Jesus studied Buddhism? (salvation, Jehovah, Christianity, God)

[june 7th]

Originally Posted by b. frank

I know enough about the "missing years" of Jesus' life to agree with most scholars - secular and Christian - that Jesus was pretty much just living his life as a carpenter or whatever trade during the parts of the New Testament that he is not mentioned (age 12 to 27?).

So...what's the deal with the theory that Jesus travelled to the Far East and studied Buddhism? I have never heard that.

Buddhism and Christianity have awfully different orientations/perspectives.



Buddhism, by nature, is inwardly driven and oriented.

Christianity is not.

[GCSTroop]

Originally Posted by june 7th

Buddhism and Christianity have awfully different orientations/perspectives.



Buddhism, by nature, is inwardly driven and oriented.

Christianity is not.

I second that notion.

However, it does make me wonder what might happen if a self-centered individual who thought of himself as God might reflect on if he had been influenced by Buddhism?

In other words, I wonder if it is possible for a person to have grown up amidst the thought processes and ways of the Old Testament, later to be introduced to Buddhist philosophy. How would one reconcile, at that time in history, the God they grew up with and the philosophies of Buddhism? Perhaps by mixing the two together? That'd be an interesting twist.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by GCSTroop

I wonder if it is possible for a person to have grown up amidst the thought processes and ways of the Old Testament, later to be introduced to Buddhist philosophy. How would one reconcile, at that time in history, the God they grew up with and the philosophies of Buddhism?

You should read The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. Or maybe even Small Is Beautiful, by E.F. Schumacher. Both great books that show a Christian appreciation for Buddhist thought and culture.

[esselcue]

Buddhism predates Christianty by a long ways, as do many other religions and philosophies. There is actually quite a bit of Buddhism in Christian doctrine...it is about "self" and being responsible for one's actions, about being kind, about respecting life. No doubt in my mind that Jesus did study or at least expose himself to those teachings. He was a very bright man and a very spiritual man (if somewhat egotistic) and he was also determined to be a Rabbi. It makes sense to me that he would have been curious and open-minded enough to listen and absorb what made sense to him.

Then...in order to separate an Eastern philosophy from the need to influence the people of Jesus's time, he combined some of those teachings with his own beliefs and observations and created the lessons on life and morality that he preached throught his known world (which was extremely tiny). I am not sure why this concept, of Jesus studying other beliefs, troubles some xians so much. He had to get his "radical" beliefs and teachings from somewhere (oh, yes, I forgot...God told him).

[scorpy01]

Originally Posted by june 7th

Buddhism and Christianity have awfully different orientations/perspectives.



Buddhism, by nature, is inwardly driven and oriented.

Christianity is not.

I'm not sure about that. We are temples of the Lord. We are one in the Spirit.

Our bodies are just shells, housing our souls or spirits. And our spirits are all part of one God, one Divine Creator. We are in Him and He is in us.

It's only when we see us as "here" and God as "out there somewhere" that we lose sight of the "inwardly driven or oriented" that you mention.

I'm not sure I'm explaining this well.

[esselcue]

Scorpy: Do you mean what you said about "We are in God and God is in us?" Because that is really very Eastern philosophy and exactly what I believe! God, the source of life, whatever one chooses to believe, is in all of us, literally...going all the way back to the Big Bang, in my belief. That life energy is in us and when we die it goes back to that source...well, that's my belief. At any rate, we need to respect that godliness in us and care for our spirits. They are somewhat fragile

[scorpy01]

Originally Posted by esselcue

Scorpy: Do you mean what you said about "We are in God and God is in us?" Because that is really very Eastern philosophy and exactly what I believe! God, the source of life, whatever one chooses to believe, is in all of us, literally...going all the way back to the Big Bang, in my belief. That life energy is in us and when we die it goes back to that source...well, that's my belief. At any rate, we need to respect that godliness in us and care for our spirits. They are somewhat fragile

Yes, that's what I believe because that's what I believe Jesus taught us in his words.

I think that sometimes we read the Bible with our own very limited perspective rather than allowing the words to really sink in. I also think that in our attempt to fit God into something that makes sense to us, we limit God's true essence.

There are many more similarities between the various "religions" than there are differences.

[esselcue]

Absolutely! And the similarities are what are fascinating to me.

[.....think]

..... The Buddhist religion is all about seeking the truth Christians as the church has shown is about keeping anything that contradicts their faith away from their lives. In fact the Church executed all people who showed philosophy.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by .....think

..... The Buddhist religion is all about seeking the truth

As I understand it, Buddhism is about seeking enlightenment and nirvana. "Truth" tends to imply getting all your facts straight and believing the right things, and a Buddhist would have a problem with that approach.

Originally Posted by .....think

In fact the Church executed all people who showed philosophy.

Huh???