Baháʼí Faith and Buddhism explained
The teachings of the Baháʼí Faith regard Buddhism as a religion founded by a Manifestation of God, and Baháʼu'lláh as the expected Maitreya Buddha.[1] The authenticity of the current canon of Buddhist scriptures is seen as uncertain. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of Baháʼís from Buddhist background.[2]
Baháʼí scholarship
The differences between religious concepts in Buddhism and the Abrahamic religions has caused questions for Baháʼí scholarship. Jamshed Fozdar presents the Buddhist teaching about an unknowable reality as referring to the concept of God, for example in the following passage from the Udana (v.81) in the Khuddaka Nikaya: "There is, O monks, an Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed. Were there not, O monks, this Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed, there would be no escape from the world of the born, originated, created, formed. Since, O monks, there is an Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed, therefore there is an escape from the born, originated, created, formed."
Baháʼí scholar Moojan Momen argues that there are many similarities between the ethical teachings in Theravada Buddhism and the Baháʼí Faith, and that the apparent metaphysical differences originate from culture-bound terminologies. Momen further argues that the Baháʼí teachings uphold all parts of the Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right aim or right-mindedness, right speech, right action, right living or livelihood, right effort or endeavour, right mindfulness and right contemplation.
See also
References
- Book: Fozdar, Jamshed K. . 1973 . 1995 . The God of Buddha . Casa Editrice Baháʼí Srl . Ariccia (RM), Italy . 88-7214-031-5 . 24300363M .
- Book: Momen, Moojan. Moojan Momen . 1994 . Buddhism and the Baháʼí Faith . George Ronald . Oxford, UK . 0-85398-384-4 . (short version of this title here).
- Book: Momen, Moojan . Moojan Momen . 1988 . Studies in the Bábí and Baháʼí Religions vol. 5, chapter: A Basis For Baháʼí Metaphysics . Kalimat Press . 185–217 . 0-933770-72-3 .
Further reading
- Buck, Christopher (1980). The Mystery of the Sworded Warrior in Hindu Apocalypse: Was Kalki Visnuyas Baháʼu'lláh?.
- Book: Buck, Christopher . Studies in Modern Religions, Religious Movements and the Bābī-Bahā'ī Faiths. Sharon . Moshe. The eschatology of Globalization: The multiple-messiahship of Bahā'u'llāh revisited. 90-04-13904-4. 143–178. Boston . Brill. 2004.
- Cole, Juan (1996). A Zen Gloss on Baha'u'llah's Commentary on "He who knoweth his self knoweth his Lord".
- Conner, Daniel. Buddhism and the Bahá'í Faith. World Order, Series 2, Volume 6: Issue 2. Winter 1971.
- Faber, Roland (2017). Baháʼu'lláh and the Luminous Mind: Baháʼí Gloss on a Buddhist Puzzle, in Lights of Irfan 18.
- Book: Fozdar, Jamshed K. . 1976 . Buddha Maitrya-Amitabha Has Appeared . Baháʼí Publishing Trust . New Delhi, India . 81-85091-83-8.
- Kluge, Ian. (2006). Buddhism and the Baháʼí Writings: An Ontological Rapprochement.
- Kluge, Ian. (2013). The Baháʼí Writings and the Buddhist Doctrine of Emptiness: An Initial Survey.
- Book: Sours, Michael . Without Syllable or Sound: The World's Sacred Scriptures in the Baháʼí Faith . Hindu and Buddhist Scripture in Baháʼí Scripture . Kalimat Press . Los Angeles, United States . 1-890688-06-1 . 2000 .
External links
Notes and References
- [Moojan Momen|Momen, Moojan]
- Encyclopedia: Smith . Peter . A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith . Buddhism . 2000 . Oneworld Publications . Oxford . 1-85168-184-1 . 95–96 .
