Was Christ a Bodhisattva?

[Bodhisattva]

Hi. This question is for people with an open understanding of both Buddhism and Christ (not Christianity).

A Bodhisattva is defined this way:

"A Bodhisattva is motivated by pure compassion and love. Their goal is to achieve the highest level of being: that of a Buddha. Bodhisattva is a Sanskrit term which translates as: Bodhi [enlightenment] and sattva [being]. And their reason for becoming a Buddha is to help others. The Bodhisattva will undergo any type of suffering to help another sentient being, whether a tiny insect or a huge mammal. In Shakyamuni Buddha’s 'Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines' it states: “I will become a savior to all those beings, I will release them from all their sufferings.”"

"In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva has the compassionate determination to aid all beings on their quest for the highest state of development, full enlightenment of a Buddha."

So I'm asking, could Jesus of Nazareth be considered a Bodhisattva? Take what he says and does, what he says and does and not what anyone has said or done in his name, and consider it.

It's just an interesting thought, in my opinion.

(Note: This has nothing to do with my username. I am in no way on a spiritual level equal to that of Jesus Christ. I feel I am motivated by pure compassion and love, however, and I do in a Buddhist sense and common way wish to ease the suffering of others.)

If any Buddhists can offer a better definition of a Bodhisattva in proof that Christ was not one, I welcome that, too.

It is my belief that Jesus Christ was, in fact, a Bodhisattva. I very much adore his teaching and life example. But because of certain details I cannot call myself a Christian. I do, however, strive to be Christlike.

I hope no Christians take offense that I am applying a Buddhist term to Jesus Christ, it is simply how I have come to think about him.

Please, no flaming. If you disagree, please do it in a cordial and possibly brief manner.

 

[Onemonthman]

Was Christ a Bodhisattva?----------------


No.

 

[gaijin178]

Was Christ a Bodhisattva?----------------


No.

From my understanding of what a Bodhisattva is, I think that Christ can be considered one. But what do I know?

 

[Dimithriceas]

I would have to agree with you on that. Though I will say I was more influenced to that conclusion after reading Living Buddha Living Christ by Thich Nich Hanh.

 

[psychedelicist]

If you do believe that Jesus was divine at all, it would seem like he is far more than a Bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas wanted achieve enlightenment, or oneness with god(or do they believe enlightenment is something else?), while Jesus was the incarnation of God himself.

If you do not believe that Jesus was the son of God, then yes I suppose he would be a Bodhisattva, or something close to it.

 

[Proud Hindu]

edited

 

[gaijin178]

Well, a Bodhisattva is a being who has reached enlightenment and decided to stay in one of the realms in order to help all sentient beings end suffering. Jesus' work on earth was to do that.

 

[Onemonthman]

He said he was asking someone with an understanding of Christianity and Buddhism.

You have neither.

HOMMMMMMMMMMMMM HOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

[gaijin178]

HOMMMMMMMMMMMMM HOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

What is that supposed to be? Are you trying to say Om? Either way, your mocking is not appreciated and I really wish that you would refrain from this kind of post which serves no purpose.

 

[Onemonthman]

What is that supposed to be? Are you trying to say Om? Either way, your mocking is not appreciated and I really wish that you would refrain from this kind of post which serves no purpose.

You would need to see where the person I was responding to in another post decided to mock me. Now in this one he decided to call me ignorant of my own faith. I am merely not going to get into a slam fest with him.

 

[gaijin178]

I did read that. And by the way, your response to the OP was mocking in nature as well. You say that you are not going to get into a slam fest with him yet you did something just as bad by your comment. If you want people to respect your viewpoint, you have to give respect, even when respect isn't given to you.

 

[Onemonthman]

I did read that. And by the way, your response to the OP was mocking in nature as well. You say that you are not going to get into a slam fest with him yet you did something just as bad by your comment. If you want people to respect your viewpoint, you have to give respect, even when respect isn't given to you.

I honestly do not care if people respect my viewpoint. And my response to the op was not mocking. I answered the question asked in the simplest terms. I do not really care how people see that. I do not go to boards that are designed for pagan religions but if I did, I sure would not expect them to pamper me and cater to my belief system. I find it funny that this is the expectation on this board. Well, that is not me.

 

[Mystikiwi]

A Bodhisattva is motivated by pure compassion and love ...to help others. ...In Shakyamuni Buddha’s 'Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines' it states: “I will become a savior to all those beings, I will release them from all their sufferings.”

So I'm asking, could Jesus of Nazareth be considered a Bodhisattva?

Yes, I think so.
Jesus was similar to the Dalai Lama and Gandhi.

 

[kiwimac]

If we define Christ in Buddhist terms then yes he was a Bodishattva. Anyone care to define Buddha in Christian terms?

Kiwimac

 

[Mystikiwi]

Anyone care to define Buddha in Christian terms?

Child of God

 

[vajradhara]

Namaste all,

this is an interesting topic, to be sure.

i think that we need to be fairly clear that an understanding of Jesus does not, necessarily, make one a Christian as an understanding of Buddhism does not make one a Buddhist.

i think that you've provided a fair description of some functional aspects of a Bodhisattva, at least enough for our conversation at this time

so... to really get to the heart of the question, we need to have an understanding of the process by which a being becomes a Bodhisattva.

by way of reference, my information is based on the text Bodhichiyavatara by Shantideva.

as we know, the beginning of a beings progress along the Bodhisattva path is characterized by the awakening of Bodhichitta, the Heart of Compassion. this is the experience of desireing the wellbeing and happiness of others more than your own. i think that Jesus can certainly be said to have this experience.

the Bodhisattva path is the path of the Mahayana, though the Theravedan tradition also has this path, it's not really emphasized. nevertheless, in the scope of the Mahayana ones cognition of sunyata is paramount for progress along the path. simplistically, Sunyata is the experience of the interdependece of all phenomena and the experiential realization of the inherent lack of permenence in phenomena, with the specific case being the lack of a permenantly existing, independent self or soul. Jesus most certainly did not teach this, though he may have understood it, we simply cannot know.

from my point of view, i think that we need to be very careful when saying that Jesus was a Bodhisattva. i feel that a more proper statement would be that Jesus was an emmanation of a Bodhisattva, in particular, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avelokiteshavara.

it is also important that we be mindful of the tradition from which our vantage point is derived and not try to mix terms and concepts. from the Buddhist paradigm, we aren't able to ceed to Jesus what is claimed for him, namely, that he is the only begotten Son of God, which is a central tenet for most Christian sects. thus, we accord to him our traditional equilivent.

i think that, in the end, we do both traditions a disservice. we denigrate the Chrisitan view of the Son of God and we compromise the Buddhist Bodhisattva ideal.

 

[rahul_sharma]

What is that supposed to be? Are you trying to say Om? Either way, your mocking is not appreciated and I really wish that you would refrain from this kind of post which serves no purpose.

he was trying to gain 1 more blessing...thats his only purpose

OM

 

[Arthra]

We would all do well i think to revere the standards of a Bodhisattwa... humility, sacrifice, compassion for others and kindness.

To me Jesus Christ and Guatama Buddha are both to be revered.

- Art

 

[El_Ayin]

:

"A Bodhisattva is motivated by pure compassion and love. In Shakyamuni Buddha’s 'Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines' it states: “I will become a savior to all those beings, I will release them from all their sufferings.”"


So I'm asking, could Jesus of Nazareth be considered a Bodhisattva? Take what he says and does, what he says and does and not what anyone has said or done in his name, and consider it.

It's just an interesting thought, in my opinion.

By the definition of Bodhisattva I would have to say yes.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Wow, thanks for all the great replies. I feel that in a basic structural term of Christ when applied to his actions and words and not his place (mortal or Son of God), he is definitely a Bodhisattva.

It's too bad some flaming occured anyway, I guess it can't be helped sometimes.

I'm grateful to everyone who contributed. Guess the thread isn't necessarily over but can it now generally be agreed upon that Jesus, in basic terms, was a Bodhisattva?