Was the Buddha a verifiable historical person? And was his enlightenment a historical event? The plain truth is that there is no documentation of the life of the Buddha outside Buddhist scriptures. And the earliest physical evidence that there was ever such a person dates to the reign of AshokaExternal ↗, about 268 to 232 BCE. Dates of the life of the Buddha varyExternal ↗, but they range from about 567 to 487 BCE to as recently as 448 to 368 BCE. So there is no physical evidence that dates to his probable lifetime.
Further, the early Buddhism scriptures — our only source of information about the Buddha — for the most part were not committed to writing until the 1st century BCE. Instead, they were preserved by being memorized and chanted. This led to a number of different chanting traditions, in different dialects, and in places this resulted in wildly different versions of the same scripture. And we have no way to tell which version is closest to an “original.” Even so, the basic, foundational doctrines are presented consistently in them. See “Will Ancient Gandharan Scrolls Change Buddhist History?External ↗” for a more in-depth look at the origins of and issues with the early scriptures.
I wrote in my book The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World (Shambhala, 2019) that most academic historians appear to regard the Buddha as more of a hypothesis than a person. They think someone was the originator of the foundational teachings, but they can’t say anything for certain about that person. The story of the life of the Buddha appears to have evolved over a few centuries, reaching its classic form in the epic poem BuddhacaritaExternal ↗, composed about 100 CE. The story came to be stuffed with supernatural elements that many modern Buddhists prefer to disregard, although others still place great importance in them. At least some of the non-supernatural parts of the story are unlikely. For example, the Buddha is portrayed as the son of a king. But historians today say that his clan, the Shakya, didn’t appear to have had kings during his lifetime.
Last updated on: December 7, 2024 at 10:59 am, by Barbara O'BrienExternal ↗
In other words, there is no historical proof that Buddha ever existed. The same goes for Christianity; the three main tenets of Christian belief is "The Immaculate Conception", "The Resurrection", and "The Ascension". All meta-physical religious events, that have no historic proof, and are an essential requirement of FAITH.
We here at ToZ, know Zeus and our Gods exist as a daily living proof with our empowerment of the soul and direct spiritual relationship with Them on our journey to the Godhood.
Great question, let me think. Was Buddha’s enlightenment a historical event, I would say Yes, why wouldn’t it be? There’s is no document out his life outside Buddhist scriptures? Why would there need to be? Buddhism is literally the heart of Asia, everyone in the region is Buddhist. Saying there is no documentation of Buddah outside of Buddhist scriptures is like saying there are no humans is that part of the world. Who exactly would they verify Buddah to? Christians?
Here we are not overly concerned if Buddah really lived or not, we are concerned with what “his” teachings are doing to poor innocent people. If you have read the sermons on Buddhism, from Lady Pythia you will understand that Like Christianity the hero and villain are in each others body’s. But unlike Christian’s where a savior came and left. Buddhisms savior will only come when’s Buddha’s teachings which is actually bad stop “helping” the people the are influenced by Buddhism, the people imo are doing good, but not everyone is doing good. Factors like education and generational wealth come into play. I’m oriental I’ve visited Asia many times, this aren’t as bad as they use to be. But that is just because the west has realized the value of the people in that part of the world. No thanks to Buddhism.
Is the west herding Asians into Christianity? Or just looking to make a quick buck? I would say both, but it’s not like Buddhist (Asia) aren’t quick to sell the country to christians form Power, due to Buddha’s “teachings”.
Yes. I was here before it was Toz. I will always be a Joser. I don’t quite understand what has been going on, but why can’t Buddah not be a god? He’s always worshipped like one. Much more than How Zeus or Horus is.
He is already considered not only a God but a refuge. How can we, The assembly of the Gods, Let our people seek refuge in antilife?
Hail Lucifer Morningstar!
Hail Baal!
Hail Lady Astarte!
Hail the Powers of Orion!
