What's the evidence that Buddha is now in heaven with Jesus?

[EnhancedSpirit]

Here are some more fascinating similarities:

1. Buddha and Jesus all claimed to be of royal descent:
   • "The ancestry of Gautama Buddha is traced from his father, Sodhodana, through various individuals and races, all of royal dignity, to Maha Sammata, the first monarch of the world...." (Doane, p. 291.)
   • Jesus' genealogy consists mostly of kings (Matthew 1:6--16), and he is traced back to Adam, the first man (Luke 3:38).
2. Both are said to have been born of a virgin, and through the holy spirit. (Thomas Maurice, History of Hindostan (London 1798), vol. 2, p. 310; Matthew 1:18.)
3. Both were declared divine at birth:
   • Following the Buddhist tradition, (Godfred Higgins, Anacalypsis: An Enquiry into the Origin of Languages, Nations and Religions (London, 1836) vol. 1, p. 157.), Matthew records that wise men proclaimed the infant Jesus divine. (Matthew 2:1, 11).
4. "Celestial bodies" announced both men's births. (De Bunsen, pp. 22--23, 33; Matthew 2:2.)
5. When each was born, "angels" sang in heaven:
   • For Buddha, they sang: "Today, Bodhisattva is born on earth, to give joy and peace to men and Devas [angels], to shed light on the dark places, and to give sight to the blind." (Beal, p. 56.)
   • For Jesus, they sang: "Glory to G--d in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men" (Luke 2:14).
6. Upon their births, they were supposedly presented with gifts:
   • Buddha received gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (De Bunsen, p. 36; Amberly Viscount, An Analysis of Religious Belief (New York, 1879), p. 231.)
   • Jesus received costly jewels and precious substances (Matthew 2:11).
7. Both were supposedly miracle workers. (Muller, Science, p. 27; Matthew 4:23.)
8. Both were "transfigured" before witnesses:
   • For Buddha and Jesus, this occurred on a mountain: "A flame of light encircled Buddha's head and shone as the sun or moon." (De Bunsen, p. 45; Beal, p. 177.)
   • "And [Jesus] was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light" (Matthew 17:2).
9. Both are said to be part of a trinity. (John Francis Davis, The Chinese (New York, 1836), vol. 2, p. 104; Matthew 28:19.)
10. They all "relieved" others of sins.
    • Buddha said: "Let all the sins that were committed in this world fall on me, that the world may be delivered." (Prof. Max Muller, History of Sanskrit Literature (London, 1872), p. 80.)
    • Of Jesus it was said: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us" (Ephesians 1:7--8).
11. Both were acclaimed as the Creator:
12. "Buddha, the Angel messiah, was regarded as the divinely chosen and incarnate messenger, the vicar of G--d, and God Himself on earth." (De Bunsen, p. 33.)
13. "[Jesus] is the image of the invisible G--d, the first born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created through him and for him" (Colossians 1:15--16).
14. Both will "judge" the dead. (Mons Dupuis, trans., The Origin of All Religious Worship (New Orleans, 1872) p. 366; II Timothy 4:1.)
15. Buddha's titles were:
    • Savior of the World (Child, vol. 1, p. 247.)
    • God of Gods (Samuel Johnson, Oriental Religions and Their Relation to Universal Religion (India) (Boston, 1872), p. 604.)
    • Anointed/Christ (De Bunsen, p. 18.)
    • Messiah (Ibid.)
    • and Only Begotten (Ibid.)
16. Jesus' titles were:
    • Christ (Matthew 11:2)
    • Messiah (John 4:26)
    • Son of G--d (Mark 1:1)
    • Only Begotten (John 3:18)
    • Lord (John 14:5).

 

[Fish and Bread]

One issue I haven't yet seen raised is that Buddha did do at least one thing that most Christians today would consider extremely questionable ethically. When he began his quest for enlightenment and left his father's palace, he in the process abandoned his wife and child, who as far as I am aware he never made any effort to contact thereafter, and never expressed sorrow for to my knowledge. So, while Christian and Buddhists ethics are similar in some respects, I think we see there a good example of where they might be considered to be opposed, and where Buddha would be "on the wrong side" of Christian ethics, which might have some baring on the whole "heaven or hell" conversation (Though it certainly wouldn't be definitive).

 

[Draka]

Someone come up with a clear definition of "heaven" and then take a stab at answering the question that has no bearing.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Why on Earth should Buddha end up in Hell ?

That should be answered by our Christian friends who believe that he is.




I've heard more than a few times the belief that Buddha is in hell along with Ghandi and Mother Theresa. My opinion is that this kind of belief is the result of deep suffering within the believers and their egoistic grasping...............the need to feel that they are held in higher regard as compared to others. It is a conscious separation from others based on beliefs, and this is, sadly, the way that this suffering manifests.




All I'm saying is that if they're ultimately right, and I'm destined to hell because of my beliefs, then I pray that I will bring compassion to my tormentors.




That's all. :angel2:




Peace,
Mystic

 

[St0ne]

One issue I haven't yet seen raised is that Buddha did do at least one thing that most Christians today would consider extremely questionable ethically. When he began his quest for enlightenment and left his father's palace, he in the process abandoned his wife and child, who as far as I am aware he never made any effort to contact thereafter, and never expressed sorrow for to my knowledge. So, while Christian and Buddhists ethics are similar in some respects, I think we see there a good example of where they might be considered to be opposed, and where Buddha would be "on the wrong side" of Christian ethics, which might have some baring on the whole "heaven or hell" conversation (Though it certainly wouldn't be definitive).

He did return to his family, his son became a highly respected monk, I'ma bit washy on the others but I believe a number of them became follwers of his teachings.

 

[BruceDLimber]

>What's the evidence that Buddha is now in heaven with Jesus?

For one thing, the Baha'i scriptures make it pretty clear that Buddha was another God-sent Divine Messenger, which makes this result obvious!

Peace,

Bruce