[quote=“Deeele, post:20, topic:5950”]
Cool off with this video: 
[/quote]It seems I have made you and others believe that I am upset or angry. My apologies for this also. I am Canadian, it is a matter of linguistic necessity.
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I think Buddha was a former disciple of Abraham!
There is nothing wrong with this argument because Budda had a teacher like Alara Kalama as his former teachers. Buddha never claimed the monopoly of his discovery. Having said that the crux of the Buddha’s teaching is Anatta.
Jesus would have been a bad Buddhist monk or Romans must have taken away Jesus’s true teaching when they wrote New Testament.
This is not surprising to me because I find many Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka spreading the wrong teachings nowadays.
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Just for the record - while trying to keep out of any meta conversation and return to the thread without any further intervention - I certainly didn’t make any such assessment and have no basis to.
The point is that (with the Watercooler) there was a will to create a space that would allow a more easy going atmosphere that would be inviting to a broader range of users than those keen for the rough and tumble of heavy, argumentative exchange; people who are likely to have just as valuable contributions to make if only most of the forum air-space wasn’t filled by the voices of seasoned arguers (with, I’ve no doubt, the best and most honourable intentions). So far the experiment to make this forum welcoming to such people doesn’t necessarily feel like it’s going especially well, but still, we try.
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And thus died the dream of hell-free conversion to Buddhism… 
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jesus was naan bread. naan bread is from india. jesus was indian.
boom. eat that confucius.
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Thank you, @DKervick and @roosbugg, for bringing back the light heartenedness to this thread! The flying spaghetti monster blesses you both!
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Dear Bhante,
I’ve recently noticed that fact — good values are good values and wise people should be able to see and teach them.
A great monk I respect, namely Ajahn Brahm, has recently coined the word ‘Kindfulness’ to refer to the practice of putting kindness into our mindfulness practice and meditation.
Across the ocean, a little-known Thai monk who doesn’t speak English has been talking about putting Metta in Sati cultivation and Anapanasati meditation — sending love to the breath, to be exact.
The two great monks have never met, but after 40 years of practicing the dhamma, both are now teaching the same thing.
When I was young and my parents took me to a temple with the Buddha’s footprint, I didn’t believe that it was real. He was a human being, right? Not a giant? His feet can’t be that big!
Now that I’m old and have read that in the old days, some traditions would not have sculpted a face of a holy man, I understand that they would use a footprint to represent that person.
But people want the Buddha on their land, not because they believe it’s a fact, but because their conceit is so good to create such an illusion to satisfy their defilement.
Thank you for bringing this up. This topic has been ‘shared’ in so many social media platforms that people are distracted from the path of finding peace to the path of enhancing their ego.
BTW, I thought senior Buddhist monks rarely, if not never, use such a word as Ko Mayam (Pali for bulls…t). 
With respect,
Dheerayupa
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Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!!
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Only in extreme circumstances.
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Terry, a latest disciple of Ajahn Brahm, said that it was nothing to worry about; Ajahn Brahm says the word ‘Ko Mayam’ all the time! LOL! 
P.S. Terry is, of course, an Aussie guy.
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Hello Sujato,
For the past days, I’ve been listening to several of your dhamma talks on youtube. I’ve been meaning to contact you in some way simply to thank you for your talks and work on the suttas, and since this post exemplifies what I find appealing about them, I thought I do it here.
I very much appreciate that you always seem to strive for integrity (or truth, if you will) in a consequential manner. Like in this example, you take a stand against bullshit, even where it may superficially seems to be in favor of Buddhism. I think this is very important - not caring about the truth where a myth or misconception may suit one parts a skillful person from an opportunist politician in my opinion. I would also think it is bad khamma to use an untruth to further the dhamma - for when that untruth is discovered, it will make people doubt the dhamma as a whole.
There is a certain anti-Christian bias in parts of western popular culture today, and a very diffuse view on and favor of Eastern ideas without real understanding. As a skeptic but spiritually interested person, I wrestled a long time with Christianity. Seeing that myths like the India visit are readily promulgated uncritically made me rather more favorable towards Christianity and more hesitant to look east. If Christianity is not true, why would people use obvious legends to disparage it? Would the facts not be enough to make it crumble under its own weight?
True dhamma needs no defense from myths or prejudice, and because I see you checking everything for yourself like the Buddha taught, I am much more willing to listen to you and consider your ideas.
So again, thank you for your earnest inquiry into the dhamma and all matters of religion and religious history. As somebody with a background in western science and philosophy, who tends to overthink things, your way to teach the dhamma has made you one of my favorite monks to listen to.
I hope this improptu heap of praise is not inappropriate. I can remove and rewrite it in emojis if required.
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Thanks so much, Sebastian, it means a lot. 
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I never came across that Buddha used the word “BS”
The harshest word I have seen he used was the “worthless man”
The idea Jesus was a Buddhist is gathering momentum. I have no problem with this but I just amazed with the production of graphics. I have been to Vatican twice, but I can,t recall seen a picture of meditating Jesus. Are there any historical paintings that Jesus meditating?
[quote=“SarathW1, post:36, topic:5950, full:true”]
The idea Jesus was a Buddhist is gathering momentum. I have no problem with this but I just amazed with the production of graphics. I have been to Vatican twice, but I can,t recall seen a picture of meditating Jesus. Are there any historical paintings that Jesus meditating?
[/quote]Not unless they are from after 1960.
To be fair, from a Christian POV, what Jesus “is doing” “right now” “in heaven” is probably something close to meditation.
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To take the New Testament texts as ‘Gospel truth’ can be a problem. See Matthew Messages online: This Matthew is a reincarnation of the apostle Matthew, who speaks through his current mother, Suzanne Ward, and has much to say on the distortions of his story in the New Testament (site has a good Search function). Eye-opening reading. Choice of biblical texts and wordings are often politically motivated or otherwise distorted by those with certain agendas. It is naive to think otherwise. E.g. the Mary Magdalene as prostitute myth; the Jesus coming from a poor family myth. It’s best to read as widely as possible. . . . It is quite conceivable, I have learned from my studies, that Buddha, Socrates and Jesus were all the same soul in subsequent incarnations. (Many have noticed the parallels between the lives of Socrates and Jesus. ) But, as is pointed out, the teachings are presented as comprehensible to the society and the times. Thus Jesus taught in a Jewish context, and the Buddha in his context, and Socrates, etc. . . .
[quote=“ursa8major, post:38, topic:5950”]
Thus Jesus taught in a Jewish context, and the Buddha in his context, and Socrates, etc. . . .
[/quote]The Perennial Philosophy. How wonderfully coincidental (convergent?) that I started a thread on the subject at the same time that you posted this!
Thanks Bh. Sujato for all those ‘factual’ statements. For me, these ‘facts’ cannot be proven nor disproven. We choose how much we will follow the advice of the Buddha to express our opinions/views/beliefs/faith just as that and not as truths (facts), which he is attributed to call ‘safeguarding the truth’. MN95 (also see Doug Smith’s longer article http://secularbuddhism.org/2012/09/18/canki-on-preserving-truth/)
I agree that ‘He (Jesus) was (probably) a Jewish prophet and teacher, who was born, lived, and died in Israel,’ but that he may have been influenced by the Gnostics, or some other tradition, possibly even the Buddha’s teaching that had reached Greece around 300 years before.
From my study on the topic, Christianity is a blend/hybrid of Buddhism (a perfected man) and Judaism (sacrifice for atonement of sin) fabricated by the Romans to try to have a universal religion, thus the Holy (Roman) Catholic (meaning universal) Church. I have a brief article on it here: (PDF) Buddhism and Christianity | Joe Smith - Academia.edu.
best wishes
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Hi ursa8major
I agree with this theory for Jesus and Socrates etc. While I could not separate any form of Buddhism from Dhamma, I agreed with this philosophy for the Buddha too. Then I had to deal with many Buddhists saying (Buddha)Dhamma is universal and timeless and the early texts saying at least the latter, which I accept.
Now I believe the Buddha taught Dhamma which is universal and timeless, but I had to give up many interpretations and cherished beliefs adopted from a form of Buddhism to see Dhamma as universal and timeless. When I saw the principle/essence/spirit of his teaching, e.g. Dependent Origination, I could see how the Buddha used the language and thought of his day to teach it, but also gave a method of study to see through the cultural conditioning/context. That is different to me than Jesus and Socrates etc and why I believe the Buddha is the unexcelled teacher.
best wishes
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