Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in Buddhist Scripture

Buddhism is older than Christianity. It originated in India but is prevalent in entire South Asia and far East. Gautama Buddha, its founder is supposed to be an agnostic but this is disputed. The word Buddha means enlightened. Scriptures of Buddhism are available in Sanskrit, Pali, Sinhalese, Burmese, Chinese, Tibetan and Japanese languages. We could get the following information collectively from them;

At his death bed his grief-stricken disciples asked him who will provide them guidance after him. The Buddha consoled them by saying; “Do not think I am the only Buddha. There had been many before me and will be many after me. (Compare this with the Qur’anic Verse 26:9 “say (O Muhammad): I am no new thing among Messengers (of Allah....). At appropriate time a great Buddha will come.”

* He will be born in a country to west ( and not in India). Remember that Arabia is in the west of India.

* He will migrate from his homeland.

* He will look at the Universe face to face. (Compare this with Mi’raj).

* His countrymen cannot be reformed until his advent.

* He will preach the same religion as mine but its perfection and success will reach peak stage only in his time (Compare this with the Qur’anic Verse 5:3 “..... I have perfected your religion for you.. . and have chosen Al Islam for you as religion... “).

* While my disciples are in hundreds, his will be in thousands.
The Chief disciple Ananda asked him how to identify the great Buddha when he eventually comes. Gautama told them,

* “His name will be Maitreya.”
The word maitreya means love, kindness, compassion, mercy, and so on. The Arabic for mercy is rahmat. Rahmat is title given to the Sayyidul Mursaleen e Leader of Prophets, by Allah in Qur’an ! He refers to him as;

Rahmatan lil Alameen Mercy unto the worlds (21:07)
Rahshatun lilladeena amanu minkum Mercy unto the believers (9:61)
Rahmatan min Rabbika Mercy from thy Lord (28:46)

We can see that the Indian scriptures refer to the Ultimate Prophet ultimate both in time and greatness in clear, direct terms. No stretch of imagination, playing with words and linguistic nuances or involved, artificial interpretations are needed to grasp the point. No complicated inductive or deductive logic is required for drawing the conclusion. On the other hand, the facts are recorded in a straightforward manner and are available for all to verify. No hearsay need be believed uncomfortably. The plain truth is inescapably evident that it is Hadhrat Muhammad , the chosen one (Mustafa) to be the greatest of Prophets for all people of the world and awaited by all of them since time immemorial.

Incidentally, we find that in these scriptures statements implying plurality of God have been interpolated causing confusion with Monotheistic concept that is La ilaha il Allah in Arabic). But the statements amounting to Apostleship of Muhammad “Muhammadur Rasoolullah” is miraculously left intact! major faiths. Allah willing, an article on prophecies in Jewish and Christian scriptures will follow.