Was Jesus Influenced by Buddhism? a Comparative Study of the Lives and Thoughts of Gautama and Jesus

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Cosimo, Inc., 2007 M04 1 - 260 pages
How much contact did Jesus have with Buddhism early in his life? In this 1927 work, Dwight Goddard compares the lives and teachings of Christ and Gautama, the young Buddha, giving a context to the two religions and exploring their historical and theological intersections. Key to his investigation is a study of the Essenes, a semi-Buddhist Jewish sect that had a direct influence on both Jesus and John the Baptist. Also included is a fascinating psychological portrait of the historical Jesus sure to prove controversial to believers and nonbelievers alike. DWIGHT GODDARD (1861-1939), a pioneer in the American Zen Buddhist movement, authored and edited nine books on Buddhism, including The Buddhist Bible, known to have influenced the views of iconic Beat author Jack Kerouac.

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Contents

II
23
III
33
VI
43
KING ASOKA
83
VII
91
VIII
100
JUDEA AT THE TIME OF JESUS
117
IX
129
LIFE OF JESUS CONTINUED
147
THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
165
LATER CHRISTIANITY
185
LATER BUDDHISM
201
XV
211
ULTIMATE REALITY
221
PATH?
231
Copyright

LIVES OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
135

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Page 241 - But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Page 241 - Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath...
Page 157 - Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Not so shall it be among you : but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Page 51 - Ananda, thinks not that it is he who should lead the brotherhood, or that the order is dependent upon him. Why then should he leave instructions in any matter concerning the order?
Page 53 - One addressed the brethren, and said: "Behold now, brethren, I exhort you, saying, 'Decay is inherent in all component things ! Work out your salvation with diligence!
Page 51 - Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves. Be ye a refuge to yourselves. Betake yourselves to no external refuge. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Hold fast as a refuge to the truth. Look not for refuge to any one besides yourselves.
Page 51 - And whosoever, Ananda, either now or after I am dead, shall be a lamp unto themselves, and a refuge unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but- holding fast to the truth as their lamp, and holding fast as their refuge to the truth, shall look not for refuge to any one besides themselves — it is they, Ananda, among my bhikkhus, who shall reach the very topmost Height! — but they must be anxious to learn.
Page 232 - He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life ; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

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