Gautama Buddha, A Prince of Peace

On Gautama Buddha

A Prince of Peace

In Light of Anthroposophy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Buddha

In order to understand who this great spiritual leader was, and how he engages in the world and cosmos in truth, a spiritual researcher must rely on the objective and spiritual vision of a spiritual initiate; one who has attained a piercing vision of the spiritual worlds only after long cycles of attainment. These individuals are hard to find, and most proclaim to be that which they are not or at least imply that they are, lead many astray. The author of this article makes no such declarations in support of this article. This article is the result of research which can be pursued for free through the Rudolf Steiner Archives (www.rsarchives.org). My knowledge, vision, and experience alone would be utterly incapable of perceiving the true nature of the Gautama Buddha and his vital role in the spiritual-physical evolution of humanity.

Thanks to the ongoing work of those who lead humanity forward from the spiritual worlds, of which Gautama Buddha is an significant member, there are those who passed through higher stage of initiation in the modern era. These are genuine initiates who lived public lives and gave their insights - discovered through a highly transformed state of spiritual vision and perception - for us to learn from so we can too learn the facts and riddles of existence. A researcher cannot rely solely on traditions, cultural biases, and writings passed down from ancient times that have been edited, added to, and redacted.

Unlike the churches who proclaim unflinchingly the reality of ecclesiastical dogma, Buddhism is not religious system. Buddha did not found a church which competes institutions. Rather, Buddha's teachings were sprang forth from the wisdom of a high initiate which was perfectly suited for the moment, and region, in which he lived. His was a a group of monks, and followers, who sought the path of spiritual attainment which no institution can regulate. Buddha was more than a teacher, however, he also brought a living spiritual impulse into the world. permeated the world, and still does to this very day. It is the spiritual impulse of love, peace, activity, and wisdom of a genuine spiritual master.

Because there is so much misunderstanding about spiritual leaders in general, this brief and imperfect article relies on the insights of a high modern spiritual initiate in the 20th century, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, regarding this high spiritual individuality of the East. In light of Anthroposophy as confirmed by Dr. Rudolf Steiner through the vision of a genuine spiritual initiate in the 20th century (who did not rely on hypothesis, tradition, dogma, or superstition), Siddhartha who was born as a Bodhisattva (an master-initiate who attained a higher rank of master after many incarnations) and ascended to the divine-spiritual rank of Buddha upon his death at which time he now works purely from the spiritual worlds.

This achievement was accomplished only after Siddhartha had lived some 547 lifetimes according to the legendary biographies of the Pali Buddhavaṃsa and the Sanskrit Jātakamālā which documented Buddha's life and teachings. This kind of eternal memory - and vision which can see beyond and within worlds, accompanies high spiritual masters and initiates who can read objectively from the cosmic script; the Akasha-Essence or Akashic Records. These eternal records are referred to as the the Great Hall of Records in the West upon which is inscribed and recorded the entire history of all things in the universe on the skein of space and time. These records can be "read" by those who have the capability of doing so through a highly developed and objective clairvoyant faculty.

Buddha's work is eternally interwoven with humanity's goal of evolution through the Christ impulse, which continues to this day and shall continue eternally. For example, Dr. Steiner observed that Gautama Buddha was spiritually present at the birth of Jesus and imbued his forces into the Jesus child as a part of the redemptive plan of the salvation of the world. There are 12 Bodhisattvas who form a council in the spiritual worlds and incarnate on a regular basis, each according to his/her own mission. Each one trains a successor who assumes the office of Bodhisattva at some point - and a task - that evolves over the course of millennia until the time comes when that successor also ascends to the rank of Buddha. Then, another pupil will assume the office and continue the mission.

Siddhartha Gautama (Gautama was his family or clan name), most commonly referred to as the Buddha (lit. 'the awakened one') was a ascetic, initiate, and high master-teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century and founded a school of training initiates (not a dogma or religion) which today we recognize as Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal to royal parents of the Shakya clan but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained a higher stage of initiation (known as Buddha) inIndia. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana or the final release from conditioned physical existence.

The source of the Buddhist wisdom is the Tripitaka (Tipitaka); a collection of Buddhist scriptures that represent the core teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Tripitaka is believed to have been composed between about 550BC and the start of the Common Era. Undoubtedly many quotes have been changed, edited, added, or redacted over time, so I selected a few that, in my opinion, represent the spirit of Buddha; the spirit of love and wisdom.

While the term Buddha is used in the Agamas and the Pali Canon, the oldest surviving written records of the term Buddha is from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, when several Edicts of Ashoka (reigned c. 269–232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism Ashoka's Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha's birthplace, calling him the Buddha Shakyamuni[k] (Brahmi script: "Buddha, Sage of the Shakyas").

Left: Maya Devi Temple, Lumbini, Nepal, marking the birthplace of Buddha. Source: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumbini

To understand Buddha, at least in part, it is vital to consider the structure upon which high spiritual individuals come into the world for a mission which serves a broader purpose. Their task is to bring the world of the spirit to the physical world in alignment with the truth and facts of the spiritual worlds. These are not to be confused with missionaries, pastors, or priests who work solely from faith or a "calling" to profess their unique dogmas to the world. M experience proves that most of these are individuals, many of whom may be well-intending, are confined to dogma and cannot lead us to a true wisdom of the nuances of the journey of the human soul and genuine spiritual experience. Most of these individuals have not attained to a genuine level of spiritual vision. We turn to these individuals, whom we call initiates, to provide us a genuine path with insights attained by he/she who has the vision having pierced the veil of outer perception alone or "Parsifal."

There is an ongoing process at work in human evolution towards spiritual catharsis, maturity, and transformation. This path, when informed and guided by spiritual teachers, leads to initiation. This is the expedited path of transformation for the human soul. There are many stages of spiritual initiation which can only be attained over long periods of time. Gautama Buddha was such personality who, over many millennia since humanity first incarnated in the world, attained to a high rank of initiation and then achieved the rank of Bodhisattva.

This is NOT a worldly destination agreed upon by peers who are inevitably subject to political or financial considerations. The Bodhisattva who becomes Buddha is not a rank or promotion given to one by any worldly institution, church, or group brought together out of self-interest. It is an official rank designed by the highest spiritual divine guides who do not incarnate in the physical world. These individuals are tried, tested, and proven worthy through long cycles of human evolution and striving to a higher purpose.

These divine beings of light, who work within a cosmic-spiritual family of divine beings, are by the highest individuality who has every incarnated in the world - the Christ who entered Jesus and died at the Event of Golgotha in 33 AD - from the spiritual worlds. These Light-Workers work in councils and groups and take their guidance and inspiration directly from the Christ. They perpetually guide and lead humanity forward through those leaders who incarnate in the physical world. These are the initiates. They exist in every corner of the globe, in all cultures, and all are on the path of objective spiritual development.

"Let us ask: What is an initiate? In all ages of the post-Atlantean human evolution, an initiate has been a person who could lift himself above the outer physical sense-world and have his own personal experiences in the spiritual worlds, a person who could experience the spiritual worlds just as the ordinary human being experiences the physical sense-world through the outer senses, eyes, ears, etc. Such an initiate becomes then a witness of those worlds and their truths." -Rudolf Steiner, Lecture XI, Christian Initiation, The Gospel of John, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA103/English/AP1962/19080530p01.html

Initiates have been incarnating in the world since time began. Since the fall of Atlantis in about 9500 BC, these high spiritual leaders incarnate in physical form spread across the world in regular cycles in accordance with their karma and the divine plan. Their paths of spiritual leadership led them to found Mystery Centers from which the guidance of the people could be led back to God, and a genuine bridge back to the spiritual worlds from we have all fallen since the Fall of Man in China, India, Europe, and the Americas. From these Mystery Centers valid paths of spiritual initiation were taught and forces were given to the world that shape it and lead it forward. These high leaders continue their work today of whom Buddha has played, and will continue to play, a vital role.

The initiates are led and guided by a Collegium, or Council, of 12 Masters who are referred to in the East, and Anthroposophy, as "Bodhisattvas". A Bodhisattva is a master-initiate who has achieved his or her initiation repeatedly over the course of many lifetimes an reached the highest degrees of attainment. Once a Bodhisattva completes his or her stream of activity, which occurs over long periods of time in the physical world, then they ascend to the next stage which Dr. Steiner, and the occult streams of the East from whence the name originated, referred to this ascended state of perfection as "Buddha." A Buddha no longer incarnates in the physical world and influences humanity purely from the spiritual spheres.

"A survey of the whole of Earth evolution would reveal that there are twelve such Bodhisattvas. They belong to that great community of Spirits which from time to time sends one of the Bodhisattvas to the Earth as a special emissary, as one of the great Teachers. A Lodge of twelve Bodhisattvas is to be regarded as the Lodge directing all Earth evolution.

The concept of ‘Teacher’ familiar to us at lower stages of existence can be applied, in essentials, to these twelve Bodhisattvas. They are Teachers, the great Inspirers of one portion or another of what mankind has to acquire." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA114/English/RSP1964/19090921p01.html

"...in the individuality of Gautama Buddha, something had lived which could appear in the world only on the basis of a long development. This individuality went through many incarnations, achieved higher and higher grades of evolution, and finally came so far that in the 29th year of his life as Gautama Buddha, he was able to rise from Bodhisattva to Buddha, was able to rise in such a way that he need never more return to a physical body. How did that which flows out from this individuality come into being?

Every unprejudiced mind can feel what speaks out of the Buddha, can feel all that first came about and developed through the Bodhisattva in earth evolution after developing through many incarnations."

-Rudolf Steiner, The Three Paths of the Soul to Christ, GA 143, Lecture I. The Path through the Gospels and The Path of Inner Experience, 16 April 1912, Stockholm,

https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA143/English/AP1942/19120416p01.html

Buddha's spiritual impulse is directly tied to the most important event to have occurred for humanity and the world; the birth of the highest initiate in the world who became Jesus; the soul once known as Zarathustra who, light of Anthroposophy, had attained to the highest level of spiritual wisdom through initiation in the Mysteries in the world over long periods of time. In light of initiation wisdom, there is difference between the role that the Bodhisattvas and Buddha played, and the role of the Christ in the plan of human evolution. These are distinct personalities who work together for a common mission.

The founding of genuine religions, in modern terms, originated from Mystery Centers of initiation. Buddha, who attained a high degree of initiation since distant ancient times, founded his impulse in Tibet/Nepal and carried it forward into India in the 6th century BC. Buddha's impulse is directly tied to the most important event to have occurred for humanity and the world; the birth of the highest initiate in the world - Zarathustra - who incarnated as Jesus. It was Buddha's sacred task to prepare the way for the entrance of the Christ in the world in 30AD at the Baptism on the River Jordan. In light of initiation wisdom, there is difference between the role that Buddha played and all of the Bodhisattva and Buddhas who exist, and the role of the Christ in the plan of human evolution. However, the two are connected to one another for all time.

"Christ works as a macrocosmic Power and is not a teacher like the other teachers of humanity. He has united Himself with the Earth, as a reality, as power, as very life. The loftiest teachers of the successive epochs are the Bodhisattvas who already in the pre-Christian era pointed to Christ in His full reality of being; again in the post-Christian era they point to Him as a Power Who is now united with the Earth.

Thus the Bodhisattvas work both before and after Christ's physical life on Earth. He who was born as the son of a King in India, 550 years before Christ, lived and taught for twenty nine years as a Bodhisattva, and then ascended to the rank of Buddha; thereafter he was never again to appear on the Earth in a body of flesh but from then onwards he worked from the spiritual world.

When this Bodhisattva had become Buddha, he was succeeded by the new Bodhisattva whose mission it is to lead mankind to an understanding of the Christ Impulse. All these things had come to pass before the appearance of Christ on the Earth." - Rudolf Steiner, The Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz, GA 130.V. The Christ Impulse as Living Reality, 18 November 1911, Munich https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA130/English/RSP1950/19111118p01.html

“…we want to see clearly that there are differences among the beings who occupy leading positions in the human evolution of the earth. We have to distinguish such leading individualities in the course of human evolution who, as it were, developed from the beginning with humanity on this earth as it exists, but with the important distinction that they progressed more rapidly. We might put it this way: If we go back in time…we find the most varied stages of development among the human beings then incarnated. All the souls incarnated at that time have been repeatedly reincarnated…

The speed with which these souls developed varied. Some souls are alive that developed relatively slowly as they went through various incarnations; they still have long distances to traverse in the future. But then there are also those souls who have developed rapidly and who, one might say, have utilized their incarnations in a more productive way.

They are now on a high plane of soul-spiritual development, one that will be reached by normal human beings only in the far-distant future. But as we dwell on this sphere of soul life, we can nevertheless say this: No matter how advanced these individual souls may be, however far they may tower above normal human beings, yet within our earthly evolution they have made a journey similar to the rest of humanity, except that they have advanced more rapidly.” -Steiner, Rudolf. The Principle of Spiritual Economy, Lecture 2, Christianity in Human Evolution: Leading Individualities and Avatar Beings, Berlin, February 15, 1909. https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19090215p02.html

The Temple of Peace by Baron Arild von Rosenkrantz

The Shepherds in the Field

Buddha's Influence on Christ-Jesus

The Representative of Humanity

"The occultists of the East rightly believe—for they know it to be the truth—that the Buddha who in his twenty-ninth year rose from the rank of Bodhisattva to that of Buddha, had incarnated then for the last time in a physical body. It is absolutely true that when the individuality of a Bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, he no longer appears on the Earth in physical incarnation. But this does not mean that he ceases to be active in the affairs of the Earth. The Buddha continues to work for the Earth, although he is never again present in a physical body but sends down his influence from the spiritual world.

The “Gloria” heard by the Shepherds in the fields proclaimed from the spiritual world that the forces of Buddha were streaming into the astral body of the Child Jesus described in St. Luke's Gospel. The words of the Gloria came from Buddha who was working in the astral body of the Child Jesus. This wonderful message of Peace and Love is an integral part of Buddha's contribution to Christianity. But later on too, the Buddha works into the deeds of men—not physically but from the spiritual world—and he has co-operated in measures that have been necessary for the sake of progress in the evolution of humanity."

-Rudolf Steiner, The Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz, GA 130, 18 December 1912, Neuchâtel, VII. The Mission of Gautama Buddha on Mars

The Council of 1604

Buddha's Cosmic Sacrificial Mission to Mars

Dr. Rudolf Steiner informs us that, in light of the spiritual facts, Buddha went on a special mission to the spiritual planetary city, or sphere, of Mars in the year 1604 AD. It was determined by the leaders of humanity that an intervention was required that is akin to the Christ Event on the Earth. Among the 12 leaders of this spiritual council is Christian Rosenkreutz, the founder of the spiritual order of the Rose Cross or "Rosicrucian." Christian Rosenkreutz was the reincarnation of Lazarus who became St. John; the author of the John Gospel and Revelations. He was the first individual initiated by Christ Jesus when we were resurrected from the dead.

In addition to his role as a spiritual teacher who guides his disciples from the spiritual worlds through a specific mystery stream as was indicated at the Mystery School on the Black Sea which led to the St. Francis of Assisi's incarnation, Buddha provides transformation spiritual impulses into the cosmos in alignment with the cosmic mission of the Christ. It was this impulse, which is his very being, that he carried to Mars as a redemptive act. This act flowed through the world and into humanity. Mars, like the other 7 spiritual spheres, are connected to the Earth in spiritual terms and their activities, and forces, which consist of many spiritual beings influence humanity in peculiar ways (refer to my article https://www.sunarchive.org/archangels-and-the-planets).

In light of Anthroposophy, the planet of Mars must have been irritated with a global cosmic spiritual impulse of Universal Cosmic Love which could only have been given over through a genuine sacrifice through Buddha. During these one-time events which are accompanied by epochs of support by those who pursue the sacred mission, in spiritual and physical terms, the forces that exist within great spiritual beings such as Buddha, are built up over long periods of time and can be released as transformational impulses which flow across all living things. These forces permeate others and forever change a spiritual path. This the very essence of the Christ impulse which forever changed the world in 33AD with the Event of Golgotha. Mighty powerful spiritual streams of force permeated the world and the universe at different moments of history and continue to do for forever. A similar event occurred on the spiritual-planetary city sphere of Mars through Buddha.

Mars is a conflicted environment, based on the comments located in the Anthroposophical Texts, that consists of both positive and negative qualities. It was the negative aspects, however, that had to be transformed. Over time, as humanity matures, these forces will flow into each human being as we gradually transform and make ourselves ready to be a receiver of the Christ impulse and seek a higher stage of attainment. Regardless of our awareness of it, the Christ and Buddha impulse, and others which have been revealed by Dr. Steiner, bond themselves with the world, humanity, and the cosmos.

"It is easy to perceive the contrast between the qualities characteristic of men who like Francis of Assisi were striving fervently for the Spirit and those engrossed in the world of industry, technical life and discoveries of modern civilisation. Many there were, including occultists, who suffered deeply at the thought that in the future two separate classes of human beings would inevitably arise. They foresaw the one class wholly given up to the affairs of practical life, convinced that security depends entirely upon the production of means of nourishment, the construction of machines, and so forth; whereas the other class would be composed of men who, like Francis of Assisi, withdraw altogether from the practical affairs of the world for the sake of the spiritual life. Left to itself, without intervention, history would inevitably have taken this course. But in the wise counsels of the spiritual worlds, steps were taken to avert the worst form of this evil on the Earth.

A Conference of the greatest and most advanced Individualities was called together by Christian Rosenkreutz. His most intimate pupil and friend, the great teacher Buddha, participated in these counsels and in the decisions reached. At that spiritual Conference it was resolved that henceforward Buddha would dwell on Mars and there unfold his influence and activity. Buddha transferred his work to Mars in the year 1604. And on Mars he performed a deed similar to that performed by Christ on the Earth in the Mystery of Golgotha. Christian Rosenkreutz had known what the work of Buddha on Mars would signify for the whole Cosmos, what his teachings of Nirvana, of liberation from the Earth would signify on Mars.

The teaching of Nirvana was unsuited to a form of culture directed primarily to practical life. Buddha's pupil, Francis of Assisi, was an example of the fact that this teaching produces in its adepts complete remoteness from the world and its affairs. But the content of Buddhism which was not adapted to the practical life of man between birth and death was of high importance for the soul between death and a new birth. Christian Rosenkreutz realised that for a certain purification needed on Mars, the teachings of Buddha were pre-eminently suitable.

The Christ Being, the Essence of Divine Love, had once come down to the Earth to a people in many respects alien, and in the seventeenth century, Buddha, the Prince of Peace, went to Mars—the planet of war and conflict—to execute his mission there. The souls on Mars were warlike, torn with strife. Thus Buddha performed a deed of sacrifice similar to the deed performed in the Mystery of Golgotha by the Bearer of the Essence of Divine Love. To dwell on Mars as Buddha was a deed of sacrifice offered to the Cosmos. He was as it were the lamb offered up in sacrifice on Mars and to accept this environment of strife was for him a kind of crucifixion. Buddha performed this deed on Mars in the service of Christian Rosenkreutz. Thus do the great Beings who guide the world work together, not only on the Earth but from one planet to another.

Since the Mystery of Mars was consummated by Gautama Buddha, human beings have been able to receive different forces from Mars during the corresponding period between death and a new birth. Not only does a man bring with him into a new birth quite different forces from Mars, but because of the influence exercised by the spiritual deed of Buddha, forces also stream from Mars into men who practise meditation as a means for reaching the spiritual world. When the modern pupil of Spiritual Science meditates in the sense indicated by Christian Rosenkreutz, forces sent to the Earth by Buddha as the Redeemer of Mars, stream to him.

Christian Rosenkreutz is thus revealed to us as the great Servant of Christ Jesus; but what Buddha, as the emissary of Christian Rosenkreutz, was destined to contribute to the work of Christ Jesus—this had also to come to the help of the work performed by Christian Rosenkreutz in the service of Christ Jesus. The soul of Gautama Buddha has not again been in physical incarnation on the Earth but is utterly dedicated to the work of the Christ Impulse. What was the word of Peace sent forth from the Buddha to the Child Jesus described in the Gospel of St. Luke? “Glory in the Heights and on the Earth—Peace!” And this word of Peace, issuing mysteriously from Buddha, resounds from the planet of war and conflict to the soul of men on the Earth.

Because all these things had transpired, it was possible to avert the division of human beings into the two distinct classes—consisting on the one hand of men of the type of Francis of Assisi and on the other, men who live wholly in materialism. If Buddha had remained in direct and immediate connection with the Earth he would not have been able to concern himself with the “men of practical affairs”; and his influence would have made the others into monks like Francis of Assisi.

Through the deed of Redemption performed by Gautama Buddha on Mars, it is possible for us, when we are passing through the Mars-period of existence between death and a new birth, to become followers of Francis of Assisi without causing subsequent deprivation to the Earth. Grotesque as it may seem, it is true nevertheless, that since the seventeenth century, every human being in the Mars-existence is, for a time, a Buddhist, a Franciscan, an immediate follower of Francis of Assisi. Francis of Assisi has since made only one brief incarnation on Earth as a child; he died in childhood and has not again incarnated. He is intimately linked with the work of Buddha on Mars and is one of his most eminent followers."

Mars: The Spiritual Sphere of War and Conflict

Screenshot 2025-08-20 at 13-04-44 Archangels & The Planets Sun Archive.png

(1) "Mars—the planet of war and conflict..." -Rudolf Steiner, The Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz, GA 130, 18 December 1912, Neuchâtel, VII. The Mission of Gautama Buddha on Mars

(2) "It is difficult to find appropriate expressions for these things, but Mars may be called the great “Talker” in the planetary system. Unlike Jupiter, who withholds his wisdom in the form of thoughts. Mars is constantly blurting out to the souls in his sphere whatever in the cosmos is accessible to him — which is not everything. Mars is the most talkative planet in our system, and he is particularly active when human beings talk in sleep or in dream. Mars has a great longing to be always talking, and whenever some quality in human nature enables him to make a man loquacious, he stimulates this tendency. Mars does little thinking. He has few thinkers, but many talkers, in his sphere.

The Mars Spirits are always on the watch for what arises here or there in the universe and then they talk about it with great zest and fervour. Mars is the planetary individuality who in the course of the evolution of humanity instigates human beings in manifold ways to make statements about the mysteries of the cosmos. Mars has his good and his less good sides — he has his Genius and his Demon. His Genius works in such a way that men receive from the universe the impulses for speech; the influence of his Demon results in speech being misused in many and various ways. In a certain sense Mars may be called the Agitator in our universe. He is always out to persuade, whereas Jupiter wants only to convince."

Now the Mars Beings imbue everything with an element of aggressiveness — be it in the domain of physical, psychical or spiritual qualities. Nay more, they make a man combative, warlike by nature. This warlike element is compatible not only with attack but also with retreat — otherwise wars could not be waged! I think this was obvious enough during the World War." - Steiner, Rudolf. Karmic Relationships, Volume II, Lecture XII https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA236/English/RSP1974/19240529p01.html

Buddha's Disciple: St. Francis of Assisi

"In the seventh and eighth centuries... there was a very important centre of Initiation in the neighbourhood of the Black Sea, in which the Buddha taught, in his spirit-body. In such Schools there are teachers who live in the physical body; but it is also possible for the more advanced pupils to receive instruction from one who teaches in an ether-body only.

Among the pupils of the Buddha at that time was one who incarnated again a few centuries later. We are speaking, therefore, of a physical personality who centuries later lived again in a physical body and is known to us as St. Francis of Assisi. The quality characteristic of Francis of Assisi and of the life of his monks—which has so much similarity with that of the disciples of Buddha—is due to the fact that Francis of Assisi himself was a pupil of Buddha."

-Rudolf Steiner, The Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz, GA 130, 18 December 1912, Neuchâtel, VII. The Mission of Gautama Buddha on Mars

The Tale of St. Francis and the Wolf

This account can be found in a 14th-century collection of stories about Francis and his companions called The Little Flowers of Saint Francis. Selected Reference: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/st-francis-and-the-taming-of-the-wolf

In this well-known legend, St. Francis, who was a genuine spiritual initiate, visited the Italian town of Gubbio where a fierce wolf had been terrorizing the village and even killing some of the people including children.

During his visit to Gubbio, Francis goes out to meet the wolf. According to the story, when the wolf sees St. Francis, he charges saint with his mouth open ready to attack. St. Francis immediately makes the sign of the Cross over him and says, “Come here, Brother Wolf. I command you on behalf of Christ that you do no harm to me or to anyone.” As soon as St Francis did this, notes The Little Flowers, “the fearsome wolf closed his mouth and stopped running; and once the command was given, it came meekly as a lamb, and threw itself at the feet of St. Francis.”

Then St. Francis scolds Brother Wolf for destroying and killing the creatures of God. “The whole town is complaining about you,” Francis tells the wolf gently. “But I want to make peace between you and the people. And so I promise that I will have food given to you regularly, Brother Wolf, by the people of this town so that you will no longer suffer hunger. And I want you, Brother Wolf, to promise that you will never harm any human person or animal.” The wolf showed agreement by simply bowing his head.

And so Francis asks the people of the town if they will promise to provide food for wolf regularly. They all say they will. Finally, St. Francis asks the wolf to give a guarantee in front of all of the people that he will no longer inflict harm upon the people of Gubbio or its animals.

“Then the wolf, lifting his right paw, placed it in the hand of St. Francis. Because of this action…there was such rejoicing and wonder among all the people…that they all began to cry to heaven, praising and blessing God who sent Francis to them who, through his merits, had freed them from the jaws of the cruel beast.”

“Afterwards that same wolf lived in Gubbio for two years, and he tamely entered the houses, going from door to door, without doing any harm to anyone and without any being done to him; and he was kindly fed by the people…. Finally after two years Brother Wolf died of old age, at which the citizens grieved very much.”

Legend has it that after the wolf died, it was interred with St. Francis and lies next to him in his grave...

The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love,
For it is in giving that one receives,
It is in self-forgetting that one finds,
It is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
It is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

The Eightfold Path of Buddha & The 8 Beatitudes of Christ

According to Buddha, and initiation-wisdom which can be found in Anthroposophy, the Mysteries and the facts of human existence, each person is born into the world with certain habits carried forward from prior lifetimes. Reincarnation is not an opinion; it is a fact of life and can be observed in cycles across the universe. In this way, all living this evolve and develop. We pass through many transformations.

In the spiritual traditions of the East, these residual "imprints", or shadows, are referred to dark aspects of the soul, which consists of lower biases and dispositions that we carry within us. They manifest outwardly when one has not mastered themselves and allows these negatives, or "neuroses in Jungian terms, to overwhelm them. Anger, deceit, sensuality, dishonesty, and the deadly sins/vices manifest from our souls and must be overcome to attain to a higher path.

The negative aspect of ourselves in Samskara leads to falsehoods, mistakes, and self-deceptions. These also lead to redemptive karma; a necessary process for human transformation which each person must face the outcome of their prior thoughts, feelings, and deeds in the spiritual worlds after death and subsequent incarnations.

Self-purification is the path of higher development. To advance, or grow, a person must practice daily habits of thought, feeling, and deeds which transforms us gradually. We must put this model into practice. In doing so, we can reach a truly objective perception of ourselves, the world, and the universe. Buddha referred to one of his core spiritual practices as The Eightfold Path. Using these mantras and practices can aide one through healthy living, thinking, and feeling leading one to balance.

"All the great Founders of religions have been possessed of clairvoyant sight. They are the spiritual Guides of mankind, and their precepts are precepts of the moral life based on astral and spiritual truths. This explains the similarities in all the religions. There is a certain similarity, for instance, between the Eight-fold Path of the Buddha and the Eight Beatitudes of Christ. The same underlying truth is that whenever man develops one of the virtues, he unfolds a new faculty of perception. Why are eight stages mentioned? Because the seer knows that the faculties which may be transmuted into organs of perception are eight in number." -Rudolf Steiner, GA 94 , An Esoteric Cosmology, Lecture X: The Astral World – Paris, 6th June 1906

The astral organs of perception are called in occultism, the ‘lotus-flowers’ (sacred wheels, chakra). The lotus-flower with sixteen petals lies in the region of the larynx. In very ancient times this lotus-flower turned from right to left — that is to say in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock. In the man of today, this lotus-flower has ceased to turn. In the clairvoyant seer it begins to move in the opposite direction — from left to right.

In earlier times, eight of the sixteen petals were visible, the others undeveloped. In future ages they will all be visible, for the first eight are the result of the action of unconscious initiation, the other eight of the conscious initiation attained by dint of personal effort. The eight new petals correspond to the Beatitudes of Christ." -Rudolf Steiner, An Esoteric Cosmology, Lecture X, The Astral World, Part II, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA094/English/SGP1978/19060606p01.html

The Eightfold Path

"He (Buddha) described the path as follows.—

1. Man attains this kind of knowledge about the world when he acquires a right view of things, a view that has nothing to do with sympathy or antipathy or preference of any sort. He must strive as best he can to acquire the right view of each thing, purely according to what presents itself to him outwardly. That is the first principle: the right view of things.

2, Secondly, man must become independent of what has remained from earlier incarnations; he must also endeavour to judge in accordance with his right view of a thing and not be swayed by any other influences. Thus, right judgment is the second principle.

3. The third is that he must strive to give true expression to what he desires to communicate to the world, having first acquired the right view and right judgment of it; not only his words but every manifestation of his being must express his own right view—that and that alone. This is right speech.

4. The fourth principle is that man must strive to act, not according to his sympathies and antipathies, not according to the dark forces of Samskara within him, but in such a way that he lets his right view, right judgment and right speech become deed. This is right action.

5. The fifth principle, enabling a man to liberate himself from what is within him, is that he should acquire the right vocation and station in the world. We may best understand what Buddha meant by this, if we remember how many people are dissatisfied with the tasks devolving upon them, believing that some other position would be more advantageous. But a man should be able to derive from the situation into which he is born or into which fate has placed him, the best that is possible, i.e. to \acquire the right ‘occupation’ or ‘vocation’. Whoever finds no satisfaction in the situation in which he is placed, will not be able to derive from it the power to unfold right activity in the world. This is what Buddha called right vocation.

6. The sixth principle is that a man should make increasing efforts to ensure that what he acquires through right views, right judgment and so forth, shall become habit in him. He is born into the world with certain habits. A child gives evidence of this or that inclination or habit. But man's endeavours should be directed, not towards retaining the habits, proceeding from Samskara but towards acquiring those that gradually become his own as the result of right views, right judgment, right speech, and so on. These are the right habits.

7. The seventh principle is that a man should bring order into his life through not invariably forgetting yesterday when he has to act to-day. He would never accomplish anything if he had to learn his skills anew each time. He must strive to develop recollectedness, mindfulness, regarding everything in his life. He must always turn to account what he has already learnt, he must link the present with the past.

8. Thus along the Eightfold Path man must acquire right mindfulness in the sense of Buddha's teaching. The eighth quality is acquired when, without partiality for one view or another and without being influenced by any element remaining in him from former incarnations, he surrenders himself with pure devotion to the things of the world, immerses himself in them and lets them alone speak to him. This is right contemplation.

This is the Eightfold Path, of which Buddha said to his disciples that if followed it would gradually lead to the extinction of the thirst for existence with its attendant suffering, and impart to the soul something that brings liberation from elements enslaving it from past lives."

-Rudolf Steiner, The Gospel of Luke, Lecture 3, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA114/English/RSP1964/19090917p01.html *The numbering above is mine.

The 8 Beatitudes

From The Gospel of Matthew 5:3-10.

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

4. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

6. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.

7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

8. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

The Esoteric Meaning of the Bodhi Tree

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(1) "If the esoteric student of the Christian school wanted to recognize his being, he had to look at this image, which shows that the human being is shaped like a tree rooted in the spiritual. This was understood by sitting under the fig tree or the Buddha under the Bodhi tree. When Jesus said to Nathanael, “When you were sitting under the fig tree, I recognized you,” it meant that Nathanael had placed himself in such a relationship with his environment. Yggdrasil, the world ash tree in Norse mythology, is also a representation of this tree.

In esoteric imagery, “sitting under the fig tree” or “under the bodhi tree” means that one knows the esoteric structure of the human being." -Rudolf Steiner, Esoteric Lessons GA 266/I, 5 August 1908, Stuttgart, Translated by Steiner Online Library, Esoteric Lesson, Record A https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA266I/English/SOL2024/19080805e02.html

(2) "...the great Gautama felt—because he was not yet fully conscious of his Bodhisattvic wisdom—that man may be filled with wisdom and through this wisdom be filled with ever-fruitful forces of growth, but life reveals decay, sickness, death and many other destructive elements. Here was a mystery unfathomable even to the Bodhisattva. He had passed through many lives, through incarnation after incarnation had accumulated an ever-increasing store of wisdom, until he had reached a point whence he could survey life from the very heights of existence.

Yet when he left the palace, and life in its grim realities stood before him, the meaning of it all did not wholly penetrate his consciousness. The accumulated knowledge and wisdom of earthly lives cannot, in effect, lead to the solution of the ultimate mysteries of existence, for these mysteries lie hidden beyond the region of the life that passes from incarnation to incarnation. This conception, quickening in the soul of the great Gautama, led him finally to full illumination “under the Bodhi tree.” -Rudolf Steiner, Buddha, GA 60, 2 March 1911, Berlin

Selected Surviving Quotes from Gautama Buddha

(1) "All human beings are subject to attachment and thirst for pleasure. Dwelling upon these, they are caught in the cycle of birth and death. Driven by this thirst, they run about frightened like a hunted hare, suffering more and more. Driven by this thirst, they run about frightened like a hunted hare. Overcome this thirst and be "free.”

(2) “All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. If a man speak or act with an evil thought, suffering follows him as the wheel follows the hoof of the beast that draws the wagon.... If a man speak or act with a good thought, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him." – Dhammapada 1.1

(3) "If you find no one to support you on the spiritual path, walk alone.”

(4) "Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.” – Dhammapada 1.1

(5) “To understand everything is to forgive everything.” – Dhammapada 6.1

(6) “Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.” – Dhammapada 1.5

(7) “The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.” – Udana-Varga 19:1

(8) “Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so, let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.”– Karaniya Metta Sutta

(9) “An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.” – Sigalovada Sutta

(10) “Radiate boundless love towards the entire world.” – Sutta Nipata 149-150

(11) “A disciplined mind brings happiness.” – Dhammapada 3.35

(12) “In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.” – Anguttara Nikaya

(13) “We are but guests visiting this world, though most do not know this. Those who see the real situation, no longer feel inclined to quarrel. You too shall pass away. Knowing this, how can you quarrel?”– Dhammapada 1.6

(14) “Senseless talk brings suffering, for it is thrown right back to you. But if you stay like a broken gong and never speak a word, the cycle of idle talk will break, and you will pass from sorrow.” -Dhammapada 10:5-6

(15) “This world is shrouded in darkness. Here, only a few can see their way free. These few birds escape from the net, and fly away to the heavens.”-Dhammapada 13:8

(16) “The followers of Gautama’s teachings are always awake. Day and night, they take great joy in genuine kindness.” -Dhammapada 21:1

(17) "Conquer anger through gentleness, unkindness through kindness, greed through generosity, and falsehood by truth. Be truthful; do not yield to anger. Give freely, even if you have but little. The gods will bless you.”

(18) “One should train in deeds of merit—generosity, a balanced life, developing a loving mind—that yield long-lasting happiness.”

(19) “Radiate boundless love towards the entire world…”

Parting Thoughts

It is clear in modern times that each of us, to some degree, feels separated from the spiritual worlds, our true home. Due to the influences of materialism, which are caused and exacerbated by the opposing powers of Ahriman and Lucifer who perpetually oppose the Christ mission in the world, we are feeling separated and blinded to spiritual experience. This separation, which is only temporary, can cause anger, anxiety, confusion, and depression.

Thanks to Gautama Buddha, and those who continue to lea and support humanity as highly developed self-sacrificing personalities on a higher mission, a student in modern times has a genuine path to learn from in the modern age. Every century, these leaders return whereby they continue the mission of building a bridge from human perception, confined to waking consciousness, and the spiritual worlds.

If we can can take into consideration the wisdom and truths of the initiates, and gain an understanding of their roles and relationships to one another, humanity, the world, and the Christ mission, we can also follow their path which echoes to us, and resounds in us like a permanent memory. We know from the teachings of the Guardians of Wisdom and Love, that there a is structure and plan in the world for everyone down to this finest atom. The initiates work collaboratively under the guidance of the Christ:

Spiritual guides, whether they be our guardian angels, friends and family who have returned to help us after death, the sages who attained to a high stage of spiritual development eons ago, or the great guides of the spiritual hierarchies, always teach and speak to us. If we cannot hear, we just need to adjust our pitch and perception a bit to listen to them through the words of their teachings and the spirit which will enter our deepest souls and hearts. Gautama Buddha teaches us the path of meditation and right thinking, feeling, and doing through his Eightfold Path. While the conditions in the West of spiritual initiation of changed, in light of Anthroposophy, Gautama Buddha's teachings are as today as then. They encourage patience, love, light, and wisdom which manifests through the lessons, experiences, and achievements of a high spiritual initiate who will no longer return the earth in physical form.

He was, and is, a highly developed spiritual individuality who aids humanity along in the mission of the Christ throughout human history...

“We know that as far as concerns Earth-development on the physical plane Christ was incarnated for three years in the body of Jesus of Nazareth. We know that that incarnation took place once for all, that there had been no previous incarnation, and that there will be no other like it. What the Christ did by dwelling for three years in a human body was necessary for human beings on the Earth, it was necessary for men as earthly beings of sense to have the Christ also among them once as an earthly being of sense. But in His essential nature the Christ is not restricted to His life for three years in the sheaths of Jesus of Nazareth; He is also the leader of all the Beings of the higher hierarchies. He is an all-embracing, cosmic, universal Being."

-Steiner, Rudolf, Wonders of the World, Ordeals of the Soul, Revelations of the Spirit. GA 129. Lecture 4. Dionysos as the representative of the ego-forces. The entry of the Christ Impulse into human evolution and the activity of the planetary gods. August 21, 1911, Munich.

https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA129/English/RSP1963/19110821p02.html

Selected References

(1) Rudolf Steiner, Buddha, GA 60, 2 March 1911, Berlin, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA060/English/Singles/19110302p01.html

(2) Rudolf Steiner, The Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz, GA 130, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA130/English/RSP1950/ChRose_index.html

(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Buddha

(4) Search for Buddha on the Rudolf Steiner Archive: https://rsarchive.org/Search.php?q=buddha

(5) https://www.bdkamerica.org/tripitaka-list/

(6) https://suttacentral.net/?lang=en

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