Compiled by Johan Peters
Siddhartha Gautama lived around about 563 – 483 B.C. He left his princely position at the age of about thirty, to seek enlightenment and later to teach the futility of materialism. He is respected as the Buddha, the enlightened one. He developed his "Eightfold Path" to overcoming ones desires in order to gain enlightenment. In Thailand, in the Chiang Mai province, is the Wat Phra Singh monastery, where the Buddhist Religious Encyclopedia is kept.
Permission was granted to copy the Buddhist Scriptures regarding the prophecy of the Holy One from Wat Phra Sing in Chiang Mai Province. The person who gave permission was Phra Sriwisutthiwong in Bangkok. It is guaranteed that this copy is accurate according to the original, that there is no error in transmission, which is in the book of the district headman, the religious encyclopedia, volume 23, book #29. This inquiry was made on October 13, 1954 A.D. (Buddhist era 2497).
In Volume 23 book 29 we read this transcript. It is a conversation that took place between the Buddha and an old Brahmin priest.
“When the Buddha was traveling and living in this world there was an old Brahmin priest who wore white robes and asked the Buddha,
"How will all men and all Brahmins continue in their merit-making so as to escape the results of sin?‟
The Buddha answered, "Even though all of you give alms according to the 5 precepts, the 8 precepts, the 10 precepts or the 227 precepts for 9 trillion years and you raise your hands and offer yourselves as a burnt offering, or you pray 5 times a day, you will not escape the results of your sins. . . You shall not enter heaven's doors. The results of sin and karma are very great, heavier than the sky; thicker than the earth. . . "
The old priest asked further, ‘So what should we all do?’
The Buddha answered, . . . "look for another Holy One who will come and help the world and all of you in the future.‟
The old priest asked, "What will the characteristics of the Holy One be like?‟
The Buddha answered him, "The Holy One who will keep the world in the future will be like this: 1. In the palm of his hands and in the flat of his feet will be the design of a disk, 2. In his side will be a stab wound, 3. His forehead will have many scars. This Holy One will be the golden boat who will carry you over the cycle of rebirths all the way to the highest heaven (Nirvana). Do not look for salvation in the old way; there is no salvation in it for sure. Quit the old way.
"There will be a new spirit like the light of a lightning bug, which will come down from the sky above to live in all of your hearts and you will be victorious over all your enemies. Nobody will be able to destroy you. If you die, you will not come back to be born in this world again. You will go to the highest heaven.‟” (End of Religious Encyclopedia reading)
The Buddha says clearly that the Holy One, who comes, will do away with reincarnation because if you look for salvation in the Holy One, with these characteristics, then when you die, you will not come back to be born in the world again. You will go to the highest heaven. Therefore, we see clearly that the Holy One has done away with the Samsāra, the endless wheel of suffering and rebirths.
Let us take a closer look at the prophecy that the Buddha gave. The Buddha who lived five centuries B.C., Before Christ, explained how to recognize the Holy One when he comes, by three specific kinds of wounds. These exact wounds were afflicted on Jesus when he was executed.
1. In the palm of his hands and in the flat of his feet will be the design of a disk, - Jesus was nailed to the cross with roman nails that had large heads, so the person could not get free, these left a disk shape in his hands and feet. “When he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.” (Matthew 27:26) “They pierced my hands and my feet.” (Psalms 22:16)
2. In his side will be a stab wound, - John, one of the disciples of Jesus records the following: “one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and at once there came out blood and water.” (John 19:34)
3. His forehead will have many scars. - Mark records: “And they . . twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it about his head.. . And they struck him on the head with a staff.” (Mark 15:17,19 -NIV )
The Buddha tells further, "Quit the old way."
“Jesus said unto them, I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to God except by me.” "I am the door: if any man enters in by me, he shall be saved," (John 14:6; 10:9)
The Buddha says, "a new spirit like the light will live in your heart‟
“Jesus spoke to them . . ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but has the light of life.’” (John 8:12)
The Buddha says, "You will be victorious over all your enemies. Nobody will be able to destroy you‟
Jesus said - “I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)
The Buddha says, "You will go to the highest heaven‟
Jesus said - “And I give unto them eternal life;. . . I go to prepare a place for you . . that where I am, you may be also” (John 10:28)
Jesus was not a Christian. He did not give His life for one particular group of people, but for all mankind. Hence we find prophecies about Him in the major religious systems of His day; in JUDAISM, HINDUISM, and here the BUDDHA directs us clearly to Jesus that we might go to heaven.
A Prayer: "Dear God, if You exist and the above article has any reality to it, then please let Jesus manifest Himself to me. If Jesus really gave His life for mine, so that I can be forgiven for my sins of selfishness and my unloving behaviour, then help me to accept that gift. Help me to turn around and forgive others, who I feel have wronged me. Cleanse me from all the negative influences and powers and grant me peace. Please, give me the gift of eternal life and fill me with Your love, happiness and strength. This I ask in Jesus' name. Help me also to study what your disciples wrote about You in the Gospels in the Bible. Amen"
From www.johanpeters.in. Used with permission.
Dennis Edwards:
My own experiemce with Buddhism was positive. Though initially reading Herman Hesse's Siddhatha helped my spiritual walk, in the end, I was never able to complete the Eightfold Path. I couldn't control my thoughts and therefore couldn't control all my actions as I thought I should have. I was in a new striving and just as when I was a Catholic and wasn't able to keep the commandments, or keep myself from sin, so now as a Buddhist, I was unable to keep the right mindset, etc, etc.
I had traded one set of "commandments" for another and found myself utterly incapable. I needed a Saviour who could help me out of my dismal situation. Thankfully, as I sought God in truth and followed the commandment of love, so He led me along. Eventually two young hitchhikers I picked up led me in the sinner's prayer. I received Jesus into my heart, began to study the Bible with my new friends, got filled with the Holy Spirit and can testify with Buddha that Jesus is the Holy One who gives us the true light of God, if we open our hearts to Him.
2 Comments:
Wow, very interesting. If I would have known this during my 3 years I was also with my family in the North of Thailand, also Chiang Mai. The Lord had supplied me right at the start with a little booklet with thoughts from Buddha that I only skimmed through as I did not expect “enlightenment” from it. Had I read it, maybe I would have found these prophecies in it, but I did found something I kept quoting to people, a saying of Buddha on his deathbed to his disciples: “If you find truth in any religion then take this religion!” That showed me Buddha had not found the truth, so Buddhism is actually a truth seeking religion. I will use this prophecies now for sure. Thanks for posting!
Obviously, Buddhism does have truths in its precepts, otherwise no one would follow it. But, if we are honest with ourselves, as much as we try to follow the "Four Noble Truths" and "The Eightfold Path" we are incapable. Some Buddhist combine it with Hindu medtation and yoga. These can lead to channeling deceiving spirits and a false spiritual enlightenment where the person gets possessed or oppressed by one of these spirits. But learning to control our desires and watching how our desires control us is one of the first principles of the Eightfold Path. Christianity has the same principle in the teaching of "crucifying the flesh," to let the spirit live. But in our own strength we can only go so far and we fail, if we are honest with ourselves. But with Christ within us we can be more than conquerors through Him that loves us and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sin and imperfection..
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