did jesus learn buddhism?

[leo.lion88]

Interesting theory. In the Bible Jesus is missing from age 12-30. If u read the Gospel of Luke u can see it skips 18 years of his life. Did he go to the Kashmir mountains to learn the bushier teachings? I recently read the book the unknown life of Jesus Christ then did some other research on this and it makes sence to me. I believe Jesus left to find his own way or path. He did not perform mericals till later on in his life when he returned. Besides teachings and the teaching of Buddhism r very similar and Buddhism is about 500 years older then Christianity. Wut r ur thoughts on this?

 

[fallingblood]

Interesting theory. In the Bible Jesus is missing from age 12-30. If u read the Gospel of Luke u can see it skips 18 years of his life. Did he go to the Kashmir mountains to learn the bushier teachings? I recently read the book the unknown life of Jesus Christ then did some other research on this and it makes sence to me. I believe Jesus left to find his own way or path. He did not perform mericals till later on in his life when he returned. Besides teachings and the teaching of Buddhism r very similar and Buddhism is about 500 years older then Christianity. Wut r ur thoughts on this?

I will repeat what Elaine Pagels has said on this subject. It is possible, but not very plausible.

There is no reason to assume he went to India. He may have some similar teachings to Buddha, but so do many other religious leaders. We see even some similarities in American Indian religions.

As for the miracles, there were a number of Jewish and Pagan miracles workers during that time. There was no need to go to India to learn a trade that was available in a person's home.

We really have no credible evidence as of now for the idea. There are some interesting ideas, but they fail as they don't have the evidence to support them.

The reason we don't have anything about his early life is because it wasn't seen as important. In fact, many ancient stories of individuals did not include details of their early lives as they were unimportant. Instead, they started the lives when their importance grew.

This is especially true for the Gospels. Since they were partially theologically motivated, there was no need to focus on Jesus before he began his ministry. It was his ministry, and ultimately his death/resurrection that was important.

So really, most likely, Jesus, during his early years, remained in Palestine, and worked in the trade of his father (Joseph).

As a side note, Jesus was most likely a disciple of John the Baptist. That also would suggest that Jesus never had a need to go to India.

 

[Riverwolf]

It's possible that Jesus was exposed to some Indian religious thinking, but it would most likely have been through traders. (I believe that area was a bit of a trade hub.)

I think if he had spent time in India, I'd think even a token mention of it would have been a good thing to write about. As it is, all we have is the 40 days and nights in the "wilderness", and I think India would take a bit longer to walk to than 40 days and nights. ^_^

Not to mention, the teachings of Jesus and those of Buddha are, while definitely similar, still essentially different. Jesus was Jewish in his own beliefs, and thus taught that loving God was equally important to loving other people. The Buddha's path was agnostic towards theism (and, according to some schools of thought, downright atheist.) Jesus's teachings also, from what I've seen, contain two primary themes from which the rest of his teachings are derived: asceticism and a coming apocalypse. The Four Noble Truths, which are the core teachings of the Buddha, have nothing to do with either.

 

[Madhuri]

He was certainly in the East, but my money is on him exploring Hinduism.

 

[Riverwolf]

He was certainly in the East, but my money is on him exploring Hinduism.

Why do you say that with certainty?

 

[Marble]

Perhaps he spent the lost years amongst the Essenes or other such group(s), or meditating in solitude.
I don't think he was in India.

 

[Shia Islam]

If i have to send a vicegerent to represent me, I will prepare him well for this task.
What about God?! If God is to send someone to teach humans, he will open the gates of knowledge for him.

So Jesus certainly knows about Hinduism more than Buddha!

 

[Breathe]

I am of the opinion Jesus went to India and possibly studied Eastern thought. It may have been Buddhism or Hinduism, or maybe a mix of the two.

Spoiler: Images

Here is the Silk Road in the 1st Century CE:

Buddhist proselytism 260-218BCE

I take it you are referring to Nicholas Novovitch and his book, The Life of Saint Issa? I'm not sure of its authenticity at all.



However, any evidence Jesus did go abroad, if he did, is long gone by now.

 

[Madhuri]

Why do you say that with certainty?

Because it was drilled into me growing up and there's those pieces of evidence suggesting that Jesus was in India and in Nepal. A lot of Hindu masters/gurus/scholars consider Jesus to be a shaktivesh avatar including my own guru and Yoganada. And from my religious standpoint, for Jesus to be Self-Realised, it is my assumption that this indicated he is a devotee of Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan.

So basically, Jesus was either an ordinary man or a Hindu

 

[Sunstone]

There is a subtle sense in which the notion that Jesus had to learn his views in India works out to be a possible denial that there is much truth to those views.

To put it somewhat superficially: If one needs to go to India to learn x, then x is somewhat more likely to be BS, than if one can learn x anywhere in the world, during any period of history.

Put a little differently, a truth that many can discover and rediscover has significantly more credibility than a truth which must be handed down from one person to another.

That hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water is somewhat more plausible than the notion Paul was a saint because anyone, at anytime in history, can in theory at least discover for themselves that hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water, while the notion Paul was a saint is merely hearsay.

I am not saying it is impossible that a truth which could only have been taught to Jesus in India is an actual truth. I'm just saying that such a truth would be less likely to be a real or actual truth than one Jesus could have discovered or rediscovered anywhere -- even in Palestine.

 

[Sunstone]

I think Jesus, to some extent, was talking universal truths, such as the importance of love to spirituality, which no more required him to go to India than if he had said, "oxygen and hydrogen combine to form water." He could have discovered those truths anywhere -- even in Nazareth.

I also believe he was talking, to some extent, hand me down, or revealed, "truths", such as the notion that sinners are condemned to an eternal hell, which most likely required him to have learned something of the culture of his time and place.

I would also suggest that, if there are any truths he mentioned that required him to go to India to learn, they would most likely be hand me down or revealed truths. In general, such truths are as easily BS as they are true.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

Silly people he was in America hanging out with Native Americans

 

[BruceDLimber]

Jesus wouldn't have "needed" to learn Buddhism: the Baha'i scriputures make clear that Divine Messengers like Jesus already know what's come before, which would obviously include Buddhism!

Peace,

Bruce

 

[Riverwolf]

If i have to send a vicegerent to represent me, I will prepare him well for this task.
What about God?! If God is to send someone to teach humans, he will open the gates of knowledge for him.

So Jesus certainly knows about Hinduism more than Buddha!

That, frankly, wouldn't be hard to do, because the Hinduism that he was exposed to, from what I understand, was somewhat limited. As far as I'm aware, he was primarily exposed to Vedic ritualism(which, though rare today, was quite prevalent at the time), and maybe a bit of Yoga. That's only the tip of the ice burg as far as Hinduism's depth is concerned.

But it is true that if God sends someone to teach people, we'd expect that person to know everything there is to know.

 

[Riverwolf]

Because it was drilled into me growing up and there's those pieces of evidence suggesting that Jesus was in India and in Nepal. A lot of Hindu masters/gurus/scholars consider Jesus to be a shaktivesh avatar including my own guru and Yoganada. And from my religious standpoint, for Jesus to be Self-Realised, it is my assumption that this indicated he is a devotee of Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan.

So basically, Jesus was either an ordinary man or a Hindu

I see.

Yeah, I kinda need more than that to be wholly convinced. ^_^

 

[WayFarer]

He would have had plenty of opportunity to come into contact with Eastern thought via the Silk Road.
Personally I am a big fan of Tyre as being a potential point influence on Jesus and his thinking.

• It was a stop on the silk road and was a major center of commerce.
• It had historically good relations with Israel.
• Most importantly... we have Biblical accounts that Jesus went there. Matthew 11:21-23; Matthew 15:21; Mark 3:8; Mark 7:24; Luke 6:17.

 

[sojourner]

There's also an interesting legend that Jesus visited the British Isles as a youngster. His uncle was a tinsmith, and Glastonbury is a place with a lot of tin mines. Glastonbury is also the site of a very ancient Xian settlement. Perhaps Jesus traveled there with his uncle when he was younger...

 

[Tathagata]

If Jesus studied Buddhism then he was a failure of a student! He must not have paid attention or studied deeply because he is WAY off and far from getting BuddhaDharma right.

Also, Buddha and Jesus do NOT have similar teachings at all. The only teachings they have somewhat in common is ETHICS of non-violence and compassion.

Other than that, what philosophy concerning the nature of reality and the human condition do they actually agree on? For the most part, nothing.

Perhaps the esoteric Jesus of the Gnostic Gospels shares similar teachings with Buddha, but certainly not the Christian Jesus.


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[Freddyfourfingers]

before we discuss this issue, should we not establish if jesus existed in the way some believe he did?

 

[Tathagata]

before we discuss this issue, should we not establish if jesus existed in the way some believe he did?

No. That is a separate issue.