Extent of Christianity, Buddhism, and international trade routes in the early 1st century CE.

Christianity and Buddhism are two major religions that are compared and contrasted by scholars, with parallels between the two revolving around perceived similarities in the teachings and in the spiritual intent and practices. Given these correspondences, questions arise as to their origins, influences, and interaction. It remains unknown whether the religious parallels are coincidental, or arising from separate but similar developments, or the result of a direct or indirect influence of Buddhism on early Christianity. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOVD Articles that have been linked to this page are the subject of an NPOV dispute (NPOV stands for Neutral Point Of View; see below). ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 404 pixelsFull resolution (3489 × 1760 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 404 pixelsFull resolution (3489 × 1760 pixel, file size: 1. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ...

Pre-Christian interactions between Greece and Buddhism

Further information: History of Buddhism

See also: Greco-Buddhism

The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st-2nd century CE, Gandhara (Modern Pakistan). (Standing Buddha (Tokyo National Museum)).

The philosophical systems of Buddhism and Christianity evolved in different ways, but the moral precepts advocated by Buddhism from the time of Ashoka through his edicts as well as the Pali Canon share some similarities with the Christian moral precepts developed more than two centuries later, particularly: respect for life; respect for the weak and disenfranchised; rejection of violence; confession; and emphasis on charity and good deeds. The prominent historian and writer,Will Durant, notes that the Buddhist Emperor Ashoka “sent Buddhist missionaries to all parts of India and Ceylon, even to Syria, Egypt and Greece, where, perhaps, they helped prepare for the ethics of Christ.”^[1] One theory is that these similarities indicate the propagation of Buddhist ideals into the Western world, with the Greeks acting as intermediaries and religious syncretists. The History of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. ... The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st-2nd century CE, Gandhara. ... Download high resolution version (973x1600, 463 KB) Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (973x1600, 463 KB) Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Media:Example. ... Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गन्धार, Persian; Gandara, Waihind) (Urdu: گندھارا) is the name of an ancient Indian Mahajanapada, currently in northern Pakistan (the North-West Frontier Province and parts of northern Punjab and Kashmir) and eastern Afghanistan. ... One of the first representations of the Buddha, 1st-2nd century CE, Gandhara. ... Will Durant William James Durant (November 5, 1885–November 7, 1981) was an American philosopher, historian, and writer. ... The term Western world, the West or the Occident (Latin occidens -sunset, -west, as distinct from the Orient) [1] can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e. ...

Early academic research centers around Buddhist influence in Palestine and Greece during the two centuries prior to the birth of Christ. According to American historian Kenneth Scott Latourette, by the time that Jesus was born, "Buddhism had already spread through much of India and Ceylon and had penetrated into Central Asia and China." ^[2] Kenneth Scott Latourette was an American academic historian and historiographer who specialized mainly in the History of Christianity and the History of China. ...

The interaction of Greek and Buddhist cultures operated over several centuries until it ended in the 5th century CE with the invasions of the White Huns, and later, the expansion of Islam. The Hephthalites, also known as White Huns, were a nomadic people who lived across northern China, Central Asia, and northern India in the fourth through sixth centuries. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ...

Mauryan proselytizing

See also: Greco-Buddhist monasticism

Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260–218 BCE).

In India, around 270 BCE, Ashoka the Great ascended the throne. After his conversion to Buddhism, Ashoka sent missionaries around the world to preach the word of the Buddha. Ashoka left records that indicate that "his missions were favorably received" in countries to the West. The role of Greek Buddhist monks in the development of the Buddhist faith under the patronage of emperor Ashoka around 260 BCE, and then during the reign of Menander is described in an important non-canonical Theravada Buddhist historical text compiled in Sri Lanka in the 6th century CE, in... Download high resolution version (959x577, 19 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (959x577, 19 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion, usually another religion. ... (Redirected from 270 BCE) Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC - 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 275 BC 274 BC 273 BC 272 BC 271 BC - 270 BC - 269... Ashoka redirects here. ... Media:Example. ...

Ptolemy II Philadelphus, one of the Kings mentioned by Ashoka in his edicts, is recorded by Pliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador named Dionysius to the Mauryan court at Pataliputra in India: 309–246 BC), with Arsinoë II. Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Greek: , 309 BC–246 BC), was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 281 BC to 246 BC. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ... Dionysius was a Greek of the 3rd century BCE, who was sent as ambassador to the court of the Indian emperor Ashoka, by Ptolemy Philadelphus. ... The Mauryan empire (321 to 185 BCE), at its largest extent around 230 BCE. The Lion Capital of Asoka, erected around 250 BCE. It is the emblem of India. ... ...

"But [India] has been treated of by several other Greek writers who resided at the courts of Indian kings, such, for instance, as Megasthenes, and by Dionysius, who was sent thither by Philadelphus, expressly for the purpose: all of whom have enlarged upon the power and vast resources of these nations." Pliny the Elder, "The Natural History", Chap. 21 ^[3]

There are also records from Alexandria, which was at the crossroads of commerce and ideas, pointing to a steady stream of Buddhist monks and philosophers who influenced the philosophical currents of the time. This is evidenced centuries later in Roman accounts of Buddhist monks traveling to countries in these regions. Roman historical accounts describe an embassy sent by the "Indian king Pandion (Pandya?), also named Porus," to Caesar Augustus around 13 CE. The embassy was travelling with a diplomatic letter in Greek, and one of its members was a sramana who burned himself alive in Athens to demonstrate his faith. The event made a sensation and was described by Nicolaus of Damascus, who met the embassy at Antioch, and related by Strabo (XV,1,73 ^[5]) and Dio Cassius (liv, 9). A tomb was made to the sramana, still visible in the time of Plutarch, which bore the mention: The Pandyan kingdom was an ancient state at the tip of South India, founded around the 6th century BCE. It was part of the Dravidian cultural area, which also comprised other kingdoms such as that of the Pallava, the Chera, the Chola, the Chalukya and the Vijayanagara. ... The famous statue of Octavian at the Prima Porta Caesar Augustus (Latin:IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AVGVSTVS) ¹ (23 September 63 BC–19 August AD 14), known to modern historians as Octavian for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, is considered the first and one of the most... For other uses, see 13 (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that shramana be merged into this article or section. ... Athens is the largest and the capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery. ... Nicolaus of Damascus (Nikolāos DamaskÄ“nos) was a Greek historical and philosophical writer who lived in the Augustan Age. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Antakya. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... Dio Cassius Cocceianus (c. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ...

"ΖΑΡΜΑΝΟΧΗΓΑΣ ΙΝΔΟΣ ΑΠΟ ΒΑΡΓΟΣΗΣ"
("The sramana master from Barygaza in India") It has been suggested that shramana be merged into this article or section. ... Bharuch is a city and a municipality in Bharuch district in the state of Gujarat, India. ...

These accounts at least indicate that Indian religious men (Sramanas, to which the Buddhists belonged, as opposed to Hindu Brahmanas) were circulating in the Levant during the time of Jesus. Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... This page deals with the Hindu varnas. ... The Levant The Levant (IPA: /ləvænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Western expansion of Buddhism

Main article: Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

Buddhism expanded to some extent towards the northwest into Parthian territory. Achaeological remain of Buddhist stupas have been identified as far as Merv.^[4] Soviet archeological teams have excavated in Giaur Kala, near Merv, a Buddhist chapel, a gigantic Buddha statue, as well as a monastery. Also Parthian nobles such as An Shih Kao adopted the faith and were even some of the key actors of its expansion towards China. Blue-eyed Central Asian and East-Asian Buddhist monks, Bezaklik, Eastern Tarim Basin, 9th-10th century. ... Reproduction of a Parthian warrior as depicted on Trajans Column The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Origins Bust of Parthian soldier, Esgh-abad Museum, Turkmenia. ... Merv (Russian: Мерв, from Persian: مرو, Merw, sometimes transliterated Marw or Mary; cf. ... An Shih-kao (?-~168) (安世高; pinyin Ān Shígāo) was a prince of Parthia, nicknamed the Parthian Marquis, who renounced his prospect as a contender for the royal throne of Parthia in order to serve as a Buddhist missionary monk. ...

Christian awareness of Buddhism

See also: Buddhism and the Roman world

Evidence suggests that the Church Fathers were acquainted with Buddhist beliefs and practices, but it is unclear as to the extent to which these may have influenced the formation of Christian doctrine, or if there was any influence at all. Several instances of interaction between Buddhism and the Roman world are documented by Classical and early Christian writers. ...

Buddhist tradition records in the Milinda Panha that the 2nd century BCE Indo-Greek king Menander converted to the Buddhist faith and became an arhat.

A coin of the Indo-Greek king Menander I (r.160-135 BCE) with an eight-spoked wheel and a palm.

In the 2nd century CE, the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria recognized Bactrian Buddhists (Sramanas) and Indian Gymnosophists for their influence on Greek thought: Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (831x792, 1113 KB) Coin of Menander. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (831x792, 1113 KB) Coin of Menander. ... The Milinda Pañha (Pali. ... (3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events BC 168 Battle of Pydna -- Macedonian phalanx defeated by Romans BC 148 Rome conquers Macedonia BC 146 Rome destroys Carthage in the Third Punic War BC 146 Rome conquers... Maximum extent of Indo-Greek territory circa 175 BCE. The Indo-Greeks (or sometimes Greco-Indians) designate a series of Greek kings, who invaded and controlled parts of northwest and northern India from 180 BCE to around 10 BCE. They are the continuation of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek... Tetradrachm of Menander I in Greco-Bactrian style (Alexandria-Kapisa mint). ... A Chinese Luohan statue from the Liao Dynasty in Hebei Province, China In the sramanic traditions of ancient India (most notably those of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha) arhat (Sanskrit) or arahant (Pali) signified a spiritual practitioner who had—to use an expression common in the tipitaka—laid down the burden... Coin of Menander I. Bopearachchi. ... Coin of Menander I. Bopearachchi. ... Maximum extent of Indo-Greek territory circa 175 BCE. The Indo-Greeks (or sometimes Greco-Indians) designate a series of Greek kings, who invaded and controlled parts of northwest and northern India from 180 BCE to around 10 BCE. They are the continuation of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek... Tetradrachm of Menander I in Greco-Bactrian style (Alexandria-Kapisa mint). ... The Dharmacakra (Sanskrit) or Dhammacakka (Pāli), Tibetan , Chinese fălún 法轮, Wheel of Dharma is an auspicious Buddhist symbol representing a Buddhas teaching of the path to enlightenment. ... Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ...

"Thus philosophy, a thing of the highest utility, flourished in antiquity among the barbarians, shedding its light over the nations. And afterwards it came to Greece. First in its ranks were the prophets of the Egyptians; and the Chaldeans among the Assyrians; and the Druids among the Gauls; and the Sramanas among the Bactrians ("Σαρμαναίοι Βάκτρων"); and the philosophers of the Celts; and the Magi of the Persians, who foretold the Saviour's birth, and came into the land of Judaea guided by a star. The Indian gymnosophists are also in the number, and the other barbarian philosophers. And of these there are two classes, some of them called Sramanas ("Σαρμάναι"), and others Brahmins (Βραφμαναι)."

—Clement of Alexandria "The Stromata, or Miscellanies" Book I, Chapter XV[21]

The virgin birth of Siddhārtha from the hip of his mother, Gandhara, 2-3rd century CE.

The annunciation: the Virgin Mary being supported by two attendants, wall painting, St Clement, Ohrid, Yugoslavia.

About the Buddha, Clement wrote:^[6] Download high resolution version (895x653, 368 KB)The birth of Siddharta, Gandhara, 2-3rd century. ... Download high resolution version (895x653, 368 KB)The birth of Siddharta, Gandhara, 2-3rd century. ... Getting their moniker from Buddhas original name, Siddharta is a six-piece slovenian melodic metal band founded in 1995, probably Slovenias most popular musical act since Laibach. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 552 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1078 × 1170 pixel, file size: 266 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright in the U.S. according to the rule in Bridgeman Art Library v. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 552 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1078 × 1170 pixel, file size: 266 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright in the U.S. according to the rule in Bridgeman Art Library v. ... For other uses, see Annunciation (disambiguation). ... City motto : Coordinates Municipality : Ohrid municipality Elevation 695 m Population 55 749 Time zone  - Standard  - Summer (DST) CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2) Founded Area code +389 46 Postal code 6000 Car plates OH Official Website www. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ...

"Among the Indians are those philosophers also who follow the precepts of Boutta, whom they honour as a god on account of his extraordinary sanctity."

— Clement of Alexandria, Stromata (Miscellanies), Book I, Chapter XV

Also in the 2nd century CE, Origen stated that Buddhists co-existed with Druids in pre-Christian Britain: The Stromata (Clement entitled this work Stromateis, patchwork, because it dealt with such a variety of matters), third in the great trilogy of Clement of Alexandria, goes further than its two predecessors and aims at the perfection of the Christian life by initiation into complete knowledge. ... Origen Origen (Greek: Ōrigénēs, 185–ca. ... Two druids, from an 1845 publication, based on a bas-relief found at Autun, France. ...

"The island (Britain) has long been predisposed to it (Christianity) through the doctrines of the Druids and Buddhists, who had already inculcated the doctrine of the unity of the Godhead"

— Origen, Commentary on Ezekiel ^[5]

Origen himself was a proponent of the doctrine of Apokatastasis, which seems to have involved reincarnation ^[6] The doctrines of Origen were repeatedly rejected and finally condemned by Second Council of Constantinople in 553. External Links Article on Theandros - Eschatology and final restoration (apokatastasis) in Origen, Gregory of Nyssa and Maximos the Confessor Stoic/Astrological conception of apokatastasis ... The Fifth Ecumenical Council (the Second Council of Constantinople) was a Christian Ecumenical Council that was held in 553. ... Events The Ostrogoth Kingdom is conquered by the Byzantines after the Battle of Mons Lactarius. ...

Early 3rd-4th century Christian writers such as Hippolytus and Epiphanius wrote about a Scythianus, who visited India around 50 CE from where he brought "the doctrine of the Two Principles". According to these writers, Scythianus' pupil Terebinthus presented himself as a “Buddha” ("he called himself Buddas" Cyril of Jerusalem) and became well known in Judaea. According to the same author, his books and knowledge were taken over by Mani, and became the foundation of the Manichean doctrine^[7]. In Greek mythology, Hippolytus was a son of Theseus and either Antiope or Hippolyte. ... Epiphanius (ca 310–20 – 403) was a Church Father, a heresiologist who was a strong defender of orthodoxy, known for tracking down deviant teachings (heresies) wherever they could be traced, during the troubled era in the Christian Church following the Council of Nicaea. ... According to 3rd-4th century writers such as Hippolytus and Epiphanius, Scythianus was an Alexandrian who visited India around 50 CE. Scythianus apparently lived on the border between Palestine and Arabia, and was active in trade between the Red Sea ports and India. ... Terebinthus (also Terebinthus of Turbo ) was the pupil of Scythianus, during the 1st-2nd century CE, according to the early Christian writer Cyril of Jerusalem. ... Cyril of Jerusalem was a distinguished theologian of the early Church ( 315 - 386). ... Desert hills in southern Judea, looking east from the town of Arad Judea or Judaea (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is a term used for the mountainous southern part of historic Palestine, an area now divided... Mani may refer to: Mani Peninsula in Greece Maní, Yucatán, a small city in Yucatán, Mexico Mani, Evros, a town in the northeastern part of the Evros Prefecture in Greece Mani (prophet), a third-century Persian prophet, the founder of the dualistic Manichaean religion, which borrowed eclectically from... Manichaeism was one of the major ancient religions. ...

"Terebinthus, his disciple in this wicked error, inherited his money and books and heresy, and came to Palestine, and becoming known and condemned in Judaea he resolved to pass into Persia: but lest he should be recognised there also by his name he changed it and called himself Buddas."

—Cyril of Jerusalem, Sixth Catechetical Lecture Chapter 22-24 ^[8]

Hippolytus, who was a Greek speaking Christian in Rome (c. 225), knew of the Indian Brahmins--and includes their tradition among the sources of heresy: Cyril of Jerusalem was a distinguished theologian of the early Church ( 315 - 386). ...

There is ... among the Indians a heresy of those who philosophize among the Brahmins, who live a self-sufficient life, abstaining from (eating) living creatures and all cooked food . . . They say that God is light, not like the light one sees, nor like the sun nor fire, but to them God is discourse, not that which finds expression in articulate sounds, but that of knowledge (gnosis) through which the secret mysteries of nature are perceived by the wise.

In the 3rd century, the Syrian writer and Christian Gnostic theologian Bar Daisan described his exchanges with the religious missions of holy men from India (Greek: Σαρμαναίοι, Sramanas), passing through Syria on their way to Elagabalus or another Severan dynasty Roman Emperor. His accounts were quoted by Porphyry (De abstin., iv, 17 ^[7]) and Stobaeus (Eccles., iii, 56, 141). This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Bar Daisan (154-222), also latinized as Bardesanes, was a Syrian gnostic and an outstanding scientist, scholar, and poet. ... A bust depicting Elagabalus. ... The Severan dynasty is a lineage of Roman Emperors, reigning several decades from the late 2nd century to the early 3rd century. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law This article discusses the nature of the imperial dignity, and its dynastic development throughout the history of the Empire. ... Porphyry of Tyre (Greek: , c. ... Joannes Stobaeus, so called from his native place Stobi in Macedonia, was the compiler of a valuable series of extracts from Greek authors. ...

Barlaam and Josaphat

Main article: Barlaam and Josaphat

Saint Josaphat preaching Christianity. 12th century Greek manuscript.

The Greek legend of "Barlaam and Ioasaph", sometimes mistakenly attributed to the 7th century John of Damascus but actually written by the Georgian monk Euthymios in the 11th century, was ultimately derived, through a variety of intermediate versions (Arabic and Georgian) from the life story of the Buddha. The king-turned-monk Ioasaph (Georgian Iodasaph, Arabic Yūdhasaf or Būdhasaf) also obtains his name from the Sanskrit Bodhisattva, the name used in Buddhist accounts for Gautama before he became a Buddha. Barlaam and Ioasaph were placed in the Greek calendar of saints on 26 August, and in the West they were canonized (as "Barlaam and Josaphat") in the Roman Martyrology on the date of 27 November. Saint Josaphat is said to have lived and died in the 3rd century or 4th century in India. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Josaphat. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Josaphat. ... The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... John of Damascus (Greek: Ιωάννης Δαμασκήνος/Ioannês Damaskinos; Arabic: Yaḥyā ibn Manṣūr; Latin: Iohannes Damascenus or Johannes Damascenus also known as John Damascene, Χρυσορρόας/Chrysorrhoas, streaming with gold—i. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Lands Bhutan â€¢ China â€¢ Korea Japan â€¢ Tibet â€¢ Vietnam Taiwan â€¢ Mongolia Doctrine Bodhisattva â€¢ Bodhicitta Karuna â€¢ Prajna Sunyata â€¢ Buddha Nature Trikaya â€¢ Eternal Buddha Scriptures Prajnaparamita Sutra Avatamsaka Sutra Lotus Sutra Nirvana Sutra VimalakÄ«rti Sutra Lankavatara Sutra History 4th Buddhist Council Silk Road â€¢ Nagarjuna Asanga â€¢ Vasubandhu Bodhidharma      A statue of a Bodhisattva, Akasagarbha. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The story was translated into Hebrew in the Middle Ages as "Ben-Hamelekh Vehanazir" ("The Prince and the Nazirite"). A nazirite or nazarite, (in Hebrew: נזיר, nazir), refers to a Jew who took an ascetic vow described in Numbers 6:1-21. ...

Theories

Buddhist influence

Early depiction of Jesus Christ on a sarcophagus, Herault, France, 6th century. Louvre Museum.

Some scholars believe that Jesus may have been inspired by Buddhism, and that the Gospel of Thomas and the Nag Hammadi texts reflect this influence. These theories have been popularized in books such as Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels (1979) and Beyond Belief (2003), and Elmar R. Gruber and Holger Kersten's The Original Jesus (1995). Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 436 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1112 × 1528 pixel, file size: 537 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 436 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1112 × 1528 pixel, file size: 537 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Merenptah Detail of a stone sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archeological Museum showing a hunting scene Anthropoid sarcophagus discovered at Cádiz A sarcophagus is a stone container for a coffin or body. ... Hérault is a département in the southwest of France named after the Hérault River. ... The main courtyard of the Louvre. ... The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ... The town of Nag Hammadi in Egypt Nag Hammâdi (Arabic نجع حمادي; transliterated: Naj Hammādi) (26°03′N 32°15′E), is a town in the middle of Egypt, called Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor with some 30,000 citizens. ... Elaine Pagels, née Hiesey, (born February 13, 1943), is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. ...

One of the earliest and most prominent scholars of early comparative religions,Max Mueller, noted in his book, India: What it can teach us, published from England in 1883, "That there are startling coincidences between Buddhism and Christianity cannot be denied, and it must likewise be admitted that Buddhism existed at least 400 years before Christianity. I go even further, and should feel extremely grateful if anybody would point out to me the historical channels through which Buddhism had influenced early Christianity." A stronger case was made by Rudolf Seydel, Professor in the University of Leipzig (Germany), whose first book, The Gospel of Jesus in relation to the Buddha Legend, published in 1882, was followed by, The Buddha Legend and the Life of Jesus, published in 1897. In his books, he noted atleast 50 analogous parallels between the Buddhist and Christian stories. Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (December 6, 1823 – October 28, 1900), more commonly known as Max Müller, was a German Orientalist, one of the founders of Indian studies, who virtually created the discipline of comparative religion. ...

Yale University Professor, E. Washburn Hopkins in his book, History of Religions wrote, "Finally, the life, temptation, miracles, parables, and even the disciples of Jesus have been derived directly from Buddhism." ^[9] “Yale” redirects here. ...

Historian Jerry H. Bentley considers "the possibility that Buddhism influenced the early development of Christianity". Bentley observes that scholars "have drawn attention to many parallels concerning the births, lives, doctrines, and deaths of the Buddha and Jesus".^[10] The subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ...

Iqbal Singh in the Buddhism Omnibus ^[11] acknowledges the early historical interactions and influence of Buddhism on the formation of early Christianity.

Thomas Tweed, Professor of Religious Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reports that, between 1879 and 1907, there were a "number of impassioned discussions about parallels and possible historical influence between Buddhism and Christianity in ... a variety of periodicals". But by 1906, this interest had waned. In the end, Albert Schweitzer's conclusion was favored: that although some indirect influence through the wider culture was "not inherently impossible", the hypothesis that Jesus' novel ideas were borrowed directly from Buddhism was "unproved, unprovable and unthinkable."^[12] The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. ...

Burkhard Scherer, Professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University believes that the "massive" Buddhist influence in the gospels has been well known among scholars. Scherer states: "...it is very important to draw attention on the fact that there is (massive) Buddhist influence in the Gospels....Since more than hundred years Buddhist influence in the Gospels has been known and acknowledged by scholars from both sides. Just recently, Duncan McDerret published his excellent The Bible and the Buddhist (Sardini, Bornato [Italy] 2001). With McDerret, I am convinced that there are many Buddhist narratives in the Gospels."^[13] Canterbury Christ Church University is a new university based in Kent. ...

Buddhism and Gnosticism

Queen Maya with the infant Buddha. Gandhara, 2nd century CE.

Edward Conze and Elaine Pagels have suggested that gnosticism blends teachings like those attributed to Jesus Christ with teachings found in Eastern traditions.^[14] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 567 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1440 × 1523 pixel, file size: 632 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 567 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1440 × 1523 pixel, file size: 632 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Queen Māyās white elephant dream, and the conception of the Buddha. ... Eberhart (Edward) Julius Dietrich Conze (1904 - 1979) was born in London of mixed German, French, and NetherlandsDutch ancestry. ... Elaine Pagels, née Hiesey, (born February 13, 1943), is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Philip Jenkins writes that, since the mid-nineteenth century, new and fringe religious movements have often created images of Jesus, presenting him as a sage, philosopher and occult teacher, whose teachings are very similar to those of Asian religions. He asserts that the images generated by these religious movements share much in common with the images that increasingly dominate the mainstream critical scholarship of the New Testament, especially following the rediscovery of the Gnostic Gospels found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945. He alleges that, in modern scholarly writing, Jesus has become more of a Gnostic, Cynic or even a crypto-Buddhist than the traditional notion of the reformist Jewish rabbi. ^[15]

Jenkins acknowledges that "the Jesus of the hidden gospels has many points of contact with the great spiritual traditions of Asia." Pagels has written that "one need only listen to the words of the Gospel of Thomas to hear how it resonates with the Buddhist tradition... these ancient gospels tend to point beyond faith toward a path of solitary searching to find understanding, or gnosis." She suggests that there is an explicitly Indian influence in the Gospel of Thomas, perhaps via the Christian communities in southern India, the so-called Thomas Christians.

Of all of the Nag Hammadi texts, the Gospel of Thomas has the most similarities with Pure Land Buddhism within it. Edward Conze has suggested that Hindu or Buddhist tradition may well have influenced Gnosticism. He points out that Buddhists were in contact with the Thomas Christians. ^[16] The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ...

Elaine Pagels notes that the similarities between Gnosticism and Buddhism have prompted some scholars to question their interdependence and to wonder whether "...if the names were changed, the 'living Buddha' appropriately could say what the Gospel of Thomas attributes to the living Jesus. " However, she concludes that, although intriguing, the evidence is inconclusive, since parallel traditions may emerge in different cultures without direct influence. ^[17]

The Trinity

Kersten writes:

The Buddhist Triple Gem is directly related as father and son in what can be called a far more closer parallel to the Christian trinity in the Buddhist text, Ittivuttaka:100 as well as some suttas in the Tipitika contain references to Buddha as having spiritual sons. Major disciples (Sariputta, Ananda, Mahakashyapa) are referred to as "son of Buddha" ("putto Buddhassa" as in Therigata 4.1) or "son of God" ("bhagavato putto" in MN 111) throughout the oldest Pali Canon. These sons are also directly related to being born of the Dhamma or the law from Buddha's speech. Similarly in the Gospel of John, Jesus is the "word".^{[citation needed]} Nickname: Alexandria on the map of Egypt Map of Alexandria Coordinates: , Country Egypt Founded 334 BC Government  - Governor Adel Labib Population (2001)  - City 3,500,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Twin Cities  - Baltimore  United States  - Cleveland  United States  - ConstanÅ£a  Romania  - Durban  South Africa... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... Look up logos in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Triratna or Three Jewels symbol, on a Buddha footprint. ... Media:Example. ... Dharma (Sanskrit: धर्म) or Dhamma (Pāli: धम्म) in Buddhism has two primary meanings: the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment the constituent factors of the experienced world In East Asia, the character for Dharma is 法, pronounced fÇŽ in Mandarin and hō in Japanese. ... Sangha (संघ saṃgha) is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as association or assembly or community. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups. ... This article or section contains too many quotations for an encyclopedic entry. ... The Triratna or Three Jewels symbol, on a Buddha footprint. ... This article or section contains too many quotations for an encyclopedic entry. ...

In reference to finding equivalence in Buddhism to the "Holy Spirit", Buddha is called "brahmabhūto" where Bhuto is used as "ghost or spirit" or holy spirit in MN18, this is almost always in conjunction "dhammabhūto brahmabhūto" i.e. the holy spirit is directly related to the Dhamma and Buddha. In the Tipitika, the Triple Gem of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha are directly related to as Father, Son or Holy Spirit in several discourses.^{[citation needed]}

Therapeutae influence

An early wheel-like circular ichthys symbol, created by combining the Greek letters ΙΧΘΥΣ, Ephesus.

Christian Chi Rho pendant of Maria, wife of Honorius (398-407 CE). Musée du Louvre.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus spent his early childhood in Egypt which was at the end of the Silk Road. As a result of its role in trade with the East, Egypt was prosperous and enriched with religious diversity. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The ichthys has been used to represent a number of ideas. ... Map of Lydia in ancient times showing location of Ephesus and other ancient cities in western Anatolia Ephesus (Greek: , Turkish: ) was an Ionian Greek city in ancient Anatolia, founded by colonists from Athens in the 10th century BC[1]. The city was located in Ionia, where the Cayster River (K... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 297 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (635 × 1281 pixel, file size: 366 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 297 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (635 × 1281 pixel, file size: 366 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... An image of the labarum, with the letters Alpha and Omega inscribed. ... Flavius Honorius (September 9, 384–August 15, 423) was Roman Emperor (393- 395) and then Western Roman Emperor from 395 until his death. ... The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ...

The Therapeutae (known only from Philo) were mystics and ascetics who lived especially in the area around Alexandria, ^[19] Philo described the Therapeutae in the beginning of the 1st century CE in De vita contemplativa ("On the contemplative life"), written ca. 10 CE. By that time, the origins of the Therapeutae were already lost in the past, and Philo was even unsure about the etymology of their name. The Therapeutae (Worshipers in Greek) were an early pre-Christian monastic order established near Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria, the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt. ... Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), known also as Philo of Alexandria and as Philo Judaeus And as Yedidia, was a Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ... Nickname: Alexandria on the map of Egypt Map of Alexandria Coordinates: , Country Egypt Founded 334 BC Government  - Governor Adel Labib Population (2001)  - City 3,500,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Twin Cities  - Baltimore  United States  - Cleveland  United States  - ConstanÅ£a  Romania  - Durban  South Africa... Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), known also as Philo of Alexandria and as Philo Judaeus And as Yedidia, was a Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ...

Philonian monachism has been seen as the forerunner of and the model for the Christian ascetic life. It has even been considered as the earliest description of Christian monasticism. This view was first espoused by Eusebius of Caesarea in his Ecclesiastical History.^[20] Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (c. ...

According to the linguist Zacharias P. Thundy the name "Therapeutae" is simply an Hellenisation of the Pali term for the traditional Buddhist faith, "Theravada". The similarities between the monastic practices of the Therapeutae and Buddhist monastic practices have led to suggestions that the Therapeutae were in fact Buddhist monks who had reached Alexandria, descendants of Ashoka's emissaries to the West, and who influenced the early formation of Christianity.^[21] The evidence for this argument rests solely on the similarity of practices and the purported derivation of the name. There is no evidence from antiquity that supports this argument. Pali (IAST: ) is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). ...

In their book The Jesus Mysteries, Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy argue that the Therapeutae are possible candidates for the origin of what they characterize as "the legend of Jesus Christ".^{[citation needed]}

Elmar R. Gruber, a psychologist, and Holger Kersten, a specialist in religious history argue that Buddhism had a substantial influence on the life and teachings of Jesus.^[22] Gruber and Kersten claim that Jesus was brought up by the Therapeutae, teachers of the Buddhist Theravada school then living in the Bible lands. They assert that Jesus lived the life of a Buddhist and taught Buddhist ideals to his disciples; their work follows in the footsteps of the Oxford New Testament scholar' Barnett Hillman Streeter, who established as early as the 1930s that the, moral teaching of the Buddha has four remarkable resemblances to the Sermon on the Mount."^[23] The Therapeutae (Worshipers in Greek) were an early pre-Christian monastic order established near Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria, the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt. ... Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). ...

Ascetism can be seen as a common point between Buddhism and Christianity, and is in contrast to the absence of asceticism in Judaism: Asceticism is a term derived from the Greek verb ἀσκέω, meaning to practise strenuously, to exercise. ...

"Asceticism is indigenous to the religions which posit as fundamental the wickedness of this life and the corruption under sin of the flesh. Buddhism, therefore, as well as Christianity, leads to ascetic practices. Monasteries are institutions of Buddhism no less than of Catholic Christianity. The assumption, found in the views of the Montanists and others, that concessions made to the natural appetites may be pardoned in those that are of a lower degree of holiness, while the perfectly holy will refuse to yield in the least to carnal needs and desires, is easily detected also in some of the teachings of Gautama Buddha. The ideal of holiness of both the Buddhist and the Christian saint culminates in poverty and chastity; i.e., celibacy. Fasting and other disciplinary methods are resorted to to curb the flesh" A silhouette of a Buddha statue at Ayutthaya, Thailand. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Montanism was an early Christian sectarian movement of the mid-2nd century A.D., named after its founder Montanus. ... Image:StandngBuddha. ...

—The Jewish Encyclopedia ^[24]

The lost years of Jesus

Main article: Lost years of Jesus

Very little is known about the time between Jesus' childhood and the beginning of his ministry as recorded in the New Testament. The lost years of Jesus concerns the little-known time between Jesus childhood and the beginning of his ministry as recorded in the New Testament. ...

The Original Jesus by Gruber and Kersten elaborated on the possible Buddhist origins of Christianity.

Elmar R. Gruber, a psychologist, and Holger Kersten, a specialist in religious history argue that Buddhism had a substantial influence on the life and teachings of Jesus.^[25] Gruber and Kersten claim that Jesus was brought up by the Therapeutae, teachers of the Buddhist Theravada school then living in the Bible lands. They assert that Jesus lived the life of a Buddhist and taught Buddhist ideals to his disciples; their work follows in the footsteps of the Oxford New Testament scholar' Barnett Hillman Streeter, who established as early as the 1930s that the, moral teaching of the Buddha has four remarkable resemblances to the Sermon on the Mount."^[26] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Therapeutae (Worshipers in Greek) were an early pre-Christian monastic order established near Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria, the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt. ... Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). ...

There are local traditions of Jesus' presence in Afghanistan, Iran, and even Pakistan and India. However there is no way to know when these traditions arose. Some stories go so far as to claim that Jesus survived crucifixion and returned to the East, dying in Kashmir many years later. However, all of these stories are based on little or no real evidence.

One tradition claims that Jesus traveled to India and Tibet during the "lost years" before the beginning of his public ministry. In 1887 a Russian war correspondent, Nicolas Notovitch, visited India and Tibet. He claimed that, at the lamasery or monastery of Hemis in Ladakh, he learned of the "Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men." His story, with a translated text of the "Life of Saint Issa," was published in French in 1894 as La vie inconnue de Jesus Christ. It was subsequently translated into English, German, Spanish, and Italian. Nicolas Notovitch (1858-?) was a French scholar and journalist made famous for his revelation that during the years of Jesus Christs life missing from the Bible, he followed travelling merchants abroad into India and Nepal, where he studied Buddhism. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... , Ladakh (Tibetan script: ལ་དྭགས་; Wylie: la-dwags, Ladakhi IPA: , Hindi: लद्दाख़, Hindi IPA: , Urdu: لدّاخ; land of high passes) is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India sandwiched between the Kuen Lun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people...

The "Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men" purportedly recounts the travels of one known in the East as Saint Issa, whom Notovitch identified as Jesus. After initially doubting Notovitch, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Abhedananda, journeyed to Tibet, investigated his claim, helped translate part of the document, and later championed his views.^[27].

Notovitch's writings were immediately controversial. The German orientalist Max Mueller corresponded with the Hemis monastery that Notovitch claimed to have visited and Archibald Douglas visited Hemis Monastery. Neither found any evidence that Notovich (much less Jesus) had even been there himself, so they rejected his claims. The head of the Hemis community signed a document that denounced Notovitch as a liar.^[28] Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (December 6, 1823 – October 28, 1900), more commonly known as Max Müller, was a German Orientalist, one of the founders of Indian studies, who virtually created the discipline of comparative religion. ... Admiral Archibald Douglas, in 1902. ...

Despite this contradictory evidence, a number of New Age or spiritualist authors have taken this information and have incorporated it into their own works. For example, in her book The Lost Years of Jesus: Documentary Evidence of Jesus' 17-Year Journey to the East, Elizabeth Clare Prophet asserts that Buddhist manuscripts provide evidence that Jesus traveled to India, Nepal, Ladakh and Tibet.^[29] New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... Elizabeth Clare Prophet Elizabeth Clare Prophet (born April 8, 1939) is an American who became the leader of the new religious movement The Summit Lighthouse, an organization encompassing the branches of Church Universal and Triumphant, Summit University, Summit University Press, and Montessori International, after her husband, Mark L. Prophet, died...

The further sayings of Prophet Muhammed mention that Jesus died in Kashmir at the age of one hundred twenty. Muslim and Persia sources purport to trace the sojourn of Jesus, known as Isa, or Yuz Asaf ("leader of the healed") along the old Silk Road to the orient. The books, Christ in Kashmir by Aziz Kashmiri, and Jesus Lived in India by Holger Kersten, list scores of documents and articles in support of this view.

There are also Hindu and Tibetan accounts. According to Kersten, the Bhavishyat Maha Purana asserts that Israelites settled in India, and, in verses 17-32, describes the arrival of Jesus in Ladakh.

There is a temple in the state of Kashmir that is dedicated to Saint Issa. The priests of this temple assert that Jesus traveled there two thousand years ago. Acccording to Kersten, over twenty-one historical documents bear witness to Jesus having lived in Kashmir. Many places there, as well as along the Silk Road, include versions of his name(s) and also versions of the name of Moses. A tomb bearing the name of Yuz Asaf exists in Srinigar to this day, and eighty kilometers away is a tombstone of Moses, which has been tended by Rishis, according to the grave watchman, for over 2700 years. A tomb called Mai Mari da Asthan, "The Final Resting Place of Mother Mary", is situated in a small town named Mari on the Pakistan-Kashmir border.^{[citation needed]}

Parallels

According to Jerry Bentley, "Scholars have often considered the possibility that Buddhism influenced the early development of Christianity. They have drawn attention to many parallels concerning the births, lives, doctrines, and deaths of the Buddha and Jesus" ^[30].

Administrative structures

The administrative structures formed by Buddhism share the following similarities with those formed by Christianity:

• initiation into a holy trinity.
• monasticism and communal living for spiritual adherents which adhered to principals of practicing poverty and chastity.^[31]
• early Christian Councils reminiscent in organization to the Buddhist councils.
• missionaries and missions which were first organized and established by Buddhists, all predate the early Christian organizations in the same areas where Christianity was first established (Antioch, etc.).

// Main article: First Buddhist council Ananda reciting the Sutta Pitaka According to the scriptures of all Buddhist schools, the first Buddhist Council was held soon after the nirvana of the Buddha under the patronage of king Ajatasatru, and presided by the monk Mahakasyapa, at Rajagaha (todays Rajgir). ...

Buddha and Jesus

It has been asserted that the story of the birth of the Buddha was well known in the West, and possibly influenced the story of the birth of Jesus.^[32][33]

Saint Jerome (4th century CE) mentions the birth of the Buddha, who he says "was born from the side of a virgin"^[34] (the Buddha was, according to Buddhist tradition, born from the hip of his mother).^[35] The story of the birth of the Buddha was also known: a fragment of Archelaos of Carrha ^[36](278 CE) mentions the Buddha's virgin-birth. “Saint Jerome” redirects here. ... Queen Māyās white elephant dream, and the conception of the Buddha. ...

Queen Maya came to bear the Buddha after receiving a prophetic dream in which she saw the descent of the Bodhisattva (Buddha-to-be) from the Tuṣita heaven into her womb, in the shape of a small white elephant. This story has some parallels with the story of Jesus being conceived in connection with the visitation of the Holy Spirit to the Virgin Mary.^[37] Queen Māyās white elephant dream, and the conception of the Buddha. ... Image:StandngBuddha. ... Tuá¹£ita (Sanskrit) or Tusita (Pāli) is one of the six deva-worlds of the Kāmadhātu, located between the Yāma heaven and the Nirmāṇarati heaven. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In mainstream Christianity, the... Saint Mary and Saint Mary the Virgin both redirect here. ...

The classical scene of the Virgin Mary being supported by two attendants at her side, may have been influenced by earlier iconography, such as the rather similar Buddhist theme of Queen Maya giving birth.^[38]

The iconography of Mary breastfeeding the child Jesus, unknown in the West until the 5-6th century (probable date of a frieze excavated in Saqqara), has also been connected to the much more ancient iconography of the goddess Hariti, also breastfeeding her child, and wearing Hellenistic clothes in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.^[39] Saqqara Saqqara or Sakkara, Saqqarah (Arabic: سقارة) is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, featuring the worlds oldest standing step pyramid (). It is located some 30 km south of modern-day Cairo and covers an area of around 7 km by 1. ... Kishimojin (Sanskrit: Hariti), in Japanese and Indian mythology, is a Buddhist goddess for the protection of children, easy delivery, happy child rearing and parenting, harmony between husband and wife, love, and the well-being and safety of the family. ... Gandhara Buddha, 1st-2nd century CE. Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century... Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गन्धार, Persian; Gandara, Waihind) (Urdu: گندھارا) is the name of an ancient Indian Mahajanapada, currently in northern Pakistan (the North-West Frontier Province and parts of northern Punjab and Kashmir) and eastern Afghanistan. ...

Teachings

"There are many moral precepts equally commanded and enforced in common by both creeds. It will not be rash to assert that most of the moral truths prescribed in the gospel are to be met with in the Buddhistic scriptures." Paul Ambroise Bigandet, Catholic Bishop of Ramatha Ramatha is the name of a former Roman Catholic titular bishopric in Palestine. ...

"He [Buddha] requires humility, disregard of worldly wealth, patience and resignation in adversity, love to enemies ... non-resistance to evil, confession of sins and conversion." Bishop Jean Paul Hilaire

Parallel Lives

Scholars see strong parallels in both the myth and life of Buddha and Jesus. Buddha and his disciples traveling preachers going into homes and preaching gospels to those who hear, is one obvious parallel of a literary motif not found in other traditions. Jesus too pursues this form of preaching and teaching.

Ernest De Bunsen states, "With the remarkable exception of the death of Jesus on the cross, and of the doctrine of atonement by vicarious suffering, which is absolutely excluded by Buddhism, the most ancient of the Buddhistic records known to us contain statements about the life and the doctrines of Gautama Buddha which correspond in a remarkable manner, and impossibly by mere chance, with the traditions recorded in the Gospels about the life and doctrines of Jesus Christ...." ^[40]

more than a fortuitous convergence of universal folkloric motifs simply because nowhere else do we see such a convergence of literary motifs

Aphorisms

One approach has used the theologically derived Q document of the possible original words of Jesus as a basis of comparison with the supposed earliest words of the Buddha^{[citation needed]}. The process is useful insofar as it highlights direct parallels in words, albeit in modern languages. Other studies of parallels include learned analyses, most of them recent although some date back to the time of the early Church, which may have suppressed historical linkages between the ancient Middle-East/Greece and India. ^{[citation needed]} The Q document or Q (from the German Quelle, source) is a postulated lost textual source for the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ... The traditional Middle East and the G8s Greater Middle East Political & transportation map of the traditional Middle East today The Middle East is a historical and political region of Africa-Eurasia with no clear definition. ...

sources:^{[43] [44][45][46][47] [48]}

Religious symbolism

Various hand and prayer gestures are attested very early India. Bimaran casket (30 BCE-60 CE).

Christ Jesus,^[49] the Good Shepherd, 3rd century.

"Lamaism with its shaven priests, its bells and rosaries, its images and holy water, its popes and bishops, its abbots and monks of many grades, its processions and feast days, its confessional and purgatory, and its worship of the double Virgin, so strongly resembles Romanism that the first Catholic missionaries thought it must be an imitation by the devil of the religion of Christ." ^[50] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 553 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (875 × 948 pixel, file size: 454 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Bimaran Casket. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 553 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (875 × 948 pixel, file size: 454 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Bimaran Casket. ... The Bimaran casket, with the Buddha, surrounded by Brahman (left) and Indra (right). ... Image File history File links Good_shepherd_02b_close. ... Image File history File links Good_shepherd_02b_close. ... The term The Good Shepherd comes from the tenth chapter of John of the gospels, where Jesus is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. ... Tibetan Buddhism, (formerly also called Lamaism after their religious gurus known as lamas), is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... Lama (Tibetan: བླ་མ་; Wylie: bla-ma) is a title for a Tibetan religious teacher. ... St. ... This refers to the Roman Catholic practice. ... Illustration for Dantes Purgatorio (18), by Gustave Doré, an imaginative picturing of Purgatory. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The Devil, on the central gate of Notre-Dame de Paris, 1225, France. ...

The use of rosaries spread from India to Europe during the Crusades through the Islamic versions. ^[51] Our Lady of Lourdes - Mary appearing at Lourdes with Rosary beads. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ...

According to Sir Charles Eliot in Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch Vol 3, " Yet when all allowance is made for similar causes and coincidences, it is hard to believe that a collection of such practices as clerical celibacy, confession, the veneration of relics, the use of the rosary and bells can have originated independently in both religions." Sir Charles Norton Edgecumbe Eliot (born January 8, 1862 at the village of Sibford Gower near Banbury, Oxfordshire, England; died March 16, 1931 at sea in the Straits of Malacca) was educated at Cheltenham College. ...

Prayer with both the palms touching one another is called the "Anjali Mudra" in Indian spiritual traditions, and is a common greeting and prayer posture in all Indian spiritual traditions, including Buddhism, but is absent in Jewish traditions, whose scriptures mention raised or clasped hands.^[52] However, we find this prayer position found in Christian art from the Middle Ages, considered a common prayer posture of Christianity^[53] The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination...

Christian art only emerged relatively late, and the first known Christian images are known from about 200 CE.^[54] This early rejection of images, although never proclaimed by theologians, leaves us with little archaological records regarding early Christianity and its evolution.^[55] The oldest Christian painting are from the Roman Catacombs, dated to about 200, and the oldest Christian sculptures are from sarcophagi, dating to the beginning of the 3rd century.^[56] Buddhist art predates Christian art by about 400 years. Christian art is art that spans many segments of Christianity. ... Catacombs Paris Catacombs Rome - entrance Catacombs Rome - entrance (detail) Catacombs Lima. ... A sarcophagus is a stone container for a coffin or body. ... // Overview Events 212: Constitutio Antoniniana grants citizenship to all free Roman men 212-216: Baths of Caracalla 230-232: Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east 235-284: Crisis of the Third Century shakes Roman Empire 250-538: Kofun era, the first... Footprint of the Buddha. ... Christian art is art that spans many segments of Christianity. ...

Criticism

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

There are a number of resemblances between Buddhism and Christianity...

• The Buddhist order of monks and nuns offers points of similarity with Christian monastic systems, particularly the mendicant orders.
• There are moral aphorisms ascribed to Buddha that are not unlike some of the sayings of Christ.
• Most of all, in the legendary life of Buddha, which in its complete form is the outcome of many centuries of accretion, there are many parallelisms, some more, some less striking, to the Gospel stories of Christ.

Prayer and benediction (raised index and major) gestures in an early Gandhara frieze (1st-2nd century CE). Guimet Museum.

A few scholars, taking for granted that resemblance indicates contact, or even dependence, have tried to show that Christian monasticism is of Buddhist origin, and that Buddhist thought and legend have been freely incorporated into the Gospels. To support this theory they point to the common ground held by Buddhism and Christianity, but do so without adequately accounting for instances of disparity between the two traditions. They ignore, for instance, the utter lack of atheist themes in Jesus' teachings. Were he truly schooled by Buddhists, there would likely be at least some indication of an awareness of atheism of the Buddhist type in Jesus' sayings. Furthermore, atheism and the associated Buddhist sensibilities would no doubt have been found by Jesus to be both incomprehensible and repellent. These scholars also fail to note Jesus' indebtedness to Jewish mysticism, and by championing a theory with virtually no historical evidence, fail to account for actual identifiable commonality between Jesus and those Jewish mystics of his own culture, of whom he would certainly be aware. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 445 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1591 × 2144 pixel, file size: 929 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Detail of The Great Departure, 1st-2nd century CE: File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 445 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1591 × 2144 pixel, file size: 929 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Detail of The Great Departure, 1st-2nd century CE: File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert... Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गन्धार, Persian; Gandara, Waihind) (Urdu: گندھارا) is the name of an ancient Indian Mahajanapada, currently in northern Pakistan (the North-West Frontier Province and parts of northern Punjab and Kashmir) and eastern Afghanistan. ... Guimet in his museum. ...

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there is little historical basis for the assertion that Buddhist influence was a factor in the formation of Christianity and of the Christian Gospels. The rock-inscriptions of Asoka may bear witness to the spread of Buddhism over the Greek-speaking world as early as the third century BCE, since they mention the flourishing existence of Buddhism among the Yavanas, i.e. Greeks within the dominion of Antiochus. The Yavanas who received such Buddhist emissaries may only be the Greek-speaking peoples on the extreme frontier next to India, namely, Bactria and the Kabul valley, although Greek rulers as far as the Mediterranean are mentioned in the inscriptions. Also, the statement in the late Buddhist chronicle, Mahavansa, that among the Buddhists who came to the dedication of a great Stupa in Ceylon in the second century BCE, "were over thirty thousand monks from the vicinity of Alassada, the capital of the Yona country" is sometimes taken to suggest that long before the time of Christ, Alexandria in Egypt was the centre of flourishing Buddhist communities. It is true that Alassada is the Pali for Alexandria; but it is usually thought that the city here meant is not the ancient capital of Egypt, but as the text indicates, the chief city of the Yona country, the Yavana country of the rock-inscriptions, namely, Bactria and vicinity. And so, the city referred to is most likely Alexandria ad Caucasum. The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of 33 inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, made by the Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty during his reign from 272 to 231 BCE. These inscriptions are dispersed throughout the areas of modern-day Pakistan... This article is about Ashoka, the emperor. ... ... Mahavansa The Mahavansa (or Mahavamsa - Great Chronicle) was written in the 5th century CE and records the history of Sri Lanka after it became a Buddhist country in the 3rd century BCE. External links Online text of the Mahavansa ... Nickname: Alexandria on the map of Egypt Map of Alexandria Coordinates: , Country Egypt Founded 334 BC Government  - Governor Adel Labib Population (2001)  - City 3,500,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Twin Cities  - Baltimore  United States  - Cleveland  United States  - ConstanÅ£a  Romania  - Durban  South Africa... Bactria, about 320 BC Bactria (Bactriana, Bākhtar in Persian, also Bhalika in Arabic and Indian languages, and Ta-Hia in Chinese) was the ancient Greek name of the country between the range of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (Oxus); its capital, Bactra or Balhika or Bokhdi (now... Alexandria of the Caucasus (Askandria-e-Qafqaz or Askandria Paro paizad) was a city founded by Alexander the Great (one of many given the name Alexandria), at an important junction of communications in the southern foothills of the Hindu Kush, about 45 miles North of Kabul, in the country of...

According to The Catholic Encyclopedia there is nothing in Buddhist records that may be taken as reliable evidence for the spread of Buddhism westward to the Greek world as early as the foundation of the Christian religion. That Buddhist institutions were at that time unknown in the West may be safely inferred from the fact that Buddhism is absolutely ignored in the literary and archaeological remains of Palestine, Egypt, and Greece. There are no ruins of Buddhist monastery or stupa in any of these countries; not a single Greek translation of a Buddhist book; not a single reference in all Greek literature to the existence of a Buddhist community in the Greek world with the possible exception of the Therapeutae. The very name of Buddha is mentioned for the first time only in the second century writings of Clement of Alexandria. The Therapeutae (Worshipers in Greek) were an early pre-Christian monastic order established near Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria, the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt. ... Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ...

Barlaam and Josaphat

The exception is the story of Buddha's conversion from the worldly life of a prince to the life of an ascetic, which was transformed by some Oriental Christian of the seventh century into the popular medieval tale of "Barlaam and Josaphat". Here is historic evidence of the turning of a Buddhist into a Christian legend just as, on the other hand, the fifth-century sculptures of Gospel scenes on the ruined Buddhist monasteries of Jamalgiri, in Northern Panjab, described in the scholarly work of Fergusson and Burgess, "The Cave Temples of India", offer reliable evidence that the Buddhists of that time did not scruple to embellish the Buddha legend with adaptations from Christian sources. Saint Josaphat is said to have lived and died in the 3rd century or 4th century in India. ...

Buddhist views of Jesus

Buddhist views of Jesus differ, since Jesus is not mentioned in any Buddhist text. Some Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama^[57] regard Jesus as a bodhisattva who dedicated his life to the welfare of human beings. Both Jesus and Buddha advocated radical alterations in the common religious practices of the day. There are occasional similarities in language, such as the use of the common metaphor of a line of blind men to refer to religious authorities with whom they disagreed (DN 13.15, Matthew 15:14). Some believe there is a particularly close affinity between Buddhism (or Eastern spiritual thought generally) and the doctrine of Gnostic texts such as The Gospel of Thomas^[58] Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... Tenzin Gyatso (born 6 July 1935) is the fourteenth and current Dalai Lama. ... Lands Bhutan â€¢ China â€¢ Korea Japan â€¢ Tibet â€¢ Vietnam Taiwan â€¢ Mongolia Doctrine Bodhisattva â€¢ Bodhicitta Karuna â€¢ Prajna Sunyata â€¢ Buddha Nature Trikaya â€¢ Eternal Buddha Scriptures Prajnaparamita Sutra Avatamsaka Sutra Lotus Sutra Nirvana Sutra VimalakÄ«rti Sutra Lankavatara Sutra History 4th Buddhist Council Silk Road â€¢ Nagarjuna Asanga â€¢ Vasubandhu Bodhidharma      A statue of a Bodhisattva, Akasagarbha. ... The Digha Nikaya (Collection of Long Discourses) is the first part of the Sutta Pitaka- one of the three baskets that compose the Pali Tipitaka. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον, Kata Maththaion or Kata Matthaion) is a synoptic gospel in the New Testament, one of four canonical gospels. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Christian influences on Buddhism

Thomas the Apostle

Eusebius of Caesarea (Historia Ecclesiastica, III.1) quotes Origen (died mid-3rd century) as having stated that Thomas was the apostle to the Parthians, but Thomas is better known as the missionary to India through the Acts of Thomas, written ca 200. In Edessa, where his remains were venerated, the poet Ephrem the Syrian (died 373) wrote a hymn in which the Devil cries, Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (c. ... Origen Origen (Greek: ÅŒrigénÄ“s, 185–ca. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      St Thomas... Parthia[1] (Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was a civilization situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as regions of the modern countries of Armenia, Iraq, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf... The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the Heavenly Redeemer, independent of and beyond creation, who can free souls from the darkness of the world. ... The heritage of Roman Edessa survives today in these columns at the site of Urfa Castle, dominating the skyline of the modern city of Åžanlı Urfa. ... Ephrem the Syrian (Syriac: , ;Greek: ; Latin: Ephraem Syrus; 306–373) was a deacon, prolific Syriac language hymn writer and theologian of the 4th century. ...

...Into what land shall I fly from the just?

I stirred up Death the Apostles to slay, that by their death I might escape their blows.

But harder still am I now stricken: the Apostle I slew in India has overtaken me in Edessa; here and there he is all himself.

There went I, and there was he: here and there to my grief I find him. —quoted in Medlycott 1905, ch. ii.

A long public tradition in the church at Edessa honoring Thomas as the Apostle of India resulted in several surviving hymns that are attributed to Ephrem, copied in codices of the 8th and 9th centuries. References in the hymns preserve the tradition that Thomas' bones were brought from India to Edessa by a merchant, and that the relics worked miracles both in India and at Edessa. A pontiff assigned his feast day and a king erected his shrine. The Thomas traditions became embodied in Syriac liturgy, thus they were universally credited by the Christian community there. There is also a legend that Thomas had met the Biblical Magi on his way to India. Three Kings, or Three Wise Men redirects here. ...

It is believed that St. Thomas had come to Kerala, India to spread Christianity. Even today people flock to the Church at Malayatoor. He further moved towards north by coast and reached a small village called Palayur ,near Guruvayoor which was a priestly class settlement at that time. Here he conversed with priestly class community of Aryan worship system .Convinced by the Divine power possessed by this foreign monk of new faith , four prominent rich and priestly class families accepted the Christian faith and were baptised by St.Thomas himself.The four prominent high class priestly Hindu families who accepted the new faith were Kali , Kalikavu(Kaliyankal) , Pakalomattom & Sankarapuri .

The various denominations of modern Saint Thomas Christians ascribe their unwritten tradition to the end of the 2nd century and believe that Thomas landed at Maliankara near Moothakunnam village in Paravoor Thaluk in 52 CE. This village located 5 kilometers from Kodungallur in Kerala (state), India in 52 CE and founded (St. Thomas) the churches popularly known as 'Ezharappallikal', meaning Seven and Half churches. These churches are at Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkayal (Paravoor), Palayoor (Chattukulangara) and Thiruvithamkode — the half church. (See also Saint Thomas of Mylapur). The Saint Thomas Christians are a group of Christians from the Malabar coast (now Kerala) in South India, who follow Syriac Christianity. ... Moothakunnam is a small village in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, south India. ... This article is about the year 52. ... , “Cranganore” redirects here. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... This article is about the year 52. ... , “Cranganore” redirects here. ... , For the district with the same name, see Kollam District. ... Niranam is a small village in Southern part of Kerala in India. ... Kokkamangalam is a village in Alappuzha district of Kerala state, south India. ... This article is about a town in Ernakulam district. ... Palayoor/Palayur is a part of Thrissur district and is located on the west coast of Kerala, in India. ... Saint Thomas of Mylapore, or in Portuguese São Tomé de Meliapore, in Latin Sancti Thomae de Meliapor), was a suffragan to the primatial See of Goa in the East Indies. ...

Visit to Gondophares in Northwestern India

The 1st century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea testifies to the numerous exchanges between East and West at the beginning of our era.

The Acts of Thomas describes in chapter 17 Thomas' visit to king Gondophares in northern India; chapters 2 and 3 depict him as embarking on a sea voyage to India, thus connecting Thomas to the west coast of India. Though the Acts are usually considered to be moral entertainments of a legendary nature, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a surviving roughly contemporary guide to the routes commonly being used for navigating the Arabian Sea. At the times the Acts were being composed, and until the discovery of his coins in the region of Kabul and the Punjab, there was no reason to suppose that a king named "Gondophares" had ever really existed. The reign of Gondophares, established by a votive inscription of his 26th regnal year that was unknown until 1872, commenced in 21 CE, so he was in fact reigning as late as 47 CE. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 439 pixelsFull resolution (3496 × 1918 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 439 pixelsFull resolution (3496 × 1918 pixel, file size: 1. ... Names, routes and locations of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. ... Gondophares (Parthian: Vindapharna, lit. ... Names, routes and locations of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. ...

Return of the relics

In 232 the relics of the Apostle Thomas are said to have been returned by an Indian king and brought back from India to the city of Edessa, Mesopotamia, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written. The Indian king is named as "Mazdai" in Syriac sources, "Misdeos" and "Misdeus" in Greek and Latin sources respectively, which has been connected to the "Bazdeo" on the Kushan coinage of Vasudeva I, the transition between "M" and "B" being a current one in Classical sources for Indian names.^[59] The martyrologist Rabban Sliba dedicated a special day to both the Indian king, his family, and St Thomas: Events Relics of St. ... The heritage of Roman Edessa survives today in these columns at the site of Urfa Castle, dominating the skyline of the modern city of Şanlı Urfa. ... Gold coin of Vasudeva I. Obv: Vasudeva in tall helmet, holding a scepter, and making an offering over an altar. ...

"Coronatio Thomae apostoli et Misdeus rex Indiae, Johannes eus filius huisque mater Tertia" ("Coronation of Thomas the Apostole, and Misdeus king of India, together with his son Johannes (thought to be a latinization of Vizan) and his mother Tertia") Rabban Sliba^[60]

Guanyin and the Virgin Mary

The goddess Hariti holding a baby on her lap has been considered as an iconographical source for the Virgin Mary.^[61] Gandhara, 2-3rd century.

Guan Yin and child, similar to a Madonna and Child painting

Some Christian observers have commented on the similarity between Guan Yin and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Tzu-Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese Buddhist organization, also noticing the similarity, commissioned a portrait of Guan Yin and a baby that resembles the typical Madonna and Child painting. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 338 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1144 × 2028 pixel, file size: 741 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 338 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1144 × 2028 pixel, file size: 741 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kishimojin (Sanskrit: Hariti), in Japanese and Indian mythology, is a Buddhist goddess for the protection of children, easy delivery, happy child rearing and parenting, harmony between husband and wife, love, and the well-being and safety of the family. ... Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गन्धार, Persian; Gandara, Waihind) (Urdu: گندھارا) is the name of an ancient Indian Mahajanapada, currently in northern Pakistan (the North-West Frontier Province and parts of northern Punjab and Kashmir) and eastern Afghanistan. ... Guanyin and Child Potrait Painting of Guanyin and a child found in the Tzu-chi Foundation Hospital in Hualien, Taiwan. ... Guanyin and Child Potrait Painting of Guanyin and a child found in the Tzu-chi Foundation Hospital in Hualien, Taiwan. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... For the Chen Dynasty empress whose Buddhist nun name was Guanyin, see Empress Shen Wuhua. ... “Our Lady” redirects here. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Tzu Chis logo, representing a lotus. ... In Jörg Breu the Youngers painting, the Madonna and Child fix the spectator with a gaze that invites the pious to contemplation and prayer The Madonna and Child is one of the central icons of Christianity. ...

Some Chinese of the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Philippines, in an act of syncretism, have identified Guan Yin with the Virgin Mary. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

During the Edo Period in Japan, when Christianity was banned and punishable by death, some underground Christian groups venerated the Virgin Mary disguised as a statue of Kannon; such statues are known as Maria Kannon. Many had a cross hidden in an inconspicuous location. The Edo period ), also called Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868. ...

In literature

H.G. Wells in his Outline of History draws strong parallels between the essential message of both Buddha and Jesus main:love thy neignbor, and how that message was distorted by followers and the priesthood. Durant in his The Story of Philosophy suggests that Jesus-Buddha is the feminine ideology, Nietzsche the masculine and Plato-Socrates somewhere in between. Paul Carus' 1894 The Gospel of Buddha was modeled on the New Testament and told the story of Buddha through parables. H. G. Wells at the door of his house at Sandgate Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 - August 13, 1946) was an English writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. ... The goal of H. G. Wells in The Outline of History was stated in the subtitle: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind. Wells was very dissatisfied with the quality of history textbooks at the end of World War I, and so, between 1918 and 1919 produced a 1... Also see: Durant (automobile) Durant, Iowa Durant, Mississippi Durant Motors Durant, Oklahoma Will Durant and Ariel Durant This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Story of Philosophy: the Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers is a book by Will Durant that profiles several prominent Western philosophers and their ideas, beginning with Plato and on through Friedrich Nietzsche. ... Paul Carus (1852‑1919). ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

Christopher Moore also published a fictional book Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal which describes a journey by Jesus and his best friend to the east, where they study Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

See also

• Christianity and world religions
• Jesus Sutras

Christianity and world religions appear to share some elements. ... The Jesus Sutras, or the Lost Sutras of Jesus are early Chinese language manuscripts of Christian teachings brought to China during the 7th century by Alopen, a Persian bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East. ...

References

Contra Celsus, or (probably better Latin) Contra Celsum, is the title of a major work by the Church Father Origenes, refutating the anti-christian writings of Celsus the Platonist. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 112th day of the year (113th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Samuel Beal (1825-89) was an Oriental scholar, and the first Englishman to translate direct from the Chinese the early records of Buddhism, thus throwing light upon Indian history. ... Jerome De viris illustribus (On Illustrious Men) is a collection of short biographies of 135 authors, written in Latin, by the 4th century Illyrian author Jerome. ... The Dhammapada (Pali, translates as Path of the Dharma. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Sources

Lindsay Falvey (2002) The Buddha’s Gospel: A Buddhist Interpretation of Jesus’ Words. Institute for International Development Fund, Adelaide. 108pp. http://www.iid.org/publications/buddhasgospel.pdf Lindsay Falvey John Lindsay Falvey (born May 23, 1950) known as Lindsay Falvey, is a writer and author on topics concerning agricultural philosophy, religion and international development. ... The Institute for International Development is an Australian company limited by guarantee, which operates as a not-for-profit to provide professional services in support of equitable international development. ...

References

• Allegro, John, The Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls Revised, Grammercy Publishing Co., New York, 1981 (first published Penguin Books, 1956).
• Amore, Roy C., Two Masters, One Message, The Lives and the Teachings of Gautama and Jesus, Parthenon Press, Nashville, 1978.
• Blavatsky, H. P. Isis Unveiled (1877)
• de Silva, Lynn, A., The Problem of the Self in Buddhism and Christianity, Macmillan Press, London, 1979. -Reincarnation in Buddhist and Christian Thought, 1968.
• Duncan, J. and Derrett, M.. The Bible and the Buddhists. Sardini 2000. ISBN 88-7506-174-2 [9] [10]
• Richard Garbe: Indien und das Christentum [11]
• Elmar R. Gruber & Holger Kersten. The Original Jesus: The Buddhist Sources of Christianity.
• Haring, Hermann & Metz, Johann-Baptist, eds., Reincarnation or Resurrection?, SCM Press, Maryknoll, 1993.
• Head, Joseph, & Cranston, S.L., eds., Reincarnation An East-West Anthology (Including quotations from the world's religions & from over 400 western thinkers), Julian Press, New York, 1961.
• Howe, Quincy, Jr., Reincarnation for the Christian, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1974.
• Johnston, William, S.J., Christian Zen, Harper & Row, 1971. ISBN 0823218015
• Leaney, A.R.C., ed., A Guide to the Scrolls, Nottinham Studies on the Qumran Discoveries, SCM Book Club, Naperville, Ill., 1958.
• Lefebure, Leo D., The Buddha and the Christ, Explorations in Buddhist and Christian Dialogue (Faith Meets Faith Series), Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 1993.
• Lillie, Arthur, Buddhism in Christendom or Jesus, the Essene, Unity Book Service, New Delhi, 1984 (first published in 1887). *India in Primitive Christianity, Kegan House Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1909.
• Lopez, Donald S. & Rockefeller, Steven C., eds., The Christ and the Bodhisattva, State University of New York, 1987. Phan, *Peter, ed., Christianity and the Wider Ecumenism, Paragon House, New York, 1990.
• Pye, Michael & Morgan, Robert, eds., The Cardinal Meaning, Essays in Comparative Hermeneutics: Buddhism and Christianity, *Mouton & Co., Netherlands, 1973.
• Radhakrishnan, S., Eastern Religions in Western Thought, Oxford University Press, 1939.
• Siegmund, Georg, Buddhism and Christianity, A Preface to Dialogue, Sister Mary Frances McCarthy, trans., University of Alabama Press, 1968.
• Smart, Ninian, Buddhism and Christianity: Rivals and Allies, Macmillan, London, 1993.
• Streeter, Burnett H., The Buddha and The Christ, an Exploration of the Meaning of the Universe and of the Purpose of Human Life, Macmillan and Co., London, 1932.
• Tweed, Thomas. The American Encounter With Buddhism, 1844-1912 : Victorian Culture & the Limits of Dissent. University of North Carolina Press.
• Tambyah, Isaac T., A Comparative Study of Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, Indian Book Gallery, Delhi, 1983 (first edition 1925).
• Walker, Susan, Speaking of Silence: Christians and Buddhists on the Contemplative Way, Paulist Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8091-2880-2.
• Yu, Chai-shin, Early Buddhism and Christianity, A comparative Study of the Founders' Authority, the Community, and the Discipline, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1981.
• Grabar, André (1968). Christian iconography, a study of its origins. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691018308. 
• Foucher, Alfred (1994 (reprint)). The beginnings of Buddhist Art. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 8120609026. 

Isis Unveiled, a master-key to the mysteries of ancient and modern science and theology, published in 1877, was Helena Petrovna Blavatskys first major book. ...

External links

• | Was Jesus a Buddhist?
• | Similarities and differences 1
• | Similarities and differences 2
• | Christianity as explained by Buddhism