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Jesus as a Reincarnation of Buddha
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In
the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., Buddhism was
founded by
Siddhartha Gautama, also known as "the Buddha"
(the "Enlightened
One"), in southern Nepal. The title "the Buddha"
is applied to Siddhartha Gautama in the same way
the title "the Christ" (the "Anointed
One") is applied to
Jesus. The basic teachings and lives of the
Buddha and the Christ are so remarkably similar
it is hard to believe they are not the same entity.
This article will present the case for Buddha
being a previous reincarnation of Jesus
Christ. Buddhism
teaches how the practice of good religious and moral
behavior can lead to
Nirvana (i.e., the state of enlightenment, kingdom
of God within). To attain Nirvana, a person must
be subjected to the cycle of reincarnation over
numerous lifetimes according to how good or bad
they were in previous incarnations depending on
one's actions according to God's law of "karma"
or God's law of "an
eye for an eye" as it is known in the West.
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The goal of Buddhism is to achieve liberation from
this cycle of birth and rebirth. The Buddhist view
of life in this world is summarized in what is called
"the
four noble truths." They are (1)
This world is a world of suffering. (2)
Desire and the belief in the importance
of one's self causes suffering. (3)
The attainment of Nirvana ends this suffering.
(4) Nirvana is attained only by
following the path of righteousness in action, thought,
attitude, and meditation. As it was with Jesus,
the Buddha had a community of disciples to carry
on his teachings.
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Table of Contents |
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1. Identical Life Experiences |
1. |
Buddha was born of the virgin Mahamaya,
who was considered the "Queen of Heaven."
Dean Milman, in his "History of
Christianity," stated that "Buddha,
according to a tradition known in the
West, was born of a virgin" (Vol. I,
p. 99, note). Mary and Mahamaya all
gave birth to their children among strangers.
He was visited by wise men who recognized
the divinity of the child. He was of
royal descent and his birth was announced
by a star.
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2. |
Werner's Encyclopedia, in its article
on Buddha speaks of "the marvelous stories
which gathered round the belief in his
voluntary incarnation, the miracles
at his birth, the prophecies of the
aged saint at his formal presentation
to his father, and how nature altered
her course to keep a shadow over his
cradle, whilst the sages from afar came
and worshiped him."
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3. |
Both Jesus and Buddha were presented
in the temple as infants for baptism.
The hymns uttered at both annunciations
resemble each other.
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4. |
Both in childhood discoursed before
teachers. |
5. |
Jesus and Buddha were considered to
be divine beings. Buddha is regarded
by the Hindus as the ninth incarnation
of the deity Vishnu, following Krishna.
But Buddha started a new religion which
did not emphasize "gods,"
but rather how people can become "awakened"
or "enlightened" to liberate
themselves from the cycle of birth,
death, and rebirth."
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6. |
The mission of both Buddha and Jesus
was proclaimed by a voice from heaven. |
7. |
Both fasted in the wilderness and were
tempted. Supernatural beings ministered
to each of them. |
8. |
Both called their disciples with the
command, "Follow me." Both sent out
disciples to spread their teachings.
Both performed miracles and wonders,
healed the sick, fed five hundred men
from a "small basket of cakes," and
walked on the water.
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9. |
Buddha was "about 30 years old" when
he began his ministry. He fasted "seven
times seven nights and days." He had
a "band of disciples" who accompanied
him. He traveled from place to place
and "preached to large multitudes."
Bishop Bigandet calls his first sermon
the "Sermon on the Mount." At his Renunciation
"he forsook father and mother, wife
and child." His mission was "to establish
the kingdom of righteousness." "Buddha,"
says Max Mueller, "promised salvation
to all; and he commanded his disciples
to preach his doctrine in all places
and to all men." "Self-conquest and
universal charity" are the fundamental
principles of his religion. He enjoined
humanity, and commanded his followers
to conceal their charities. "Return
good for evil"; "overcome anger with
love"; "love your enemies," were some
of his precepts.
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10. |
Buddha formulated the following commandments.
"Not to kill; not to steal; not to lie;
not to commit adultery; not to use strong
drink." This is a similar teaching attributed
to Jesus: "Do not commit adultery, do
not murder, do not steal, do not give
false testimony, honor your father and
mother." (Luke 18:20) Christ ignored
the literal interpretation of Moses
and emphasized a spiritualized interpretation
of the whole law taken as a whole which
is to practice unconditional love. This
is similar to what Buddha did with the
current teachings of those days.
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11. |
Buddha preached on the "Holy Hill."
Jesus delivered his sermon on the Mount.
The phraseology of the sermons of Buddha
and the sermon of Jesus is the same
in many instances. Both Buddha and Jesus
compared themselves to husbandmen sowing
seed. The parable of the prodigal son
is found in both Buddhist and Christian
scriptures. So is the account of the
man born blind. Both use the mustard
seed as a simile for smallness. Buddha
taught: "Perishable is the city built
of sand." Jesus taught: "a foolish man
builds his house upon the sand." Both
speak of "the rain which falls on the
just and on the unjust."
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12. |
A converted courtesan, Mary Magdalene,
followed Jesus. A converted courtesan,
Ambapali, followed Buddha.
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13. |
It is written that Buddha crushed a
serpent's head. Crushing the head of
the serpent is also a Messianic prophecy
described in Genesis in the Garden of
Eden.
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14. |
Buddha abolished idolatry, was a "sower
of the word," and preached "the establishment
of a kingdom of righteousness" as Jesus
did.
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15. |
Buddha taught chastity, temperance,
tolerance, compassion, love, and the
equality of all as Jesus did. |
16. |
The story of the ruler, Nicodemus, who
came to Jesus by night, has its parallel
in the story of the rich man who came
to Buddha by night. |
17. |
Both proclaimed kingdoms not of this
world. The eternal life promised by
Christ corresponds to the eternal peace,
Nirvana, promised by Buddha.
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18. |
Both were transfigured on a mount. |
19. |
Both made triumphal entries, Christ
into Jerusalem, and Buddha into Rajagriba. |
20. |
Buddha was considered the "good shepherd,
the "carpenter, the "infinite and everlasting."
Buddha was called the "savior of the
world, "light of the world," Supreme
Being, and the eternal one as Jesus
was.
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21. |
There is a legend of a traitor connected
with each. |
22. |
Buddha is to return to Earth again to
restore the world to order and happiness
as is Jesus. |
23. |
Both are the judge of the dead. |
24. |
Buddha commanded his disciples to preach
his gospel to all men. Christ commanded
his disciples to do the same. In obedience
to these commands the world was filled
with missionaries, and largely as the
result of this the adherents of these
religious systems outnumber those of
all others combined.
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25. |
Shortly after Buddha died, two sects
of Buddhism were formed. After 400 years
there were twenty different sects of
Buddhism. Today there are many more.
Over the millennia, the teachings of
both Jesus and Buddha has spawned many
different sects. Each is an attempt
to keep the teachings alive under new
circumstances. In 1947 in Egypt, early
Christian documents were discovered
which were hidden for thousands of years
at the time when orders from the Church
called for all heretical documents to
be destroyed. One of those documents
was the Gospel of Thomas which is considered
by scholars to be the earliest gospel
ever written and the most reliable.
The Gospel of Thomas resonates with
a type of Christianity that remarkably
resembles Buddhism. It describes Jesus
teaching the disciples how to become
liberated from reincarnation. The writings
of early Christianity discovered in
1947, show that early Christianity contained
much more diversity of viewpoint and
practice than later Christians acknowledged
or even imagined. Because these teachings
were smothered, many Christians today
are adamant that the only path to God
is via the personality of Jesus and
this was considered the orthodox formula.
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26. |
Connected with the triumphs of these
two religions there is a historical
correlation worthy of mentioning. About
three centuries after Buddha's death,
Asoka the Great, emperor of India, converted
to the Buddhist faith and made Buddhism
the state religion of the empire of
India at that time. This emperor did
more than any other person to secure
Buddhism's supremacy in the East. In
the same way, about three centuries
after the death of Jesus, Constantine
the Great, emperor of Rome, became a
convert to the Christian faith and made
it the state religion of his empire.
Because of this, Christianity reigned
supreme in the West.
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Remuset says: "Buddhism has been called
the Christianity of the East." It would
be more appropriate to call Christianity
the Buddhism of the West. Buddha, and
not Christ, was "The Light of Asia."
At this torch Christians lighted their
taper and called it "The Light of the
World."
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27. |
Catholic Bishop Bigandet, one of the
leading Christian writers on Buddhism
wrote: "In reading the particulars of
the life of Buddha it is impossible
not to feel reminded of many circumstances
relating to our Savior's life as sketched
by the evangelists. It may be said in
favor of Buddhism that no philosophic-religious
system has ever upheld to an equal degree
the notions of a savior and deliverer,
and the necessity of his mission for
procuring the salvation of man."
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29. |
Bishop Jean Paul Hilaire wrote: "He
[Buddha] requires humility, disregard
of worldly wealth, patience and resignation
in adversity, love to enemies ... non-resistance
to evil, confession of sins and conversion."
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30. |
Paul Ambroise Bigandet, the Catholic
Bishop of Ramatha, wrote: "There are
many moral precepts equally commanded
and enforced in common by both creeds.
It will not be rash to assert that most
of the moral truths prescribed in the
gospel are to be met with in the Buddhistic
scriptures."
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31. |
The rituals and religious structure
of Catholicism resembles to a remarkable
degree after those of Northern Buddhism
(Lamaism) which the Encyclopedia Britannica
states: "Lamaisnu with its shaven priests,
its bells and rosaries, its images and
holy water, its popes and bishops, its
abbots and monks of many grades, its
processions and feast days, its confessional
and purgatory, and its worship of the
double Virgin, so strongly resembles
Romanism that the first Catholic missionaries
thought it must be an imitation by the
devil of the religion of Christ." The
central object in every Buddhist temple
is an image of Buddha The central object
in every Catholic church is an image
of Christ. Holy relics and the veneration
of saints are prominent in both.
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2. Identical Teachings of Buddha and Christ |
1. |
"Do to others as you would have them
do to you." (Luke
6:31) |
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"Consider others as yourself." (Dhammapada
10:1) |
2. |
"If someone slaps you on one cheek,
turn to them the other also." (Luke
6:29) |
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"If anyone should give you a blow with
his hand, with a stick, or with a knife,
you should abandon any desires and utter
no evil words." (Majjhima
Nikaya 21:6)
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3. |
"But to you who are listening I say:
Love your enemies, do good to those
who hate you, bless those who curse
you, pray for those who mistreat you."
(Luke
6:27-28)
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"Hatreds do not ever cease in this world
by hating, but by love: this is an eternal
truth. Overcome anger by love, overcome
evil by good ... Overcome the miser
by giving, overcome the liar by truth."
(Dhammapada
1.5 &
17.3)
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4. |
"He
will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever
you did not do for one of the least
of these, you did not do for me.’"
(Matthew
25:45)
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"If you do not tend one another, then
who is there to tend to you? Whoever
would tend me, he should tend the sick."
(Vinaya,
Mahavagga 8:26:3)
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5. |
"Put
your sword back in its place,”
Jesus said to him,
“for all who draw the sword will die
by the sword." (Matthew
26:52)
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"Abandoning the taking of life, the
ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from
taking life, without stick or sword."
(Digha
Nikaya 1:1:8)
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6. |
"My command is this: Love each other
as I have loved you. Greater love has
no one than this: to lay down one’s
life for one’s friends." (John
15:12-13)
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"Just as a mother would protect her
only child at the risk of her own life,
even so, cultivate a boundless heart
towards all beings. Let your thoughts
of boundless love pervade the whole
world." (Sutta
Nipata 149-150)
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7. |
"For the law was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
(John
1:17) |
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"The body of the Buddha is born of love,
patience, gentleness and truth."
(Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra 2)
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8. |
"He told them another parable: 'The
kingdom of heaven is like a mustard
seed, which a man took and planted in
his field. Though it is the smallest
of all seeds, yet when it grows, it
is the largest of garden plants and
becomes a tree, so that the birds come
and perch in its branches." (Matthew
13:31-32)
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"Do not underestimate good, thinking
it will not affect you. Dripping water
can fill a pitcher, drop by drop; one
who is wise is filled with good, even
if one accumulates it little by little."
(Dhammapada
9:7)
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9. |
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust
in your brother’s eye and pay no attention
to the plank in your own eye? How can
you say to your brother, 'Brother, let
me take the speck out of your eye,'
when you yourself fail to see the plank
in your own eye? You hypocrite, first
take the plank out of your eye, and
then you will see clearly to remove
the speck from your brother’s eye."
(Luke
6:41-42)
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"The faults of others are easier to
see than one's own; the faults of others
are easily seen, for they are sifted
like chaff, but one's own faults are
hard to see. This is like the cheat
who hides his dice and shows the dice
of his opponent, calling attention to
the other's shortcomings, continually
thinking of accusing him." (Udanavarga
27:1)
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10. |
"They said to him, "Teacher, this woman
was caught in the very act of committing
adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded
us to stone such women. Now what do
you say?" He said to them, "Let anyone
among you who is without sin be the
first to throw a stone at her." (John
8:4-7)
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"Do not look at the faults of others,
or what others have done or not done;
observe what you yourself have done
and have not done." (Dhammapada
4:7)
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11. |
"Your eye is the lamp of your body.
If your eye is healthy your whole body
is full of light; but if it is not healthy,
your body is full of darkness. Therefore
consider whether the light in you is
full of darkness. If then your whole
body is full of light, with no part
of it in darkness, it will be as full
of light as when a lamp gives you light
with its rays." (Luke
11:34-36)
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"As a man with eyes who carries a lamp
sees all objects, so too with one who
has heard the Moral Law. He will become
perfectly wise." (Udanavarga
22:4)
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12. |
"Your father in heaven makes his sun
rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and on the
unrighteous." (Matthew
5:45)
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"That great cloud rains down on all
whether their nature is superior or
inferior. The light of the sun and the
moon illuminates the whole world, both
him who does well and him who does ill,
both him who stands high and him who
stands low." (Saddharma
Pundarika Sutra 5)
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13. |
"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours
is the kingdom of God." (Luke
6:20) |
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"Let us live most happily, possessing
nothing; let us feed on joy, like the
radiant gods." (Dhammapada
15:4)
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14. |
"If you wish to be perfect, go sell
your possessions, and give the money
to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven." (Matthew
19:21)
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"The avaricious do not go to heaven,
the foolish do not extol charity. The
wise one, however, rejoicing in charity,
becomes thereby happy in the beyond."
(Dhammapada
13:11)
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15. |
"He looked up and saw rich people putting
their gifts into the treasury; he saw
a poor widow put in two small copper
coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this
poor widow has put in more than all
of them; for all of them have contributed
out of their abundance, but she out
of her poverty has put in all she had
to live on." (Luke
21:1-4)
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"Giving is the noble expression of the
benevolence of the mighty. Even dust,
given in childish innocence, is a good
gift. No gift that is given in good
faith to a worthy recipient can be called
small; it effects us so great." (Jatakamala
3:23)
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16. |
"Everyone who lives and believes in
me will never die." (John
11:26) |
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"Those who have sufficient faith in
me, sufficient love for me, are all
headed for heaven or beyond." (Majjhima
Nikaya 22:47)
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17. |
"Those who want to save their life will
lose it, and those who lose their life
for my sake will save it." (Mark
8:35)
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"With the relinquishing of all thought
and egotism, the enlightened one is
liberated through not clinging." (Majjhima
Nikaya 72:15)
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18. |
"Foxes have holes, and the birds of
the air have nests; but the Son of Man
has nowhere to lay his head." (Matthew
8:20)
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"The thoughtful exert themselves; they
do not delight in an abode. Like swans
who have left their lake they leave
their house and home." (Majjhima
Nikaya)
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19. |
"When the devil had finished every test,
he departed from him until an opportune
time." (Luke
4:13)
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"During the six years that the Bodhisattva
practiced austerities, the demon followed
behind him step by step, seeking an
opportunity to harm him. But he found
no opportunity whatsoever and went away
discouraged and discontent." (Lalitavistara
Sutra 18)
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20. |
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for
they will see God." (Matthew
5:8) |
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"Anyone who enters into meditation on
compassion can see Brahma with his own
eyes, talk to him face to face and consult
with him." (Digha
Nikaya 19:43)
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21. |
"Although the doors were shut, Jesus
came and stood among them." (John
20:26) |
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"He goes unhindered through a wall."
(Anguttara
Nikaya 3:60) |
22. |
"And after six days Jesus takes with
him Peter, and James, and John, and
leads them up into a high mountain apart
by themselves: and he was transfigured
before them. And his raiment became
shining, exceeding white as snow; so
as no fuller on Earth can white them."
(Mark
9:2-3)
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"Ananda, having arranged one set of
golden robes on the body of the Lord,
observed that against the Lord's body
it appeared dulled. And he said, "It
is wonderful, Lord, it is marvelous
how clear and bright the Lord's skin
appears! It looks even brighter than
the golden robes in which it is clothed."
(Digha
Nikaya 16:4:37)
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3. Near-Death Experience Revelations
Concerning Buddha and Jesus |
Mellen-Thomas
Benedict
is an artist who survived a near-death
experience in 1982. He was dead for
over an hour and a half after dying
of cancer. At the time of his death,
he rose up out of his body and went
into the light. Curious about the universe,
he was taken far into the remote depths
of existence, and even beyond, into
the energetic void of nothingness behind
the Big Bang. During his experience,
he was able to learn a great deal of
information concerning reincarnation
and the identity of the "Being
of Light." His experience reveals
an interesting connection between Buddha
and Jesus. The following information
is an excerpt from
his near-death
experience.
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"There
was this light shining.
I turned toward the light.
The light was very similar
to what many other people
have described in their
near-death experiences.
It was so magnificent. It
is tangible; you can feel
it. It is alluring; you
want to go to it like you
would want to go to your
ideal mother's or father's
arms.
"As
I began to move toward the
light, I knew intuitively
that if I went to the light,
I would be dead.
"So
as I was moving toward the
light I said, "Please
wait a minute, just hold
on a second here. I want
to think about this; I would
like to talk to you before
I go."
"To
my surprise, the entire
experience halted at that
point. You are indeed in
control of your near-death
experience. You are not
on a roller coaster ride.
So my request was honored
and I had some conversations
with the light. The light
kept changing into different
figures, like Jesus, Buddha,
Krishna,
mandalas, archetypal
images and signs.
"I
asked the light, "What
is going on here? Please,
light, clarify yourself
for me. I really want to
know the reality of the
situation."
"I
cannot really say the exact
words, because it was sort
of telepathy. The light
responded. The information
transferred to me was that
your beliefs shape the kind
of feedback you are getting
before the light. If you
were a Buddhist or Catholic
or Fundamentalist, you get
a feedback loop of your
own stuff. You have a chance
to look at it and examine
it, but most people do not."
(Mellen-Thomas
Benedict)
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Comment:
Mellen-Thomas Benedict's near-death
revelation suggests that not only are
the Higher Selves of Jesus, Buddha and
Krishna, one and the same, but all of
humanity's Higher Selves are one and
the same. Perhaps we are different aspects
of the same Higher Spirit.
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to Top
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4. Edgar Cayce on the Connection Between
Buddha and Jesus |
Edgar Cayce
had many near-death-like experiences
and revealed information about ancient
religions which were later confirmed
to be true. The following are some of
the revelations he received concerning
the connection between Buddha and Jesus.
Christian Gnosticism is the highest
form of Christianity according to the
Cayce revelations. A close study of
Christian Gnosticism shows that this
early form of Christianity was more
similar to Buddhism than to traditional
Christianity. For example, both religions
teach:
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(a) Reincarnation;
(b) A philosophy
of life where suffering
can lead to liberation;
(c) The Oneness
of all things; (d) The Divine
Light; (e)
The existence of
various afterlife
realms to journey through
to attain heaven;
(f ) The
Gnostic goal of every human
being attaining Christhood
is identical to the goal
of attaining Buddhahood;
(g) The
distinction between "Jesus
the human being" to "Christ
the spirit of human-divine
unity;" and the distinction
between "Buddha the human
being" and
"Dharmakaya
the Clear Light of Ultimate
Reality; (h)
The belief in the ancient
concept of
karma;
(i )
and the importance of performing
good works. Note that this
is not a complete list.
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Other revelations from Cayce are that
sometime in the future, China will become
the "cradle of Civilization."
Those who are not familiar with the
Cayce revelations are certain this revelation
about China and Christianity has to
be false. But, as we have just seen,
Buddhism is closer to true Christianity
as traditional Christianity itself.
If Buddhism flourishes once again in
China as it once did for thousands of
years, I am sure that this revelation
of China being "Christian"
will become true.
Cayce revealed how the Christ spirit
(the spirit of human-divine unity) constitutes
the impelling force and core of truth
behind all religions which teach "God
is One" and "all is one".
This includes Confucianism, Brahmanism,
Buddhism, Shintoism, Judaism, Platonism,
Christianity and Islam.
And finally, Buddha represents the "Way"
to Enlightenment as Jesus represents
the "Way" to the Father.
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"By giving away food we
get more strength. By bestowing
clothing on others we gain
more beauty. By donating
abodes of purity and truth
we acquire great treasures."
- Buddha
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"If you want to be perfect,
go, sell your possessions
and give to the poor, and
you will have treasure in
heaven." - Jesus Christ
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