what if jesus did not die on the cross?, page-51

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The Major Players
Buddha
Although most people think of Buddha as one person who lived around 500 BCE, like Jesus the character commonly portrayed as Buddha can also be demonstrated to be a compilation of godmen, legends and sayings of various holy men both preceding and succeeding the period attributed to the Buddha.38 The Buddha character has the following in common with the Christ figure:
• Like Jesus, Buddha was a divine being, pre-existent in "heaven" before taking birth.39
• Buddha was born of the virgin Maya, who was considered the "Queen of Heaven."40
• He was of royal descent and was a prince.41
• At his birth appeared a "marvelous and powerful light."42
• After Buddha was born, a "slaughter of the infants was ordered by the tyrant Bimbasara..."43
• When Buddha was a babe, a saint prophesied he would be great, as did Simeon concerning Christ (Lk 2:25-35).44
• As a child he taught his teachers.45
34 Acharya, SOG, 367-368; Garnier, 103.
35 For more information on these gods, see Christ in Egypt.
36 In his original work, Kersey Graves depicted this god as coming from "Bermuda." After ridicule for naming a Caribbean island, Graves responded that he was speaking of a "Bermuda," which is a "small province as appears in ancient Burmah." (Perry, 76.) For more on Salivahana, see Suns of God.
37 Walker, 468.
38 See my book Suns of God for more on this subject.
39 Hopkins, 127-128; Thundy, 80.
40 Coomaraswamy, 73; Lillie, BB, 26. See Suns of God and below for a discussion of Buddha's mother as a virgin.
41 Thundy, 81.
42 Thundy, 107.
43 Del Mar, 124; Kloppenborg, 76.
44 Hopkins, 128.
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• Buddha was presented in the temple, where "the idols fell down before him."46
• He began his quest for enlightenment at age 29.47
• He crushed a serpent's head.48
• Buddha was tempted by Mara, the evil one, who offered him "universal dominion."49
• Sakyamuni Buddha had 12 disciples50 and traveled about preaching.51
• He reformed and prohibited idolatry,52 was a "sower of the word,"53 and preached "the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness."54
• He performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick,55 fed 500 men from a "small basket of cakes,"56 and helps a disciple walk on water.57
• He preached a "sermon on the mount"58 and taught chastity, temperance, tolerance, compassion, love, and the equality of all.59
• He was transfigured on a mount.60
• Buddha was received in his native city with a triumphal welcome.61
• He was betrayed by a disciple, who led others to kill him.62
• Some of his persecutors became his disciples.63
• A tremendous earthquake occurred upon Buddha's death.64
• Buddha died,65 suffered for three days in hell,66 and was resurrected.67
• He attained Nirvana or "heaven."68
• Buddha was considered the "Good Shepherd,"69 the "Carpenter,"70 the "Infinite and Everlasting"71 and the "Great Physician."72
• He was the "Savior of the World"73 and the "Light of the World."74
45 Carpenter, J.E., "Obligations of the New Testament to Buddhism," 973.
46 Hopkins, 128.
47 Thundy, 54.
48 Dameron, 53.
49 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 974.
50 See the "Temple of the Recumbent Buddha" for artifacts proving the motif of Buddha and the 12. Concerning this motif, in private correspondence Dr. Lindtner related, "The Twelve in Buddhism are found 1. in the 'Wheel of Existence' (pratîtyasamutpâdacakram, my 'Master of Wisdom' gives ref. to sources), and 2. as 1200 apostles in the Lotus and many other Mahâyâna scriptures."
51 Thundy, 54.
52 Dobbins, 212; Wallbank, 172.
53 Mead, GG, 133.
54 Carpenter, J.E., CRW, 48.
55 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 974.
56 Carpenter, J.E., FTG, 89.
57 Whitney, 8, 361; Asvaghosha/Beal, 222; Garbe, IC, 56.
58 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 975.
59 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 977-978.
60 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 974, 977; Lillie, BB, 184.
61 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 976.
62 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 976.
63 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 976.
64 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 977.
65 See also my book Suns of God, 357ff, as to a discussion of whether or not Buddha was "crucified." See also below concerning "Buddhist Crucifixion."
66 Thundy, 102; Del Mar, 124.
67 Paine, 102.
68 Jaini, 331-332; Leighton, 88.
69 Lillie, BC, 162; Titcomb, 56; Vetterling, vi.
70 Hardy, 100. See also Suns of God, 298-299, 366ff.
71 Mead, GG, 134.
72 Carpenter, J.E., "ONTB," 976.
73 Thundy, 80.
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Buddha's Birth
According to ancient Buddhist legend, the sage's mother was a "chaste wife, into whom miraculously entered in the shape of a white elephant the future Buddha, who subsequently came out of her right side."75 Sanskrit scholar Dr. Edward W. Hopkins states that this miraculous birth story undoubtedly dates to "as early as the third century B.C. and perhaps earlier."76 Indeed, the miraculous birth of Buddha, as well as his temptation, are carved on monuments that date to 150 BCE or older.77
In the fourth century of the common era, Church father St. Jerome (Adversus Jovinianum 1.42) discussed Buddha specifically as having been born through the side of a virgin:
Among the Gymnosophists of India, the belief has been handed down from generation to generation as authentic that a virgin gave birth to Buddha, the founder of their religion, out of her side.78
Jerome's words—"handed down from generation to generation" and "opinionis auctoritas traditur"—indicate not that the motif had been recently copied from Christianity by Indian monks or priests but that it was a tradition of some age.
Buddhist Crucifixion
In the texts, we find the curious motif of a Buddhist figure having been "crucified." In this regard, concerning the Buddhist influence on the gospel story, scholar of Buddhism and Sanskrit Dr. Christian Lindtner writes:
The Sanskrit manuscripts prove without a shadow of doubt:
Everything that Jesus says or does was already said or done by the Buddha.
Jesus, therefore, is a mere literary fiction.
• The Last Supper was the Last Supper of the Buddha.
• Baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit was baptism in the name of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Samgha.
• All the miracles performed by Jesus had already been performed by the Buddha.
• The twelve disciples of Jesus were, in fact, the twelve disciples of the Buddha.
• It was king Gautama—not Jesus—who was crucified.79
• It was Tathâgata—not Jesus—who was resurrected....
• There is nothing in the Gospels, no person, no event, that cannot be traced back to cognate persons, events or circumstances in the Buddhist gospels.
• ...Jesus is a Buddha disguised as a new Jewish legislator, teacher, Messiah and king of Israel.
The Gospels, forming the foundation of Christianity, are, therefore, typical Buddhist literature, fiction, designed for missionaries whose language was Greek.
Concerning this purported "crucifixion" or impalement of an important Buddhist figure, related in, among others, a Buddhist text dating to the first century BCE—the Samghabhedavastu/ Mahâparinirvâna sutra80—Dr. Zacharias P. Thundy states:
74 Yu, 428.
75 Hopkins, 129.
76 Hopkins, 130.
77 Hopkins, 137.
78 Hanna, 166.
79 Lindtner, 87ff. In private correspondence, Dr. Lindtner informed me that there were three sources for the crucifixion story of Buddha: the Lotus sutra, the Mahaparinirvana sutra and the Samghabhedavastu, of which the MPS is a part. He specifies that the episode is in the Mûlasarvâstivâdavinaya recension of the MPS.
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This is the story of Gautama, a holy man, who was wrongfully condemned to die on the cross for murdering the courtesan Bhadra. Gautama is impaled on the cross, and his mentor Krishna Dvapayana visits him and enters into a long dialogue, at the end of which he dies at the place of skulls after engendering two offspring, the progenitors of the Ikshavaku Dynasty.81
As is evident from the remarks of Dr. Burkhard Scherer, a "classical Philologist, Indologist and Lecturer in Religious Studies (Buddhist and Hindu Studies)" at Canterbury Christ Church University, the fact that there is "massive" Buddhist influence in the gospels has been well known among the elite scholars for a long time. Says Dr. Scherer:
...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.
Horus of Egypt
The stories of Jesus and Horus/Osiris are very similar, with the Egyptian god even possibly contributing the title of "Christ." Horus and his once-and-future Father, Osiris, are frequently interchangeable in the mythos, as in the scripture, "I and my Father are one."82 The legends of Horus go back thousands of years, and he (or Osiris) shares the following in common with Jesus:
• Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Meri on December 25th in a cave/manger, with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by dignitaries or "wise men."83
• He was a child teacher in the Temple or "House of the Father" and was baptized when he was 30 years old.84
• Horus was also baptized by "Anup the Baptizer,"85 who becomes "John the Baptist."
• He had 12 companions, subjects or "disciples."86
• He performed miracles and raised one man, El-Azar-us, from the dead.87
• The Egyptian god walked on water.88
• Horus was transfigured on the Mount.89
80 Concerning this episode, Thundy specifically states: "We have been able to identify two major Sanskrit sources for the trial narratives. A. Sangabhedavastu of the Mahaparinirvanasutra: Professor Lindtner has identified the Sangabhedavastu section of the Mahaparinirvanasutra of the Vinayapitakaof the Mulasarvastivadins. I have studied this text carefully and have arrived at some significant conclusions." Again, Lindtner specifies that the episode is in the Mûlasarvâstivâdavinaya ("MSV") recension of the MPS.
81 "The Sanskrit Sources of the Gospel Narratives of the Trial and Death," www.jesusisbuddha.com/thundy.html See also Lindtner, 87-97. (In my previous version of this article, I attributed this quote to Ken Humphreys, whereas Professor Thundy is apparently the source.) Although there are many "Buddhas," a number of whom appear to make up the composite character of "the Buddha," this figure is evidently not one of them. The point, however, is that evidently pre-Christian Buddhist texts contain a crucifixion scene which parallels that found in the gospels.
82 See my book Christ in Egypt, 52ff.
83 Murdock, CIE, 79-209.
84 Murdock, CIE, 210ff.
85 Murdock, CIE, 233ff.
86 Murdock, CIE, 261ff.
87 Murdock, CIE, 298ff, et al.
88 Murdock, CIE, 293-297.
89 Massey, AELW, II, 911.
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