Jesus In India — Page 116
106 JESUS IN INDIA frame for the decline of his Faith, Buddhism did indeed deterio- rate into a state of decadence as foretold. It was then that, having escaped from the cross, Jesus, the Messiah, travelled to those parts, where the Buddhists recognised him readily and treated him with great reverence. And there is no doubt whatsoever that the moral teaching and spiritual exercises that had been established by the Buddha, were given a new life in the world through the teach- ings of Jesus, the Messiah. Christian historians admit that the Sermon on the Mount as reported in the Gospels and the rest of his moral teachings are the same as those preached to the world by the Buddha five hundred years before. They also state that the Buddha not only taught moral precepts, he also taught other very great truths. In their view, the title of 'the Light of Asia' applied to the Buddha is highly appropriate. Now, in accordance with the prophecy of the Buddha, Jesus, the Messiah, appeared five hun- dred years after him, and as admitted by most Christian scholars, his teaching was exactly the same as the teaching of the Buddha. There is no doubt, therefore, that he appeared in the 'colours' of the Buddha. In Oldenberg's book, on the authority of Lakkavatti Suttatta,¹ it is stated that the followers of the Buddha, looking forward to his future coming, were sustained by the hope that as disciples of the Metteyya, they would have the bliss of salvation. They were certain that the Metteyya would come and that they would attain salvation through him, for, the words in which the Buddha had held out the hope for the coming of the Metteyya positively showed that his disciples would meet and acknowledge 1. According to Oldenberg it is spelled Cakka-vatti Suttanta. See Appendix, extract 5. [Publisher]