Buddhism/Christianity

[Amilius777]

I believe there is one Eternal Truth, The Dharma (as called by the Buddhists), The Law (by the Jews), the Christ (by the Christians). It is all one.

When Jesus said, "I have not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it", was in reference to the Law of Moses, but on a cosmic level Jesus was also saying for all time, "I was born to be a testimony to the universal Truth". His entire life, example, and attitude and actions were for the sake of his people and the Gentile world (the world outside of Israel) to accept him as a perfect representation of the universal Christ Consciousness.

Buddha was a highly evolved advanced soul who like Jesus became the Truth and was a savior for the Far East whose teachings transformed Hinduism and brought a more universally acceptable spirituality for his world and culture at large.

Jesus and Buddha are literally almost the same, their differences lie in culture and language. If Jesus was born in the Far East he wouldn't have been able to fulfill his mission since his teachings, his Soul-Group, karma, etc were tied to the People of Israel who see God as a Father, a personal power who is trying to liberate and save souls. And the Buddha if he was born in the West, his beliefs wouldn't find a common ground or place with the Israelities, pagan Europe etc. since there is a strong belief in a personal Deity or deities.

Both sides of the personal and impersonal are both true and it depends on the person's soul, the way they communicate with the Divine, their own language or soul-culture to express such a relationship.

When Jesus said, "Did I not say" or "I say" was speaking of the Truth Consciousness, the Christ spirit which inspired Moses and the prophets before him. Jesus was just so pure and dissolving of his ego that he identified with the inner Christ Consciousness to the extent that his own ego was one and same. "New Covenant" "New Law' consciousness. It is a radical selfless sacrificial service on behalf of others which was later called Christianity. You see such example beautifully exemplified by someone like Mother Teresa, completely emptying of self and allowing Christ self to take over. Jesus allowed it to take over so much that he identified and spoke from that Self and never compromised that since he saw himself as the vehicle for that Self to communicate directly to others. There's a karmic reason why Jesus only lasted 3 years and he's the only one in history who spoke as if he was a walking Abstraction. It was part of his prophetic office and fulfillment but it doesn't mean he was the "only one" to be of that Spirit, many have been. He was just so radical and pure and extreme in his expression because it was needed at such a Dark Age of spirituality in the time he incarnated. A "messiah' was promised to these people because of such a darkened age for their souls and souls in the collective who were thirsty for truth (Gentile world).

[markings]

Originally Posted by Shaunc

I'm just putting this out there in case someone on here knows something that I don't.
Is there a religion out there that combines the teachings of Jesus and buddha. As far as I know there isn't although there may be some very small sects/cults that do.
The reason I am asking is that I was born a Catholic but have practiced Buddhism for over 20 years and have come to view Jesus as the ultimate bodhisattva and I could see myself practising such a religion without any problems at all.

One cannot be a Christian and Buddhist at the same time. They are fundamentally different although superficially they may look the same.
They are not fundamentally the same and only superficially different.

One has to go the whole hog, we must jump the fence and not sit on the fence. I believe that sitting on the fence, wanting to be all things to all me, is one of the great failings of the New Age spirituality. We must die to the old way when we change to a different path. The interesting thing is that when we do that, die to the old, we can see what was good in the path we have left behind, so there is no resentment, no anger towards it.

[shiningstars]

Originally Posted by Amilius777

I believe there is one Eternal Truth, The Dharma (as called by the Buddhists), The Law (by the Jews), the Christ (by the Christians). It is all one.

Agree.

I believe that how things are taught is very important though, if penetrated through to spirit, then there is much commonality and shared Truth.

At surface, there are many differences. For mainstream Christianity, much of it now errs on the side of belief based teachings - this doesn't necessarily move people so much to learn and penetrate the spirit of teachings. And this is why, in my opinion, so many "devout Christians" in America don't seem to live the spirit of charity, support and assistance.

At the end of the day, there are not two Truths, and many spiritual or religious adepts use different words to teach of the same.

However, given where religions are today, I would also recommend caution about thinking or believing that going to a Church can necessarily produce the same effect as a Buddhist monastery - because mainstream Christianity has so strongly moved towards teachings of belief (and not necessarily of spirit realization) and are happy to coddle people within belief and in many cases fear based thinking.

I have a lot of respect for the teachings of Jesus and others in his wake, such as Meister Eckhart, Catherine of Siena, St Francis of Assisi. It is much more accurate I would say to follow and realize the truths for oneself, regardless if it is Buddhism or Christianity and only then can one say they are the same. Until then, it is still weak tea.

I also trust and respect Thich Nhat Hanh's practice and realizations.

shiningstars

[shiningstars]

Not Christian or Jew or
Muslim, not Hindu,
Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen.
Not any religion

or cultural system. I am
not from the east
or the west, not
out of the ocean or up

from the ground, not
natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all.
I do not exist,

am not an entity in this
world or the next,
did not descend from
Adam and Eve or any

origin story. My place is
the placeless, a trace
of the traceless.
Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved,
have seen the two
worlds as one and
that one
call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner,
only that breath breathing

human being.

sufi mystic - jelaluddin rumi - 13th century

Also Truth.

[sky]

Originally Posted by markings

One cannot be a Christian and Buddhist at the same time. They are fundamentally different although superficially they may look the same.
They are not fundamentally the same and only superficially different.

One has to go the whole hog, we must jump the fence and not sit on the fence. I believe that sitting on the fence, wanting to be all things to all me, is one of the great failings of the New Age spirituality. We must die to the old way when we change to a different path. The interesting thing is that when we do that, die to the old, we can see what was good in the path we have left behind, so there is no resentment, no anger towards it.

One can be a Christian and follow Buddhism, I know of a few Christian Priest's who attend Buddhist Temples for teachings. Fr. Michael O' Halloran a former Carthusian Monk now a Priest is also a Zen Teacher.

[markings]

Originally Posted by sky123

One can be a Christian and follow Buddhism, I know of a few Christian Priest's who attend Buddhist Temples for teachings. Fr. Michael O' Halloran a former Carthusian Monk now a Priest is also a Zen Teacher.

One can time share the two beliefs but one cannot hold them in ones mind as true simultaneously.
Why do you think that the American Bishops Conference rejected Reiki practice and the Vatican is totally opposed to mysticism?
It is because Eastern beliefs and practices erode the foundation on which Christianity is built.