Demonic or Divine? Theravāda Buddhist Interpretations of Jesus
This article presents a brief overview of Theravāda Buddhist portrayals of Jesus. As will become clear, their views are significantly shaped by their respective historical context. In Asia, the first encounters between Buddhism and Christianity took place under the conditions of European colonial ru...
| Published in: | Buddhist Christian studies |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Hawaii Press
[2019]
|
| In: |
Buddhist Christian studies
|
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Jesus Christus
/ Theravada
/ Buddhist literature
|
| RelBib Classification: | BL Buddhism NBF Christology |
| Further subjects: | B
Jesus
B Gunapala Dharmasiri B Colonialism B Ayya Khema B Buddhist-Christian encounter B Theravāda Buddhism B Anagārika Dharmapāla B Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article presents a brief overview of Theravāda Buddhist portrayals of Jesus. As will become clear, their views are significantly shaped by their respective historical context. In Asia, the first encounters between Buddhism and Christianity took place under the conditions of European colonial rule and were informed to a large extent by the Buddhist experience of Christian mission. This is particularly true for Sri Lanka, where interpretations that depict Jesus in a predominantly negative light developed. At the other end of the spectrum, we find the interpretation of Jesus as a Buddha by the Thai Buddhist reformer Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu. Such a positive assessment of Jesus may in part be influenced by the fact that Thailand has never directly been under Western colonial rule. With the German-born Buddhist nun Ayya Khema, a Buddhist interpretation of Jesus will be taken into account that originated in the West, where Christianity is not a foreign religion, but an established social, cultural, and spiritual force. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1527-9472 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Buddhist Christian studies
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/bcs.2019.0019 |