From Buddha to Christ II

Let us consider the developmental phases of humanity by going back six hundred years before the appearance of Christ Jesus on our earth, to six hundred years after this event. Six hundred years before Christ, the high being of Buddha embodied himself in the personality of Siddhartha Gautama, who, through his wisdom, brought a glorious teaching to millions of people. He was a prince, sheltered from early youth and protected from all the misery, vice and suffering that the world brings with it. When he had matured into a young man and managed to cross the boundaries of his palace garden, life confronted him for the first time in all its reality. He encountered a beggar clothed in rags and a sick man, and finally he saw a corpse; he drew from this the conclusion that everything on earth is suffering. Birth is suffering, death is suffering, being separated from loved ones is suffering, being united with those you do not love is suffering, not getting what you want is suffering, and getting what you do not desire is suffering. He therefore says: All earthly things are vain, therefore man should deny life, detach himself from all that is earthly; one should quench the thirst for existence, for all is Maya. — He did not return to his royal palace, but went into the wilderness.