May 2004 Zushi Retreat - Part I

The Buddha, Sri Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ
A talk by Professor Cyril Veliath, S.J.

On May 16, the Vedanta Society of Japan celebrated the birth of Sri Buddha at it's monthly retreat in Zushi. The Society's long-time friend, Professor Cyril Veliath, S.J., from Sophia University in Tokyo, was kind enough to give a talk on The Buddha, Sri Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ on this occassion. Father Veliath, a native Indian, teaches courses on Indian Thought and Culture, Indian Mysticism, and Myths and Legends in Indian Artistic History at the university, and is also a member of the Society's Vivekananda Birth Celebration Committee and often a panelist at this yearly event.

The morning session began with Vedic prayer and readings from Buddha's teachings in Japanese and English. Swami Medhasananda then led the congregation in the chant of a Buddist Sudra starting with "Buddham Saranam Gachchhami".

After a brief introduction by the Swami, Professor Veliath gave his talk in Japanese in order to cover his prepared material in time for the lunch break. He began his remarks by saying that the 6th century BC was a truly remarkable period in world history. "In different parts of the world a number of eminent people were born. Some were great philosophers, some were thinkers, and some were founders of great religions."

"In Greece we had Parmenides, Empedocles, Pythagoras and others; in Israel we had the prophet Isaiah; in Persia we had Zoraster, the founder of Zoroastrianism; in China we had Confucius, the founder Confucianism, and Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism; in India we had Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, and finally, Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, also known as The Buddha."

The professor then explored the variety of names attributed to the Buddha in Buddhist scriptures and discussed various points of interest about his life, his enlightenment and his message, before turning to some comparisons of the three eminent subjects of his talk.

"When we compare the Buddha with Sri Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ," he continued, ﾒwe notice that all three have certain things in common and certain things that are different. All three of them based their teachings on love, and all three used parables and stories when they communicated the people. These stories were told in a very similar manner and some have become world famous. We have, for instance, Ramakrishna's tale of the blind men and elephant; Jesus Christ's story of the prodigal son; and the Jataka stories of Buddhism, all of which give us an idea of the nature of God."                               
"All three of them had friends among the very rich and the very poor. Among the fervent disciples of Jesus Christ was the prostitute Mary Magdalene, and among the great disciples of the Buddha was the prostitute Amrapali. Both of these were wealthy women who donated all they had to their respective Masters. Similarly, among the disciples of Ramakrishna there were many who had been rejected by society."

"All three had many eminent disciples. Among the disciples of Jesus, St. Paul became a great scholar and one of the founders of Christianity. Among the disciples of Ramakrishna we have Vivekananda, whose relationship to Ramakrishna was similar to that of St. Paul to Jesus Christ." The professor then discussed these relationships and the far-reaching accomplishments and worldwide impact of these two prominent disciples in spreading their Masters' messages.

He concluded his remarks with, "Another important point to notice is that Buddha, Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ were all Asians. Christianity for various historical reasons became a religion of western nations, but Jesus Christ himself was an Asian. Concerning this, Mahatma Gandhi remarked that it was Jesus' disciple, St. Paul, who carried Christianity to the West. And once it reached the West, it became the religion of kings and emperors. Had it not gone so early to the West, Christianity would probably have been no different from Buddhism, or even some schools of Hinduism." 


May 2004 Zushi Retreat - Part II

The Afternoon Session

Swami began the afternoon session by again offering his thanks and gratitude to Professor Veliath for the interesting and informative presentation of the morning session.

With regard to the similarities of the Buddha, Jesus Christ and Sri Ramakrishna noted in the earlier session, the Swami sought to point out one more distinct similarity of these three preeminent religious figures; that being the profoundness of their renunciation.

Then in response to a question addressing the point that God is never actually mentioned in Buddhist philosophy the Swami said, ﾒThis is a common mistake of interpretation made by many scholars and philosophers. Buddha was never an atheist, and he realized the highest spiritual truth. Buddha decried and discouraged all debates and philosophical speculations; such are the pastimes of scholars. Buddha was interested not in theory, but in the practice of spirituality.ﾓ In this connection Swami quoted a renowned composition from Shankaracharya that says,

Worship Govinda (the Lord), worship Govinda, worship Govinda
Oh foolish man! Your scholastic pursuits will not save you when death comes!

ﾒSuppose an arrow is launched; does it make such distinctions as to cast, philosophical view, man or woman before it pierces the target. The Buddhaﾕs religion showed a practical way to solve the real physical, mental and spiritual problems of life. He communicated his ideas in a new way, but there are many commonalities and identical teachings of Buddha to be found in other religions, especially in Hinduism, into which he was born and raised.ﾓ

ﾒDoes devotion have a place in Buddhism?ﾓ the Swami asked rhetorically. ﾒWithout devotion, no progress can be made in spiritual life. Faith and love are interconnected. Just look at the tremendous devotion of the disciples of the Buddha, Jesus Christ and Sri Ramakrishna.ﾓ

ﾒThe fact is that devotion has four aspects; first is faith and confidence in oneself; second is faith in and devotion to the teacher; the third is faith in the scriptures; and the result is faith and devotion to God. After his death devotees began to offer prayers and devotion to the Buddha, and generations later likenesses were crafted with devotion and devotees worshipped the Buddha as God Himself. This is how prayer and devotion found natural expression in Buddhism.ﾓ

ﾒThe Buddha was also a symbol of compassion; not only to humans, but to animals as well. Animal sacrifice in the name of religion had become rampant in Hinduism. The Buddha was critical of this, declaring that it was not necessary for religious experience. As a result of the Buddhaﾕs influence, the popularity of animal sacrifice deminished substantially.ﾓ