Legendary Times Books :: Religion & Philosophy :: Was Jesus Influenced by Buddhism? A Comparative Study of Gautama and Jesus
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Was Jesus Influenced by Buddhism? A Comparative Study of Gautama and Jesus

Was Jesus Influenced by Buddhism? A Comparative Study of Gautama and Jesus
Christianity as we know it today differs from the eastern religions in many ways. There seems to be a huge gap between East and West when comparing religious traditions. Dwight Goddard manages to bridge that gap, however, with this revealing book.

Much of what we find in Christianity today had been added to the faith on top of the original teachings of Jesus. When we remove the additions and return to what Jesus originally taught, we suddenly find ourselves in a position to see things more clearly in relation to eastern wisdom.

What is interesting is that Buddhism has suffered with the same problems of additions and distortions over the centuries as Christianity did, and has also failed to uphold some of the original teachings of its founder. For example, the Buddha told his followers that he was a man, not a god, and not to pray to him after he died. Yet today thousands of people pray to the Buddha for answers when he specificañy told his followers not to, and told them they could never expect those prayers to be answered (at least by him). But the Buddha was a great man who still left behind great wisdom. A powerful religion sprung up based on his teachings and flourished half a millennium before Jesus was ever born. Five hundred years is a lontime for a religion to spread and flourish, so Jesus could have easily-been influenced by Buddhist teachings as proposed by this book.

Some would like to think that Jesus received all of his wisdom directly from God, which is one of the things that is supposed to make Christianity so special. But when Goddard examines the teachings of Jesus, strong parallels to Buddhism crop up in many cases. Is this just a coincidence? Goddard does a great job in revealing the parallel teachings.

Many years in the life of Jesus remain to this day unaccounted for. A number of books have come out that strongly assert that Jesus had spent time in India, both as a teacher and as a student, complete with supporting evidence. Goddard also puts forth evidence that the Essenes, 6 of whom Jesus had contact with and may have been a member himself, had strong Buddhist influences. If either (or both) of these scenarios is true, then the parallels between Jesus and the Buddha, as outlined in this book, are more than just a coincidence.
Details
Author Dwight Goddard
Type Quality Paperback
Year 1927, 2000 original reprint
Pages 260
Illustrated no
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