Some Seth on Buddhism

"(Peggy asked Seth what religion, in his opinion, came closest to God as defined by Seth.)"

"I do not want to puncture idealistic balloons. Buddhists are perhaps closer, but no religion comes close really... The man or woman feeling identity with each day that passes comes close. Sentiment is practical. The idea of birth and death each day is close. Those who cry when they hurt a flea come close... Those who appreciate the consciousness in every rock, tree, bird... come close. Fools and idiots are often wiser than the wise man. Hatred is death. All things are sacred, and every thought is a reality and has its own potential for creation and destruction."

—TES5 Session 203 October 28, 1965

 

"I may say that Buddhism does indeed come closer in essence to reality than other religions. However, the Buddhists either have not gone far enough, or have gone too far, according to your viewpoint.

 

[... 2 paragraphs ...]

 

It is all very well for monks to utilize astral projection. It is all very well for them to skitter through space as if they were on pogo sticks; their knowledge is fundamental and good. The fact remains that millions of human beings who follow and practice Buddhism are told, as many religions tell their followers, “Better worlds are to come, so ignore this agony, and this hunger, and this pain, and the murder in the streets. Be in ecstasy while your belly bloats.” This is not human, and it is far less than godly."

 

—TES4 Session 177 August 11, 1965

 

• "Now you may believe in the theories of Buddhism, for example, or of another Eastern philosophy."

 

• "The differences between any of those systems of thought and Christianity may be so apparent that the similarities escape you. You may follow one of the schools of Buddhism in which great stress is laid upon the denial of the body, discipline of the flesh, and the avoidance of desire. These elements are quite characteristic of Christianity also, of course, but they may appear more palatable, exotic, or reasonable coming from a source foreign to your childhood education. So you may leap from one to the other, shouting emancipation and feeling yourself quite free of old limiting ideas."

 

—NoPR Chapter 12: Session 647, March 12, 1973

 

"...though as I have said in the past, the Buddhists come closer, generally speaking, to a description of the nature of reality. They have not understood the eternal validity of the soul, however, in terms of its exquisite invulnerability, nor been able to hold a feeling for its unique character. But Buddha, like Christ, interpreted what he almost knew in terms of your own reality. Not only of your own physical reality, but your own probable physical reality."

—SS Chapter 17: Session 568, February 22, 1971