The teachings of Jesus are considered in the light of the teachings of the Buddha, going back to the original sources. The practical Nobel Eightfold Path of the Buddha is explained in terms of the teachings of Jesus in the gospels.
What a long strange trip it's been. I came from a Southern Baptist Christian with a King James Bible background. Never satisfied with what I felt was a limited mindset, I set out to explore Apocryphal texts, Gnostic texts, in a quest for a better understanding, for something directly experienced and more real. The circle widened in the exploration quest to read the Buddhist scriptures.
Buddha's words reminded me so much of Christ's words that I began gathering notes and that was the inspiration for the first book. It was the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, but it was taught from the verses from the gospels attributed to Jesus. It is amazing in the vastness of the Buddhist library of texts that the Buddhist quotes I found for the most part were different from the ones that others had found. I didn't want to use what others had found. I wanted to go back directly to the sources themselves and give references so the quotes could be looked up and verified.
The Kabbalah study was interesting. I began drawing the Kabbalah Tree as a Wheel and then considering how the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path fit in with Kabbalah. That was the second book.
The latest project is a fictional story based on the gospel stories in the Bible. The story is written by the Apostle Philip as a memoir of the life of Simon (Peter) and Mary (Magdalene) and their relationships with Jesus. It explores their reaction to war and their visions for a changed world. It is in part autobiographical.
Apart from the obvious reading and writing, my interests include photography, nature, wild birds, and appreciating beauty and harmony.
Thomas Ragland (Gnostic Tom)
http://gnostictom.moonfruit.com/
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