Was Jesus a Buddhist?

Is Jesus a Buddhist ?
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The following issues may support the view that Jesus is a Buddhist:

1. Jesus had expounded his doctrine of patience, non-violence and compassion which was seemingly an opposite view to that of the God according to the Old Testament. Jesus preached and asked his followers to turn the other cheek when somebody slapped you, whist an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in the Mosaic Law clearly denoted retaliation and vengeance which were regarded as justice.

2. In the Revelation of St John, a Christian scripture written down in Greek in the Eastern Mediterranean (v. 1) it refers to a book closely sealed with seven seals. St John weeps bitterly (v. 4) because he sees no one worthy to open the book and to break its seals. This can be done by the Lamb alone, slaughtered in sacrifice (v. 9). There is a similar book in Mahayana Buddhism, The Perfection of Wisdom sealed with seven seals, written in Sanskrit in South India. The book has 8000 lines and in chapters 30 and 31 it describes in detail how Everweeping Bodhisattva slaughtered himself in sacrifice, and how he thereby became worthy of the Perfection of Wisdom. This parallel is remarkable not only for the similarities of the religious logic, but also for the fact that both have seven seals. (1)

3. A parable from the Gospels, the teachings or revelations of Christ, (Matthew 13, 1-23; Mark 4, 1-20; Luke 8, 4-15) has a similarity to that of the Buddha’s teachings. “People hear my words: a farmer goes to sow his fields. The birds come and eat the seeds. Other seed falls on the path. And behold, some seed falls on the rock where there is no earth, and withers away. Some falls under the thorns and cannot grow. The seed that falls on good earth, however, sprouts and brings forth fruit. The farmer is Jesus and the seeds are his words of wisdom. The seeds which are eaten by the birds means people who do not understand the words. The seeds that falls onto the rocks are the words of wisdom that go in one ear and come out of the other. The seeds that land under the thorns means those who hear and see, but do not act accordingly. The seeds which land on the good earth means those that hear the words of wisdom and act accordingly. (2)

4. Jesus life-history between the ages of 13-30 is missing. It is explained that Jesus was attending to his father’s livelihood during that period which seemed to be unlikely. Jesus was a wise and an active child and was given a high place in a temple before that missing-period. Why did he have to be in a low profile at the most active period of one’s lifetime ?

5. An account of Jesus’ expedition to Tibet and his subsequent practice of Samatha meditation was described by scholars. He was supposed to have obtained supernatural powers (Jhana and Abhina) and went back to Palestine to teach his skills. (3, 4)

Is Jesus a Bodhisatta ?
The following propositions may support the view of Jesus as Bodhisattava (Sanskrit).

1. Theoretically, everyone can become a Bodhisatta if enough effort and determination is present. A bodhisatta does not necessarily have to be a Buddhist in his previous life before his final life as a buddha.

2. Jesus’ commitment to sacrifice his own life in order to save others was a hard evidence for being a bodhisatta.

3. His doctrine may be compatible to that of a bodhisatta and his prediction of his second coming to this world to save people clearly supports the view of a bodhisatta since buddhas have to be humans.

Is Jesus and Metteyya, the next would-be buddha the same person ?

There are reasons to believe this supposition of Jesus as Maitreya (Sanskrit), viz.

1. The second coming of Jesus and the appearance of Metteyya before this world ends is a strong coincidence.

2. Jesus is believed to be in Heaven at present and Metteyya is also in Tushita heaven awaiting for his final life as a buddha.

3. Jesus has a determination to become a saviour which may be of an equal calibre to that of a bodhisatta.

4. The practice of meditation of the next would-be buddha and that of Jesus is extra-ordinarily similar; Metta Bhavana which in essence is loving kindness and compassion to all sentient beings.

The Null Hypothesis or to disprove the hypothesis of Jesus being the next Bodhisatta

In research we usually analyse data to disprove that there is a difference or the hypothesis is untrue. It is called Null hypothesis, like in the law that a person is not guilty until and unless proved to be guilty.

In this context we shall try to prove the Null hypothesis that Jesus and Metteyya are not the same person. If we can find any evidence of Metteyya being predicted as a would-be buddha, was already in Tushita awaiting for his final life as a buddha, and it was proclaimed during the lifetime of Gottama Buddha, then it will serve as a Null hypothesis to our investigation. Jesus was born approximately 500 years after Gottama Buddha and if the former hypothesis that Metteyya was already in Heaven during the time of Gottama Buddha this will nullify the theory.

In search for the evidence
There is an account in the Buddhist texts of an young novice who came forward to accept a spare robe of the two that were offered to the Buddha. The audience was taken aback by the brave behaviour of the novice when the rest of the order of the monks that were present did not come forward. The Buddha told the audience that he was the would-be Metteyya who would become the next buddha one day.

This account comes from the scriptures which are direct words of Gottama Buddha and can be taken for granted as authentic. This evidence will support the view that Mettaya was not already in Tushita at the time of the Buddha. However, it will not support the theory nor will it nullify completely the Null hypothesis that we have put forward. We will need to make further enquiries.

1. When is it known to us that Metteyya is in Tushita ?

2. Who gave that statement and how authentic is it ?

3. How reliable was that person who gave the statement ?

So far, we have not disproved the hypothesis that Jesus and Metteyya are the same. There is a possibility that Jesus is the Metteyya, but there are still sequential questions that we need to resolve. It is traditional for a would-be buddha to come from Tushita which is the last abode for Bodhissatas. But, we do not know from which source did the statement that Metteyya was presently awaiting in Tushita come from. We will need to do further research and will require scholars that can explore the original Pali texts as well as scholars that have wide knowledge about Mahaya Buddhism. The Mahayanists are regarded to be more nearer to Christianity as the two faiths have similarities and developed more or less during the same era and from the locality that had contacts between the two religions. We will leave this as an open discussion and would like to invite scholars to join us in the quest.

REFERENCES
1) BUDDHISM: THE MAHAYANA by Edward Conze. The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of living Faiths, Ed. R.C. Zaehner. Helicon Pub, Oxford OX1 2EP.

2) Jesus’ Tomb in Srinagar by Holger Kersten 1986. GPO Box 961, D-7800 Freiburg, W. Germany.

3) The untold teachings of the Christ by Prof. Goldricke 1925. (Quoted from the Questions and Answers of Buddhism, by Ashin Ariya Dhamma, a Burmese translation)

4) Jesus’ two journeys to India and his demise as Yuz Asaf in Kashmir in the Ikmal-ud-Din by Shaik Al-Sa’id-us-Sadiq. A.D. 962 ca. Translated into German by Max Muller in 1882.
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