By the Gods!
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Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha was the founding master of Buddhism and is regarded as the most perfect of holy men, rather than as a deity. He was born (by most accounts) in the 6th century BCE into the Kshatriya (warrior) caste at Kapilavastu, just inside the border of what is now Nepal. Gautama was the Buddha’s family name; his given name was Siddhartha. Gautama is venerated by all Buddhists, although for the “Pure Land” sect of Japanese and Chinese Buddhism, the Buddha Amitabha (or Amida) has supreme importance.
According to tradition, Gautama was chillin’ up in one of the Buddhist heavens when he realized it was time for him to descend to earth. The spirit of the Buddha appeared to Queen Maya, and entered her womb, causing an immaculate conception of sorts. The prophets predicted that the boy, when he was born, would be either a universal emperor or a buddha (spoiler: not the emperor one).
Gautama had a privileged upbringing, married a princess, and had son. In his late twenties, however, he set out to explore the land outside the palace, and discovered the suffering and sadness that ran rampant through the world. He became an ascetic, but after six years hadn’t had any enlightenment-breakthroughs. In Bodh Gaya, he sat down beneath the branches of a sacred tree, whereupon the earth shook six times as he meditated. The buddha was tested by the demon Mara (a buddhist equivalent of Satan), being subjected to fear and enticed by pleasure, but he remained unmoved. He then became aware of the “Four Noble Truths” which became the chief tenets of his teachings, and created the Eightfold Path.
The earth shook, breezes blew, flowers rained from heaven, the gods rejoiced, and all living things were happy. Quite the discovery! Gautama preached for 40 years more, performed miracles, and converted all who heard him. He even ascended to heaven and converted his mother, Queen Maya. Then he brought the gods back down to earth on a ladder, for the biggest party of all time. At the age of 80, he entered nirvana, the ultimate state of spiritual bliss.
Adam
According to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, Adam was the first man. In the book of Genesis, God (Yahweh, as his friends know him) made him from dust and gave him a beautiful garden in which to live ‘n play. Everything in the garden belonged to Adam, except for the fruit of one tree. That one tree. Together, with his consort Eve (created c/o Yahweh and one of Adam’s ribs) Adam ate the forbidden fruit from the tree. Now, this tree just happened to be the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the original duo lost their innocence. They were cast out of the garden, and had to work to survive. They were thusly made the first man and woman, toughin’ it out in the real world.
According to the Jewish mystical system known as the Kabbalah, Adam both symbolized and embraced cosmic perfection. With Adam’s fall, the material world was created and the light of his divine nature was broken up into countless minute sparks, which are the lights that illuminate human souls. At the end of time, they will be reunited into perfection once more.
Adam was the progenitor of everybody, according to Jewish, Islamic, and Christian tradition. He lived to the ripe old age of 930, a number that would slowly decline as the generations flew by. In Islam he is seen as the first prophet, and in Christianity he’s the guy that brought about original sin. In Judaism, even though he’s #1 chronologically, Abraham is seen more as the father/founder of the Hebrew people. It’s not just about being first. It’s about wanting it more.
Abraham
Abraham, whose name means “Father of a Multitude,” is a major character in the Old Testament, and is referred to by the oldest sources simply as “the Hebrew.” The Bible states that Abraham (originally named Abram) was the tenth generation from Noah, and the twentieth generation from Adam. He was sent to Canaan, the land promised to the Israelites by Yahweh. It was Abraham who began the covenant with Yahweh, granting Abraham and his descendants ownership of the land in exchange for recognition of Yahweh as their only god.
He was a devoted guy, to be sure. When Yahweh told him to take Isaac, his son, up a mountain and sacrifice him, he didn’t hesitate. It turned out to be one of those “I just wanted to see if you’d actually do it” situations, and Isaac was saved at the last second by divine intervention.
He was the first of the three great patriarchs, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob being the other two. Abraham was said to live around 2,000-1,800 BCE, and his importance in relation to Yahweh is such that Islam, Christianity and Judaism are all referred to as the “Abrahamic religions.” In Islam, Abraham is known as “Friend of God,” and is regarded as the propagator of the original pure monotheism, which was restored and perfected by the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad, in turn, was said to be a descendant of Abraham, through the line of his other son, Ishmael.
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