The original ‘unknown’ god of China
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The original ‘unknown’ god of China
An Ancient pictogram script points to the Bible
by Ethel Nelson
Mystery concerns the 450-year-old Temple of Heaven complex in Beijing, China. Why did the emperors sacrifice a bull on the great white marble Altar of Heaven at an annual ceremony, the year’s most important and colourful celebration, the so-called ‘Border Sacrifice’? This rite ended in 1911 when the last emperor was deposed. However, the sacrifice did not begin a mere 450 years ago. The ceremony goes back 4,000 years. One of the earliest accounts of the Border Sacrifice is found in the Shu Jing (Book of History), compiled by Confucius, where it is recorded of Emperor Shun (who ruled from about 2256 BC to 2205 BC when the first recorded dynasty began) that ‘he sacrificed to ShangDi.’ 1
Who is ShangDi? This name literally means ‘the Heavenly Ruler.’ By reviewing recitations used at the Border Sacrifice, recorded in the Statutes of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368 ), one may begin to understand the ancient Chinese reverence for ShangDi. Participating in this rite, the emperor first meditated at the Temple of Heaven (the Imperial Vault), while costumed singers, accompanied by musicians, intoned:
‘To Thee, O mysteriously-working Maker, I look up in thought. … With the great ceremonies I reverently honor Thee. Thy servant, I am but a reed or willow; my heart is but that of an ant; yet have I received Thy favouring decree, appointing me to the government of the empire. I deeply cherish a sense of my ignorance and blindness, and am afraid, lest I prove unworthy of Thy great favours. Therefore will I observe all the rules and statutes, striving, insignificant as I am, to discharge my loyal duty. Far distant here, I look up to Thy heavenly palace. Come in Thy precious chariot to the altar. Thy servant, I bow my head to the earth reverently, expecting Thine abundant grace. … O that Thou wouldest vouchsafe to accept our offerings, and regard us, while thus we worship Thee, whose goodness is inexhaustible!’2
Thus we find the emperor worshipping ShangDi. Can we possible trace the original intention of this magnificent ceremony of antiquity? As the emperor took part in this annual service dedicated to ShangDi, the following words were recited, clearly showing that he considered ShangDi the Creator of the world:
‘Of old in the beginning, there was the great chaos, without form and dark. The five elements [planets] had not begun to revolve, nor the sun and moon to shine. You, O Spiritual Sovereign, first divided the grosser parts from the purer. You made heaven. You made earth. You made man. All things with their reproducing power got their being’ 3
For the Christian, the above recitation sounds strangely familiar. How closely it reads to the opening chapter of the biblical Genesis! Note the similarity with excerpts from the more detailed story as recorded in the Hebrew writings:
‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. …
‘And God said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas. …
‘And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. …
‘So God created man in His own image; …’ (Genesis 1:1-2, 9-10, 16, 27-28 )
ShangDi, the Creator-God of the Chinese, surely appears to be one and the same as the Creator-God of the Hebrews. In fact, one of the Hebrew names for God is El Shaddai, which is phonetically similar to ShangDi. Even more similar is the Early Zhou pronunciation of ShangDi which is ‘djanh-tigh’ [Zhan-dai].4 Another name for their God which the ancient Chinese used interchangeable with ShangDi was Heaven (Tian). Zheng Xuan, a scholar of the early Han dynasty said, “ShangDi is another name for Heaven (Tian)”.5 The great philosopher Motze (408-382 BC) also thought of Heaven (Tian) as the Creator-God:
‘I know Heaven loves men dearly not without reason. Heaven ordered the sun, the moon, and the stars to enlighten and guide them. Heaven ordained the four seasons, Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer, to regulate them. Heaven sent down snow, frost, rain, and dew to grow the five grains and flax and silk so that the people could use and enjoy them. Heaven established the hills and river, ravines and valleys, and arranged many things to minister to man’s good or bring him evil.’ 6
How did ShangDi create all things? Here is one further recitation from the ancient Border Sacrifice rite:
‘When Te [ShangDi], the Lord, had so decreed, He called into existence [originated] heaven, earth, and man. Between heaven and earth He separately placed in order men and things, all overspread by the heavens.’ 7
Note that ShangDi ‘called into existence,’ or commanded heaven and earth to appear.
Compare this with the way the Hebrew text describes the method of creation by El Shaddai, who, we suspect, is identical with ShangDi, and the similarity in name and role would suggest:
‘… by the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. … For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast’ (Psalm 33:6, 9).
We have not yet explained the reason for the emperorsÂ’ bull sacrifice to ShangDi. Let us compare this Chinese sacrifice with the instruction given by God to the Hebrews:
‘Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD’ (Leviticus 9:2)—a practice which began in earliest times (Genesis 4:3,4; 8:20).
The origin of the Border Sacrifice would appear to be explained in the book, God’s Promise to the Chinese.8 The authors, Nelson, Broadberry, and Chock have analyzed the most ancient forms of the pictographic Chinese writing and found the foundational truths of Christianity. In these ideograms, which date from before the time of Moses—we have the entire story of creation, the temptation, and fall of man into sin, and God’s remedy for sin in the animal sacrifices, which pointed to the coming Savior, Jesus Christ. All the elements of the Genesis narrative are found recorded, and still in use, in the Chinese character-writing.
The associated box shows some startling realities about the written Chinese language, indicating that we are all related—and not so long ago. All people in the world, not just the Chinese, are descended from the inhabitants of Babel, the first civilization after the Flood. God first gave His promise of a coming saviour, the ‘Seed of the Woman,’ in Genesis (3:15). The foreshadowed sacrifice of the coming Lamb of God, Creator and Saviour, is as old as mankind.
Should a Chinese person tell you that Christianity is a ‘foreigner’s religion,’ you can explain that the Chinese in antiquity worshipped the same God as Christians do today. Like the Hebrews often did, the ancestors of today’s Chinese wandered off after false gods; the memory of who their original God was dimmed with time.9 The ancient Chinese script gives powerful evidence for the historical truth of Genesis.
taken from http://www.answersingenesis.org/ -
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Taoist maxim: From the beginning is Taiji, from Taiji came Yin Yang, from Yin Yang came the Four Directions, from the Four Directions came Pa Kua and from Pa Kua the universe is born.
Taoists have always say that there is One (Taiji). Christians have always say that there is one God. If there is One, then all things come from One. To say that there is true and false is to say that there are two.
If Christianity is not a ‘foreigner’s religion’ to Taoism, then Taoism is not a ‘foreigner’s religion’ to Christianity. Then what is there to say about true and false? -
A story.....
Before Longtan Chongxin became a monk, he sold buns for a living. The Zen Master Daowu saw the intelligence in the little boy and allowed the family to stay at his monastery. In return for his kindness, Longtan Chongxin would deliver ten buns to Master Daowu everyday. And daily without fail, after the buns were delivered, Master Daowu will get one of his monks to deliver one bun to Longtan Chongxin. This carried on for 2 years.
Finally after 2 years, Longtan Chongxin (LC) went to Master Daowu(DW) to askÂ…
LC: Since I have given you 10 buns, why do you return me one bun everyday. Is it that you despise my buns?
DW: If you can give me 10 buns, why canÂ’t I give you one bun?
LC: Since I have given you 10 buns, why would I care for your one bun?
DW (laughing): I donÂ’t despise your 10 buns as too many, do you despise my one bun as too few?
The little boy understood the lesson and later become a disciple of Daowu.
Daowu once said “One gives rise to ten, ten give rise to one hundred, one hundred give rise to one hundred thousand, All comes from One.
To which Longtan Chongxin added “One is All and All is One” -
When the Chinese worship Tien Kong (God of Heaven), the altar is outdoors facing the sky.
Just like Jews and Christians, no idol is used to represent Tien Kong. -
if u go Jade Emperor temple..u will discover tt u r wrong.Originally posted by Dr Who:When the Chinese worship Tien Kong (God of Heaven), the altar is outdoors facing the sky.
Just like Jews and Christians, no idol is used to represent Tien Kong.
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There r obviously many fundamental differences between shangdi and christianity. There r more than one god. He did not created everything. Man is believed to have been created by another god, rain is believed to have been created by rain god etc. They worship their ancestors too, and it is thought to have influence confucius. Furthermore only the emperor can worship these gods and in fact, he is believed to be one of the gods. They not only sacrifice bulls to these ancestors. They also sacrifice human to the god at tat time too. When the emperor dies, hundreds of its followers also have to die with him too. The only similarities u have stated is only the opening prayers, which i have high doubts aout the accuracy of it since it is interpreted by christian themselves... it is believed tat the bones of jiaguwen mostly talk about questioning and answers from the priests, and contains about decisions like when to attack another tribe or when will rain arrives... In fact nobody really knows how to read jiaguwen. They only guessed from the pictures of the wordings. Shi Huang Ti has unified all the writings of different states and jiaguwen is found only in 1899. And the words example given really meant nothing, since there r millions of chinese characters.
If u say tat shangdi is christianity, then u r probably saying tat christainity is pagan. Surprisingly there r many similarities between stories from christainity and some other religions. It is remarked tat the story of christ bears many similarities to Chrishna, one of the god from india
http://atheism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.infidels.org%2Flibrary%2Fhistorical%2Fkersey_graves%2F16%2Fchap32.html -
Similarities between Chrishna and Christ
The advent of each Savior was miraculously foretold by prophets.
The fallen and degenerate condition of the human race is taught in the religion of each.
A plan of restoration or salvation is provided for in each case.
A divine Savior is considered necessary in both cases.
The necessity of atoning for sin is taught in the religion of each.
A God, or Son of God, is selected as the victim for the atoning sacrifice in each case.
This God is sent down from heaven in each case in the form of a man.
The God or Savior in each case is the second person of the Trinity.
Chrishna, as well as Christ, was held to be really God incarnate.
The mission of each Savior is the same.
There is a resemblance in name -- Chrishna and Christ.
Chrishna, as well as Christ, was incarnated and born of a woman.
The mother in each case was a holy virgin.
The same peculiarities of a miraculous conception and birth are related of each.
Each had an adopted earthly father.
The father of Chrishna, as well as that of Christ, was a carpenter.
God is claimed as the real father in both cases.
A Spirit or Ghost was the author of the conception of each.
There was rejoicing on earth when each Savior was born.
There was also joy in heaven at the birth and advent of each.
Chrishna, as well as Christ, was of royal descent.
Their mothers were both reputedly pious women.
The names of two mothers are somewhat similar -- Mary and Maia.
Each had a special female friend -- Elizabeth in the one case, and the wife of Nanda in the other.
Neither Savior was born in a house, but both in obscure situations.
Both were born on the 25th of December.
Both, at birth, were visited by wise men and shepherds.
The visitors were conducted by a star in each case.
The rite of purification was observed by the mothers of each.
An angel warns of impending danger in each case.
The incumbent ruler was hostile in each case.
A bloody decree in each case for the destruction of the infant Savior.
A flight of the parents takes place in both cases.
The parents of one sojourned at Muturea, the other at Mathura.
Each Savior had a forerunner -- John the Baptist in one case, Bali Rama in the other.
Both were preternaturally smart in childhood.
Each disputed with and vanquished learned opponents.
Both became objects of search by their parents.
And both occasioned anxiety, if not sorrow, to their parents.
The mother of each had other children -- that is children begotten by man as well as God.
Both Saviors retired to, and spent considerable time in the wilderness.
The religious rite of "fasting" was practiced by each Savior.
Each delivered a noteworthy sermon, or series of moral lessons.
Chrishna, as well as Christ, was called and considered God.
Each was both God and the Son of God (so regarded).
"Savior" was one of the divine titles of each.
Each was designated "the Savior of man," "the Savior of the world," &c.
Both expressed a desire to "save all."
Each sustained the character of a Messiah.
Chrishna, as well as Christ, was a Redeemer.
Each Savior was called "Shepherd."
Both were believed to be the Creator of the world.
Each is sometimes spoken of, also, as only an agent in the creation.
Both were the "Light and Life" of men.
Each "brought life and immortality to light."
Both are represented as "the seed of the woman bruising the serpent's head."
Was Christ a "Dispenser of grace," so was the Hindoo Savior.
One was "the lion of the tribe of Judah," the other "the lion of the tribe of Saki."
Christ was "the Beginning of the End," Chrishna "the Beginning, the Middle, and the End."
Both proclaimed, "I am the Resurrection." -
Each was "the way to the Father."
Both represented emblematically "the Sun of Righteousness."
Each is figuratively represented as being "all in all."
Both speak of having existed prior to human birth.
A dual existence -- an existence in both heaven and earth at once -- is claimed by or for both.
Chrishna, as well as Christ, was "without sin."
Both assumed the divine prerogative of forgiving sins.
The mission of each was to deliver from sin.
Both came to destroy the devil and his works.
The doctrine of the "atonement" is practically realized in each case.
Each made a voluntary offering for the sins of the world.
Both were human as well as divine.
Chrishna, as well as Christ, was worshiped as God absolute.
Each was regarded as "the Lord from Heaven."
Chrishna, as well as Christ, had applied to him all the attributes of God.
Was Christ omniscient, so was Chrishna.
Was one omnipotent, so was the other (so believed).
And both are represented as being omnipresent.
Each was believed to be divinely perfect.
Was one "Lord of lords," so was the other.
Each embodied the "power and wisdom of God."
All power was committed unto each (so claimed).
Chrishna performed many miracles as well as did Christ.
One of the first miracles of each was the cure of a leper.
Each healed "all manner of diseases."
The work of casting out devils constitutes a part of the mission of each.
Each practically proved his power to raise the dead.
A miracle appertaining to a tree is related of both.
Both could read the thoughts of the people.
The power to detect and eject evil spirits was claimed by both.
Both had the keys or control of death.
Each led an extraordinary life.
Each had a character for supernatural greatness.
Both possessed or claimed a oneness with the Father.
A "oneness with his Lord and Master" is claimed, also, for the disciples of each.
A strong reciprocal affection between Master and disciple in each case.
Each offers to shoulder the burdens of his disciples.
A portion of the life of each was spent in preaching.
Both made converts by their miracles and preaching.
A numerous retinue of believers springs up in each case.
Both had commissioned apostles to proclaim their religion.
Each was an innovator upon the antecedent religion.
A beautiful reform in religion was inaugurated by each Savior.
Each opposed the existing popular priesthood.
Both abolished the law of lineal descent in the ancient priesthood.
Each was an object of conspiracy by his enemies.
Humility and external poverty distinguished the life of each.
Each denounced riches and rich men, and loathed and detested wealth.
Both had a character for meekness.
Chastity or unmarried life was a distinguishing characteristic of each.
Mercy was a noteworthy characteristic of each.
Both were censured for associating with sinners.
Each was a special friend to the poor.
A poor widow woman receives marked attention by each.
Each encounters a gentile woman at a well.
Both submitted unresistingly to injuries and insults.
General practical philanthropy and impartiality marks the life of each Savior.
Each took more pleasure in repentant sinners than in virtuous saints,
Both practically disclosed God's attempt to reconcile the world to himself.
The closing incidents in the earth-life of each were strikingly similar.
A memorable last supper marked the closing career of both.
Both were put to death by "wicked hands."
Chrishna, as well as Christ, was crucified.
Darkness attended the crucifixion of each.
Both were crucified between two thieves.
Each is reported to have forgiven his enemies.
The age of each at death corresponds (being between thirty and thirty-six years).
Each, after giving up the ghost, descends into hell.
The resurrection from the dead is a marked period in the history of each.
Each ascends to heaven after his resurrection.
Many people are reported to have witnessed the ascension in each case.
Each is reported as having both descended and ascended.
The head of each, while living on earth, was anointed with oil. -
http://atheism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.infidels.org%2Flibrary%2Fmagazines%2Ftsr%2F1994%2F3%2F3hare94.html
Similarities between christianity and hiduism
Objective and open-minded scholars long ago conceded that Christianity is at heart a revamped form of Judaism. In the process of its development as something distinct from its mother religion, it became hybridized with so much pagan influence that it ultimately alienated its original Jewish base and became predominantly Gentile. The source of this pagan influence is varied and vague in the minds of most advanced Bible critics, but it may owe more to Hinduism than most people suspect.
The average person does not connect India with the ancient Middle East, but the existence of some trade between these two regions is documented, even in the Bible. Note the reference to spikenard in the Song of Solomon (1:12 ; 4:13-14 ) and in the Gospels (Mark 14:3 ; John 12:3 ). This is an aromatic oil-producing plant (Nardostachys jatamansi) that the Arabs call sunbul hindi and obtained in trade with India.
It is axiomatic that influence follows trade, and the vibrant culture of India could not help but impact on anyone exposed to it. The influence on Judaism came for the most part indirectly, however, via the Persians and the Chaldeans, who dealt with India on a more direct basis. (Indeed, the Aryans, who invaded and transformed India over 1500 years before Christ, were of the same people who brought ancient Persia to its greatest glory. Persia's name today--Iran--is a corruption of Aryan.) The ancient Judeans absorbed much of this secondhand influence during the Babylonian captivity of the sixth century B. C., and during the intertestamental period, when Alexandria became the crossroads of the world, intellectuals both Jew and Gentile were exposed to a variety of ideas, some of which originated on the subcontinent.
The precise pattern of influence was neither observed nor documented, but it can be inferred from the numerous uncanny similarities in concept and expression, not all of which can be coincidental. Let us examine the telltale evidence (none of which, it may be added, depends upon any apocryphal account of the alleged "lost years" of Jesus in India).
Most Christians are familiar with Galatians 6:7 , "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Less known is Proverbs 26:27 , "Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein, and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him." Both express the Hindu principle of karma (the sum and the consequences of a person's actions during the successive phases of his existence), but since no direct connection can be deduced, we'll merely consider it an interesting coincidence and move on.
The concept of a soul that is distinguishable from the body and can exist independently of it is alien to Judaism. It is first known in Hinduism. Only after the Babylonian captivity did any such concept arise among the Jews, and it is in the epistles of Paul, the "debtor to both the Greeks and the Barbarians," that the notion receives its first clear expression. (See 2 Corinthians 5:8 and 12:3 .)
The Brahmin caste of the Hindus are said to be "twice-born" and have a ritual in which they are "born in the spirit." Could this be the ultimate source of the Christian "born again" concept (John 3:3 )?
The deification of Christ is a phenomenon often attributed to the apotheosis of emperors and heroes in the Greco-Roman world. These, however, were cases of men becoming gods. In the Jesus story, the Divinity takes human form, god becoming man. This is a familiar occurrence in Hinduism and in other theologies of the region. Indeed, one obstacle to the spread of Christianity in India, which was attempted as early as the first century, was the frustrating tendency of the Hindus to understand Jesus as the latest avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu.
It is in the doctrine of the Trinity that the Hindu influence may be most clearly felt. Unknown to most Christians, Hinduism has a Trinity (or Trimurti) too: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who have the appellations the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer (and Regenerator). This corresponds to the Christian Trinity in which God created the heavens and the earth, Jesus saves, and the Holy Spirit is referred to as a regenerator (Titus 3:5 ). It is interesting to note, furthermore, that the Holy Spirit is sometimes depicted as a dove, while the Hebrew language uses the same term for both "dove" and "destroyer"!
The Trinity was a major stumblingblock for the Jews, who adhered to strict monotheism. The inherent polytheism in the Trinity doctrine cannot be explained away with the nonsensical claim that three is one and one is three. Besides, Jesus himself undermined any pretense of triunity (or omnipotence, for that matter) in Matthew 19:17 , "And he said unto them, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God...." Matthew 20:23 ; Mark 14:32 ; John 5:30 ; 7:16 and 14:28 also contradict the Trinitarian concept.
The Hindu scriptures, which are the oldest in the world, contain a number of astonishingly familiar expressions. The Upanishads mention things like "the blind led by the blind" (Matt. 15:14 ) and God's being "the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow" (Heb. 13:8 ). The path is said to be "narrow and difficult to tread" (Matt. 7:14 ). They also make reference to "a voice from out of the fire" (Ex. 3:4 ) and a man's face shining after encountering God (Ex. 34:29 ). They refer to those who are "wise in their own conceits" (Prov. 34:29 ; Rom. 12:16 ), warn against "fleshly desires" (1 Pet. 2:11 ), and advise that "it is not by works alone that one attains the Eternal" (Gal. 2:16 ]), and "to many it is not given" to know of metaphysical truth (Matt. 13:11 ). They describe the Self as "smaller than a mustard seed" (Matt. 17:20 ), and they speak of "the highest knowledge, having drunk of which, one never thirsts" (John 4:14 ). And how about this: "Man does not live by breath alone, but by him in whom is the power of breath" (Matt. 4:4 )?
Sounds a little too familiar, I'd say!
Then there is the Hindu epic, the Bhagavad-Gita, a story of the second person of the Hindu Trinity, who took human form as Krishna. Some have considered him a model for the Christ, and it's hard to argue against that when he says things like, "I am the beginning, the middle, and the end" (BG 10:20 vs. Rev. 1:8 ). His advent was heralded by a pious old man named Asita, who could die happy knowing of his arrival, a story paralleling that of Simeon in Luke 2:25 . Krishna's mission was to give directions to "the kingdom of God" (BG 2:72), and he warned of "stumbling blocks" along the way (BG 3:34; 1 Cor. 1:23 ; Rev. 2:14 ). The essential thrust of Krishna's sayings, uttered to a beloved disciple, sometimes seems to coincide with Jesus or the Bible. Compare "those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead" (BG 2:11) with the sense of Jesus' advice to "let the dead bury their own dead" (Matt. 8:22 ). Krishna's saying, "I envy no man, nor am I partial to anyone; I am equal to all" (BG 9:29) is a lot like the idea that God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11 ; see also Matt. 6:45 ). And "one who is equal to friends and enemies... is very dear to me" (BG 12:1
is reminiscent of "love your enemies" (Matt. 6:44 ). Krishna also said that "by human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma's one day" (BG 8:17), which is very similar to 2 Peter 3:8 .
In fairness, however, one purported similarity needs to be discredited. Skeptics sometimes cite Kersey Graves in Sixteen Crucified Saviors or Godfrey Higgin's Anacalypsis (which Graves drew from) in asserting that Krishna was a crucified deity. No such event occurred in the Gita or in any recognized Hindu scripture. Given the pronounced syncretic tendency of Hinduism, it is safe to assume that any odd tales of Krishna's being crucified arose only after the existence of Christian proselytism, in imitation of the Christian narrative. It is neither authentic to Hinduism nor is Hinduism the source of that portion of the Christian narrative. The same may be said for most of the purported nativity stories. In my opinion, both Higgins and Graves are highly unreliable sources and should be ignored.
That notwithstanding, the existence of uncanny similarities in concept and phraseology in those Hindu writings that are both ancient and authentic leaves Christians in a difficult quandary. With the historical reality of Indian influence on the Middle East being an established fact, how can they account for these similarities with anything less feeble than coincidence, or less bizarre than the notion of "Satanic foreknowledge and duplication," which is sometimes invoked to explain the similarities of Judeo-Christian precursors?
I'll close with Ecclesiastes 1:10 , another inconvenient and uncomfortable passage: "Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us." -
The earlier posting was (as usual) lifted lock stock and barrel from the following website:
http://www.arkedmin.org/Writings/Lessons/KrishnaChrist.htm
...in case anyone thinks that the style has improved
[/url] -
Welcome back, SIS..boy am i glad u are back..
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Erm the usual overwhelming-but-ineffective firepower guy?
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Originally posted by SingaporeTyrannosaur:Erm the usual overwhelming-but-ineffective firepower guy?
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Erm the usual overwhelming-but-ineffective firepower guy?
Describing Neontetra ? -
Also referring to the topic starter....Originally posted by SingaporeTyrannosaur:Erm the usual overwhelming-but-ineffective firepower guy? -
WISE INDEED...Originally posted by talk_cock:A story.....
Before Longtan Chongxin became a monk, he sold buns for a living. The Zen Master Daowu saw the intelligence in the little boy and allowed the family to stay at his monastery. In return for his kindness, Longtan Chongxin would deliver ten buns to Master Daowu everyday. And daily without fail, after the buns were delivered, Master Daowu will get one of his monks to deliver one bun to Longtan Chongxin. This carried on for 2 years.
Finally after 2 years, Longtan Chongxin (LC) went to Master Daowu(DW) to askÂ…
LC: Since I have given you 10 buns, why do you return me one bun everyday. Is it that you despise my buns?
DW: If you can give me 10 buns, why canÂ’t I give you one bun?
LC: Since I have given you 10 buns, why would I care for your one bun?
DW (laughing): I donÂ’t despise your 10 buns as too many, do you despise my one bun as too few?
The little boy understood the lesson and later become a disciple of Daowu.
Daowu once said “One gives rise to ten, ten give rise to one hundred, one hundred give rise to one hundred thousand, All comes from One.
To which Longtan Chongxin added “One is All and All is One” -
Originally posted by NeonTetra:
[b]The original ‘unknown’ god of China
An Ancient pictogram script points to the Bible
by Ethel Nelson
Should a Chinese person tell you that Christianity is a ‘foreigner’s religion,’ you can explain that the Chinese in antiquity worshipped the same God as Christians do today. Like the Hebrews often did, the ancestors of today’s Chinese wandered off after false gods; the memory of who their original God was dimmed with time.9 The ancient Chinese script gives powerful evidence for the historical truth of Genesis.
taken from http://www.answersingenesis.org/[/b] -
you guys claim that christianity is related to the major religion for which christianity has NO historical claim to.
let me tell you something larh. Jesus Christ is my laobei -
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*imitating someone* -
You think leh? You do fire and momement run infront of your buddy still ask if your buddy shooting at enemy?Originally posted by stupidissmart:Describing Neontetra ?
Heheheh... -
lol, bought that book 2months ago, found it absolutely crappy, sorry neon, this book really quite crappy lah, my Dad read liao told me is total sai, but granted, one whatever chinese emperor nearly christianise china....