Dear All
In my early years my journey took me to the essence of both Christianity and Buddism I discovered that the overlap between them was quite extraordinary, when your soul takes you to the true soul of them both the clarification gained can be awesome and personal breakthoughs the result. So a few years ago I was drawn to buy this tape 'Living Buddha Living Christ' and it seemed so appropriate to share on this interfaith forum.
When you are a truly happy Christian, you are also a Buddhist. and vice versa."
Thich Nhat Hanh
Buddha and Christ, perhaps the two most pivotal figures in the history of humankind, each left behind a legacy of teachings and practices that have shaped the lives of billions of people over the course of two millenia. If they were to meet on the road today, what would they think of the other' spiritual views and practices?
The bestselling author of 'Peace is Every Step', and one of the most beloved Buddhist teachers in the West, Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh has been part of a decades- long dialog between the greatest living contemplative traditions, and brings to Christianity an appreciation of its beauty that the review states could be conveyed only by an outsider. In a lucid, meditative prose, he explores the crossroads of compassion and holiness at which the two traditions meet, and reawakens our understanding of both. "On the alter in my hermitage, " he says, "are images of Buddha and Jesus, and I touch both of them as my spiritual ancestors."
Thich Nhat Hanh ~ The Author
A rare combination of mystic, scholar and activist, one of the most beloved Buddhist teachers in the West. Poet, Zen master, and chariman 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 author of twenty five books.
Love beyond measure
GOD's will-to-good compelled by love into compassionate action.
kim xx
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
I completely agree, it's a shame the world has to always fight about religion, so many religions correlate and interlink- but people are too proud to see that other people also believe similar things and try to live for God. The same is true for muslim people, so many people think that they are bad just because they live for Allah, but really what they see is terrorism and not the people who truly do trust that God will act. It's so sad that so many people have a one- track mind.
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
agreed mells
Love beyond measure
Kim xx
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
I think it depends on the definition and perception of the religions, for example if being "Christian" is defined by believing in one true god who created everything, whom you should worship so that you will go to heaven at the time of death - then this limits the parallels between the two
However I agree if you get down to the fundamentals of the teachings, or as said in Buddhism "look for the meaning behind the words" then the parallels are obvious
here is an interesting site I've found looking at some of these parallels
[DLMURL] http://www.johnworldpeace.com/budjesus.html [/DLMURL]
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
Buddha and Christ are already very well known to each other and are Brothers in Spirit - they have the humble serving mantle as Teacher of the East and Teacher of the West respectively.
Both are working at this time, with a third avatar (that of Synthesis, where they are Light and Love respectively) to help bring about the changes already transpiring, and those to come.
What we will see in the very near future is the clear truth of Sacredstar's quote from Thich
While Buddha overtly appeared to teach the truth of God Imminent, and Jesus that of God Transcendant, both actually taught both schools, simply with an emphasis on one for the purpose of the development of their respective 'halves of the world'. The balance of emphasis can be beautifully pictured with Yin/Yang - at the heart of each, is the other.
They both taught the truth, and both are still right to this day, and always will be - because what they taught was nothing new, but ancient.
Magpie
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
ORIGINAL: TheMagpie
because what they taught was nothing new, but ancient.
Magpie
So very true our true spiritual heritage. Also good to include the teachings from the Gita bringing forth the battle and understanding of the battle between human and divine self. Many have worked through this battle and the soul has overcome.
However, the Gita is the most proficient text for those that have either not reached this stage of evolvement or are struggling with it. Jesus and Buddha have it, but it is shrouded from some minds that may not understand or appreciate the depth of the inner meanings. Some scripture is not so in a persons face like the Gita is in this specific aspect of spiritual and self development. One can understand why the ancient teachings were esoteric and given orally, each part imparted when the student was ready for the next level and not before.
So many today try to leap frog up the stairway to heaven without ensuring the foundations are solid. So as Jesus said when the storms come the house is washed away due to it being built on sand instead of a foundation of rock.
Love beyond measure
Kim xx
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
In theory all religions are great. It's just that people ruin them because money, power and politics take over.
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
Dear DarrenFollowsThe Path
I find it interesting that most people that claim to be part of a religion rarely live by its principles. 😉
For instance Asian men are the most controlling and dominate (and violent) their women and children which is in complete conflict with the teachings of the Gita and the Holy Qu'ran I have found many academic lay Buddhists to be the most intellectually arrogant and Christian Fundamentalists in anti-love.
I witness a great lack of integration of the great things that the religions have to teach us. However, GOD is still banging that drum!:D
Love beyond measure
Kim xx
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
I agree that the Gita holds excellent teachings as you described Sacredstar - the Law of Analogy is perfectly rendered in it where the examples of Krishna and Arjuna are a wonderful rendition of the dance/battle between higher/lower self.
as Darren says though, all systems have the necessary seeds in them, the corruption of the D:-Evil has sent them all awry.
I wanted to respond to the point about people rarely embodying the teachings of the system they 'follow'.
The expressions you mention, Sacredstar, those of the violence, the control and the domination in religions and, ill add, the superiority complex of the intellect in the West which has its own insidious control and domination. These are, like ALL other expressions of our race, externalisations of our internal makeup. The term 'soul' is not phonetically identical to 'sole' for no reason. We are One, the idea of separatism is an illusion of the lower self, which we have each created, and can undo. These expressions, of national, community and individual attitudes are externalisations of groupings of the different fragments of potential expression within us all. We each externalise one part of what it is to be 'Man' (stated asexually, a referring to our totalities as individuals and as a whole). If a group are expressing a particular behaviour then that is reflective of the size of that 'fragment' within our Wholeness. Its expression, as with all uncontrolled, unbeneficial outbursts of any kind, is reflective of our lack of understanding of that facet within us. The more of us who ignore it, the more it prevails. The more we try to distance ourselves from it within us and without, the louder it cries out in deed.
In this, we are all guilty, and jointly responsible for all the actions of our race. All of them. Our inability to see to the underlying seed of action that gives rise to the range of potential behaviours within us is what causes its manifestation in the world. It is only by each of us applying ourselves to our own lives, to our immediate world, and to our own inner state that we can change the overall world picture. The more of us who can face the horror within, the horror we have caused, and the reality of our genuine personal vulnerability and interdependence the better, since that leads to understanding and compassion and will 'increase the size of that fragment'.
Through excercising conscious exploitation of the Law of Analogy, we recognise that every effort, and every moment counts, and through being (what was) pre-sent in our own lives, we 'calm the waters' and 'still the air' within, and this creates a ripple effect, like the pebble in the pond, but instead of a ripple of vibration and friction which we cannot help but do when we ourselves are at -friction within, it becomes something else and contributes to the overall progress of the race as we traverse the experience of Harmony Through Conflict. Every individual who resolves the conflict Within, contributes to resolving it Without.
All the issues you mention - violence, control by fear, misdirection, all are part of this, and our modern world is reflective of our inner developments in that it is only now in these times that one has been able to become personally aware of behaviours and practises in other parts of the world. This reflects the fact that within, we are all now more aware of our individual wholeness as being more than what is immediately visible. As we now have a more developed sense of what is acceptable and what is not, we see in the world around us all the elements which do not comply with that Vision. This is reflective of the fact that within us, we each have many facets which stand in the way of us achieving that perfection we all are inside, on the outside.
What we are seeing more clearly now, is manifestations in the world of the dark direction we can go in with the careless and callo
RE: Living Buddha Living Christ
I totally agree Magpie and I have learnt that unlovable behaviour is a call for love.
Love beyond measure
Kim xx