Was Buddha a bad person?

[ephraimanesti]

Please let's NOT turn this Thread into Buddha-bashing.

i am the last person that will ever engage in "Buddha-bashing!" His teachings are the primary means God used to bring me to Himself and my Salvation. i thus hold the Buddha--and the Truths he taught, incomplete though they were--in very high regard.

ephraim

 

[swill8295]

i am the last person that will ever engage in "Buddha-bashing!" His teachings are the primary means God used to bring me to Himself and my Salvation. i thus hold the Buddha--and the Truths he taught, incomplete though they were--in very high regard.

ephraim

You know, I had a similar experience, except I was lead close to Jesus Christ through rational emotive behavioural therapy. I would not say that is the primary force behind things, but through that form of psychology, I learned self discipline and ways of rational thinking that drew me towards God's perfect Wisdom. What they call 'irrational' in RET is called 'without cause' in the bible. I am not advocating making this kind of psychology a means of godliness that denies the power of God. But what I discovered is that I can test the reasoning in the bible with RET and it will come out without blemish. Saying that I can't test out Christianity with it is like a car dealer that is afraid of it's customers taking the cars to their preferred mechanics because they know there are problems with them. Now of course, there are many, many distorted standards, and you have to see where they are distorted. I can find major problems with RET, like some psychologists advocating erotic fantasies to feel better, and obviously I have to to tune that stuff out. The bible just perfects wisdom and provides the full picture. It just causes me to turn around in awe of God, because I think "You can do what this successful thing can do, and more!?" Sometimes I'm amazed at how dynamic Jesus Christ is. What one must come down to though, is that there is only one who can save a person's soul. Then there's the verse where Jesus talks about people saying Lord, Lord -

Matthew 7:21-23

21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

 

[ephraimanesti]

Then there's the verse where Jesus talks about people saying Lord, Lord -

Matthew 7:21-23

21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

YUP--there are is a lot of truth in the world--Satan will tell the truth 99 times out of 100 just to get you to believe that 1 lie. JESUS ALONE IS THE TRUTH.

The "Lord, Lord" Scripture you present is indeed the dividing line between worldly truth and God's TRUTH. R.E.T. is cool in some ways, but, as you say, it is not a key to the Kingdom!

ephraim

 

[dimwhitt]

Buddha actually left his wife and children to pursue enlightnement
at first he starved himself near to death and came up with a middle path (not indulgent - not overly self denying)
and finally died after eating a piece of spoiled food

some things he said were based on good reasoning some things he believed were as cooky as the day is long

 

[JDIBe]

Was Budda a "good" man? Depends on what your definition of "good" is. In our everyday use of "good", he probably was. There are many "good" people out there in the world. There are atheists who donate time and money to charities and fight for social causes because they believe they are helping their fellow man.

But I think that is missing the point. The point of your existence is not to be merely "good" and "decent", but to be "perfect". That perfection only comes from God through Jesus Christ.

As for his teachings, there are at least two major fatal flaws I have found which has led me to reject Buddism as a way of life.

1. Budda's teachings will only take you so far. Budda taught how to be happy here on earth. This is fine if that is as far as your path goes. However, the Christian believes this is only the beginning of the journey. What is of even greater concern is what lies beyond, what happens for eternity. Budda's teachings do not address such concerns. They are a "quick fix" to the Christian.

2. Buddism is entirely self-inconsistent. The basic principle of Buddism is "the elimination of all desire". (In fact "Nirvana" literally means "annihilation") On face value, this seems to make sense. But looking deeper, this is not possible. The next logical question would be, "Why is it good to eliminate desire?" And the answer would be, "To be happy and avoid suffering.". But that is a desire in and of itself, the desire to be happy and not suffer. So the basic premise on which Buddism is built is faulty. There is no way to eliminate desire, unless of course, you "eliminate the desire to eliminate desire". But that puts you right back where you started, a cork on the water, not caring about desire at all, good or bad, which is the very thing Buddism is designed to eliminate.

Are there useful things is Buddism for life? Probably. But keep in mind there is a better Way, and that is where most of your studies should be.

As far as where Budda is now, that is not my decision. I have no input into the matter. One might as well be arguing what the weather was like in Helena, Montana 13 years ago. A well presented case really changes nothing. What ought to be more of a concern is what the weather is like NOW where you are, PARTICULARLY if you are standing outside. Study the Bible and see what God says TO YOU about what you must do to be saved and how to live your life. That would be a better use of your time, IMO.

 

[w00dy]

i didnt know he was 500 years before mr jesus of nazerath (obviously hes not before the lord, if you get my drift), but have you noticed how the little gnome like figurine of the smiling fat wee fella with the bald head and big ears, has become a toteme of the new age movement (its probably nothing to do with budda and what he said, of which i know little). if i were a buddist would i see that with the same eyes i(we, hopefully) see the 'buddy' christ image (from the film 'dogma')?

hmmm 'new age' people have been falling for that pony and trap since the stone age, im sorry my sisters into the nonsense. did you know that the most potent medicene (for cancers and stuff) is water and self belief? i kid you not

 

[dimwhitt]

the little fat guy is a specific part of buddhism
either tibetian or ???
that is not the buddha himself but one of his believed reincarnations

 

[w00dy]

reicarnation - easy way to choose the next leader if their king doesnt produce an heir, more like. dress up an education as finery and you can pass off a well trained child as an emperor, how come budda never came back as a starving kid from the tennent slums of dublin or glasgow in the 18th century. utter turnip