RVRH

Buddha Prophesized about Jesus (Yeshua)

August 1, 2007 on 6:12 am | In Christianity, Buddhism | No Comments

Buddha Spoke of Jesus 500 years before Jesus was born

In the Buddhist Scriptures, there is a prophecy from about 500 B.C. (Before Christ) of the “Holy One” who would come. One who would lead the people away from the old way, and introduce a new way.

Buddha described the “Holy One” by saying;

“in the palm of his hands and in the flat of his feet will be the design of a disk, in his side will be a stab wound; and his forehead will have many marks like scars….” This describes the risen Jesus, after being crucified for our sins, exactly!

http://bibleprobe.com/buddhatoldofjesus2.htm

Buddhism

July 17, 2007 on 7:18 am | In Buddhism | No Comments

Buddhism is a dharmic religion and a philosophy.[1] It is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means roughly the “teachings of the Awakened One” in Sanskrit and Pali, languages of ancient Buddhist texts. Buddhism was founded around the fifth century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, hereafter referred to as “the Buddha.”

The Four Noble Truths
According to the scriptures, the Buddha taught that in life there exists Dukkha, which is in essence sorrow/suffering, that is caused by desire and it can be brought to cessation by following the Noble Eightfold Path (Sanskrit: Āryāṣṭāṅgamārgaḥ , Pāli: Ariyo Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo). This teaching is called the Catvāry Āryasatyāni (Pali: Cattāri Ariyasaccāni), or the “Four Noble Truths”.

Suffering: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.
The cause of suffering: The craving which leads to renewed existence (rebirth) (the cycle of samsara)
The cessation of suffering: The cessation of craving.
The way leading to the cessation of suffering: The Noble Eightfold Path;
According to the scriptures, the Four Noble Truths were among the topics of the first sermon given by the Buddha after his enlightenment,[35] which was given to the five ascetics with whom he had practised austerities. The Four Noble Truths were originally spoken by the Buddha not in the form of a religious or philosophical text, but in the manner of a medical diagnosis and remedial prescription in a style that was common at that time. The early teaching[36] and the traditional understanding in the Theravada[37] is that these are an advanced teaching for those who are ready for them.

The Noble Eightfold Path

The eight-spoked Dharmachakra. The eight spokes represent the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism.According to a saying attributed in some traditions to the Buddha, if a person does not follow the Eightfold Path, one lives one’s life like a preoccupied child playing with toys in a house that is burning to the ground.[38]

The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to the cessation of suffering, the fourth part of the Four Noble Truths. This is divided into three sections: Sila (which concerns wholesome physical actions), Samadhi (which concerns the meditative concentration of the mind) and Prajñā (which concerns spiritual insight into the true nature of all things).

Sila is morality — abstaining from unwholesome deeds of body and speech. Within the division of sila are three parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:

Right Speech — One speaks in a non hurtful, not exaggerated, truthful way (samyag-vāc, sammā-vācā)
Right Actions — Wholesome action, avoiding action that would do harm (samyak-karmānta, sammā-kammanta)
Right Livelihood — One’s way of livelihood does not harm in any way oneself or others; directly or indirectly (samyag-ājīva, sammā-ājīva)
Samadhi is developing mastery over one’s own mind. Within this division are another three parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:

Right Effort/Exercise — One makes an effort to improve (samyag-vyāyāma, sammā-vāyāma)
Right Mindfulness/Awareness — Mental ability to see things for what they are with clear consciousness (samyak-smṛti, sammā-sati)
Right Concentration/Meditation — Being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion. (samyak-samādhi, sammā-samādhi)
Prajñā is the wisdom which purifies the mind. Within this division fall two more parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:

Right Understanding — Understanding reality as it is, not just as it appears to be. (samyag-dṛṣṭi, sammā-diṭṭhi)
Right Thoughts — Change in the pattern of thinking. (samyak-saṃkalpa, sammā-saṅkappa)
The word samyak means “perfect”. There are a number of ways to interpret the Eightfold Path. On one hand, the Eightfold Path is spoken of as being a progressive series of stages through which the practitioner moves, the culmination of one leading to the beginning of another, whereas others see the states of the ‘Path’ as requiring simultaneous development. It is also common to categorize the Eightfold Path into prajñā (Pāli paññā, wisdom), śīla (Pāli sīla, virtuous behavior) and samādhi (concentration).

Middle Way
The primary guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way which was discovered by the Buddha prior to his enlightenment (bodhi). The Middle Way or Middle Path has several definitions:

It is often described as the practice of non-extremism; a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and opposing self-mortification.
It also refers to taking a middle ground between certain metaphysical views, e.g. that things ultimately either exist or do not exist.[40]
An explanation of the state of nirvana and perfect enlightenment where all dualities fuse and cease to exist as separate entities (see Seongcheol).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budhism