Jesus&#39; Transfiguration &amp; the Buddhist Nāga-Rāja Myth

Michael Lockwood

Jesus' Transfiguration & the Buddhist Nāga-Rāja Myth

Michael Lockwood

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This short essay, by Dr. Christian Lindtner, about the genetic relation between the Christian myth of Jesus’ ‘Transfiguration’ and the Buddhist myth about the Buddha and the Serpent King (Nāga-Rāja) is included in my book, ‘The Unknown Buddha of Christianity’ – ML. ¶ Lindtner states that the “purpose of this essay is to point out that this famous Christian myth is based on the ancient Buddhist myth. One myth based on another mythic tale.”

Is the ‘Transfiguration of Jesus’ related to the Myth of the Buddha and the Näga-Räja? Christian Lindtner All Buddhists are familiar with the myth of Mucalindo,1 the ‘Serpent King’ (Näga-Räja), who transforms himself into a human being offering worship to Buddho Bhagavä. Likewise, all Christians are familiar with the myth of Jesus who, in the company of Moses and Elijah, undergoes a transformation or metamorphosis. The purpose of this essay is to point out that this famous Christian myth is based on that ancient Buddhist myth. One myth based on another mythic tale. First, a summary of the Muca-lindo myth, then the Christian myth according to Matthew 17:1-8, along with comparative observations on how the textual metamorphosis took place. Here is the slightly revised translation of T.W. Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg (Mahävagga, I.3.1-4 [New York 1899], pp. 80-81): 1 Then Bhagavä, at the end of those seven days, arose from the state of samädhi, and went from the foot of the Ajapälo banyan tree to the (root of the tree of) Mucalindo. And when he had reached it he sat cross-legged at the foot of the Mucalindo tree uninterruptedly during seven days, enjoying the bliss of emancipation (vimutti-sukha-patisaµvede). 2 At that time a great cloud appeared out of season, rainy weather which was to last seven days, cold weather, storms and darkness. And the Serpent king Mucalindo came out of his abode, and seven times encircled the body of Bhagavä with his coils, and kept extending his large hood (phanam) over the head of Bhagavä, thinking to himself: “May no cold (touch) Bhagavä! May no heat (touch) Bhagavä! May no vexation by gadflies and gnats, by storms or the sun’s heat or reptiles (touch) Bhagavä!” 3 And at the end of those seven days, when the Näga King Mucalindo saw the open, cloudless sky, he loosened his coil(s) from the body of Bhagavä, made his own appearance (as a serpent) disappear, created the appearance of a young man, and stationed himself in the front of Bhagavä, raising his clasped hands while paying reverence to Bhagavä. 4 And Bhagavä, perceiving that, on this occasion, pronounced this solemn utterance: “Happy is the solitude of him who is full of joy, who has learnt the Dhammo, who apprehends (the Dhammo). Happy is the freedom from malice in this world, the (self-)restraint towards all beings that have life. Happy is the freedom from lust in this world, getting beyond all desires; the abandonment of that pride which comes from the thought ‘I am!’ This truly is the highest happiness.” This Buddhist myth has served as a major source of the myth of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Let us see how Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36 have transformed the Buddhist original! 1 According to Matthew and Mark the event took place after six days, according to Luke it took place after eight days. The Buddhist original had seven days. The average of 6+6+8 = 20 = 3 x 6.666... . Thus we have seven days, as in the original. As to the location: according to Matthew and Mark, it was on a high mountain, according to Luke, just a mountain. The original spoke of the abode (bhavanam) of the Serpent king Mucalindo, etc. Jesus was followed by Petros, ’Iakôbos and ’Iôannês. The Buddhist original does not mention these three disciples in this pericope, but often elsewhere. They are Putras, Käåyapas and Änandas. Why there are three, will become clear in a moment. A metamorphosis or transformation of ’Iêsous then takes place. In the original it was Mucalindo who was transformed from a snake to a young man. Moreover, Jesus underwent a transformation so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as dazzling light. This sentence occurs some chapters later in the original (Mahävagga 1.6.7, quoted infra). Then suddenly Moses and Elijah – Hêleias – turn up. In the original this was Mucalindo who now has been transformed into two celebrated mythical Jewish prophets: Môusês and Hêleias. Thus Muca- becomes Môusês, and -Lindo becomes Hêleias. They are all engaged in a conversation, as in the original. In the Buddhist original the conversation has to do with the weather. This is also the case in Matthew, Mark, and Luke: Peter says it is good to be here, and offers to build three “huts” (skênas, acc. plur. of skênê). Luke remarks that Peter did not know what he was saying. An explanation is required! As he spoke a bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice – that of God – is heard from the cloud: “This is my Son, my beloved. . . .” This is a quotation from the Old Testament. Two different sources are combined into a new episode. This is a most typical procedure of Matthew and his co-evangelists. Now comes the important question: How does the cloud that was out of season relate to the cloud that is bright? To answer this question, one must look at the original Päli (and Sanskrit), which is a-käla. This adjective can, in Sanskrit, mean either 1) ‘out-of-season’, or 2) ‘not-black’, i.e., ‘bright’. Matthew thus deliberately chose the “wrong” translation. Mark and Luke do not mention that the cloud is bright. The hood of the snake becomes the hut of Peter. The confusion, or metamorphosis, is indicated by the remark that Peter did not know what he was saying! The hood became a hut, or rather three huts. Had Matthew mentioned that there was a black (and rainy) cloud, one would have understood why Peter offered to build huts for shelter. Why three huts to protect? Answer: Because the hood of Mucalindo in the original is intended to protect against three things: cold, storms and darkness (above). When Peter said that this place was nice, kalon, in all three, this again was a pun on the original adjective: a-käla-m(egho). At the same time it renders the sense of sukha(m), in the compound vimutti-sukha-patisaµvedï. In the original, Mucalindo transformed himself into a young man, and then suddenly disappeared. Here the episode ends. Matthew, Mark and Luke also end the story by letting Jesus be “alone”. 2 3 The Buddha protected by Mucalinda, who multiplies himself into three! ← Näga Queen with three hoods, Mämallapuram. ⇑ The Buddha seated here on the coils of Mucalinda, who, now, has only one normal hood. 4 They conclude by letting Jesus order his disciples not to tell anyone about this “vision”, at least until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. Observation on the numerical harmony: The number of words in Matthew 17:1-5, is 81; in 17:6-8, it is 54. There is thus a nice 81:54 ratio = 3:2. The Päli original consists of 54 words (from atha to ’ti), plus 35 in the prose, plus 22 words in the final verse. The second part of Matthew thus has the same number of words as the first part of the Päli original. To repeat: There are 135 words of prose in Matthew; and there are 89 words of prose in the Päli original. Then, let 89 be the circumference of a circle; the number of the inscribed pentagon will be 134.746, or, as the closest round number: 135. Add the two, and you get 89 + 135 = 224 = 10 x 22.4. And the number of words in the final verse of the Päli was, indeed, 22. To this was added a ’ti (= “ ”), the number of which is 300+10 = 310, or 3+1+0 = 4. Thus 224 has been accounted nicely for: 22-4. The total number of words in the Päli is 111. But 111 is 1.618... x 1.618... x 1.618... x 1.618... x 16.18... . The author was thus again thinking of the Golden Ratio. This, along with the other observations, indicates – even proves – that Matthew and his fellow evangelists counted the number of words in Päli as well as Greek, in order to get an appropriate ratio. And the best of all ratios, is the Golden one. The figures 135 and 111 are, of course those of the Golden Ratio, as found in the pentagram: 108 is the octagon in the 111 circle; and 108 x 1.25 = 135. And the number of Muca-lindo = 461 + 164 = 625 = 5 x 5 x 5 x 5 = 625. And it takes the square root of 5, to define the number of the Golden Ratio. Multiply 2.236 x 2.236 = 5. But 2.236 is 1.618 + 0.61806..., the “golden digits”. Transformation The motif of the transformation, or metamorphosis, of the Lord is, of course, as fundamental to Buddhism as it is to Christianity. Its roots can be traced back to Homer. Time and again, the highest God, Zeus, transforms himself and appears as a human being, or even as an animal (swan, etc.). He changes, as does the weather. There is an allusion to this, when the Päli text refers to devam – it is Zeus who rains, etc. Behind devo we have (ho) theos. It is this metamorphosis from immortal to mortal that later on, in Christianity, becomes “the deepest mystery”. The transformation that Bhagavä underwent is first described as seen by a certain Upako (Mahävagga I.6.7 [Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg, pp. 90-91, slightly revised]) in these words: Now, Upako, a man belonging to the Äjïvika sect, saw Bhagavä traveling on the road, between Gayä and the Bodhi (tree); and when he saw him, he said to Bhagavä: “Your countenance, friend, is serene; your complexion is pure and bright. In whose name, friend, have you retired from the world? Who is your teacher? Whose doctrine do you profess?” 5 The Päli runs: vippasannäni kho te ävuso indriyäni, parisuddho chavivanno pariyodäto. . . . This accounts for the change of the face (prosôpon) and the clothes of Jesus in Matthew 17:2; with slight variants in Mark and Luke. In the Buddhist original, it is his countenance and his complexion that are noted, which makes sense. In the copy, his face brightens, which is understandable. But why his clothes also brighten, presents a puzzle. Perhaps this puzzle is resolved when the Bhagavä states that the transformation has to do with the fact that he is now omniscient, unique, etc., etc., much like the Sun: the allegorical solar qualities equate and express synæsthetically his newly acquired mental/spiritual state. His spiritual enlightenment, in other words, is expressed in the dazzling brightness of the Sun. Another aspect of this meeting reminds one of the meeting which the two persons who were going to a village called Emmaus had with the resurrected Jesus (see Luke 24:13-35, who combines this myth with other Buddhist sources). In the end, Jesus becomes invisible, aphantos (Luke 24:31). Bhagavä also has the ability suddenly to transform himself, and become invisible. The authors responsible for these mythic tales knew very well that they were not writing “real history”. _______________ Endnote 1The myth about the ‘Serpent King’ (Näga-Räja) who winds himself seven times around the body of the Buddha (Mahävagga, Chap. 3, pp. 80-81) reminds us of the Greek myth of the snake Python that winds itself seven times around the omphalos of Apollo, so much the more as the Buddhist myth about Mucalindo here follows immediately after the myth of a certain Ajapälo (Ibid., Chap. 2, pp. 79-80), i.e., Apollôn. For ref. see W. H. Roscher, Omphalos, Leipzig 1913, p. 72. – Greek (Seleucid) coins showing Apollo seated on the omphalos are not uncommon, and would have been known to Buddhist monks. Reference The Mahävagga, in the first Khandhaka (Division) of Part I of Vinaya Texts, translated from the Päli by T. W. Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg, Vol. 13, The Sacred Books of the East, edited by Max Müller (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1881). * * * * * * * * * Copyright © 2015 Christian Lindtner 6

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Jesus' Transfiguration & the Buddhist Nāga-Rāja Myth

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