Hello Nikki!
And welcome to the Baha'i forum....
I hope you don't feel that we have to be in "opposition" to each other here. Baha'is certainly don't feel opposed to Buddhists.
But to your questions:
"...Recently there was a thread about Buddha's last words, and I wanted to ask how Baha'i interprets these words with their teaching that Buddha was succeeded by a number of other messengers.
According to
http://www.amidabuddha.org/lastteaching.html , Buddha's last teachings included, "Make my teachings your light. Rely upon them: do not depend upon any other teaching... the teachings that I have given you are never to be forgotten or abandoned...After my death, the Dharma shall be your teacher. Follow the Dharma and you will be true to me."
How do these teachings from Buddha mesh with the idea that he was succeeded by others, when he told his disciples not to follow anyone else?"
My comment:
You know there are only a few references to the Buddha in our Writings and I can't myself represent all the Baha'is in replying to you and giving you an "
interpretation" to a specific verse but allow me to give you a few suggestions that I recall from our Writings..
My understanding is that the Buddha related that there would be future Buddhas and Bodhisattvas you know the Buddha to come is supposed to be Buddha of Light...there is the legend of the Amitabha and I'm sure you have heard of the Maitreya "He whose name is Kindness". The Buddha Amitabha is found in Mahayana scriptures and the meaning has been suggested:
Amitabha (Skrt) is a Buddha's name, primarily meaning Infinite Life. "Infinite Life" is the most important meaning within "Amitabha." Others include infinite light, boundless wisdom, virtue, talent, etc.
The Infinite light and life and so on.
The term "abha" in Amitabha is identical to a similar word Abha which is commonly known in the Baha'i Faith. But the meaning can be "lustrous beauty". A title of Baha'u'llah is the Blessed Beauty. We also have a term called the Abha Beauty and the Abha kingdom:
"...the Most Great Light, the
Abha Luminary. The Blessed
Beauty
is the One promised by the sacred books of the past, the revelation
of the Source of light ..."
For Baha'is the Abha Kingdom is the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. The name Baha'u'llah means the Light or Glory of God ...now this God is not what people understand normally by the term but what we call the Unknowable Essence and the Sun of Truth that radiates everywhere!
Abdul-Baha said:
"A star has the same radiance if it shines from the East or from the West! Be free from prejudice; so will you love the Sun of Truth from whatever point in the horizon it may arise. You will realize that if the Divine Light of Truth shone in Jesus Christ, it also shone in Moses and Buddha. This is what is meant by the search after truth."
Please accept my apologies if this reply has been too lengthy.
Peace and Metta!
- Art
:balloons:
