One evening when King Kanishka together with his friend Charaka enjoyed the company of Açvaghosha, the youthful ruler of Gandhâra turned to the venerable philosopher with this request: "And now, worshipful master, tell us, do we worship in Buddha a god or a man?"

Replied Açvaghosha: "Buddha is neither a god nor a man; he is more than either, for he is perfection incarnate. We worship in Buddha wisdom and goodness, that is, the comprehension and application of the truth, which are the qualities that alone render the gods divine. Truth is eternal, but all actual beings, not even excluding the gods, are transient."

Charaka interposed: "We do not speak of the gods, but of God, which means divinity itself. What would the Buddha have taught about God?"

Kanishka added: "We mean God, not in the sense of Brahma, the principle of existence, nor of Ishvara, a personal Lord and manufacturer of universes, but God as goodness, as truth, as righteousness, as love? Does God in this sense exist or not? Is it a dream or a reality? What is it and how do we know of it?"

"You ask a question to answer which will take a book. But I shall be brief. Certainly, God in this sense is a reality. God, in this sense is the good law that shapes existence, leading life step by step onward and upward toward its highest goal-enlightenment. Recognition of this law gives us light on the conditions of our existence so as to render it possible for us to find the right path; and we call it Dharmakaya, the body of the good law, or Amitâbha, the source of infinite light, or by some other name. It is the norm of all nature involving the bliss of goodness and the curse of wrong doing according to irrefragable causation."

Amitabha a story of buddhist theology

Présentation de l'ouvrage : L'Evangile du Bouddha relate l'histoire du Bouddha par le biais de paraboles. Bien qu'il ne s'agisse pas ici d'une traduction littérale des Soûtras bouddhiques, l'auteur a choisi çà et là dans leur masse énorme et groupé pour en faire un tout homogène, les passages les plus caractéristiques, les plus propres à mettre en pleine lumière les doctrines morales et philosophiques du Bouddhisme. Paul Carus a toujours respecté scrupuleusement l'esprit des Soûtras bouddhiques, et que même par le groupement systématique de ces textes divers, L'Evangile du Bouddha donne des conceptions bouddhiques une impression plus frappante et peut-être tout aussi juste que pourrait le faire une stricte traduction de ces écritures. A part les trois premiers chapitres peut-être, l'imagination de l'auteur n'y est pour rien. Ce livre est plus facile et plus agréable à lire que les Soûtras originaux, avec leurs longueurs et leurs redites interminables, et auxquels, d'ailleurs, de nombreuses références permettent de se reporter facilement. Note de l'éditeur pour la version imprimée : Afin d'être plus agréable lors de la lecture, cet ouvrage est en format Beau Livre. Dans la même optique, le papier est de couleur crème, ce qui fatigue moins les yeux que le papier blanc. Toutes nos publications font l'objet d'un travail soigné tant au niveau typographique qu'au niveau du design. Note de l'éditeur pour la version Kindle : Nos publications Kindle sont soigneusement conçues, avec une table des matières, un index, des notes de bas de page et références, là où cela est applicable. Un accent a été mis sur la typographie ainsi que le design. Vos commentaires sont les bienvenus sur discoverypublisher. com/fr/ - Merci d'avoir choisi Les Editions Discovery.

L'Évangile du Bouddha

Buddhism, like Christianity, is split up into innumerable sects, and these sects not infrequently cling to their sectarian tenets as being the main and most indispensable features of their religion. The present book follows none of the sectarian doctrines, but takes an ideal position upon which all true Buddhists may stand as upon common ground. Thus the arrangement into a harmonious and systematic form is the main original feature of this Gospel of Buddha. Considering the bulk of the various details of the Buddhist canon, however, it must be regarded as a mere compilation, and the aim of the compiler has been to treat his material in about the same way as he thinks that the author of the Fourth Gospel of the New Testament utilized the accounts of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. He has ventured to present the data of the Buddha's life in the light of their religio-philosophical importance; he has cut out most of their apocryphal adornments, especially those in which the Northern traditions abound, yet he did not deem it wise to shrink from preserving the marvellous that appears in the old records, whenever its moral seemed to justify its mention; he only pruned away the exuberance of wonder which delights in relating the most incredible things, apparently put on to impress while in fact they can only tire. Miracles have ceased to be a religious test; yet the belief in the miraculous powers of the Master still bears witness to the holy awe of the first disciples and reflects their religious enthusiasm.

The Gospel of Buddha

Inspiré des Évangiles, L'Évangile du Bouddha fut publié pour la première fois en 1894, en anglais, et de nombreuses rééditions se succédèrent depuis lors. 

Le monde du bouddhisme reçut cet évangile avec enthousiasme et l'introduisit officiellement dans les écoles et les temples bouddhistes du Japon et de Sri Lanka. En relatant la vie de Bouddha comme celle du Christ, Paul Carus, dans un style simple et concis, témoigne fidèlement de l'essence du bouddhisme à la lumière des anciens documents ; il met aussi en relief la grandeur poétique de la personnalité unique du Bouddha. 

Ce livre ne suit aucune doctrine, ne prône aucun dogme, mais relate avec simplicité et justesse ce que furent la vie et l'enseignement de Bouddha. Un classique pour tous les vrais bouddhistes.

L'évangile du Bouddha - La vie de Bouddha racontée à la lumière de son rôle religieux et philosophique

At the beginning of Chinese history stands a tablet which in some mysterious way is supposed to be connected with an explanation of the universe. It has been reconstructed by later Chinese thinkers and is pictured in the hands of Fuh-Hi as an arrangement of the kwa figures preserved in the Yih King. Considering the several traces of Babylonian traditions in ancient Chinese literature and folklore, would it not be justifiable to identify the tablet of Fuh-Hi with the ancient Babylonian "Tablet of Destiny" mentioned in the Enmeduranki Text, a copy of which was discovered in the archives of Asurbanipal 20 and was said to contain the "Mystery of Heaven and Earth?"

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