Jesus In India — Page 111
CHAPTER FOUR ΙΟΙ the Buddha is to show sympathy and compassion to the whole world, and seek the welfare of the whole of humanity and of all the animals, and develop mutual unity and love. The very same is the teaching of the Gospels. And again, just as Jesus, the Messiah sent his disciples to different countries, journeying to one him- self, so are these things found in the biographies of the Buddha. Thus, in Buddhism by Sir Monier Williams¹ it is written that the Buddha sent his disciples out into the world to preach, address- ing them thus: 'Go forth and wander everywhere, out of com- passion for the world and for the welfare of gods and men. Go forth, one by one, in different directions. Proclaim a life of perfect restraint, chastity, and celibacy. ' And he said that, I will go also to preach this doctrine. ' Accordingly, the Buddha went to Benares and worked a number of miracles in that area. He delivered an impressive sermon on a hill just as Jesus, the Messiah, had deliv- ered his sermon on the mount. And then in this same book it is written that the Buddha preached mostly in parables; and he used to explain spiritual phenomena in material terms. Now it should be pondered that this moral teaching and this mode of preaching—that is to say, stating things in parables-was the method of Jesus, may peace be on him. When we look at the other circumstantial evidence, and consider this mode of preach- ing and this moral teaching, it immediately comes to mind that all this is a copy of the teachings of Jesus, the Messiah. Given that he came to India and he preached extensively; during those days, the followers of the Buddhist faith met him, and finding him to be a holy and blessed man, they recorded these things in their 1. See Appendix, extract 2. [Publisher]