Was Jesus a Buddhist?

Question

If you look at these buddhist statues, the hand gestures are similiar to that of jesus' pics centuries later.
http://www.buddhistdoor.com/bdoor/0310/sources/statues.htm

as another poster posted, where was he during his teen years and 20something years? Could he have travelled to the east to learn buddhism?
"Do unto others" was first coined by Confucius/ Tse-kung asked, "Is there one word that can serve as a
principle of conduct for life?" Confucius replied, "It is the word
'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself
do not desire."

Answer 1

no

Answer 2

Jesus was according to history born a jew. But an alternate theory states he imbibed buddhist teachings from monks in the Himalayas (mountains in North India) and preached them in the Middle East. No account has been made in the bible about his life between the ages 14 and 30. The book that I'm citing as a source suggests that Jesus may have spent these young years in India learning Buddhism. This is just an opinion suggested by the book. Don't shoot me! LOL.

Answer 3

the question of Jesus being a Buddhist should be answered by looking at the documented lives of these two men not pictures . .

in so doing understand that Buddha taught a way of life NOT a religion . . he taught the 4 noble truths: 1- that life is suffering 2- the cause of suffering is craving or desire 3- there is a way to end that suffering 4- the end of suffering is called the noble eightfold path . . .
1)right understanding 2)right intention 3)right speech 4)right action 5)right livelihood 6)right effort 7)right mindfulness 8)right concentration . . .
so now the question does the documentation of Jesus's life lead us to believe that he lived his life according to the eightfold pathway? as a christian turned Buddhist I would have to say all of the words written about Jesus does indeed describe a man that lived with such values . . the words of Buddha point only at the goal they are not intended to be the goal . . he never describe what he did not know . . he talked only of the life that we live and the way to live it . . hope this is helpful

Answer 4

Look at the message he brought to us, compare it to Buddhism.
There is little or no account of his time from age seven until about 27. The possibility exist that during this period he traveled to India, or that he studied under a traveling Buddhist. The trade rout existed, and academic exchange was far more likely that what is typically portrayed.
The teachings of Love and Compassion square easily with Buddhist tradition, as dose the concept of death and rebirth.

Also, studying under a Buddhist teacher would not have cased conflict with Hebrew tradition as Buddhism was at the time more like a philosophy than a religion.

Answer 5

Jesus was a jew. The religious symbology may be similar but that does not mean that Jesus was a buddhist. In christian art, a halo is very common among saints and things, that doesn't mean that they actually had a halo over their heads. You've got to overcome the literal sense of the paintings of jesus and the gestures of buddha, just like you have to overcome the idea that there were actually halo's around the saints of the Catholic church.

Answer 6

there is no proof jesus actually made these hand gestures... the artists just interpreted them that way. Since he was from the middle east, Jesus probably wasn't a white man either.

Answer 7

Um ... there are no eyewitness pictures of Jesus, only artists' representations. So nobody knows what he looked like, except that he was a Jew. So this really isn't a good argument for him being a Buddhist.

Answer 8

Jesus was a Jew. There is no historical data that proves Jesus existed. There are some stories that he travelled to India and was influenced by Buddhist teachings. There is no proof of this either.

Answer 9

I could see how you might think that by just looking at the pictures, but the answer is no.
Jesus was born into judaism given that he used that religion to prepare the path before him. And when he became incarnate, he continued judaism into Christianity today. Buddahism has nothing to do with Christ.

Answer 10

His teachings were remarkably similar so it is a possibility. Sure he was born a Jew but he very much opposed the Jewish establishment and his teachings were very different so it is difficult to call him a Jew.

All of this assumes that he existed at all, there is no independent evidance of his existence

Answer 11

Jesus learned obedience through the things he suffered. He suffered in the place of those who would accept his amazing gift. What could be more against the grain of the way to avoid pain?