"Christ Consciousness" and/or "Buddha Nature"

[youngnostic]

The way I perceive these terms and it's important, imo, to differentiate them, because they are indeed different, is that "Christ Consciousness" is a state of understanding we are all one, and sacrificing ones interests for the sake of elevating all Life Forms and beings around, much like the example of the Hebrew Jesus was such that he would go into the multitudes and try to convict the hearts of the hearers to get a new vision of themselves, and their fellowmen; instead of seeing themselves as sinners and the Pharisees as "holy" he claimed we are all One; we are all sons of the one G-d that you all claim to believe in (in Palestine, at that time), and he claimed that everyone has a seed of Christhood within them... this can be likened to a Palestinian form of Buddhahood, however the difference I see, is that, "Buddha Nature" means seeing the Allness of everything and not interfering with the Way (The Tao) of the Universe because you're only disturbing your own tranquility and that of other(s). In this case, the Buddha was in a state of Holy "Indifference" to joy or sorrow, pain or pleasure, praise or blame, etc... he simply sat in meditation and spoke blissfully without casting blame or attempting to convict. It is shown by the length of his lifespan compared to the Zealous Jesus who perhaps shown a bit of misapplied zeal; never denying that even his teaching would become obsolete. (The things concerning me have an end) and indeed, there will come a time when Buddha Nature will reign and there will be no need in zealots preaching oneness and brotherhood of mankind to those trapped in duality, because the great drama will be consummated and Earth will be filled with bliss.
Just my $0.02.
Namaskar.
Sat Naam.

[Baile]

It is shown by the length of his lifespan compared to the Zealous Jesus who perhaps shown a bit of misapplied zeal; never denying that even his teaching would become obsolete.The second part there is a very cool insight. I was taught years ago in Christian esoteric school that even Christianity would fade as a relevant path for humanity. I've met very few people who might understand this, as most don't view knowledge and wisdom as Age-specific and therefore transitory. For example, tell a Christian that Jesus isn't going to matter in 1000 years, and then see what their response is, lol. :smile:

As for the first part: hard for me to imagine an "overzealous" self-realized ascended master. I would suggest that Jesus, at that point in his soul development, was perfect in every way. Nothing he did could have been misapplied. That's because he was in perfect alignment with Spirit, and therefore everything he did would have been in perfect alignment with Spirit.

[Greenslade]

The way I perceive these terms and it's important, imo, to differentiate them, All religions were right for that culture at that time, the understanding of their differences comes in the context of the people who believed in them. The mindsets of the two cultures are still very different even to this day, I doubt Christianity would go down well in the far east and vice versa. However, sometimes the only real differences aren't in the religions themselves but in the 'jargon' - "The Tao that cannot be told is not the Eternal Tao" and how some talk of God and God's Will aren't so far apart. And an earth filled with bliss? Many Spiritual people today want that.

[dryad]

The way I understand it Christ consciousness doesn't actually relate to Christ. Its aimed at teaching spiritual truths to a christian audience in a way they will be receptive to. It could also be thought of as love consciousness. To cultivate a level of consciousness based on love and compassion such as that embodied by Christ. It goes beyond what I think of as him as an individual and is more like trying to match his frequency in yourself. Christians may like to do that by cultivating a personal connection with him but it can also be done in a less personal way for those that are not keen on the christian view by simply seeing him as an ideal of the kind of consciousness they wish to become.

[peteyzen]

Jesus was what the hindus call an Avatar, the divine descended into human form, for the raising of collective consciousness of humanity. Buddha was an example of a human raising themselves to enlightenment. Therefore christ consciousness is effectively god consciousness while buddha nature might be realisation of the one ness within.

[youngnostic]

I believe Jesus Christ in his last incarnation was here because he too had karma to work out and wasn't saved until he resolved all his psychological blocks on the cross and then Ascended.
I don't believe he was an Ascended Master prior to his giving up the ghost.
I don't believe he was Perfect during his embodiment.

[Baile]

I believe...The beauty of free will. I entered spiritual school age 32 in order to shift from that, to learning what the truth might actually be. Free will and subjective opinion is fine, but it can be a hindrance when it comes to investigating higher wisdom.

[Baile]

Jesus was what the hindus call an Avatar, the divine descended into human form, for the raising of collective consciousness of humanity.Possibly... and only providing you identify Jesus as the human vessel for the divine. The idea of Jesus as a divine being is precisely where Christianity goes off the rails.

My own understanding is that divinity is not a "god, being or thing" that descends, and in particular for the purpose of improving or "fixing" humanity (or in Christian terminology, "to save us"). Rather, human beings who have achieved union with their soul self and divine nature, ascend to higher planes of Spirit Being. We "save ourselves" via conscious participation in our own soul evolution. And by doing so, we help raise the collective consciousness of humanity in the process.

[peteyzen]

My own understanding is that .

The beauty of free will. I entered spiritual school age 29 in order to shift from that, to learning what the truth might actually be. Free will and subjective opinion is fine, but it can be a hindrance when it comes to investigating higher wisdom.

[Jyotir]

One of the hallmarks of 'avatarhood' is that they appear specifically to provide a new, urgently needed direction to an evolving humanity.

As such Jesus Christ did save, but importantly, was an example of the saving - to demonstrate the possibilities inherent in human nature, and available to everyone.

Otherwise an avatar would simply be a freakish show of aloof divine unapproachability, and as such actually a discouragement to humanity (although much perception of such a figure is still rooted in this orientation - worship without practice), which is certainly not the intention of a divine guidance.

So an avatar represents both a divine descent, and the possibility of ascent.
This is of monumental significance and why these figures are rightfully and fruitfully revered as a means (vs. worshipped as an end in-and-of itself).


~ J

[peteyzen]

One of the hallmarks of 'avatarhood' is that they appear specifically to provide a new, urgently needed direction to an evolving humanity.

As such Jesus Christ did save, but importantly, was an example of the saving - to demonstrate the possibilities inherent in human nature, and available to everyone.

Otherwise an avatar would simply be a freakish show of aloof divine unapproachability, and as such actually a discouragement to humanity (although much perception of such a figure is still rooted in this orientation - worship without practice), which is certainly not the intention of a divine guidance.

So an avatar represents both a divine descent, and the possibility of ascent.
This is of monumental significance and why these figures are rightfully and fruitfully revered as a means (vs. worshipped as an end in-and-of itself).


~ J
Beautifully put. I would also add, they also are the single most powerful tool available for the human being to ascend, to become realised, enlightened, reunite with god...what ever you call the final destination.

[shivatar]

Theres definitely more Christians than Buddhists. It seems to me like you have met many mean Christians but not many mean Buddhists. Seems like those experiences have left their mark on you.

Also until you have experienced such lofty states of consciousness it's probably best to leave the speculating to people who devote their lives to studying such experiences. I mean after all there are hundreds of books on the subject. Have you ever read some of them?

The way I perceive these terms and it's important, imo, to differentiate them, because they are indeed different, is that "Christ Consciousness" is a state of understanding we are all one, and sacrificing ones interests for the sake of elevating all Life Forms and beings around, much like the example of the Hebrew Jesus was such that he would go into the multitudes and try to convict the hearts of the hearers to get a new vision of themselves, and their fellowmen; instead of seeing themselves as sinners and the Pharisees as "holy" he claimed we are all One; we are all sons of the one G-d that you all claim to believe in (in Palestine, at that time), and he claimed that everyone has a seed of Christhood within them... this can be likened to a Palestinian form of Buddhahood, however the difference I see, is that, "Buddha Nature" means seeing the Allness of everything and not interfering with the Way (The Tao) of the Universe because you're only disturbing your own tranquility and that of other(s). In this case, the Buddha was in a state of Holy "Indifference" to joy or sorrow, pain or pleasure, praise or blame, etc... he simply sat in meditation and spoke blissfully without casting blame or attempting to convict. It is shown by the length of his lifespan compared to the Zealous Jesus who perhaps shown a bit of misapplied zeal; never denying that even his teaching would become obsolete. (The things concerning me have an end) and indeed, there will come a time when Buddha Nature will reign and there will be no need in zealots preaching oneness and brotherhood of mankind to those trapped in duality, because the great drama will be consummated and Earth will be filled with bliss.
Just my $0.02.
Namaskar.
Sat Naam.

[7luminaries]

The way I understand it Christ consciousness doesn't actually relate to Christ. Its aimed at teaching spiritual truths to a christian audience in a way they will be receptive to. It could also be thought of as love consciousness. To cultivate a level of consciousness based on love and compassion such as that embodied by Christ. It goes beyond what I think of as him as an individual and is more like trying to match his frequency in yourself. Christians may like to do that by cultivating a personal connection with him but it can also be done in a less personal way for those that are not keen on the christian view by simply seeing him as an ideal of the kind of consciousness they wish to become.

Agreed. I also feel that modern buddhist masters have in many ways gone beyond what Siddharta Gautama taught, specifically with regard to living from the awakened, heart-led consciousness -- and specifically with regard to engagement in the modern world, toward bringing about a manifest world of greater alignment and greater lovingkindness.

I find it almost ironic that the age of Pisces is passing and yet we only now have just barely begun to scratch the surface of understanding the heart-led consciousness in the sense of manifesting the love in our lives on the ground at all times. Meaning, increasingly we find that the social order of the day is broken and degraded...and thus with fewer and fewer other social supports upon which to cling or rest, only now do we come to a true apprehension of the teachings of the last age.

Now we increasingly see that the only organising principle that consistently remains in society is that of lovingkindness and authentic love (actively willing and seeking the good of the other). And not the hierarchies of old and even of the current day...these are passing away, dying even whilst as yet unaware of their passing.

It may be that few know Jesus or Buddha in 1000 years. But it's already been a few thousand years and most have, as yet, only just begun to apprehend the meaning of authentic love and the way of the awakened heart-led consciousness in their own lives. I'd say we'll probably continue to revisit these teachings.

But I'd also like to think that we in the West will continue to add to the list of these avatars regarding the way of the heart-led consciousness, in much the same way some of the great Buddhist teachers of today have expanded their thought in this area to include the awakened heart much more specifically. Truthfully, we have yet to globally rise to the truths and teachings Jesus put forth 2000 years ago, and it's because humanity and particularly those in charge have not sought love in spirit like they've sought blood, power, chattel, and goods.

As a species, the dominant forces and the elite of society have typically lived quite low on Maslow's hierarchy of needs...in chakras, you'd put it between the root and the sacral, for the most part. And they've always encouraged and/or forced the rest to follow suit. Traditional religion and spirituality more broadely was literally the escape valve from the oppressiveness of the heavy hand of materialism and power...because it recognised the wholeness of humanity and the beauty of the interior life -- albeit within the very narrow confines of allowed traditions.

Re: the OP....I don't think holy indifference will "outlive" engagement and authentic love (for all equally to one, for one equally to all) as a sustainable way forward for humanity, although I do think equanimity is key and will withstand the test of time. I think we will make our choices and that we and only we are responsible for them, whether singly, mutually, and/or collectively. Which rather points away from indifference. And I think that is the lesson to take from many of the great Buddhist teachers of today...that they truly get the engagement and authentic love that Jesus spoke of 2000 yrs ago.

Actually...my hope for humanity is that one day the way of the heart and authentic love is so commonplace and so widely understood and appreciated, that Jesus will be one of just many, many great spiritual teachers -- perhaps arguably among the oldest and best-known -- all of whom will illuminate and support us on our journeys.

Peace & blessings all :hug3:
7L
7L

[Amilius777]

I don't believe any of that stuff about Jesus. That was all promulgated by Edgar Cayce and all that weird Theosophist stuff going on back in the early 20th Century. It's like the whole Jesus traveling to India from Notovich. It's a complete hoax. I used to believe that stuff but none of it is based in actual facts of the time period.

Buddha was a very old soul who was an ordinary man who reached a state of spiritual enlightenment. Enlightenment isn't some static state. He just through deductive reasoning and experience came to what the Truth is really all about. He was very much attuned to the universal consciousness in his later years. I hate to use this comparison because it's not meant to lesson the religion or person of Buddha, but Buddha has more in common with a great saint like Francis of Assisi or Lao Tzu. Someone who remembered their divinity. Buddha did so through a process of enlightenment and evolution. St. Francis or any of those great Catholic Saints did so through purity, sainthood, and sacred living. Different mode, different path, same Spirit - Christ consciousness of Buddha Spirit. Whichever you wanna call it.

Well there is some difference. The great Saints of Christianity possess the spirit of Christ. They strived to return to the perfect sacred being we all were from eternity. They are more about tapping into the divine Angelic Self before any impurity it experienced in materiality. Not that it makes one better but it's why Angels are so connected in that tradition. Buddha is more of someone who went through all the muck and mud and learned how to transform it into teaching and what it can do to make the soul a really unique but highly ascended individual. There might be some Saints that are on higher levels in the Spirit Realm than even Buddha only because they are very much connected to that Angelic-energy.

Well we actually all were Angels. The only reason why there are distinctions is because of levels. A soul experiencing other dimensons other than the higher realm of Oneness, is considered a soul or a spirit, most likely human or humanlike. An angel is just a Soul who chosen never to incarnate or leave the presence of the Divine, and just like anything else the Angels all work in different groups they were assigned to. We call them Choirs just like human souls come together in Soul-Groups, soul tribes, soul circles on Earth. We don't have to necessarily return to that pristine Angelic Self because we may never which I know sounds kinda sad, but some have and those are the great Saints of the Christ-Spirit (Virgin Mary, Francis, Teresa, Anthony). But we can become great enlightened teachers or masters (Buddha, Lao Tzu), or even spirit guides for other souls which is just as amazing of an achievement as anything else and has it's role and purpose in the vineyard of God's garden.

Sorry I need to move on. I'm tripping here -

Jesus on the other hand was a different story. We are eternal souls who are rays of God. We always will be and always have been despite our evolution through the 3rd dimension and other dimensions of experience. We all left home because of interests in God's other playgrounds for us if you wanna use that analogy

This realm is God's experiment. We and God decided to come into matter to bring spirit into it. Heaven is always perfect. But this realm is our place to have fun and learn things you couldn't anywhere else. God and us originally came here to raise consciousness and explore. To make this place a second home, and a safe place for souls who are incarnating and disincarnating back and forth. For this to work, our consciousness focuses on the physical part of our being and we tend to forget the spiritual side as humans.

We forget and have selective amnesia. Some children don't forget and they retain a psychic awareness up until adult life. But the physical realm has it's imprint and influence over us as we develop as physical beings. The spiritual mental and physical all compliment each other and influence the other for good or ill or even evil.

We desired to forget to experience this world. It's part of the deal so to speak. Sadly religion turned this "original sin" into something evil. It's just called that because it's really original separation. We chose to live these separated lives to see what it was like. Nothing bad about it. It's just part of the journey for us.

Jesus was a Soul who from the Godhead, the level of God where we came from, descended and was made human by the will of God. God has his angels and archangels and higher spirits and beings who serve and guide and have jobs. Among his congregation of Divinity, he sent us this divine being whose parents Joseph and Mary named Jesus. God made him perfect in mind body and soul, while walking in a flesh body so we could have a perfect representative of who we were from Eternity. Imagine an entity on God's Level while simultaneously living an ordinary life as a Man. That was Christ.

He was made differently. That's why when the apostles drank the wine and ate the bread they did consume his body and blood. Not in a literal sense of vampirism but the bread and wine transformed into something of Jesus' physical being, so when they consumed it on a cellular physical level they received within them a sense of the consciousness and energy Jesus possessed, that being the Original consciousness we had with God from eternity- the fullness of the Christ-Buddha Consciousness. The Shroud of Turin left behind a mark because the resurrection of his body was truly a miraculous and sacred event.

But this doesn't make Jesus something entirely different from us. He really just represented all that we are from the highest level of being with God.

Remember way before he chose to experience separation from God, we were all beings with the Supreme Being in a timeless eternity of love and perfection, and like God always existed and never created.

Christians tend to forget Jesus is not the only "Son of God". It doesn't say that. We are all Sons of God. It says he was the only "Begotten" Son of God, which means the only perfect reflection of God in the Earth as a human being within human history.

I'd leave the mysteries of Jesus Christ up to the Christian mystics who have contemplated and received answers from God on him, and leave the mysteries of Buddha to someone like the Dalai Lama or Buddhist monks. I believe everything exists truthfully as to what it is. Meaning, Jesus Christ was the God-Man; savior. Buddha was the enlightened One, a man who attained enlightenment. Muhammad was a final prophet for the desert and Middle-eastern people with a book for them to follow,- just examples as to what I mean.


The Christ and Buddha energies are higher ones. But they are also different. I don't think of them as the same which I used to. They are connected and maybe tethered to each other but not the same kind of being. The Buddhic energy is about elightenment, compassion, living out your Truth, freeing yourself from suffering, finding what is truly happiness for you. There are many highly enligtened Masters in heaven who've come from a Buddhist or Buddhist-like philosphy after many lifetimes in the Earth or other planets.

And the Christ energy is more about a radical intense extreme love, a sacrifical love, a completely negation of one's self for others, a reflection of God's Love, the most pure nonjudgemental love. The Saints in Heaven who've come from Christian or any Christlike religions or mystical schools had attained this energy. Just look at the downside of this path; Francis of Asisii was blind in one eye, had stigmata, and suffered from many illnesses. These entities had the more spiritually intense and extremities in life because their souls were bathing in God's presence while their mental and physical faculties suffered. And it was all for the benefit of others to touch that perfect God-Love. The Christ energy is very much in direct conforntation with negative forces and demonic energies in the Earth that tries to bring our consciousnesses down. That's another reason why Christ and the Saints were so much at war with lower spiritual forces in their lifetimes.

[7luminaries]

Well there is some difference. The great Saints of Christianity possess the spirit of Christ. They strived to return to the perfect sacred being we all were from eternity. They are more about tapping into the divine Angelic Self before any impurity it experienced in materiality. Not that it makes one better but it's why Angels are so connected in that tradition. Buddha is more of someone who went through all the muck and mud and learned how to transform it into teaching and what it can do to make the soul a really unique but highly ascended individual. There might be some Saints that are on higher levels in the Spirit Realm than even Buddha only because they are very much connected to that Angelic-energy.

Well we actually all were Angels. The only reason why there are distinctions is because of levels. A soul experiencing other dimensons other than the higher realm of Oneness, is considered a soul or a spirit, most likely human or humanlike. An angel is just a Soul who chosen never to incarnate or leave the presence of the Divine, and just like anything else the Angels all work in different groups they were assigned to. We call them Choirs just like human souls come together in Soul-Groups, soul tribes, soul circles on Earth. We don't have to necessarily return to that pristine Angelic Self because we may never which I know sounds kinda sad, but some have and those are the great Saints of the Christ-Spirit (Virgin Mary, Francis, Teresa, Anthony). But we can become great enlightened teachers or masters (Buddha, Lao Tzu), or even spirit guides for other souls which is just as amazing of an achievement as anything else and has it's role and purpose in the vineyard of God's garden.
I like this very much...very interesting and informative.

I would say that, whilst it does require humility and an open heart, it's actually not so improbable or difficult to align with the angelic, with the divine christ consciousness. The fact that some attain a place of overwhelming love for all means that it is possible to do so from within our material existence. The keys are humility and generosity of heart, put simply...simple prerequisites that have not changed over the ages.

That relative ease of centreing and settling into one's divine heart centre is truly one of the gifts of the age, despite all its baseness and degradation. There is a purity and a freedom available to all who strongly desire to seek it and to know it and be one with it. After the "death" of the ego/dark night of the soul, the universe remains quite illuminated, after all :hug3: And at least in the West, we also have the freedom to follow our paths more truly in our manifest lives.

And that resonance with the way of the awakened heart includes the some of the great Buddhist teachers of today...it is not only for those raised under any particular tradition. That is one of the great blessings of the era. The freedom to be one with your divine centre, your divine heart. To work and pray with the angels, in your spirit realm.

Your emphasis on the angelic was so true, so on point...I really appreciate your sharing on this.

Peace & blessings :hug3:
7L