Buddha on a crucifix

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Huseng
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Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Huseng »

I was at the Asian Civlizations Museum in Singapore today and found this. It is from the Tokugawa era in Japan when Christianity was outlawed. Someone could covertly worship the cross.


Image
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Dronma
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Dronma »

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing, Indrajala!
I would never believe, before I see it, that it existed such a symbol.
The sound of s i l e n c e.....
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lobster
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by lobster »

Someone could covertly worship the cross.
An iron cross eh.
Seems very natural to have a female or crucified Buddha. However some prefer their icons clearly labeled.
Shakyamuni, King of the Buddhas.
. . . maybe repos are available . . . I think I would use one . . . :popcorn:
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rory
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by rory »

gives me the creeps, really fascinating though. I've seen icons of Kannon that stood for the Virgin Mary.
gassho
Rory
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu
Chih-I:
The Tai-ching states "the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned ( their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all received buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin)" Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it) Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority
Paul, Groner "The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture"eds. Tanabe p. 58
https://www.tendai-usa.org/
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Wayfarer
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Wayfarer »

I saw a photograph of a similar 'hybrid' style of icon from, I think, the Gandhara era, silver, many years ago in a journal. I was interested in finding out more, but never managed to track it down again. I wondered if it might be related to the so-called Jesus Sutras of the Nestorian Christians, who managed to get as far as Imperial China.
In 1907, explorers discovered a vast treasure trove of ancient scrolls, silk paintings, and artifacts dating from the 5th to 11th centuries A.D. in a long-sealed cave in a remote region of China. Among them, written in Chinese, were scrolls that recounted a history of Jesus' life and teachings in beautiful Taoist concepts and imagery that were unknown in the West. These writings told a story of Christianity that was by turns unique and disturbing, hopeful and uplifting. The best way to describe them is collectively, with a term they themselves use: The Jesus Sutras.
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oushi
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by oushi »

Gnostics would be proud of it.
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plwk
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by plwk »

Ven Indrajala, a 'crucifix' / 'cruci fixus' is technically a cross with a fixed carving of a crucified Christ on it.
The one in the pic looks like a plain cross with a carved image of a Buddha, although I can't see the back side of it...
Huseng
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Huseng »

Ah, okay.

Basically it is a covert Christian symbol. They would stick it on the wall and people would think they were worshipping the Buddha.

In the Tokugawa period being a Christian was prohibited.
Ramon1920
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Ramon1920 »

I remember seeing a documentary about some mirrors that appeared normal but reflected Christian images before.
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Thomas Amundsen
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Thomas Amundsen »

I don't see much harm in it. Seems like a win-win.
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Grigoris
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Grigoris »

Or a lose-lose! :tongue:
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rory
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by rory »

Sorry the crucifix where Jesus is crucified for your sins , the load of guilt plus you'll never be a christus/a is a billion miles away from a Buddha whom we all can become. Not to mention that Jews (my people) have been discriminated and murdered in Jesus' name for 2 millenia. Buddhism is much more syncretic and prefers to absorb rather than persecute...
gassho
rory
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu
Chih-I:
The Tai-ching states "the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned ( their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all received buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin)" Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it) Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority
Paul, Groner "The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture"eds. Tanabe p. 58
https://www.tendai-usa.org/
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Kim O'Hara »

rory wrote:Sorry the crucifix where Jesus is crucified for your sins , the load of guilt plus you'll never be a christus/a is a billion miles away from a Buddha whom we all can become. Not to mention that Jews (my people) have been discriminated and murdered in Jesus' name for 2 millenia. Buddhism is much more syncretic and prefers to absorb rather than persecute...
gassho
rory
But Rory, this buddha-on-a-cross was never intended as a Buddhist symbol, if Indrajala is correct. The Buddha-figure was just stuck on the cross to camouflage an object which was intended to be, and used as, a strictly Christian symbol.
The similarities and differences between the two religions are therefore quite beside the point. So are their habits of borrowing/absorbing ideas from other religions, which is a whole topic in itself.

:namaste:
Kim
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rory
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by rory »

I was replying to the win-win, idea that it's all okay, good etc...symbols have tremendous power. To a Japanese covert Christian that was a helpful symbol; to me seeing the buddha on a cross is amazingly upsetting.
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu
Chih-I:
The Tai-ching states "the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned ( their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all received buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin)" Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it) Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority
Paul, Groner "The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture"eds. Tanabe p. 58
https://www.tendai-usa.org/
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Buddha on a crucifix

Post by Kim O'Hara »

rory wrote:I was replying to the win-win, idea that it's all okay, good etc...symbols have tremendous power. To a Japanese covert Christian that was a helpful symbol; to me seeing the buddha on a cross is amazingly upsetting.
Thanks for your explanation, and it does make sense - our responses are highly dependent on our prior experiences. But perhaps you could have made it clear that you were responding to a particular post and from a different perspective?

:namaste:
Kim
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