Jesus or Buddha?

Jesus was not a Christian, but I think Buddha was a Buddhist.

Buddha had available to him a greater vocabulary and cultural history of diverse religious thought, which is why he explains things better.
 
Jesus was not a Christian, but I think Buddha was a Buddhist.
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It doesn't really matter. Any one claiming to follow Jesus' teachings will call themselves a "Christian" and will lead themselves into thinking Jesus was a Christian. By definition, their definition, they'd be right.

Buddha had available to him a greater vocabulary and cultural history of diverse religious thought, which is why he explains things better.
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What writings, or interpretations, of Buddha are you using? The Buddha, at least in my view, would only have famaliarity with the hindu religion and different sects thereof. He couldn't possibly be famaliar with monotheism or Egyptian religion, etc.
 
okinrus: It doesn't really matter. Any one claiming to follow Jesus' teachings will call themselves a "Christian" and will lead themselves into thinking Jesus was a Christian. By definition, their definition, they'd be right.
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M*W: okinrus, Jesus was NOT a christian. He was a Jew and a Rabbi, but I'm not saying anymore that I believe he existed. The story of his life and death was was created by Paul who was a lunatic. I've searched and researched to prove that Jesus was real, but it just can't be done. The more I sought to prove his existence, the more convincing evidence I found proving he was just a myth. So when Jesus comes up in conversations, we should all be able to agree about what Paul wrote than what his fictional character Jesus might have lived. It's like arguing over Huck Finn's life history or Romeo and Juliet's forbidden love. Nothing really changes at all but our interpretation.
 
Sometimes I think i need a religion
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Then you might consider not adopting one till you always think you need a religion. I say this cause what will happen when you have fulfilled the need to have a religion. Then what?
The thing is that most people use religion as they do a warm cloak - only when it's cold. As soon as it's warm enough, it is discarded to the back of a pile, only to be revisited at the sudden mischance of a drop in temperature.
 
Sushupti said:
Comparing Buddha to Jesus is GROSSLY inadequate. They were NOTHING alike!
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Jesus the boddisattva of the west. Buddha the christed one of the east.

Jesus was not adverse to rebirth / reincarnation, there is still evidence of this in the bible. Many early christian and jewish mystical traditions held this view too.

Buddha was not adverse to god, he taught belief or non belief does not help our enlightenment and therefore chose to stay silent on the subject.

They both taught peace and non aggresion. They both 'broke the mold' of the religions of the day.

They both taught that the buddhic / christic nature may be found within.

I suggest Buddha's merging into the nirvana of life consciousness and Jesus's ascension into heaven are also synoymous.

Jesus did not say he was the ONLY son of god (although christians do). And this was the correctional message that the Quran and Islam brought to the world. Jesus taughht we are all gods children - he is merely an older brother, as buddha taught there would be many other buddhas as we grow enlightenment.

I could go on but I am pressed for time.
 
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Jesus is God
Buddha was man
God has infinant powers
Man does not
therefore, I would say Jesus
 
But that assumes God.

What is the purpose of religion?
What is the usefullness of religion?
I'd say that Jesus helps us reach heaven (if it exists), and Buddha helps us reach happiness in this lifetime. I'd bet that they'd both agree with me, too.


edit: for me, the main thing is that while both teaching have great value, Jesus's teachings largely hinge on the assumption that he is the son of God. So in order to really take ahold of his words, you have to have faith in that.
Buddha, on the other hand, claimed nothing more than person-hood, so no faith is required. Just observation.
 
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But, to believe in Buddha, one must believe that one is capable of ataining enlightenment by one self.
 
Another thought, how can Buddha help us obtain happiness in this life if he teaches we must get rid of anything that causes a craving
 
he doesn't. Dukkha is a hard word to translate, it's a bit closer to "attachment".

Buddha tried living without any material goods, like many other hindu spiritual leaders, and found that it did not work.

His revelation is that of the middle way; not getting rid of everything, but not becoming attached to anything.

You don't get rid of everything that causes craving, you get rid of craving. Then having isn't a problem - it's only a transitionary stage, and need not be feared or loved.

But, to believe in Buddha, one must believe that one is capable of ataining enlightenment by one self.
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honestly, that is a solid point. I find that Buddhism is helpful even before one reaches enlightenment; it is not a required part of the method. However, it is certainly taught as a requirment, so you have a valid argument there.
There is a similar issue with the understanding of karma and re-incarnation. If you follow the fundimental teachings, karma is a central pillar of the Buddhist philosophy. But if you don't believe in reincarnation, then karma as defined is meaningless.
I have found that little is lost by removing re-incarnation from the Buddha's teachings, but my doing so is certainly an example of my selective reading.
Everything has its weaknesses. :)

"If you meet Buddha on the road, kill him".
 
Another thought, how can Buddha help us obtain happiness in this life if he teaches we must get rid of anything that causes a craving
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Saw this somewhere - "not that you own nothing , but nothing own you"
 
Enigma'07: Jesus is God
Buddha was man
God has infinant powers
Man does not
therefore, I would say Jesus
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M*W: Jesus was not God,
Buddha was a mere human being,
There is no God,
Because Jesus never existed.
 
Enigma'07 said:
Another thought, how can Buddha help us obtain happiness in this life if he teaches we must get rid of anything that causes a craving
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Desire for happiness is one thing that causes sadness.
 
Medicine Woman said:
Jesus never existed.
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Why did they write so much about him then? Even in other religions? Maybe he didn't exist physically, but some way he exists, I'm sure of it.
 
Saint said:
Sometimes I think i need a religion, but i don't know whether to choose Jesus or Buddha!
Can u advise me?
Jesus or Buddha is more probably the truest one?
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jesus and buddha. obviously the more complete solution. nevermind people telling you you cant be into both jesus and buddha because its nonsense. I have been most of my life so i know it works fine. of course im not talkin about christianity here necessarily or at all. Im not really talking about buddhism either, tho zen is the only religion like obsevance(s) ive practiced. in fact, dont confine yourself to the two of them either. the teacher is in everything and it is in you. buddha said," what isnt enlightenment?". jesus said,""If those who lead you say to you: ‘Look, the kingdom is in the sky!’
then the birds of the sky will precede you.If they say to you: ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fishes will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and outside of you."
"When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known,
and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father.
But if you do not come to know yourselves, then you exist in poverty, and you are poverty."
-gospel of thomas (http://www.geocities.com/mwgrondin/5thGospl.htm)
 
Saint said:
sure? why he never came back, he said he will come back SOON!
he broke his promise.
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Yes, I am sure. The statement you made, "he never came back," indicates you agree He rose from the dead. Just the fact that He rose from the dead is enough reason to choose Him. He said He will come back and He doesn't break His promises. The signs of His returning are around us.
(Maybe your definition of "SOON" is not His definition of "SOON".) :)
 
Saint said:
Sometimes I think i need a religion, but i don't know whether to choose Jesus or Buddha!
Can u advise me?
Jesus or Buddha is more probably the truest one?
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woha, slow down there budddy, if you're thinking like this then maybe you should take a look at the bigger picture here.
why do you feel you need a religion, is it to belong to a group, if so find a hobby and a club. if its to feel more secure about you're life then maybe you just need to relax a little. You can't just pick a religion like you would pick a new pair of jeans. Besides, if you're going to pick one or the other then the one you pick won't allow you to have any doubts. Religion demands absolute faith usually, and if you have doubts now then you'll likley have a lot of doubt later about whether you made the correct choice.
however i share a lot more of the philosophys of buddhism (especially the part about not questioning how we got here, buddhists know we're never going to be able to answer that question) theres a lot less room for misinterpreting the teachings of buddha than there is in the bible. You can use the bible to pretty much proove anything you want it to.
 
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