Tao te Ching and the Bible - Similar Concepts

Thats ok. In his religion, nothing new is happening 🙂

Originally posted by Alliance
Thats ok. In his religion, nothing new is happening 🙂

That is my thought as well 😉

Here are some similarities between Buddhism and the Bible. And once again, just in case someone wants to claim they were copying Christ, Siddhartha Gautama was at least 500-600 years before Christ.

1. Both Jesus and the Buddha were foreordained in a premortal spirit world to come forth at a partic_ular time, after examination and selection of the most favorable family, country, race, and mother to which to be physically born.
2. Both entered the womb of their mother in a miraculous manner, having no mortal father.
3. Both were born into a world whose inhabi_tants' primordial spiritual bodies had become coarse and gross and who had lost much of their original brilliance.
4. The births of both were accompanied by spe_cial heavenly illuminations.
5. Both were recognized in infancy by religious leaders as persons of great promise with special inas_sions to perform among mankind.
6. Both visited holy temples in their youth and displayed unusual precocity and wisdom before their elders: Siddhartha with Asita and Jesus with the scribes and Pharisees.
7. Both launched their ministries early in their thirtieth year following periods of fasting and solitude.
8. Both gained disciples under a fig tree.
9. Both were severely tempted by an evil being (Mara in the one case and Satan in the other).
10. Both selected a council of special disciples and joined with them in carrying out their religious ideals through the way of example.

In addition to these "historical" similarities, agreements in thought and phraseology between the gospels of the New Testament and the Dhammapada of Theravada Buddhism include the following:

1.
From Christ: "Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?" (Luke 11:39-40).
From the Buddha: "What is the use of platted hair, O fool! what of the raiment of goat-skins? Within thee there is ravening, but the outside thou makest clean" (Dhammapada 26:394, The Brahmana).

2.
Christ: "[S]trait is the gate, and narrow is the way; which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14). "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped" (Ps. 124:7).
Buddha: "This world is dark, few only can see here; a few only go to heaven, like birds escaped from the net" (Dhammapada 13:174).

3.
Christ: "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Matt. 15:14).
Buddha: "As when a string of blind men are clinging one to the other, neither can the foremost see, nor can the middle one see, nor can the hind_most see, just so, methinks, Vasettha, is the talk of the Brahmans [sic] versed in the three Vedas" (Tevijja Sutta 1:15).
4.
Jesus said to the woman of Samaria that his salvation is as "living water" (John 4:10-14). In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha compares salvation to water for all (Saddharmapundarika 5).

I looked over my last post and noticed a number of typos. My apologies for them.

I dont care 😛

woot 🙂 I finally found something alliance does not care about 😉

😆

go ahead laugh 😉 it's harder than you'd think 😎

😆 I dont doubt you. 😄

Originally posted by Regret
Here are some similarities between Buddhism and the Bible. And once again, just in case someone wants to claim they were copying Christ, Siddhartha Gautama was at least 500-600 years before Christ.

I believe that a couple of elements of Christianity were derived, or borrowed in some fashion from other religions.

I would say originally Zoroastrianism...later pagansim.

I know this might be off topic but these words of knowledge don't sit well with me:

If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all (Mark 9:35)
The Sage puts himself last, And finds himself in the foremost place (7)

I'm guessing people like Lance Armstrong, Michael Jordan, Casius Clay, etc. would scoff at such a lackadaisical outlook on life.

Originally posted by Storm
Some suggest that Jesus spent his lost years learning Hinduism in India, and that he returned to India after surviving crucifixion.

I believe that a couple of elements of Christianity were derived, or borrowed in some fashion from other religions.

http://www.tombofjesus.com/ancient.htm

Originally posted by Storm
Some suggest that Jesus spent his lost years learning Hinduism in India, and that he returned to India after surviving crucifixion.

I believe that a couple of elements of Christianity were derived, or borrowed in some fashion from other religions.

There is evidence that he visited the far east. His name was found on a couple of monastery roles at the time of his adolescence. It is suspected that he traveled with a relative that was a merchant. There is evidence suggesting that he traveled north as far as england as well. I do not have the references to support this, but it exists somewhere, at the time I learned it (10-15 years ago) I didn't care as much about maintaining sources.

Look at the post above you...........THERE IT IS.... 🙄

The texts are translated for our good pleasure.....

Originally posted by debbiejo
Look at the post above you...........THERE IT IS.... 🙄

The texts are translated for our good pleasure.....

Well thank you 🙂 didn't realize that's what the link was refering to

Originally posted by Regret

I have never seen a verse of the Bible that claims God stopped revelation to prophets. That is an interpretation of most Christians with little evidence to support it. [/B]

"If we or an angel from heaven preach ANY OTHER GOSPEL to you than what WE have preached to you, let him be accursed."

Galatians 1:8

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in TIMES PAST to the fathers by the prophets, HAS IN THESE LAST DAYS SPOKEN TO US BY HIS SON, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds."

Hebrews 1:2

Originally posted by Justbyfaith
"If we or an angel from heaven preach ANY OTHER GOSPEL to you than what WE have preached to you, let him be accursed."

Galatians 1:8

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in TIMES PAST to the fathers by the prophets, HAS IN THESE LAST DAYS SPOKEN TO US BY HIS SON, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds."

Hebrews 1:2

This does not state anything saying God would not speak to a prophet. A prophet would not be preaching any other gospel. Also, the Hebrews verse does not suggest an end to revelation being given to prophets, it merely states that God spoke to us through Christ, his son.

Jesus also went to the new world in the 1300s or so, stopped by Chichen Itza and and built a little skybox on the ballfield. Didn't you know?

His greatest miracle was the drive through restaurant though..........For that alone I am thankful....