Christ In The Immortal Glory Of The All-Wise Father Buddha

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 122 pages
• Published by: iUniverse, Inc. March 25, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0595348874
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0595348879
• Book Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Weighs: 5.6 ounces

Product Description
Max Müller, often recognized as the father of the history of religions, made the prediction: “I believe the final struggle between Buddhism and Christianity, whenever that comes to pass, will be a hard one, and will end in a compromise— there is a prophecy.” This comparative study between Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism is itself the key which opens the door to the understanding and fulfillment of that prediction. The first comparative work is a surprisingly contrasting presentation of major teachings in opposition between Judaism and Christianity, whereas the second study is equally profound in its revelation of the true spiritual relationship that exists between the Buddha and the Christ which is at the very heart of Max Müller’s prophecy.

About The Author
After having a waking vision of Christ suffering on the cross during a time when the Son of man was predominantly of Buddhist faith, he then had several dreams which eventually led to the revelation of the mystery of Jesus the Christ. John:12:34: The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Matthew:13:37: Jesus answered them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man.

Reader Reviews
The intention of writing this book was first to ensure that I draw upon only the resources that are widely and commonly available to everyone. Not even these mysterious "lost books of the Bible" or "lost gospels by other disciples" which are questionable to the majority of Christians were considered as legitimate resources for this work. Only the Holy Bible itself as it commonly exists today and the scriptures of the original Theravada tradition of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha's teachings I have drawn upon to shed light on how the two great teachers -- the Buddha and the Christ -- are spiritually related. Why draw only from the Holy Bible and not other lost gospels or books? Because if the Jesus of the Bible is who he really claims to be - the appointed one of the Highest Wisdom - then it should only stand to reason that he would be capable of choosing the right people to ensure that his gospel would be preserved in the world the way his Father intended it. Jesus worked not under his own authority but under the authority of his Spiritual and Heavenly Father who he taught was greater than all. Therefore, his Father should be sufficiently wise enough to know the outcome of the actions and teachings of his appointed Christ and the disciples. That outcome is known today as the New Testament of the Holy Bible. To deviate from the teachings of the New Testament as it is commonly known and widely available today in an attempt to know the teachings of Christ is to deny the wisdom of the Father. If the New Testament did not exist today as the Father of Christ intended it, then the Father would have had Christ and his disciples take alternate directions to produce a different outcome. Even the New Testament gospel itself, in its narration of the events of the birth and life of Jesus, was always taking different directions- Joseph and the three wise men were warned to deviate from their intended destinations which ensured the different outcome of their safety instead of their certain and premature death. The Father was always one step ahead of everyone else and always guided his people to ensure the final outcome-- the culmination of which it exists today and is known the world over as the New Testament. Nowhere throughout the entire book do I ever ask the reader to accept anything based on personal trust. However, trust in the original teachings of the Buddha and the New Testament gospel of Christ which I draw upon in presenting my thesis is implicit, but it is not even necessary to believe in the teachings of the Buddha or of the Christ in order to appreciate the reconciliation of those two great traditions which this book aims to provide. My primary goal in writing this book was never with the intention to convince anyone of anything, but rather to provide the awareness of the new insight produced by its investigation. It is hoped, however, that this new awareness will be of tremendous benefit to those who already have a deep appreciation for both the teachings of the Buddha and the Christ. There are numerous books which have already been written in an attempt to bridge the understanding of the teachings of the two great teachers such as "Jesus and Buddha - The Parallel Sayings" by Marcus Borg, "Living Buddha, Living Christ" by Thich Naht Hahn, and "The Original Jesus - The Buddhist Sources of Christianity" by Elmar R Gruber & Holger Kersten. So what makes my book different to any of these prior Buddhist and Christian interfaith treatments? Instead of trying to remain "politically correct" or "socially acceptable" to every person of every faith, I've decided instead to directly tackle the really difficult issues - the issues that everyone wants to avoid which are themselves the obstacles to many a Buddhist and even atheists accepting Christ. And the main issue is quite simply "God". Jesus has alleged Judaism roots and serves a God who in the Old Testament orders prophets to kill men, women and children for reasons which will never be acceptable to any Buddhist and indeed many atheists, and even theists if they would but be critically honest. But because of that word "God" many a theist supposes that all reason and morality and logic should be thrown out the window in service to the great and mighty "God". It is therefore "God" himself as portrayed particularly in the Torah or Old Testament which is the decision breaker for many an atheist or Buddhist in coming to terms with accepting Christ. Therefore this book deals first with the issue of "God" as primarily belonging to the belief system of the Jews to whom Jesus came first to preach his Father's gospel of salvation. The issue of whether or not God exists was not even debatable to the Jews who were the primary audience of Christ. God was and still is accepted as fact by Jewish culture, and the belief in God and his worship remains one of the pre-requisites of their Messiah, and indeed anyone worth listening to by their culture. But what if there really was no God? What if a deceiver saw the great potential in convincing people that he was their God through the spirit of fear? If something out of the ordinary could be demonstrated to an already primitive (by today's standards) and superstitious group of people who had their lives threatened, that could certainly be sufficient enough to deceive them into believing and worshipping him as God. This is in fact the first major thesis of the book subtitled "The Old Serpent Chained" and will undoubtedly spark enough controversy of its own. The reason it will spark controversy is not because I've said that the "God" of the Old Testament is a deceiver, but rather it is indeed what the New Testament undoubtedly is pointing towards. For that reason, I have injected none of my own interpretations of the opposing Old and New Testament verses presented in this first section of the book, but rather provided to readers the relevant resources in a major new presentation from which they may draw their own conclusions. I have also provided a finale to the presentation which clarifies some of the more important points which may be easily overlooked in the reading, and those points are examined in greater detail in the finale. However it is easy to see that the work can and does stand on its own using only "The Word of God" -- the Bible itself, from the Old and New Testaments. In order to arrive at what is true, it is equally important to conclude what is false. When what is false is made known, then it becomes so much easier to recognize all that is false, since if something which claims to be true is also claiming what is already known to be false as truth, then it is also false. And therein lays the great predicament of Christianity. A great many of the teachings of Christ are largely compromises which were made to attract the Jews to his discipleship. The primary goal of the Christ was to lead the Jews to salvation in his Father's kingdom. Understanding the beliefs of the Jews at that time, it was impossible for Jesus to directly challenge the existence and the actions of their God and yet still be accepted by them as their savior. However, Jesus did challenge their God's actions -- indirectly. And it is precisely those indirect challenges of Jesus which are now presented for all to see in a different world-- a world that is today not ruled exclusively by religious laws, but by the laws founded upon morality and the principles of integrity which are all based upon the simple premise that human beings are free to pursue whatever endeavors please them, so long as those endeavors do not bring about harm to other human beings. That is the basic premise of all human law, and is indeed the noble one. In addition to directly dealing with the controversial issue of "God" and his immoral actions which other people have chosen to avoid, the other major thesis this book deals with is the next logical question -- if there is no God or God is a deception, then who is this "Father" referred to by Jesus the Christ? The answer to that question is actually simple. According to Christ, the working definition of Father is a "Spiritual Creator" since he does not speak of just one Father, but in fact he mentions two. He told the crowd who were provoking him and who wanted to kill him that they were of their father the devil because the lusts of their father they will do, as the devil was a murderer from the beginning and they now likewise were of the same spirit of murdering him. The term Father as used by Christ is truly defined as, "The one whose spirit our own spirits are made into the likeness of." Therefore every person who lays down teachings which other people follow is in some sense a spiritual father of those who live and abide by those teachings. The Christ, however, never claimed that the doctrine he was teaching originated from him, but rather that it was the doctrine of his own Spiritual and Heavenly Father who sent him. The New Testament says that being accepted into the Father's kingdom is not a birth right, but rather it is a plea made in the spirit of adoption and repentance. Christ said, "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, the same are my brothers and sisters and mother." The family which Christ and the New Testament speak of is therefore a spiritual kinship and not one made of flesh or that is passed on by a race. In a similar fashion, the supremely compassionate and enlightened Buddha also said that those who possessed an unshakable faith in him, a faith not to be destroyed by anyone at all, could declare themselves to be the sons of the Blessed One. Again -- in the case of the Buddha -- he declared that he is the Spiritual Father of those who live by his noble teachings in the hopes of achieving liberation from rebirth, suffering and death just as the Buddha himself did. What is revealed of the spiritual relationship between the Buddha and the Christ is also a major presentation of Buddhist and New Testament scripture for the readers to examine and to once again form their own conclusions. However, unlike the first major presentation, there is an extensive elaboration and examination of the second presentation which makes up the final section of the book. The book's conclusion is also one in which some further insight is provided into the future of one of the disciples of Christ, regarding whom the other disciples thought would never die because of what Jesus had said to him. It is a thought provoking ending, as is indeed throughout the book, and certainly ends in a way that is most appropriate. If anyone has ever had an interest in both the teachings of the Buddha and the Christ, I can realistically say that this is one book not to miss as it is truly the only book I myself wish that I could have read so many years ago after discovering the teachings of the supremely enlightened Buddha, having formerly been born and raised in the Christian Roman Catholic tradition. Had I read this book myself so many years ago I would consider myself to be even more fortunate than being the one who wrote it. As Jesus himself said, "For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth." Such an insight and awareness as this book provides did not come to me easily either, so enjoy the book knowing and appreciating that it is the result of many years of researching and also the fruit of my own labors and suffering, which I would like to believe was all performed in the service of bridging the understanding of the gospel of Christ and that of his Spiritual and Heavenly Father, the Blessed One (Mark:14:61-62, as compared to Matthew:26:63-64 & Luke:22:70, KJV).