On Monday 23 May 2005 08:47, Mandaamin wrote:

> Excuse me for adding one thing, if it has not already been
> mentioned:
>
> In the calendar of saints of the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic
> churches, there is a saint called Ioasaf/Ioasaph in Eastern
> Orthodoxy and Josaphat in Catholicism. This saint is actually
> the Buddha whose story has been adapted to Christian teaching.
> He is called "Ioasaf, Prince of India" who renounced his
> throne for the religious life.

There is much more to the story. The life of the Buddha was
adapted (apparently from the Lalita-Vistara) into Arabic, then
into Greek, then into Hebrew. In each case the life of the holy
man (Bodhisattva/Ioasaph) and his teacher (Bhagavan/Barlaam) is
preserved, but all of the arguments for Buddhism are replaced by
arguments for Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, respectively.
Along the way the titles Bhagavan and Bodhisattva were distorted
by degrees. Bodhisattva became Budasaf, then Yudasaf, then
Ioasaph in various inaccurate transliterations, and Bhagavan
became Barlaam in Greek.

> This story was found in
> writings attributed to John of Damascus (early 8th century),

Barlaam and Ioasaph, Loeb Classical Library No. 34.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0674990382/qid=1117776197/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-7900119-2546555?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
"There was a mighty king, Abener, a pagan who persecuted the
Christians. He had a son, Iosaph. At his birth, it was predicted
he would be either a world ruler or a Christian holy man. The
king sheltered Iosaph in a palace and gave him every pleasure
imaginable. At Iosaph's entreaties, he was allowed to see the
palace grounds. During these sheltered trips, he encountered an
old man, a sick man, and a beggar and became aware of the
transitory, suffering character of human life.

"This story, of course, will be familiar to every student of
Buddhism."

> who probably got it from even earlier sources, and was
> incorporated into the lives of the saints written by Simon
> Metaphrastes (c. 950). And so in a roundabout way, the Buddha
> became a saint

Actually, two not-quite-saints. Neither was ever officially
canonized.

> commemorated on a day each year in the Orthodox
> and Catholic churches, and there are also icons painted of
> this "saint" who is really the Buddha in thin Christian
> disguise.

When the error was discovered, they were removed from the
Catholic Church lists of holy persons entirely.
--
Edward Cherlin
Generalist & activist--Linux, languages, literacy and more
"A knot! Oh, do let me help to undo it!"
--Alice in Wonderland
http://cherlin.blogspot.com