Jesus In India — Page 112
102 JESUS IN INDIA books and in fact declared him to be the Buddha, for it is part of human nature to try to acquire a good thing wherever one can find it. People try to record and remember any excellent remark made by anyone they meet. It is, therefore, quite likely that the followers of the Buddhist Faith have reproduced the entire pic- ture of the Gospels in their books, so much so that, for example, as Jesus, the Messiah, kept forty fasts so did the Buddha; and as Jesus, the Messiah, was tried by Satan so too was Buddha tested in the same way. And just as Jesus, the Messiah, was without father so was Buddha also; and just as Jesus, the Messiah, laid forth moral teachings, the same was done by Buddha too. And just as Jesus, the Messiah, said that I am the Light, so did the Buddha say exactly the same. And just as Jesus, the Messiah, called himself the Teacher, and his companions disciples, so did the Buddha. And just as Matthew, chapter 10, verses 8 and 9, state: 'Provide nei- ther gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, so did the Buddha command his disciples¹. Just as the Gospels encourage celibacy, so does the teaching of the Buddha. Just as there was an earthquake after Jesus, the Messiah, was put on the cross, so it is recorded, there was an earthquake after the death of the Buddha. a2 All these points of resemblance arise from the basic fact of the visit of Jesus, the Messiah, to India. It was indeed a blessing for the followers of the Buddhist faith that he stayed among them for quite some time and they came to have a good knowledge of the facts of his life 1. See Appendix, extract 2. [Publisher] 2. ✩ Buddhists also have a tradition similar to the Lord's Supper of the Christians. * (Author) *See Appendix, extract 1,2,3,4. [Publisher]