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94:11.1 [[Buddhism]] entered [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China China] in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000_AD first millennium after Christ], and it fitted well into the [[religious]] [[customs]] of the yellow race. In [[ancestor]] [[worship]] they had long prayed to the dead; now they could also pray for them. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism Buddhism] soon amalgamated with the lingering ritualistic [[practices]] of disintegrating [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism Taoism]. This new [[synthetic]] [[religion]] with its [[temples]] of [[worship]] and definite religious [[ceremonial]] soon became the generally accepted [[cult]] of the peoples of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China China], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea Korea], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan Japan].

94:11.1 [[Buddhism]] entered [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China China] in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000_AD first millennium after Christ], and it fitted well into the [[religious]] [[customs]] of the yellow race. In [[ancestor]] [[worship]] they had long prayed to the dead; now they could also pray for them. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism Buddhism] soon amalgamated with the lingering ritualistic [[practices]] of disintegrating [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism Taoism]. This new [[synthetic]] [[religion]] with its [[temples]] of [[worship]] and definite religious [[ceremonial]] soon became the generally accepted [[cult]] of the peoples of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China China], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea Korea], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan Japan].

94:11.2 While in some respects it is unfortunate that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism Buddhism] was not carried to the world until after [[Gautama]]'s followers had so [[perverted]] the [[traditions]] and teachings of the [[cult]] as to make of him a [[divine]] [[being]], nonetheless this [[myth]] of his human life, embellished as it was with a multitude of [[miracles]], proved very appealing to the auditors of the northern or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayahana Mahayana] gospel of Buddhism.

94:11.2 While in some respects it is unfortunate that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism Buddhism] was not carried to the world until after [[Gautama]]'s followers had so [[perverted]] the [[traditions]] and teachings of the [[cult]] as to make of him a [[divine]] [[being]], nonetheless this [[myth]] of his human life, embellished as it was with a multitude of [[miracles]], proved very appealing to the auditors of the northern or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayahana Mahayana] gospel of Buddhism.

94:11.3 Some of his later followers taught that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakyamuni Sakyamuni Buddha]'s spirit returned periodically to [[earth]] as a living [[Buddha]], thus opening the way for an indefinite perpetuation of Buddha images, [[temples]], [[rituals]], and impostor "living Buddhas." Thus did the [[religion]] of the great Indian protestant eventually find itself shackled with those very [[ceremonial]] [[practices]] and ritualistic [[incantations]] against which he had so fearlessly fought, and which he had so valiantly denounced.

94:11.3 Some of his later followers taught that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakyamuni Sakyamuni Buddha]'s spirit returned periodically to [[earth]] as a living [[Buddha]], thus opening the way for an indefinite perpetuation of Buddha images, [[temples]], [[rituals]], and impostor "living Buddhas." Thus did the [[religion]] of the great Indian protestant eventually find itself shackled with those very [[ceremonial]] [[practices]] and ritualistic [[incantations]] against which he had so fearlessly fought, and which he had so valiantly denounced.

94:11.4 The great advance made in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_philosophy Buddhist philosophy] consisted in its comprehension of the [[relativity]] of all [[truth]]. Through the [[mechanism]] of this [[hypothesis]] Buddhists have been able to reconcile and correlate the divergencies within their own religious [[scriptures]] as well as the [[differences]] between their own and many others. It was taught that the small [[truth]] was for little minds, the large truth for great minds.

94:11.4 The great advance made in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_philosophy Buddhist philosophy] consisted in its comprehension of the [[relativity]] of all [[truth]]. Through the [[mechanism]] of this [[hypothesis]] Buddhists have been able to reconcile and correlate the divergencies within their own religious [[scriptures]] as well as the [[differences]] between their own and many others. It was taught that the small [[truth]] was for little minds, the large truth for great minds.

94:11.5 This [[philosophy]] also held that the [[Buddha]] ([[divine]]) [[nature]] resided in all men; that man, through his own endeavors, could [[attain]] to the [[realization]] of this inner [[divinity]]. And this teaching is one of the clearest presentations of the [[truth]] of the indwelling [[Adjusters]] ever to be made by a Urantian [[religion]].

94:11.5 This [[philosophy]] also held that the [[Buddha]] ([[divine]]) [[nature]] resided in all men; that man, through his own endeavors, could [[attain]] to the [[realization]] of this inner [[divinity]]. And this teaching is one of the clearest presentations of the [[truth]] of the indwelling [[Adjusters]] ever to be made by a Urantian [[religion]].

94:11.6 But a great [[limitation]] in the original gospel of [[Siddhartha]], as it was [[interpreted]] by his followers, was that it attempted the complete [[liberation]] of the human [[self]] from all the [[limitations]] of the [[mortal]] nature by the [[technique]] of isolating the self from [[objective]] [[reality]]. True [[cosmic]] [[self-realization]] results from identification with cosmic [[reality]] and with the [[finite]] cosmos of [[energy]], [[mind]], and [[spirit]], bounded by [[space]] and conditioned by [[time]].

94:11.6 But a great [[limitation]] in the original gospel of [[Siddhartha]], as it was [[interpreted]] by his followers, was that it attempted the complete [[liberation]] of the human [[self]] from all the [[limitations]] of the [[mortal]] nature by the [[technique]] of isolating the self from [[objective]] [[reality]]. True [[cosmic]] [[self-realization]] results from identification with cosmic [[reality]] and with the [[finite]] cosmos of [[energy]], [[mind]], and [[spirit]], bounded by [[space]] and conditioned by [[time]].

94:11.7 But though the [[ceremonies]] and outward observances of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism Buddhism] became grossly contaminated with those of the lands to which it traveled, this [[degeneration]] was not altogether the case in the [[philosophical]] life of the great thinkers who, from time to time, [[embraced]] this system of [[thought]] and [[belief]]. Through more than two thousand years, many of the best minds of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia Asia] have [[concentrated]] upon the problem of ascertaining absolute [[truth]] and the truth of the [[Absolute]].

94:11.7 But though the [[ceremonies]] and outward observances of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism Buddhism] became grossly contaminated with those of the lands to which it traveled, this [[degeneration]] was not altogether the case in the [[philosophical]] life of the great thinkers who, from time to time, [[embraced]] this system of [[thought]] and [[belief]]. Through more than two thousand years, many of the best minds of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia Asia] have [[concentrated]] upon the problem of ascertaining absolute [[truth]] and the truth of the [[Absolute]].

94:11.8 The [[evolution]] of a high [[concept]] of the [[Absolute]] was achieved through many [[channels]] of [[thought]] and by devious paths of [[reasoning]]. The upward [[ascent]] of this [[doctrine]] of [[infinity]] was not so clearly defined as was the [[evolution]] of the [[God]] concept in [[Hebrew]] [[theology]]. Nevertheless, there were certain broad levels which the [[minds]] of the Buddhists reached, tarried upon, and passed through on their way to the envisioning of the Primal [[Source]] of [[universes]]:

94:11.8 The [[evolution]] of a high [[concept]] of the [[Absolute]] was achieved through many [[channels]] of [[thought]] and by devious paths of [[reasoning]]. The upward [[ascent]] of this [[doctrine]] of [[infinity]] was not so clearly defined as was the [[evolution]] of the [[God]] concept in [[Hebrew]] [[theology]]. Nevertheless, there were certain broad levels which the [[minds]] of the Buddhists reached, tarried upon, and passed through on their way to the envisioning of the Primal [[Source]] of [[universes]]:

*1. 94:11.9 1. ''The Gautama legend''. At the base of the [[concept]] was the historic [[fact]] of the life and teachings of [[Siddhartha]], the [[prophet]] prince of India. This legend grew in [[myth]] as it traveled through the centuries and across the broad lands of Asia until it surpassed the [[status]] of the [[idea]] of Gautama as the [[enlightened]] one and began to take on additional [[attributes]].

*1. 94:11.9 1. ''The Gautama legend''. At the base of the [[concept]] was the historic [[fact]] of the life and teachings of [[Siddhartha]], the [[prophet]] prince of India. This legend grew in [[myth]] as it traveled through the centuries and across the broad lands of Asia until it surpassed the [[status]] of the [[idea]] of Gautama as the [[enlightened]] one and began to take on additional [[attributes]].

*2. 94:11.10 2. ''The many Buddhas''. It was reasoned that, if [[Gautama]] had come to the peoples of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India India], then, in the remote past and in the remote [[future]], the races of [[mankind]] must have been, and undoubtedly would be, [[blessed]] with other teachers of [[truth]]. This gave rise to the teaching that there were many Buddhas, an unlimited and infinite [[number]], even that anyone could [[aspire]] to become one—to attain the [[divinity]] of a Buddha.

*2. 94:11.10 2. ''The many Buddhas''. It was reasoned that, if [[Gautama]] had come to the peoples of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India India], then, in the remote past and in the remote [[future]], the races of [[mankind]] must have been, and undoubtedly would be, [[blessed]] with other teachers of [[truth]]. This gave rise to the teaching that there were many Buddhas, an unlimited and infinite [[number]], even that anyone could [[aspire]] to become one—to attain the [[divinity]] of a Buddha.

*3. 94:11.11 3. ''The Absolute Buddha''. B y the time the [[number]] of Buddhas was approaching [[infinity]], it became [[necessary]] for the [[minds]] of those days to reunify this unwieldy [[concept]]. Accordingly it began to be taught that all Buddhas were but the [[manifestation]] of some higher [[essence]], some Eternal One of [[infinite]] and unqualified [[existence]], some [[Absolute]] [[Source]] of all [[reality]]. From here on, the [[Deity]] concept of Buddhism, in its highest form, becomes [[divorced]] from the human [[person]] of [[Gautama Siddhartha]] and casts off from the [[anthropomorphic]] limitations which have held it in leash. This final [[conception]] of the Buddha Eternal can well be identified as the [[Absolute]], sometimes even as the infinite [[I AM]].

*3. 94:11.11 3. ''The Absolute Buddha''. B y the time the [[number]] of Buddhas was approaching [[infinity]], it became [[necessary]] for the [[minds]] of those days to reunify this unwieldy [[concept]]. Accordingly it began to be taught that all Buddhas were but the [[manifestation]] of some higher [[essence]], some Eternal One of [[infinite]] and unqualified [[existence]], some [[Absolute]] [[Source]] of all [[reality]]. From here on, the [[Deity]] concept of Buddhism, in its highest form, becomes [[divorced]] from the human [[person]] of [[Gautama Siddhartha]] and casts off from the [[anthropomorphic]] limitations which have held it in leash. This final [[conception]] of the Buddha Eternal can well be identified as the [[Absolute]], sometimes even as the infinite [[I AM]].

94:11.12 While this idea of [[Absolute]] [[Deity]] never found great popular [[favor]] with the peoples of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia Asia], it did enable the [[intellectuals]] of these lands to unify their [[philosophy]] and to harmonize their [[cosmology]]. The [[concept]] of the Buddha Absolute is at times quasi-[[personal]], at times wholly [[impersonal]]—even an infinite [[creative]] [[force]]. Such concepts, though helpful to [[philosophy]], are not [[vital]] to religious [[development]]. Even an [[anthropomorphic]] [[Yahweh]] is of greater [[religious]] value than an infinitely remote [[Absolute]] of Buddhism or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman Brahmanism].

94:11.12 While this idea of [[Absolute]] [[Deity]] never found great popular [[favor]] with the peoples of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia Asia], it did enable the [[intellectuals]] of these lands to unify their [[philosophy]] and to harmonize their [[cosmology]]. The [[concept]] of the Buddha Absolute is at times quasi-[[personal]], at times wholly [[impersonal]]—even an infinite [[creative]] [[force]]. Such concepts, though helpful to [[philosophy]], are not [[vital]] to religious [[development]]. Even an [[anthropomorphic]] [[Yahweh]] is of greater [[religious]] value than an infinitely remote [[Absolute]] of Buddhism or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman Brahmanism].

94:11.13 At times the [[Absolute]] was even thought of as contained within the [[infinite]] [[I AM]]. But these [[speculations]] were chill comfort to the hungry multitudes who craved to hear [[words]] of [[promise]], to hear the simple gospel of [[Salem]], that [[faith]] in [[God]] would [[assure]] [[divine]] [[favor]] and eternal [[survival]].

94:11.13 At times the [[Absolute]] was even thought of as contained within the [[infinite]] [[I AM]]. But these [[speculations]] were chill comfort to the hungry multitudes who craved to hear [[words]] of [[promise]], to hear the simple gospel of [[Salem]], that [[faith]] in [[God]] would [[assure]] [[divine]] [[favor]] and eternal [[survival]].