What do Buddhists think of Jesus Christ?

[tiltbillings]

Anyway, it is basically the job of Christians to spread the gospel. Just thought I would

In the future, don't.

[plwk]

Anyway, it is basically the job of Christians to spread the gospel. Just thought I would...

Thank you for your efforts of sharing with us here and may the peace of the Lord be with you and your family always.
On that note...

The Gospel According to St Matthew Chapter 10-14
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

I agree with the Bible on what 'religion' is supposed to be...

The Gospel According to St Matthew 25:36
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

The Epistle of St James Chapter 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

The Buddha's?

Dhammapada's Buddhavagga
To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.

Amen! Sadhu!

[pilgrim]

JLY
Mark16, verse 17-18: "And these signs will follow those who believe in my name. They shall cast out devils, they shall speak in tongues, they will handle snakes and if they drink poison it will not hurt them and they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover".

Maybe, if you can come back here to post after ingesting some cyanide, you might be more credible.

[bodom]

JLY
Mark16, verse 17-18: "And these signs will follow those who believe in my name. They shall cast out devils, they shall speak in tongues, they will handle snakes and if they drink poison it will not hurt them and they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover".

Maybe, if you can come back here to post after ingesting some cyanide, you might be more credible.

Sounds oddly similar to some of the benefits of metta practice.

Monks, for one whose awareness-release through good will is cultivated, developed, pursued, handed the reins and taken as a basis, given a grounding, steadied, consolidated, and well-undertaken, eleven benefits can be expected. Which eleven?

"One sleeps easily, wakes easily, dreams no evil dreams. One is dear to human beings, dear to non-human beings.The devas protect one. Neither fire, poison, nor weapons can touch one. One's mind gains concentration quickly. One's complexion is bright. One dies unconfused and — if penetrating no higher — is headed for the Brahma worlds.

"These are the eleven benefits that can be expected for one whose awareness-release through good will is cultivated, developed, pursued, handed the reins and taken as a basis, given a grounding, steadied, consolidated, and well-undertaken."

[rowyourboat]

This thread is really interesting.

Here's a challenge: if a Christian and a Buddhist were to be neighbours without declaring war on each other, what teaching in their respective traditions would they have to draw upon to get along?

with metta

Matheesha

[Kim OHara]

This thread is really interesting.

Here's a challenge: if a Christian and a Buddhist were to be neighbours without declaring war on each other, what teaching in their respective traditions would they have to draw upon to get along?

with metta

Matheesha

Not much of a challenge, really.
Two kinds of answer -
The obvious one: metta/compassion/love
The d'oh one: The Buddhist can't declare war because he is forbidden to take life, while the Christian can't declare war because he is commanded to love his neighbour as himself.

Kim

[tiltbillings]

This thread is really interesting.

Here's a challenge: if a Christian and a Buddhist were to be neighbours without declaring war on each other, what teaching in their respective traditions would they have to draw upon to get along?

with metta

Matheesha

Not much of a challenge, really.
Two kinds of answer -
The obvious one: metta/compassion/love
The d'oh one: The Buddhist can't declare war because he is forbidden to take life, while the Christian can't declare war because he is commanded to love his neighbour as himself.

Kim

"As I am, so are others;
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed. Sn 705

[Individual]

Pro-Christian, anti-Christian. Same thing.

Either way, there is no mindfulness and therefore no liberation.

[plwk]

It seems to match as to why Jesus had to come to earth after 500 years, doesn't it?

An example here...

The Gospel According to St John 16:7-10
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer...

When I was a Christian, my Muslim friends love to use this portion and 'prove' to me that the 'Advocate' or in other versions/translations as 'Paraclete' is definitely in reference to their Prophet Mohammad. I was fortunate in that I was exposed to and learned under scholastic circles in both Protestant and Catholic Traditions to show/discuss with them not only with other scriptural references but also from other contexts that their interpretation is not only out of context but messing around with another system of belief to match theirs.

Whilst the typical evangelist love to bring out the streams of scripture claiming that salvation is by faith alone though grace or sola fide, equally they do not bring out the other portions where like the Epistle of St James warns about 'faith without works is dead' (where the German ex monk Martin Luther allegedly wanted to expunge that because it didn't agree with his Reformation slogans) or the part where 'salvation was first for the Jews and then the Gentiles' thingy in the Acts of the Apostles or St Paul's Epistle to the Philippians 'Ye diligently work out thine own salvation with trembling and fear...' Need me to go on? All in the marketing skills I guess huh?

Let's not forget that not one Church can even dare to claim that their interpretation of Scripture is for all of Christendom but rather only limited to their own sect/denomination. Take for example the image of 'Jesus' that you posted...will all Christians agree that is Him? Probably I might get some consensus from Catholics, Orthodox and some Protestant traditionalists but the rest of Christendom? If it was my mom, she would have reduced that image into ashes in the bonfire and shout 'idolatry'...

Then the other more critical method...if others want to nitpick with one would be aside from rattling out random scripture quotes, what realisation does one have on what is being quoted? And even so, is that realisation up for debate and to what extent? Have some Christians forgotten their own Biblical injunction 'By their fruits, ye shall know them?' So what 'fruits' have you shown us thus far?
But are we here to debate on all these? Unlikely isn't it?

And with regards to the other 'story', here's another view of it and lots more others critically assessed & debunked.

I would recommend a reading of this Kalama Sutta

If you are truly interested in what that portion of quote is about, why not study it with those who know best, the learned Buddhist lay and monastic circles (and one option is this forum site itself) in order to get the actual & best intended context rather than holding on to one's uninformed interpretation or random nitpicking? Remember the Gospel's call on being on the look out for 'wolves in sheep clothing'? Are we to treat you as that? I think the mods and members here have been more than 'hospitable' whereas on other sites, you would have been severely warned or banned for attempts of 'proselytizing'.

May you be well and happy

[JesusLovesYou]

Wow. I didn't think I'd have to log in again but it does seem like I am still being scorned and it may not stop if I do not clarify. (Convenient picture of mine to the left, huh?) I didn't even say a word for the longest time and I do not even want to count the insults. You can do it for me if you'd like.

Anywho, it seems a couple of people like talking about Islam and whatnot too as if I've never studied anything in my life except my own faith, mocking it as if I know absolutely nothing as well. Did you not think that I did not truly know anything about the Pali Canon either? I have no complaints about it. My favorite Sutta is found here.
http://www.thaiexotictreasures.com/itivuttaka.html#27" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Compare it with Mark 12:30-31 if you'd like.

Furthermore, did any of you ever stop to think that I already knew what I was doing beforehand to test characters of the ones representing Buddhism? By their fruits you shall know them on here, that's for sure. Read Proverbs for some Wisdom on people and character. I can guarantee they are accurate.
There are a few I would like to thank on here and I think they know who they are.

I have studied Buddhism for 6 years and all it did was reinforce my faith in my own religion I was born into at the end of the day. I must say that I have learned some extra techniques, though.
Also, to quote the H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama:

To a man who asked to become a Buddhist, the Dalai Lama replied, “Please don’t. Stay in your own religion, and meditate.” Further , he has stated, “It is better to stick with the wisdom traditions of one’s own land than to run from them pursuing in exotica what was under your nose all the time.”

Regarding Islam, my personal opinion is what is in this video series from a Muslim who had converted to Christianity. Both of the end time prophecies in Islam and in Christianity are complete opposites if you compare the Hadiths to the Biblical OT prophecies and the NT Revelation. Which obviously means that when the time comes, only one of us will be correct about who the False Messiah is. It may turn out to be important, so you can come to your own conclusions if interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OxKMxds-P8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm tired, and it's late here so...

Peace, Love, Metta, Love thy neighbor as Yourself, and if you keep scorning me, that's just lame as hell.

[Kenshou]

So, I don't get it, why are you here?

[Kim OHara]

Hello, JLY,
'Scorning' you? Not that I can see. Arguing with you, disagreeing with you, feeling sorry for you, trying to get you to understand our POV - I can see all that, but I can't see 'scorning'. You must be adding that yourself.

Both of the end time prophecies in Islam and in Christianity are complete opposites if you compare the Hadiths to the Biblical OT prophecies and the NT Revelation. Which obviously means that when the time comes, only one of us will be correct about who the False Messiah is.

Or both of you could be wrong. There may not be an 'End Times', or if there is, it may be completely different from the prophecies in either of the Abrahamic religions.
While you're thinking about different religious traditions, try Neil Gaiman's American Gods for a bit of light reading. It's a great yarn which manages to make a lot of important points about belief. Read carefully: Jesus gets a walk-on part, but it's so small I almost missed it first time through.

Kim

[tiltbillings]

So, I don't get it, why are you here?

He is, by his own admission, what is commonly known as a troll, obviously.

[Kenshou]

by his own admission

Oh. Guess I missed that part. Time to shuffle away, then.

[tiltbillings]

by his own admission

Oh. Guess I missed that part. Time to shuffle away, then.

Here:

Furthermore, did any of you ever stop to think that I already knew what I was doing beforehand to test characters of the ones representing Buddhism? By their fruits you shall know them on here, that's for sure.

That is a bit cheesy. A very warm Limburger. No real attempt at dialogue, no real attempt at connecting with others; just an initial OP and then blame the people who responded for not being saints. There is no love, no compassion in that, no empathy in that. It was from the start a set up. And so we see the fruits of when Jesus Loves You.