--- In
Pali@yahoogroups.com, "thomaslaw03" <thomaslaw03@...> wrote:
>
> How about non-biblical sources in Christian tradition?
Dear friends happy new year
am back now and the subject is really close to heart...
Speculations always reflect the hope, even this letterâ¦
Still, some points:
at the time of the Buddha, (5th â" 6th century bce)
The Israelites were on exile to Babylon, close enough to India.
There were a few benign prophets: Yehezkel, Jeremiah, Daniel, who
were propagating new ideas of salvation, humanist religious reforms
And abstention from animal sacrifices.
Shared with the early Buddhist customs was the absence of
Images and their worship, Very much the refusal of fertility gods.
Maybe the decisive justification of both new believesâ¦
(If an apology is needed it is, as ever,
about the obscure appearance of the Clear thought of the Buddhist,
as a parable and a hint in religionsâ¦)
Another point of similarity was the reverence toward wisdom and
learning In the form of Scriptural knowledge,
a non-trivial point in the context.
after the death of Alexander of Macedonia, (3rd century bce)
His vast occupations were divided among his generals, who soon
started fighting Each other,
but In fact established a Greek hegemony from the Sindu to The
Nile. (a fascinating read is E.Lamotte)
These earth shaking political upheavals were contemporaneous of
Dharma Asokaa, The Buddhist king who sent Missionaries.
There is one remaining Asokan pillar, third of which is in Aramaic,
Hebrew Alphabeth.
(if any one knows more about it, please tell us)
The next few centuries saw growing variations on that, with the
total decline of Greek Religion,
(As it was changed to its Roman version, notably with the alteration
of a Ridiculous god of war to the important Mars.
The Roman faith was in fact, an oppressive, planted attempt at
consensus.)
And a spread of the âmessageâ toward central, eastern as well as
westward.
The Greek in India had certainly adopted Buddhism
(King Miliander of âthe questions of King Milindaâ).
the Greek thought maybe waned, but it's asthetic gained ground,
The first Buddha images were probably made in Gandhara, adopting the
conventional representation of Apollo.
and the idea and representation of a god in a human form appeared
in Christian early sects.
before so, the symbol of the (mostly schematic) fish
was also shared by early Christian and Buddhist alike.
but that may be of an even earlier origin, when the word 'fish'
in ancient India was used as a pun on the word 'light'!
The image and practice of medicine was commonly and directly, in
some Areas even today, associated with the Buddhist monks.
Buddhist community was established in Alesanda, 1st century bce.
There was a community of Therapeutic monks and nuns in Alexandria,
Egypt.
As they were practicing medicine, the word Therapy, came to beâ¦
(âThor and Thotâ, author forgoten,a study in comparative religion)
(In a perfectly meaningful circle, the root âtitheâ- standâ
Denotes solidity, and necessarily, healthâ¦)
a similar community existed in Israel/Judea of the misleading
English name âessenesâ.
In Hebrew, the name is... Isi.
(Identical to the Pali ascetic sage, living in the wilderness)
The mystery of the cult was and still is a subject of fantasies and
speculation.
But undoubtly, following the description of the former Jewish
general, Roman protégée and historian, Josephus Flavius, They were
influenced by the Indian ascetic practices:
Wearing loin cloth, extreme ascetics, sun worship, ritual bathing,
Living in the wilderness.
Purity of conduct was strictly kept.
The communities were divided to married and celibates, who had to
serve a Year of probation to be accepted.
The celibates carried metal rod as weapon, as Saivite saadhuu still
do today.
A farther common idea about relation is that the âDead Sea scrollsâ,
where a âTeacher of lightâ Is mention as leader,
were their writing.
There is a heated debate on the subject,
Initially it was thought that the community of the Isiâs
Was living close by (the caves where the scrolls where found)
in Kumaran (? â" again whatâs in a name?)
The current thought gaining now, sees the place as a military strong
hold and the scriptures as work of the city brought to be hidden at
the time of the great revolt.
However, it may more simply be present ideas of society.
Other speculation is that this was a Christian community, who
Nurtured Jesus.
Actually today, a Christian sect claims the heritage...
These may or may not indicate certain influences,
But more than everything else, the late Jewish/Christian books seem
to reflect a revolutionary benevolence,
the close intimacy with god, the sudden appearance of a Devil(1)
useful advices on personal religious attitudes, a formulation of a
new understanding,
All, up until today, I believe, generated by the influential, even
if indirect, Sanity and clarity of the Blessed One.
(1)(a short treatise on possible ascetic indian influences on the
'Book of Job', will soon appear in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ju_buddha/files
Metta
Jothiko Bhikkhu