion works by a completely different paradigm than Abrahamic religions. While Bahai's might think they're theology is moving in a more progressive direction, and attempts to unite all the world's religions, we have to understand that, while some might see this as noble, there is an inherent danger. To me, the Bahai point of view isn't really any different than fundamentalist Islam or Christianity. And I'll take it a step further: Bahai theology is even more disingenuous, as it says that it unites all the world's religions, but is firmly rooted in an Abrahamic worldview, completely denying anything Eastern. Bahai's may very much mean well, but their underlying philosophical worldview is inherently flawed and illogical.

And this leads to my OP: there is a great danger in attempting to interpret one's religions philosophy and scriptures from a completely different worldview. You simply cannot take an Eastern religion, and try to understand it from a western perspective. The philosophical worldview between the Dharmic religions and Abrahamic religions are so fundamentally different, that any attempt at convergence or syncretism is simply unfathomable.

 

[LuisDantas]

Logically, if the Buddha could somehow foresee the coming of Jesus and thought of it as big deal, he would have said so in no unclear terms, and all or at least most of his direct disciples would have spread the word around.

The consequence would be a Buddhadharma very different from the one that we have.

That did not happen, so I can only see this piece with strong mistrust.

 

[arthra]

Well the concept of the vow of the Bodhisattva is in itself compatible I think with the teachings of Jesus so you could perhaps make a case that Buddha was preparing the world for Jesus as a Bodhisattva..

Beings are numberless, I vow to save them
Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to end them
Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them
Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it.

I would also recommend the Gospel of Buddha by Paul Carus.

The Gospel of Buddha

Carus was a Unitarian minister who studied Buddhism .. His references in the back of the book show parallels between the Gospels and Buddhist materials.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Well the concept of the vow of the Bodhisattva is in itself compatible I think with the teachings of Jesus so you could perhaps make a case that Buddha was preparing the world for Jesus as a Bodhisattva..

Beings are numberless, I vow to save them
Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to end them
Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them
Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it.

I would also recommend the Gospel of Buddha by Paul Carus.

The Gospel of Buddha

Carus was a Unitarian minister who studied Buddhism .. His references in the back of the book show parallels between the Gospels and Buddhist materials.

I'd like to agree with you, but then again, you get into the whole idea of reinterpreting Christianity from a Buddhist perspective, which is something I would hesitate doing. There are many parallels between what Jesus taught and what the Buddha taught, but these are basically ethical in tone, and are shared by many religions, philosophies, and cultures. I don't see any fundamental, or even general, similarities between Jesus and Buddha either religiously or philosophically.