Buddhism

My sources for Buddah are taken from the buddhacarita, or The Life of Buddha. Also considered are ancient statues. What I’ve found is that people’s interpretations of Buddhism morphs the original into something quite different. But artwork including paintings and sculptures preserves many of the truths without even knowing it.

Buddhacarita

Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself”

 
Luke 38:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
 
 
3Nephi 11:14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
 
Doctrine & Covenants 36:37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
 
Below are close-up pictures of the hands and feet of Buddha.  This isn’t anything that is hard to find with a quick Google search.  
If you notice the swastika in the feet of Buddha here please remember that The original meaning of the ancient Swastika was peace and life.   The reverse (mirror image) was adopted as a symbol of the Nazi Party of Germany in 1920 as a symbol of the Aryan race but has come to mean war and death.
 
Why is the swastika of peace so life significant to be carved into the feet of Buddha?  Symbols are meant to impress upon our minds a meaning that is much more complex than the shape itself.  Carving symbols into statues was a way to preserve the most important messages that needed to endure through the apostasy that would eventually envelop the entire world.  The tokens of the cross in his feet are a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice that we may have eternal life.  There is also a commandment to publish the good news (gospel) of peace to all the world.  If you ever have looked up publish peace, feet are involved.  Which impressed upon the mind the need to walk, or of travel in order to spread the message of the Savior of the world.
 
Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! 

Please note the lotus flower in the elephant’s trunk.  You can Google more artwork depicting this event to confirm this consistency, in most of them you’ll notice that the elephant is carrying a lotus flower in it’s trunk.  Let the lotus flower symbolize the seed of God. Trust me, it’ll come up in another completely different major world religion.  Also let the Elephant symbolize the Spirit, which will ALSO come up in another part of the world.

Virgin Mother conceives

Isaiah 7:14

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The Life of Buddha
Maya, mother of Siddhartha said to her husband King Suddhondana, “Deign to listen, my lord. Deign to grant the favor I have to ask of you, O protector of the earth.”
“Speak, my queen,” replied Suddhodana. “What is this favor?”

“My lord, I ask you to respect my austere life. Do not enter the dim forest of desire; allow me to observe the holy law of abstinence.  King Suddhodana And Queen Maya

Note: Entering the forest/wood is the Buddhist version of “knowing” someone.  Both mean sex, but in a delicate way so not to offend children who have the information hidden in plain sight until they’re ready to learn the birds and the bees.

The Life of Buddha

THE same hour that spring was born, a dream came to Maya as she slept. She saw a young elephant descending from the sky. It had six great tusks; it was as white as the snow on mountain-tops. Maya saw it enter her womb, and thousands of Gods suddenly appeared before her. They praised her with immortal songs, and Maya understood that nevermore would she know disquietude or hatred or anger. Maya’s dream

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

The Life of Buddha
King Suddhodana was troubled, “Never, not even in the heat of battle when fighting my bravest enemies, have I felt as profoundly disturbed as at this moment. Why is it I can not enter the wood where the queen awaits me? Can anyone explain my agitation?”
Whereupon a great voice thundered in the sky:
“Be happy, King Suddhodana, worthiest of the Sakyas! He who seeks supreme knowledge is about to come into the world. He has chosen your family to be his family because of its fame, good fortune and virtue, and for mother he has chosen the noblest of all women, your wife, Queen Maya. Be happy, King Suddhodana! He who seeks supreme knowledge would fain be your son!”
The king knew that the Gods were speaking, and he rejoiced. Regaining his serenity, he entered the wood where Maya awaited him.  Maya’s dream

The Prophecy and a Young Marriage

When Prince Siddhartha was a few days old, a holy man prophesied over the Prince (by some accounts it was nine Brahmin holy men). It was foretold that the boy would be either a great military conqueror or a great spiritual teacher. [source]
 

Visit from the Magi

“Everyone now delighted in bringing him precious gifts. They gave him toys that would amuse a child of his age: tiny animals, deer and elephants, horses, cows, birds and fish, and little chariots; and they were toys made not of wood or of clay but of gold and of precious stones. And they brought him costly materials and rare gems, pearl necklaces and jewelled bracelets.” [The Life of Buddha]

Matthew 2:11 And when they [the wise men] were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

To the temple as a child.

“Mother, where are you taking me?”
“To the temple of the Gods, my son,” she replied. The child smiled and quietly went with her to meet his father. [source]

Matthew 2:11 And when they [the wise men] were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Luke 2
 
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
King Suddhodana preferred the first outcome and prepared his son accordingly.
He raised the boy in great luxury and shielded him from knowledge of religion and human suffering. At the age of 16, he was married to his cousin, Yasodhara, who was also 16. This was no doubt a marriage arranged by the families.
Yasodhara was the daughter of a Koliya chief and her mother was a sister to King Suddhodana. She was also a sister of Devadatta, who became a disciple of the Buddha and then, by some accounts, a dangerous rival.
 

Wedding in Cana

Jesus’ first Biblically recorded miracle was turning water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana.  Let me ask you a question:  If Mary and Jesus were just guests why would running out of wine at the party be their problem.  If there is a shortage of wedding food, who are the caterers going to tell?  A random guest?  No, they would tell the host.  This was Jesus’ wedding.  But it’s not stated explicitly because it would have put His family in danger.  As it was his apostles were all hunted and killed until the church fell apart for lack of authority and leadership.

The Renunciation

Fasting for 40 days

The Temptations

It happened that a wicked God named Alavaka lived in the tree. He liked to feed on human flesh, and he killed and devoured all who came near him.
 

“Will no one come to my assistance? There lives in Cravasti, and sometimes in Rajagriha, I have been told, a man of great power, a Buddha, whose prodigies are loudly praised. They say he is fond of travelling. Why, then, does he not come into my kingdom?”

By his power of divination, the Buddha knew of the king’s desire. He flew through the air and came to Alavaka’s tree. There, he sat down.

 

The God (Alavaka) saw him (Buddha). He started walking toward him, but, suddenly, he became powerless. His knees trembled. Fury seized him.
“Who are you?” he asked, fiercely.
“A being far more powerful than yourself,” replied the Buddha.
Alavaka was in a terrible rage. He would have liked to torture this man who was sitting on the ground in front of him, this man whom he could not reach; he would have liked to torture him to death. The Buddha never lost his composure.
Alavaka finally managed to control himself. He thought that cunning would perhaps succeed where strength had failed, and in a pleasant voice he said:
“I see you are a wise man, my Lord; it is always a pleasure for me to interrogate men of wisdom. I ask them four questions. If they can answer, they are free to go wherever they please; if they can not answer, they remain my prisoners, and I devour them when I feel so disposed.”
“Ask me the four questions,” said the Buddha.
“I must warn you,” said Alavaka, “that no one has ever answered them. You will find scattered around the bones of those I interrogated in the past.”
“Ask me the four questions,” repeated the Buddha.
“Well then,” said Alavaka, “how can man avoid the river of passions? How can he cross the sea of existences and find safe harbor? How can he escape the tempests of evil? How can he be left untouched by the storm of desires?”
In a quiet voice, the Buddha replied:
“Man avoids the river of passions if he believes in the Buddha, in the law and in the community; he crosses the sea of existences and finds safe harbor if he understands works of holiness; he will escape the tempests of evil if he performs works of holiness; he will be left untouched by the storm of desires if he knows the sacred path that leads to deliverance.” The Life of Buddha, Alavaki defeated

 

 

After Fasting, Beginning of His Earthly ministry:

Buddha came out of the wilderness and the heavens erupted into praise:
 

“He has come, he who brings light into the world; he has come, he who protects the world! Long blinded, the eye of the world has opened, and the eye of the world is dazzled by the light.
O conqueror, you will give all beings that which they hunger after. Guided by the sublime light of the law, all creatures will reach the shores of deliverance. You hold the lamp; go now and dispel the darkness!” The Life of Buddha

By all accounts, Prince Siddhartha and his family were of the Kshatriya caste of warriors and nobles.  Among Siddhartha’s more well-known relatives was his cousin Ananda, the son of his father’s brother. Ananda would later become the Buddha’s disciple and personal attendant.

 
He would have been considerably younger than Siddhartha, however, and they didn’t know each other as children. [source]
 
Both supposedly fasted in solitude for a long time: Buddha for forty–seven days and Jesus for forty. Both wandered to a fig tree at the conclusion of their fasts. Both were about the same age when they began their public ministry:
“When he [Buddha] went again to the garden he saw a monk who was calm, tranquil, self–possessed, serene, and dignified. The prince, determined to become such a monk, was led to make the great renunciation. At the time he was twenty–nine years of age… “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age.” (Luke 3:23). Both were tempted by the “devil” at the beginning of their ministry: To Buddha, he said: “Go not forth to adopt a religious life but return to your kingdom, and in seven days you shall become emperor of the world, riding over the four continents.” To Jesus, he said: “All these [kingdoms of the world] I will give you, if you fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). Buddha answered the “devil”: “Get you away from me.”
Jesus responded: “…begone, Satan!” (Matthew 4:10). Both strove to establish a kingdom of heaven on earth. According to the Somadeva (a Buddhist holy book), a Buddhist ascetic’s eye once offended him, so he plucked it out and cast it away. Jesus said: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out, and throw it away;.” (Matthew 5:29).

Garden of Gethsemane
As told from the perspective of the devil

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Buddhist Doctrine 

The four Buddhist principles are: 
  • The truth of suffering (Dukkha)
  • The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudāya)
  • The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha)
  • The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga)
 
The first principles and ordinances of the gospel are:
  • Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
  • Repentance
  • Baptism by immersion
  • Gift of the Holy Ghost
Now let me blow your mind for just a minute. Unsatisfactoriness is a part of mortal existence.  Sorrow, disappointment, sickness, suffering, pain, death.  These are things that we must understand exist.  The truth suffering, or Dukkha, is that we can move forward with faith toward enlightenment despite the mortal condition of suffering.
 
Samudāya is the truth of the origin of suffering.  As I was recently taught by a Buddhist master after my first formal meditation, the truth is that we make our suffering worse.  Our mortal suffering here on earth is greatly compounded by our propensity to sin.  Everyone else’s suffering is greatly increased when those around them sin.  The murderer who kills a child.  The thief who steals a family’s bread.  The person who engages in drug use and destroys their own life while bringing great sorrow to their loved ones.  Sin, is the origin of suffering.  Even death, which we cannot control, was brought into this world based on the transgression of Adam in the garden of Eden.  But the truth of suffering, Samudāya is to recognize our actions AS sinful.  Recognition of sin is the first step in the Repentance.
 
Nirodha, or the cessation of suffering starts with a commitment to cease sin.  The cessation of sin is the final aspect of repentance and the commitment or covenant is entered into through baptism by immersion.  The truth (or the legitimate and heavenly recognized commitment) of the cessation of suffering (death/sin) is the covenant of baptism.  Not only does is represent being washed clean from our sins, it is also symbolic of conquering death, being raised from the grave, being born into new life.  
 

 Magga is the path to the cessation of suffering.  The cessation of suffering occurs when we return to the presence of God.  It’s not something that happens automatically in this life.  Jesus Christ said that he is the way the truth and the life.  No one goes to the Father but by Him.  If Jesus Christ is the path, the TRUTH of the path is the word of God, the iron rod, or the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost teaches all truth, leads to the path and will guide and direct you along that path.

The Path = Jesus Christ, “I am the way…no one cometh to the Father but by me” John 14:6
Truth of the path = Holy Ghost, which testifies of Jesus Christ