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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Talk:Cultural and historical background of Jesus. The list of authors can be seen in the page history.

The article is very informative & provides several insights. However I would also like to point out whether Jesus was influenced by Buddhism:
1. Considering that his teachings were opposed to violence & revenge, rather it was about forgiveness & compassion similar to Buddhism.
2. Whether Jesus belonged to Essenes considering that his teacher John the Baptist was Essene.
3. Whether Essenes originated from Buddhist ideology & practice considering that:
3a. Buddhist monasteries existed in Alexandria prior to 100 BC, this has been mentioned by philosopher Philo.
3b. After Buddhism faded in Alexandria, a new sect called Theraputae arose. The word Thera means an Elder Monk in Buddhism & Putae appears to originate from word Putra means son so Theraputae word means (ideologicals) sons of Buddhist Monks.
Theraputae: [1]
3c. Whether Essene Jews followed Buddha also considering that Essenes even today give respects to both Jesus & Buddha
4. Whether Gnosticism was influenced by Buddhism considering that the word Gnosis actually refers to process of spiritual awakening & enlightenment as practiced in Buddhism.
5. The story of prodigal son spoken by Jesus is also common to Buddhism.
6. The story of Barlaam & Josaphat in Buddhism & Christianity have similarities.
7. Jesus was into doing meditation as recorded in Gospels.
8. Similar to Buddha, Jesus went into isolation for many days(in desert) & achieved knowledge(enlightenment) after defeating the devil. In Buddism , the Buddha defeated Mara the Lord of death.
9. Similar to Buddhism, Jesus followed & taught celibacy to achieve rapture & union with God (enlightenment).
10. A rock edict (written in Aramaic, Greek & Indian script) of Indian Emperor Ashoka mentions that he sent monks & had established monasteries in Alexandria of Egypt.
Map : [2]

I think the Buddhism is the missing link to the Origination of Christianity, rather I would call
Christianity = Judaism + Buddhism
and it happened like this:
Indian Emperor Ashoka sent Buddhism to Alexandria -> Theraputae -> Essene Judaism -> Christianity & Gnosticism
Buddhalord (talk) 08:48, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

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