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[Newbie]

By "Buddha" I simply mean an enlightened person.

After reading the gospel of Thomas (not in the Bible) I couldn't help but notice the similarities to Buddhism.

Is it possible Jesus was enlightened and either (a) misinterpreted by his followers, or (b) purposely mythologized by them to better fit Old Testament prophecy?

Examples of Buddha-esque Jesus quotes:
-"the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you."
- Jesus said to them, "When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom].
- "Jesus said, "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is. Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death."
- "Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels.
- "If they ask you, 'What is the evidence of your Father in you?' say to them, 'It is motion and rest.'"

[jimwalton]

Hm. The Gospel of Thomas is not regarded as a reliable source of information about Jesus' life and words, for one. Secondly, Jesus made direct statements about his divinity that stretched him far beyond the scope of being merely an enlightened person.

- Buddhism claims rebirth, implying a series of imperfect lives. Jesus claimed sinlessness.
- Jesus didn't being his mission by seeking enlightenment to find the answers to life.
- While Buddhism may be a religion of compassion and ethics (in common with the teachings of Jesus), it is also atheistic. Jesus' claims to deity negate any association with Buddhism.
- Buddhism teaches responsibility to manage his or her own life without god or religion. Jesus taught exactly the opposite.
- In Buddhism there is no individual self. Jesus recognized the individual self.

The likelihood that Jesus was a Buddha misinterpreted by his disciples is nil.