ananda
Early Buddhist
It is irrelevant to us whether or not the Buddha truly existed as we believe he did in the stories we have about him, because faith in him and/or his life story is not necessary to achieve nibbana. We cannot know that any of his stories are true, in any case, since history is directly unverifiable.If the Buddha as described never existed then of what value are his teachings or accounts of attaining Nirvana. They describe things that never happened and of which noone can directly testify.
Our faith rests in the Dhamma - the teachings attributed to the "Buddha". The Dhamma is described as that which can "be seen here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be experienced by the observant for themselves." We can know the Dhamma in the here-and-now, as its claims about suffering & its cessation are directly testable and verifiable by each disciple.
I perceive no difference between the Christian gospels and the Buddhist suttas in that they both allege a historical reality that is directly unverifiable in the here-and-now.Christians can refute such a lack of correspondence to reality by referring to a gospel that describes real people and events and thereby affirms what is taught as demonstrated in history. They can also refer to a direct personal relationship to the Saviour described in scripture. On both counts Jesus being a real person matters.
Upvote
0