Robert Korczynski holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan with Majors in Psychology and Sociology, and Minors in Philosophy and Comparative Religions. He is an avowed Agnostic. The following is an excerpt from his book, Buddha's Big Foot, which is an academic investigation into the influence of King Ashoka's Buddhist Missionaries within the religions of the ancient world.
In this online version, red italic letters are used for any text attributed to the Buddha or Jesus, regardless of the source. The common term, "the Lord" is used interchangeably to refer to both, as the teachings of Jesus have been shown to come directly from the teachings of the Buddha through ancient number-based forms of translation. (See the revolutionary work of the Danish linguist Dr. Christian Lindtner.) The following is copyrighted material.
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In the Gospel of Thomas, The Lord says:
“The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered, nor have they allowed those who want to enter to do so. As for you, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Saying 39)
And halfway thru the unauthorized Gospel of Magdalene, he says:
“It is easy to be a criminal. In this world, it is very hard work to be human.”
“They are drunk, and they do no work, and they are all criminals.”
“If you try to wake them or sober them, they will be terrified, and they will try to kill you. Be as gentle as doves and as subtle as serpents.”
These two sayings-style Gospels share the snake/dove analogy. The words “Innocent,” and “gentle,” refer to the doves, and “shrewd,” and “subtle,” refer to the “serpents” or “snakes;” so we are told to be innocent like doves and shrewd like snakes while finding the keys of knowledge, and while passing them on to others, we are told to be as gentle as doves and subtle as snakes. Compare to KJV Matthew 10:16:
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”
Without placing the snake/serpent reference in the context of the old world, 2,000 years ago, snake will mean nothing; the original word, in Sanskrit, that covered all poisonous snakes, nonpoisonous snakes, dragons, sea-serpents, mermaids, and shape-shifting lizard men, was “Naga.” So we are told to be as, “shrewd as Nagas,” while stealing the keys of wisdom from the scribes; we are told to be as, “subtle as Nagas,” while awakening the sleeping drunks of the world; and we are told to be as, “wise as Nagas,” when in the midst of “wolves.”
In this case, sleepwalkers, drunks and wolves can be considered as different aspects of the deluded mind, or ignorant mind caught up in Samsara. Nagas were known to be shape changing, great adversaries, always spiritual, yet not completely what they seemed.
The historic Buddha spoke in great detail about people caught up in the deluded mind; he once compared them to children distracted by toys. The Lord said:
“If one does not follow the goal of Total Realization, one lives one's life like a preoccupied child playing with toys in a house that is burning to the ground.”
(...) All of Christianity, all of Buddha-dharma, and all echoes of Buddha-dharma are just, “fingers pointing at the moon,” as in the Buddha-dharma metaphor. The image conveyed is that the Buddha is pointing at the moon, but you’re looking at the finger that is pointing.
Buddha-dharma (in the 3rd and 4th Noble Truths) reveals that we could all try to become enlightened, like the Buddha, if we want; as I mentioned before, we are told something about that enlightened state of being at the beginning of the PrajnaparamitaSutra, and the SaddarmapundarikaSutra. From the Saddarmapundarika-Sutra (the Lotus Sutra):
“(The Buddha) sat cross-legged on the seat of the law, and entered upon the meditation termed 'the station of the exposition of Infinity;' his body was motionless and his mind had reached perfect tranquility. And as soon as the Lord had entered upon his meditation, there fell a great rain of divine flowers….”
It is this state of perfect tranquility that we could all strive to reach, each day, each minute, each second, within our own lifetimes, if we wanted. We could all try to be like the Buddha. He revealed, through great personal effort, the ever-true message about the laws of Karma, and he revealed the path to salvation (Nirvana).
-Excerpt taken from chapter 6 of Buddha's Big Foot.
International customers can purchase a copy through the publisher's secure server. U.S. customers can get it on Amazon.