It is said that soon after his enlightenment the Buddha passed a man on the road who was struck by the Buddha’s extraordinary radiance and peaceful presence.
The man stopped and asked, “My friend, what are you? Are you a celestial being or a god?”
“No,” said the Buddha.
“Well, then are you some kind of magician or wizard?”
Again the Buddha answered, “No.”
“Are you a man?”
“No.”
“Well, my friend, then what are you?”
The Buddha replied, “I am awake.”
Below is from: The Terms Buddha & Christ - Explained.
Buddha is NOT a name, it is a descriptive title and means "The Awakened; Anointed or Enlightened One", which is exactly the same meaning as the word "Messiah" has in Hebrew - "Christos" in Greek - "Christ" in English, which are also NOT names but are, like the word Buddha, descriptive titles, as is the word Jesus, which simply means Saviour.
Prince Sedata (who, on achieving enlightenment, became known as the Buddha) rejected his former life of luxury to seek enlightenment. He went first to the opposite extreme and became an ascetic, which made him physically ill; then found The middle (straight and equal) Way of God (Deut. 30:15-16*), and thereby restored his body to health.
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Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the "I AM" thy God, to walk in His Ways, and to keep His Commandments and His Statutes and His Judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the "I AM" thy God shall bless thee in the land where thou goest to possess it.
7:15 And the "I AM" will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all [them] that hate thee.
Sedata was then tempted by the five (seven really) deceptively innocent looking daughters of Marah/Lucifer/Iblis the lord of darkness:- Pride (Arrogance); Greed (Avarice); Fear (or Hate or Anger); Ignorance (of the real truth about your "Self") and Desire (Lust or Covetousness) (the other two are Sloth and Gluttony) - "The Seven Deadly Sins". The lord of darkness (Marah - Lucifer - Iblis - Satan) had sent them to tempt Sedata away from his search, but Sedata overcame* them.
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Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him ONLY shalt thou serve.
4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
"Darkness" had tried to tempt Sedata, in the cleverest of ways, by disguising the temptations of life in the simplest forms but Sedata was looking beyond form, beyond the present. Now "Darkness" was enraged, and sent an army of demons to try to attack Sedata, but he stayed calm and at peace with God and was defended by God because of his total (blind) Faith (The Shield - Ephesians 6:16; Genesis 15:1) and the consequent lack of fear that such Faith (Trust) gives.
His human body then said to him (his Being), "You who go where no-one else will dare. Will you be my god?"
Sedata said, "Architect. Finally I have met you. You will not rebuild your house (my human prison - my "Self") again."
His human body replied, deviously, "But I am your house and you live in me."
Sedata said to lord Darkness (Lucifer the Devil), "Oh lord of my own ego ("Self"), you are pure illusion (deceit and lies - the word devil means liar), you do not exist (you will no longer deceive my "Self" with your lies because my "Self" is crucified and it no longer exists). The earth (from which the human "Self" was created) is my witness."
The teaching of Buddha, not that of the Buddhist religion, in relation to the body and the soul (Being) and crucifixion of "Self" is identical to the teaching of Christ, not the teaching of the Christian religion.
Prince Sedata won the battle against an army of demons (in the "cave" or "cavern of the mind"*), just through "The Force" of His Love and the great compassion he had found. He achieved the great calm that follows detachment from emotions (which are all human and destructive of good and belong to the "Self"). He had reached beyond his "Self", he was beyond happiness or pain, separate from judgement, able to see beyond the human universe. Sedata had seen the ultimate reality of all things, he had understood that every movement in the Universe is an effect, provoked by a cause. He knew that there was no salvation without compassion for every other living thing; from that moment on Sedata was called "the Buddha" - "the Awakened or Enlightened One". JAH - The Enlightened One.
- Genesis 6:5 And "I AM" saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.
P.S. Would you like me to teach YOU the TRUTH that Satan, using ALL of the organised religions, has hidden from you? Read "The Way home or face The Fire" and then digest and Live it. The Terms Buddha & Christ - Explained.
