What do Buddhists think of Jesus Christ?

[JesusLovesYou]

What do Buddhists think of Jesus Christ?

[Goofaholix]

What do Buddhists think of Jesus Christ?

Depends on the Buddhist, we usually think for ourselves, there isn't much expectation for us to all think the same way as there often is in other religions.

[Hanzze]

_/\_

[Taco]

I think Jesus was a good man and probably was reborn in heaven. I hope he will have an opportunity to meet buddha dhamma the next time he is reborn as a human being.

[David N. Snyder]

What do Buddhists think of Jesus Christ?

Jesus was born around 4 BCE

Buddha was born 563 BCE

Buddha was the fully enlightened Samma-sam-buddha (teacher of the masses, re-discoverer of the truths) for our time. Buddhism was well established and in place long before Jesus arrived on the scene. As such, there is no "official" position of what Buddhism sees Jesus as being.

I am sure the opinions vary widely and I certainly don't speak for other Buddhists, but in my opinion, we may never know what Jesus actually taught since the New Testament was originally written in Greek (which Jesus never spoke), the Old Testament in Old Hebrew, and Jesus probably spoke Aramaic (similar, but slightly different from Old and Modern Hebrew).

[Reductor]

The only teaching of Jesus that I like is the "Love your neighbor" stuff, and the turning of the cheek.

But the Buddha taught similar things long before Jesus, and taught them more completely and with greater vigor. So, I'd say Jesus was likely a good guy, just not as good a guy as the lord Buddha.

[Prasadachitta]

The image I have of Jesus is a mishmash of simple caricatures. Its hard for me to have any real idea of what he was about. But then I never really tried. The traditions which are supposed to convey his message quickly lose my attention with teachings that seem implausible, impractical, and altogether not related to the world as I understand it.


Take Care


Gabe

[rowyourboat]

Hi Gabe

It would be nice if you could share some of those caricatures with us.

with metta

Matheesha

[Reductor]

Hi Gabe

It would be nice if you could share some of those caricatures with us.

with metta

Matheesha

To what end, RYB?

[BlackBird]

I think there are a number of passages in the Bible that speak true worldly wisdom and if the Bible does in fact portray the man accurately, I think he had a lot of good, honest and skillful things to say. But I don't believe in a creator god, nor the eternalism put forth by him.

God -- the Christian God, at least -- is an impossible compound of the temporal and the eternal. He is temporal because he understands man, knows what is best for him, is pleased when man is good and angry when man is naughty (which is usually the case, and so 'God is angry every day' as it is said), will listen to man's prayers, and will help him -- in short, God is man's Heavenly Father. All this is only possible for a being who, though no doubt a glorified edition, is essentially no different from man. God can only comprehend man if he himself has some acquaintance with man's weaknesses, he can only have compassion on the drug-addict if he himself knows what it is to be a drug-addict. (B.N. suggests that Christ, who was God, was subject to sexual desire.) God, therefore, like man, must exist (i.e. must be contingent in time). But, also, God is omniscient, omnipotent, and changeless -- in a word, eternal -- otherwise he would not be God. It is these attributes that distinguish him from man. Obviously enough, these two aspects are absolutely irreconcilable, a fact that Kierkegaard, the most intelligent of Christian philosophers, has been at pains to emphasize.

According to Kierkegaard, God does not exist -- he is eternal.[a] Nevertheless, God existed as a man, as Jesus of Nazareth. This is absolutely impossible, it is a contradiction in terms; to assert that the eternal became temporal, that God became man, is scandalous and outrageous -- in a word, absurd. 'Therefore' says Kierkegaard 'I believe it'. Kierkegaard describes the Christian as 'crucified upon a paradox' -- accepting as a matter of faith what he knows to be ridiculous. To be a Christian -- to have faith, even, in an eternal and benevolent God who is not specifically Christian -- is to assert, against one's better judgement, that black is white.[b] But few Christians have Kierkegaard's better judgement against which they must assert that black is white. The vast majority are quite unaware that they are crucified upon a paradox, and are only too happy to nail their colours (black-and-white, presumably) to the mainmast in an emotional orgy of faith. And why should this drug be so extraordinarily intoxicating? The contradictory assumption that God is at once eternal and temporal enables Christians to indulge in the peculiar luxury of having their God and eating him (which they do literally, as they believe). A Christian is encouraged to believe that his own personal welfare is the particular province and special care of the Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Eternal Spirit of the Universe, who is infinitely and passionately interested in the smallest and most insignificant of his doings.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

(Speaking for myself...)

A charismatic and spiritual carpenter.

Metta,
Retro.

[Individual]

Some: great reincanation!
Some: ohh the enemy!
Some: a great yogie!
Some: what makes that question on our forum!
Some: that has nothing to do with Buddhas teaching!
Some: I love him!
Some: He suffered, poor one!
Some: He did not, he was tricky!
Some: That question makes no sence!
Some: I dont know!

[Kim OHara]

A charismatic and spiritual carpenter.

He makes a cameo appearance (so brief I almost missed it, in fact) in that guise in Neil Gaiman's brilliant American Gods http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gods.

The central precept of the novel is that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them. Immigrants to the United States brought with them dwarves, elves, leprechauns, and other spirits and gods. However, the power of these mythological beings has diminished as people's beliefs wane. New gods have arisen, reflecting America's obsessions with media, celebrity, technology, and illegal drugs, among others.

American Gods has similarities to Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land in that they both explore the nature of religious belief and religious power structures sceptically but from the inside, so to speak.
Apart from that, they are great stories and I have been recommending them to everyone since they first appeared.


Kim

[mikenz66]

Tolerance and Diversity by Bhikkhu Bodhi
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... ay_24.html

To the extent that a religion proposes sound ethical principles and can promote to some degree the development of wholesome qualities such as love, generosity, detachment and compassion, it will merit in this respect the approbation of Buddhists. These principles advocated by outside religious systems will also conduce to rebirth in the realms of bliss — the heavens and the divine abodes. Buddhism by no means claims to have unique access to these realms, but holds that the paths that lead to them have been articulated, with varying degrees of clarity, in many of the great spiritual traditions of humanity. While the Buddhist will disagree with the belief structures of other religions to the extent that they deviate from the Buddha's Dhamma, he will respect them to the extent that they enjoin virtues and standards of conduct that promote spiritual development and the harmonious integration of human beings with each other and with the world.

Mike

[Dan74]

Hi JesusLovesYou,

I love Jesus, or rather what I know of him. A truly inspirational figure that is a major part of our cultural heritage.

I follow the Buddha's teachings because they work for me.

May you be well!

[Jason]

What do Buddhists think of Jesus Christ?

While I don't believe in a creator God, or that Jesus is the son of God/God in the flesh, I do have a soft spot for Jesus as a spiritual teacher, and I think some of the things he's reported as saying in the New Testament are pretty cool—I especially like, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7), the Sermon on the Mount and his many teachings on forgiveness. I've also found a growing appreciation for Christianity in general (although I do tend to lean more towards the heterodox), thanks in part to my dear friend, Simon (e.g., see my fairly recent blog post, "a new found appreciation").

[plwk]

I was reading these...

Cula-kammavibhanga Sutta
"There is the case where a woman or man is obstinate & arrogant.
He/she does not pay homage to those who deserve homage, rise up for those for whom one should rise up, give a seat to those to whom one should give a seat, make way for those for whom one should make way, worship those who should be worshipped, respect those who should be respected, revere those who should be revered, or honor those who should be honored.
Through having adopted & carried out such actions, on the break-up of the body, after death, he/she reappears in the plane of deprivation... If instead he/she comes to the human state, then he/she is low-born wherever reborn.
This is the way leading to a low birth: to be obstinate & arrogant, not to pay homage to those who deserve homage, nor rise up for... nor give a seat to... nor make way for... nor worship... nor respect... nor revere... nor honor those who should be honored.

"But then there is the case where a woman or man is not obstinate or arrogant; he/she pays homage to those who deserve homage, rises up... gives a seat... makes way... worships... respects... reveres... honors those who should be honored.
Through having adopted & carried out such actions, on the break-up of the body, after death, he/she reappears in a good destination... If instead he/she comes to the human state, then he/she is highborn wherever reborn.
This is the way leading to a high birth: not to obstinate or arrogant; to pay homage to those who deserve homage, to rise up... give a seat... make way... worship... respect... revere... honor those who should be honored.

The Buddha's attitude towards others...in this case the 'Nigantas' or the 'Jains'

Upali Sutta
‘Householder since long your clan has been a welling spring to the nigantas. I think morsel food should be offered to those that come.’ ‘Venerable sir, I am very much pleased with these words of the Blessed One, 'Householder, since long your clan has been a welling spring to the nigantas. I think morsel food should be offered to them that come’.
‘Venerable sir, I have heard this said about you, Offerings should be given to me only, not to others. Offerings should be, to my disciples not to the disciples of other sects. Offerings made to my disciples are of great fruit, but not the offerings made to others.'
Here, the Blessed One advises me to make offerings to the nigantas. We would know the time to do it.
Now I take refuge in the Blessed One, the Teaching and the Community of bhikkhus for the third time.
May I be remembered as a lay disciple who has taken refuge from today until life lasts.’

[pilgrim]

He tried to teach the people around him some simple Dhamma in their own language. But he had a penchant for using his psychic powers openly which I think caused more damage than good in the long term.

[alan]

Jesus that we find in the gospels, or the utter nonsense perpetrated in his name?

[Individual]

Also, it should be clarified that there are two main kinds of Buddhism: Theravada Buddhism (early, less common, mostly in southeast Asia, like Sri Lanka and Thailand) and Mahayana Buddhism (later, much more widespread, in China, Korea, and Japan).

Theravada Buddhists, which includes most of the people you're asking here, would strongly oppose the notion of a "creator god," because it is something explicitly rejected in early Buddhist texts.

However, Mahayana Buddhists are not necessarily in opposition to the idea. It is not something explicitly taught by Mahayana Buddhism, the way that it is taught in Christianity, but they may or may not be sympathetic to those kinds of teachings and beliefs. See the book Living Buddha, Living Christ by the Vietnamese Zen monk, Thich Nhat Hanh as an example.