Buddhism

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Is it possible that Jesus Christ, if he ever existed, was in truth a Buddhist monk? His teachings about forgiveness, loving one's enemies, and doing good to those who do one evil, sound eerily like Buddhism. I wonder if the rest of you have any thoughts on that?

I think those traits are a type of generic goodness that end up in most religious faiths because those things are good for the preservation of our species as a whole and are things that we value and respect. The Golden Rule, for example, shows up in many religious texts, some of which predate the Gospels by centuries.

It just demonstrates that people are a lot alike. Most cultures also have flood myths and many unconnected places even have similar mythological creatures, like dragons.

It doesn’t mean that a Great Flood or dragons actually existed.

Jesus, if there was such a person, was Jewish.

That’s not to say that there wasn’t a fair amount of crossover among a variety of faiths and traditions. But I wouldn’t say that Jesus was a Buddhist. A Buddhist wouldn’t say that the sole means of salvation is through a belief in one person.

Its possible that Christ might have been a rogue Jew whose take on Judaism was influenced by Gentile ideas from farther east, like Buddhism, or more likely, by Persian Zaroastrianism.

There is at least one U Tube vid that pushes a theory that Jesus traveled to India as a youth. Seems a bit far fetched to me, but whatever.

But basically the whole Christian afterlife (heaven and hell, and a future day of judgment)comes from Zorastrianism (everything in Christianity that isn't Jewish is Zorastrian). Persian Zorastian priests were called "Magi". The Christian folktale about the Magi visiting the baby Christ (which goes back to Roman times) maybe a distorted memory of a young Jesus actually sitting at the feet of Persian sages. Or that's my speculation.

It’s interesting in that even Plato had a similar notion of an afterlife (in Phaedo) - that the bad would be punished and the good would be rewarded. Perhaps it aligns with humans’ notion of justice and their desire for fairness.

Anyway, it’s a shame that Jesus relied on others to write down what he said and did.

Jesus might have been the type to let his actions “speak” for him.

He could have acquired Buddhist thought through Buddhists traveling in his region. Or he could have spoken to somebody who encountered Buddhist thought. Who knows?

Up to the early 19th century, it was considered undignified for US Presidents to campaign for themselves. Maybe Jesus wanted someone else to chronicle his deeds—because he felt it was undignified for Him to have done it Himself.

I feel like Jesus was similar to those who wanted a return to the “essence” of their religion, in order to get away from the trimmings and pretensions of that religion.

Jesus and Martin Luther are similar---except that Luther was more angry about it.

The parallels between the teachings of Buddha and Christ are very interesting to ponder!

I believe this is caused more by a "universalist" type of situation in Humanity than in actual parallels between religions.

I don't think I've practiced it before, maybe It's something I'd have fun with it.

I don't believe there was an "autocratic" intention in seeking to actively make people "passive" so they can be "ruled" easier. I don't sense that.

I sense that the Christians in Roman times just wanted to live a more moral, less decadent life.