Jesus and Buddha as Brothers

[xidaijena]

Jesus and Buddha as Brothers

The dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity has not gone very far, in my opinion, because we have not been able to set up a solid ground for such dialogue. This is a reflection of the present situation.

Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the possibility for human beings to live several lives. In Buddhist circles, we do not use the word incarnation very much: we use the word rebirth. After you die, you can be reborn and can have another life. In Christianity, your life is unique, your only chance for salvation. If you spoil it, then you will never get salvation. You have only one life.

Buddhism teaches that there is non-self, anatta. Christianity clearly teaches that a Christian is a personalist. Not only are you a person, self, but God is a person, and He has a self. The Buddhist teaching of emptiness and no substance sounds like the teaching of no being. Christianity speaks of being, of existence. The teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the philosophy of being, la philisophie de l'etre, the confirmation that the world is.

There is compassion and loving-kindness in Buddhism, which many Christians believe to be different from the charity and love in Christianity. Charity has two aspects: your love directed to God, and your love directed to humankind. You have to learn how to love your enemy. Our Christian friends have a tendency to remind us that the motivation of love is different for Christians and Buddhists. There are theologians who say that Buddhists practice compassion just because they want liberation; that Buddhists don't really care about the suffering of people and other living beings; that they are only motivated by the desire to be liberated. In Christianity, your love is grounded in God. You love God, and because God said that you must love your neighbor, so you love your neighbor. Your love of your neighbor springs from the ground of your love of God.

Many people, especially in Christian circles, say that there are things in common between Christianity and Buddhism. But many find that the philosophical foundations of Christianity and Buddhism are quite different. Buddhism teaches rebirth, many lives. Christianity teaches that only this one life is available to you. Buddhism teaches that there is no self, but in Christianity there is a real self. Buddhism teaches emptiness, no substance, while Christianity confirms the fact of existence.

If the philosophical ground is so different, the practice of compassion and loving kindness in Buddhism and of charity and love in Christianity is different. All that seems to be a very superficial way of seeing. If we have time and if we practice our own tradition well enough and deeply enough, we will see that these issues are not real.

First of all, there are many forms of Buddhism, many ways of understanding Buddhism. If you have one hundred people practicing Buddhism, you may have one hundred forms of Buddhism. The same is true in Christianity. If there are one hundred thousand people practicing Christianity, there may be one hundred thousand ways of understanding Christianity.

In Plum Village, where many people from different religious backgrounds come to practice, it is not difficult to see that sometimes a Buddhist recognizes a Christian as being more Buddhist than another Buddhist. I see a Buddhist, but the way he understands Buddhism is quite different from the way I do. However, when I look at a Christian, I see that the way he understands Christianity and practices love and charity is closer to the way I practice them than this man who is called a Buddhist. The same thing is true in Christianity. From time to time, you feel that you are very far away from your Christian brother. You feel that the brother who practices in the Buddhist tradition is much closer to you as a Christian. So Buddhism is not Buddhism and Christianity is not Christianity. There are many forms of Buddhism and many ways of understanding Buddhism. There are many ways of understanding Christianity. Therefore, let us forget the idea that Christianity must be like this, and that Buddhism can only be like that.

We don't want to say that Buddhism is a kind of Christianity and Christianity is a kind of Buddhism. A mango can not be an orange. I cannot accept the fact that a mango is an orange. They are two different things. Vive la difference. But when you look deeply into the mango and into the orange, you see that although they are different they are both fruits. If you analyze the mango and the orange deeply enough, you will see small elements are in both, like the sunshine, the clouds, the sugar, and the acid. If you spend time looking deeply enough, you will discover that the only difference between them lies in the degree, in the emphasis. At first you see the difference between the orange and the mango. But if you look a little deeper, you discover many things in common. In the orange you find acid and sugar which is in the mango too. Even two oranges taste different; one can be very sour and one can be very sweet.

From "Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers" by Thich Nhat Hanh, Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Putnam, Inc., 1999. Thich Nhat Hanh, a rare combination of mystic, scholar, and activist, is a Vietnamese monk and one of the most beloved Buddhist teachers alive today. Poet, Zen master and chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation during the Vietnam War, he was nominated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is the author of many books, and lives in France.

Source: http://lifechanyuan.org/bbs/forum.ph...extra=page%3D1

Read more from Similarities Between Buddha and Jesus

[Azt]

Here is a comic strip pretty famous in Japan that shows Jesus and Buddha as roommates / best friends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Young_Men

[markpierre]

That's all very sweet, except that Christianity has very little to do with the teachings of Jesus. Buddha and St. Paul?
Nope. Can't go there.

The teachings of Jesus as taught by Jesus more closely resemble Taoism. Substitute the Tao with 'the Father', and off you go.
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." which was a pleasant surprise from Wikipedia. The rhetoric that replaced the discipline
of self responsibility and acquiescence to God is not the message of Jesus.

[Bright Garlick]

Very Beautiful Xidaijena. Thich Nhat Hanh is a truly wonderful teacher - a living Buddha.

I am a Buddhist and former Christian (way back) and I also follow some Daoism and Neo Advaita. I have always felt that many Buddhist were driven by fear and as are most Christians. Few of either are anchored by love.
It is hard to find a Buddhist who truly understands why they follow the Dharma and accepts the possibility of god and sees love at the core of all liberation.

Thanks for a lovely post !

Wishing you a wonderful day in Yunnan province !

Bright. ;-)

[xidaijena]

Posted by Azt (here)
Here is a comic strip pretty famous in Japan that shows Jesus and Buddha as roommates / best friends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Young_Men

Nice sharing! Tks dear!

[xidaijena]

Posted by markpierre (here)
That's all very sweet, except that Christianity has very little to do with the teachings of Jesus. Buddha and St. Paul?
Nope. Can't go there.

The teachings of Jesus as taught by Jesus more closely resemble Taoism. Substitute the Tao with 'the Father', and off you go.
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." which was a pleasant surprise from Wikipedia. The rhetoric that replaced the discipline
of self responsibility and acquiescence to God is not the message of Jesus.

I like Taoism, too. And you may check more useful stuffs from The Essence Of Wisdom on Human History

[xidaijena]

Posted by Bright Garlick (here)
Very Beautiful Xidaijena. Thich Nhat Hanh is a truly wonderful teacher - a living Buddha.

I am a Buddhist and former Christian (way back) and I also follow some Daoism and Neo Advaita. I have always felt that many Buddhist were driven by fear and as are most Christians. Few of either are anchored by love.
It is hard to find a Buddhist who truly understands why they follow the Dharma and accepts the possibility of god and sees love at the core of all liberation.

Thanks for a lovely post !

Wishing you a wonderful day in Yunnan province !

Bright. ;-)

Wow, how kind your words are, dear Bright! So interesting to know you are a Buddhist and former Christian. Before I found Lifechanyuan, I once decided to become a Buddhist in my hometown to find more truth in 2011. And I truly learn about the teachings of Jesus only in the beginning of this year. From those true christians, I learnt Jesus's great love.

Quite agree with you, dear! How lucky I am to have so many sisters and brothers living in the Second Home who are also once Buddists before and love God, too.

If could, you're very welcome to communicate with more kind sisters and brothers on our website.

Wish you to have a blessing day, too!

Peace & Love

Jena (Xidai)

PS: Jena is my English name, Xidai is my chanyuan's name.

[AuCo]

"Above him were the serene faces of Jesus, Confucius and Buddha, while a giant all-seeing eye stared down at the few hundred worshipers." Look up Caodaism for more of this view.

More here http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/05/13...anted=all&_r=0

[S-L]

Thank you for this post! Always great to read about the unity of different faith traditions.

I understand all major religions as different pathways to God. It's like we're all climbing the same great mountain but taking different routes to get there. This makes sense, given that we all have different backgrounds, personalities and life experiences. Isn't it silly for a mountaineer to attack another one for taking a different path up this great mountain?

As spiritual mystics have been saying for ages, the truth is One. Jesus and Buddha are in perfect harmony with each other, though sometimes the organized religious institutions that sprung up after them are not. It's important to distinguish between the timeless thread of truth expressed by great teachers and institutions that claim to represent them.

I am a member of the New Message from God religion, and we honor all previous Messengers. Though we have our own spiritual practices, we feel affinity we the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and others.

"God’s Plan is to save everyone—not the select few, not those who claim that Jesus is their lord, not them alone, or those who claim to be the followers of Muhammad, or to practice and apply the teachings of the Buddha, or to follow the ancient scripts of the prophets in Judaism."

"God’s interventions are infrequent, but they are vitally necessary. The arrival of great spiritual emissaries such as Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad represent such interventions. However their presence may have been interpreted and whatever the response, these great representatives brought something to humanity that it desperately needed, that it could not find on its own."

"In Spirit you will find comfort and assurance. In Spirit all that is truest in life will abide with you, for in Spirit the Christ and the Buddha are one. In Spirit all the great achievements of the great Spiritual Emissaries unite and become revealed to you. In this, their promise is fulfilled, for they have given themselves for this purpose. Thus, the Spirit that you receive today is the fruit of their giving, for Spirit has been kept alive in the world for you. It has been kept alive by those who have received and contributed it. Thus, their lives provide the foundation for yours. Their giving provides the foundation for your giving. Their acceptance of Spirit strengthens your acceptance of Spirit."

[xidaijena]

Posted by S-L (here)
Thank you for this post! Always great to read about the unity of different faith traditions.

I understand all major religions as different pathways to God. It's like we're all climbing the same great mountain but taking different routes to get there. This makes sense, given that we all have different backgrounds, personalities and life experiences. Isn't it silly for a mountaineer to attack another one for taking a different path up this great mountain?

As spiritual mystics have been saying for ages, the truth is One. Jesus and Buddha are in perfect harmony with each other, though sometimes the organized religious institutions that sprung up after them are not. It's important to distinguish between the timeless thread of truth expressed by great teachers and institutions that claim to represent them.

I am a member of the New Message from God religion, and we honor all previous Messengers. Though we have our own spiritual practices, we feel affinity we the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and others.

"God’s Plan is to save everyone—not the select few, not those who claim that Jesus is their lord, not them alone, or those who claim to be the followers of Muhammad, or to practice and apply the teachings of the Buddha, or to follow the ancient scripts of the prophets in Judaism."

"God’s interventions are infrequent, but they are vitally necessary. The arrival of great spiritual emissaries such as Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad represent such interventions. However their presence may have been interpreted and whatever the response, these great representatives brought something to humanity that it desperately needed, that it could not find on its own."

"In Spirit you will find comfort and assurance. In Spirit all that is truest in life will abide with you, for in Spirit the Christ and the Buddha are one. In Spirit all the great achievements of the great Spiritual Emissaries unite and become revealed to you. In this, their promise is fulfilled, for they have given themselves for this purpose. Thus, the Spirit that you receive today is the fruit of their giving, for Spirit has been kept alive in the world for you. It has been kept alive by those who have received and contributed it. Thus, their lives provide the foundation for yours. Their giving provides the foundation for your giving. Their acceptance of Spirit strengthens your acceptance of Spirit."

What a nice sharing! I like your thoughts sooo much! It seems that you do share a lot common with our values. I'll check more about the website you shared. And if could, please have a check on our website, I do believe you may find some interetsting stuffs there.

Tks again! Hugs!

Peace & Love

Jena (Xidai)

[wobbegong]

Thankyou Xidaijena for this uniting thread.
I practise the same religion that S-L described in his post (New Message from God) and today, during my usual readings, I ran into this phrase that really makes me feel the necessity for union, so true now and in the times that are coming:

No one on Earth can proclaim that Jesus is the only pathway to God when God has created other pathways! Who are you to say such things? This is misunderstanding and confusion. This is trying to place your beliefs above and beyond others’ beliefs, to make your teacher, your representative, the greatest or the only one to be followed. This is not the Will of Heaven. This is the ignorance of humanity.
The world you will be facing will require immense human cooperation, compassion and contribution, or it will be a battleground over who has the remaining resources of the world. Who can protect their wealth while other nations fail and collapse? (from the teaching The Will of Heaven)

[xidaijena]

Posted by wobbegong (here)
Thankyou Xidaijena for this uniting thread.
I practise the same religion that S-L described in his post (New Message from God) and today, during my usual readings, I ran into this phrase that really makes me feel the necessity for union, so true now and in the times that are coming:

No one on Earth can proclaim that Jesus is the only pathway to God when God has created other pathways! Who are you to say such things? This is misunderstanding and confusion. This is trying to place your beliefs above and beyond others’ beliefs, to make your teacher, your representative, the greatest or the only one to be followed. This is not the Will of Heaven. This is the ignorance of humanity.
The world you will be facing will require immense human cooperation, compassion and contribution, or it will be a battleground over who has the remaining resources of the world. Who can protect their wealth while other nations fail and collapse? (from the teaching The Will of Heaven)

Well said! I like it! Hugs!

[mahalall]

It is interesting to slip back in time and look at the psycho-spiritual influences at the time through which both these beings arose from.
It is well known that King Ashoka was sending established monks in all directions along the then trade routes. Nodoubt jesus would have encountered them and been in contact with the pali canon/sanskrit views. In the face of the dry-logical-individual pursuit of the theravadist's approach, one can see why the need for inclusion of heart is necessary. Jesus could be seen as the earliest pioneer of the Mahayana approach from which the heart sutta was born and subsequently why practitioners like Thich Nhat Hanh highlight jesus as a brother.

http://www.oration.com/~mm9n/article...04Sanskrit.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Sutra

[xidaijena]

Jesus could be seen as the earliest pioneer of the Mahayana approach from which the heart sutta was born and subsequently why practitioners like Thich Nhat Hanh highlight jesus as a brother.

You do have a very interesting and meaningful angle to comprehend Jesus, dear mahalall. Though I have only a little knowledge about Mahayana, I quite agree with you.

[skippy]

Hi xidaijena,

Nice thread. If Buddha's emptiness equals compassion and if this compassion includes everything and everyone then this is very close to the all-encompassing Love of Christ. If Christ was a buddhist then he was definitely a Bodhisattva, in particular, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avelokiteshavara.

Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Throughout all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is venerated as the ideal of karuna. Karuna is the activity of compassion in the world and the willingness to bear the pain of others. Avalokiteshvara is the earthly manifestation of Amitabha Buddha, who represents mercy and wisdom. The bodhisattva is said to appear anywhere to help all beings in danger and distress. The Sanskrit name "Avalokiteshvara" is interpreted many ways -- "The One Who Hears the Cries of the World"; "The Lord Who Looks in Every Direction."

[mahalall]

skippy:Throughout all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is venerated as the ideal of karuna. Karuna is the activity of compassion in the world and the willingness to bear the pain of others.

Anecdotally it gets one off your cushion and has you asking now what would jesus do!

xidaijena: You do have a very interesting and meaningful angle to comprehend Jesus

smiling at the thought of jesus having a cup of tea with his brothers/sisters in Alexandria library critically appraising the Tripitaka.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library...ria#Collection

[xidaijena]

Posted by skippy (here)
Hi xidaijena,

Nice thread. If Buddha's emptiness equals compassion and if this compassion includes everything and everyone then this is very close to the all-encompassing Love of Christ. If Christ was a buddhist then he was definitely a Bodhisattva, in particular, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avelokiteshavara.

Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Throughout all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is venerated as the ideal of karuna. Karuna is the activity of compassion in the world and the willingness to bear the pain of others. Avalokiteshvara is the earthly manifestation of Amitabha Buddha, who represents mercy and wisdom. The bodhisattva is said to appear anywhere to help all beings in danger and distress. The Sanskrit name "Avalokiteshvara" is interpreted many ways -- "The One Who Hears the Cries of the World"; "The Lord Who Looks in Every Direction."

If Christ was a buddhist then he was definitely a Bodhisattva, in particular, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avelokiteshavara.

I agree with you one hundred per cent.

[xidaijena]

Posted by mahalall (here)

skippy:Throughout all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is venerated as the ideal of karuna. Karuna is the activity of compassion in the world and the willingness to bear the pain of others.

Anecdotally it gets one off your cushion and has you asking now what would jesus do!

xidaijena: You do have a very interesting and meaningful angle to comprehend Jesus

smiling at the thought of jesus having a cup of tea with his brothers/sisters in Alexandria library critically appraising the Tripitaka.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library...ria#Collection

smiling at the thought of jesus having a cup of tea with his brothers/sisters in Alexandria library critically appraising the Tripitaka.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library...ria#Collection

Hi mahalall, I check the link just now but didn't see Jesus's opinion about Tripitaka. Could you kindly tell me what it is? Thanks!

[shaberon]

Tripitaka are collections of Buddhist scriptures.

Buddhism has always operated on a handshake basis with Eastern Christianity. However it is important to understand that there is no such thing as western Christianity, or, rather, it is considered the devil. In the current conflict, both the Russian Christians and Muslims have said they are fighting:

Satan

i. e. the Catholic and British religions that have attacked them for centuries.

So although there are probably similarities between original Jesus and Buddhism--it is to be found in Orthodox theology, not that of Aquinas and others. Jesus never said anything about god, a fifth-century Gothic word; he spoke of Abba or "Father". Avalokiteshvara achieved liberation by meditating on Primordial Sound. Many Buddhist and Hindu teachings focus on this Sound, but I am not sure about it in Christianity.

Originally I would say the two were similar, but it is the mentality of Crusades that has brought too many problems.

[Patient]

I do not have any considerable training or schooling in any religions. But I share many of the beliefs of a higher power and different good sayings have stuck with me such as "do unto others as they would do to you".

It is interesting that when you do a search online to find the meaning of religion, you can see that there are many many different (but similar) ideas for the definition of religion.

It looks to me like defining religion(s) is what has caused many of the differences from one religion to another. Strip them all down to the basic elements and we will find them all practically the same.

Humanity needs to find a way to drop the walls that have been built by other people defining things to the point where that simple thing has become so distorted that we have lost sight of the root value.