The Lost Israelites were the First Buddhists – Part One
The Maya Devi Temple, the reputed Birthplace of Buddha Mundi
Up along the border of Nepal and Northeastern India is an ancient town called Lumbini. Here is believed to be the birthplace of Buddha, the ancient spiritual leader of Buddhism. The archeological historical history of this region goes back to the days of 1300 BCE. This was the era of the Hebrew Judges, between the days of the Great Exodus by the Children of Israel from Egypt about 1585 BCE, the era of the Israelite army of Joshua the Mighty conquering of the Canaanite fortified towns by the 12 tribes of Israel in 1545 BCE, until the United Kingdom of Kings David and Solomon about 1000 BCE.
There in this region, UNESCO has been conducting archeological excavations at the Maya Devi Temple, sponsored by the Japanese-Funds-in-Trust. Towards the end of the excavation period, the archeologists have uncovered a continuous layer of religious cultic sites all the way down to its earliest era; a simple timber railed enclosure that was stated to be a religious shrine as early as the 6th century BCE. Afterwards there was constructed an early brick platform and later brick temple during the reign of the famous 4th century BCE Indian Buddhist Emperor, Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Dynasty, who ruled over the Indian subcontinent from 269-232 BCE.
Ashoka is recognized as one of the greatest of India’s emperors of all times. It was he, who after an imperial conquest to conquer his most powerful political rivals, the State of Kalinga, Ashoka reflected upon this bitter and destructive war that left 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportees. In an enlightened state of consciousness, he began a slow conversion to the principles and lifestyle of the Buddha Mundi.
Yet, this was not just a personal mission, but it became a spiritual quest for all of his peoples that lived in his empire that spread from ancient Khorasan, where the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel were sent into exile in the provinces of Sistan and Balochistan in modern day Afghanistan and eastern Iran, throughout the Hindu Kush Mountains of Northern Afghanistan, to modern day, Bangladesh, the Indian State of Assam eastwards and southwards towards Northern Kerata and Andhra Pradesh. This vast imperial region was ruled with his imperial capitals located at Taxila, Ujjain and Pataliputra.
Even today, the historical birth of Buddha is unclear but as we shall see, it’s unclear because it is not historically acceptable that the roots of the Buddha Mundi who grew up in Nepal and became an “Enlightened One” was actually born from the genetic loins of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. Even today, the archeologists still dispute the date of Buddha’s birth where the UNESCO website recognizes his birth to be 623 BCE other scholars are pushing that date later to the dates between 448 to 368 BCE.
According to the archeologists excavating this ancient site beneath a 3rd century Ashokan Buddhist temple, to their surprise the most ancient and primitive of all the deposition layers was the discovery of a timbered shrine that appeared to be open to the heavens. This was like the famous ancient rock monument in Britain called Stonehenge that is now recognized as an ancient observatory of the starry heavens. This is much like the Temple of King Solomon that was constructed to be an observatory to calculate for the 12-Tribed Empire of Kings David and Solomon the exact seasons for the festival of the L-rd in Jerusalem.
Even the classic historians, as we shall soon see recognized the birth of the Supreme Buddha to be from the 7th to the 6th century BCE. This is not more than a hundred years after the Northern Ten Tribes of the House of Israel were exiled to the land of Media, or ancient Khorasan. This region included eastern Iran, western, southern and eastern Afghanistan and also western Pakistan that in the ancient days was part of the Continent of India. Today, nearby to the Ashokan period Buddhist Temple, these same archeologists are now excavating the village of Lumbinigame, the oldest named village in South Asia that was occupied from the 1300 BCE era to the 9th century CE.
Lumbini, the famous site in Nepal of the birth of the Buddha Mundi, is located along the subtropical chain of forests, marshlands and grasslands that traverse the border of Nepal and India. This is along the Siwalik Range of the Himalaya Mountains. It is one of four historical sites identified with Buddha’s life; Lumbini, where he was born, Gaya, where the Divine enlightened his mind, Sarnath, where Buddha began first to preach and at Kusinagara, where he died.
So classic to our understanding of the G-d of Israel, even though it was His Divine Will that exiled the Lost Ten Tribes for abominating His Holy Name and scattered them from the Koreas in the East to Ireland in the West, the G-d of Israel never left them; He remained hidden from them until His destined time for them to be reclaimed when the restoration process for the redemption of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel will begin. Their final destiny will be in the restoration of Klal Yisrael (All Israel) in what the Jewish sages call the “World to Come.” To consider anything else, would cast blame upon the Holy One of Israel for abandoning part of His chosen people rather than completing the prophetic Divine Plan of Redemption.
Our lack of comprehension comes in part because we fail to understand the difference between the mind of the Oriental in the East and the mind of the Occidental in the West. One is pragmatic and rational, the other is ideological and mystical. As we look back over the archons of time, we can still see the footprint of the Divine One, walking alongside His chosen though rebellious children; watching and caring for His own. He guided and directed them all the while calling and whistling to them to come home, with the words, “I’m here – though I am hidden, come search for Me!”
We have now learned that Prince Siddhartha Gautama’s father was the ruler of the Sakya people in Nepal and “Sakya” was the Persian name for the “sons of Isaac”. His mother, was Queen Maya, who was the daughter to the King’s brother.
There the young Lost Israelite Prince Siddhartha grew up from royal Israelites roots, like Moses, the crown prince of Egypt who lived in an era of royal extravagance, and became a famous general for the Egyptian king and conquered the Nubians to the south in Ethiopia. Siddhartha Gautama was given in marriage, as was the custom of the people, to a sixteen year old girl, his cousin, by the name of Yasodhara, and then by the orders of the king, his father, King Suddhodana of Kapilavastu, Prince Siddhartha was sent to live a life of total seclusion and isolation in one of three royal palaces.
About the age of twenty-nine, he left his secluded ascetic life, when he ventured into the real world. There he first confronted the sufferings of his peoples. It so overwhelmed him that he left the royal palace, gave up his claim as royal heir to the kingdom, his royal life, and then returned to an ascetic life of which he sought to help his people by teaching them how to relieve universal human suffering by seeking and living a life of peace. In essence, did the G-d of Israel give the Lost Israelites a gift; a gift of a Buddha messiah that would also be the link to a pathway of enlightenment so that their future pathway of redemption will be assured at the end of days?
The Vajrashila, where Gautama sat under a tree and became enlightened at Bodh Gaya,
As we can now see, the Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini was named after Prince Siddhartha Gautama‘s mother; Queen Maya. This site remained a revered site for the Buddhists for over 20 centuries, until the 15th century CE, when for reasons unknown today to the researchers and archeologists, the pilgrimages quit and the site was lost. Yet is was rediscovered in the year of 1896 when a sandstone pillar was discovered dating to the third century BCE by the famous Buddhist Emperor Ashoka who visited this site of the Buddha’s birth.
The Maya Devi Temple was built over an earlier temple that was constructed by the Indian Emperor Ashoka; a stupa or domed-shaped Buddhist temple. This was a Buddhist monument celebrating the birth of the Buddha. The size and shape of the older temple was about the same size as the temple built by Ashoka centuries later. Even the Ashokan Temple was constructed over an even older temple and there to the surprise of the archeologists, at the ground floor of this earliest of temple sites they found another layer of depositions that included a series of postholes where the timber posts were rotten in the subsoil, as Professor Robin Coningham, one of the leading archeologists at the site exclaimed:
Professor Robin Coningham – “Indeed, our excavations have demonstrated that the earliest construction at Lumbini appears to have comprised a timber fence or railing marking a cardinal direction. The central, open portion of the most ancient temple appears to have housed a tree, based on the discovery of large fragments of mineralized tree roots. This part of the temple also had never been covered by a roof.”
Today, the world population of Buddhism is about 500 million people, but the archeologist and religious historians are clueless as to when this religion began. Yet, through the oral traditions of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel, the life story of Buddha spread throughout the Near East. Even though there exists so little evidence about the early history of Buddha Mundi, inside the Temple are massive excavations that are constantly revealing new history that is now believed to be linked to the Exiled Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. Or was it? Was there one Buddha Mundi or were their two? Was there first a Jewish Hebrew Buddha Mundi, and was there second one, a Sakyas, a “son of Isaac” that followed later?
The archeologists have uncovered historical evidence which they believe stems from the 6th century BCE when the spiritual life of the Supreme Buddha began to spread throughout the Near East. Today, his life has monumentally influenced the life and culture of the entire region. Here for the first time in over 2,600 years a pre-Ashokan temple constructed of brick was uncovered and to their amazement beneath it was an earlier temple site that was constructed of wooden timbers.
At a press conference in 2013, as Phase I of the Japanese funded project was closing, Professor Robin Coningham made these comments:
Professor Robin Coningham – “For the first time in South Asia, excavations have revealed a pre-Ashokan temple of brick, which itself was built over an earlier one of timber.”
His words were followed by Sri Acharya Karma Sango Sherpa, Vice-Chairman of the Lumbini Development Trust who stated:
Sri Acharya Karma Sango Sherpa – “These two discoveries [a 1300 BC village and pre-Ashokan shrines] are great steps which help us to better understand the origins of Lord Buddha's life and the spiritual importance of Lumbini."
Then Axel Plathe, Head of the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu and UNESCO Representative to Nepal, made these statements along with Kunio Takahash, Japanese Ambassador to Nepal:
Kunio Takahash – “Japan is honoured to have been able to contribute to the success of this flagship project.”
So with the closing of Phase I archeological site at the Maya Devi Temple, about 20 km over to the west of Lumbini, Phase II was preparing to begin at Tilaurakot. Here was the reputed childhood home of palace of the prince heir who became the Supreme Buddha called the Saca-Muni.”
The Buddha Monks praying at the Birth Site of the Saccai Mundi
As incredible as this sounds, let us turn to one of the most influential scholars of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Judah; Yair Davidiy with Brit Am. As one of his theme articles archived in this massive storehouse archive on the history of 10-tribed Israel, we read the following article titled, “Was Buddha an Israelite?”
Brit Am – “It sounds crazy, it sounds stupid, and it just cannot be true or possible. Nevertheless, maybe it is possible that the one known as Buddha was indeed an Israelite. In order to understand how this could be or how this is possible, let us backtrack for a short bit to something many of you are already familiar with, and that is the Assyrian invasion and deportation of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
In 734 BCE, the Assyrian forces invaded the Kingdom of Israel and took part of the tribes into captivity this was the first invasion. The second invasion was around 720 BCE in which the Assyrians deported the rest who stayed who were not deported during the first invasion. Now according to the Bible the Israelites were sent to various locations to the east of their former kingdom. The books of I Chronicles and II Kings give us a description as to where they were resettled. In the book of I Chronicles 5:26 it says:
I Chronicles 5:26 – “And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.”
However, the book of II Kings 18:10-11 gives us additional detail to where the exiles were sent:
I Kings 18:10-11 – “And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is in the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel; Samaria was taken. And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”
The Israelites were scattered and settled in five different areas throughout the Assyrian Empire and maybe even more. However, our focus will be the areas further to the east where some of the tribes of Israel were sent such as Hara and the possible vassal states to Assyria, which were Magan and Meluhha. These areas just mention were located in Aria/Hara and in the Indus valley or in India itself.
Now from these areas emerged a people known as the Saka or Scythians. These various Saka/Scythian tribes were none other than the exiles or the descendants of the exiles from the northern Kingdom of Israel.
The name Saka is a form of the name “Isaac” for the consonants S-C or S-K and we must understand that in Hebrew no vowels were listed. These various Saka/Saca/Scythian tribes eventually migrated to the east entering into what is today the nation of India particular the northwestern part of India. However, some seem to have penetrated and settled in what is today the nation of Nepal, and this is where are investigation begins on origins of the one called Buddha.
Buddhism, a religion that has millions of followers worldwide may in fact have Hebrew roots and Hebrew origins. We will not discuss the spiritual beliefs of Buddhism but rather the founder's origins in terms of ethnic and tribal identity.
Buddha, whose real name is Siddhartha Gautama, was born sometime in the late 6th century BCE in Lumbini grove, which is said to be a royal park of the Sakyas, which is located in between the Kapilavastu and Devadaha townships. Others suggest he was born in a village of the Sakyas rather than the Lumbini grove.
The Excavated Site of the Birth Place of the Buddha Mundi
In conclusion, when we break down the names, we get a partial picture of the migration trail in which these Shakya or Sakyas tribal peoples took. First is the name that they are identified with, which is Shakya/Sakya/Sacai/Sakkai, and as you can see it is another rendering of their ancient ancestral forefather, the Patriarch Isaac who was the son of the Patriarch Abraham, thus indicating that they, the ancestors of the Sakya were once living in the Land of Israel.
This particular branch also refers to themselves as Khathiya, which as you have just read is another name for Kush/Cush, and suggests that when they were taken into exile by the Assyrians and were placed most likely in Hara and from there migrated eastward to the land called Cush otherwise the western portions of India in Pakistan at a later date.
Now, the Supreme Buddha's clan as you already know by now is called the Gautam/ Gautama/ Gotama. All of these names point to none other than the tribe of Gad as already stated. When we add the fact that they referred to themselves as Khathiya, which translates to Cush, then Gandhara seems to be the area of choice for Gandhara is next door to the lands called Cush.
Gandhara [Old Persian was named Gadar meaning Hara of Gad] and had been named after the tribe of Gad. This suggests a presence of that this tribe lived in this region before this particular clan made their push into the land of Cush and then finally settling in the land of what is today the nation of Nepal.
According to tradition, Prince Siddhartha Gautama’s father was King Suddhodana of Kapilavastu and his mother was Queen Maya who was the daughter of Devadaha. Devadaha was the brother of King Suddhodana. The tribe, which Prince Siddhartha Gautama was a tribal member of were known as the Sakyas. Buddha is said to have come from the Gautama or in the Pali language of Gotama's clan, were a branch of the Sakyas tribe. The clan from which the Supreme Buddha came from is noticeable in his name, Siddhartha "Gautama or Gotama.” But who were the Sakyas and who was this clan called Gautama? That is what we are about to discover in this next piece.
The Saka tribes that settled in what is today Nepal was known and referred to as "Shakya". However, the Shakya also referred to themselves as “Khathiya” and are said to be a branch of the Gautam family or clan. The name Shakya is another rendering of the name of Saka, which translates to Isaac. The Shakya/Saka also refer to themselves as "Khathiya". The name Khathiya is also rendered as Koushal, or Kushal, and the name Kushal seems to be another form of the name of Cush/Kush.
The name Cush can be applied to Ethiopia and Africa. However, the name Cush was also applied to indicate ancient India or rather portions of what are today the nations of Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as northwestern India. However, due to the vast amount of land that is called Cush by the classical writers, the specific area from which the Shakya came from within the land termed as Cush is nearly impossible to determine.
In addition, and before we forget, these Shakya in particular are said to be a branch of the Gautam family. The name Gautam is of interest for the name itself seems to point to none other than the Israelite tribe of Gad. When we take a closer look at the name Gautam and break it down, we get the name Gaud for the "t" can sound as a "d; and thus be interchangeable, and sounds and looks similar to the Hebrew name for Gad, which is ‘Gawd’.”
Yet, something was fundamentally wrong. The Sakya Mundi, or the Supreme Hermit whose real name was Prince Siddhartha, was the prince heir of the Sakya kingdom where his father was king. Since his father was a Sakya king the Prince Siddhartha’s royal background was associated with a peoples who were called the Saki, Sacae, or the Sakya who represented the “sons of Isaac”. Understanding this idea, we then begin to perceive correctly that the Buddha Mundi was a Lost Israelite.
The archeologists had already determined by the evidence in and on the ground that the Ashokan Temple was clearly Buddhist and the earliest wooden shrine has all the markings of being a part of this religious, spiritual culture tradition. As Professor Robin Coningham stated:
Professor Robin Coningham – ‘It’s unlikely that this earlier structure belonged to a different spiritual tradition, other than Buddhism, because of the ‘continuity’ of the site between the sixth century B.C. and third century B.C. structures. The Ashokan temple is clearly Buddhist, and the earlier shrine had the same footprint. Often when you have sites of one religious activity overtaken by another, you actually get quite dramatic changes within orientation, within use of structure, moreover, before the sixth century B.C., the area where the site is was just cultivated land.’”
The National Geographic Society is today currently featuring their archeological discoveries on the research into the life of Buddha in a National Geographic documentary title, “Buried Secrets of the Buddha” that premiered on February 2014. As such, we will continue to plumb the depths of this religious mystery.
As the archeological evidence for the birth and life of a Sakyan Prince called Siddhartha, appears to be unfolding, the real revelation is the fact that Prince Siddhartha may not have been the original Buddha but rather his protégé. If we truly believe that the G-d of Israel is the One-G-d Creator of the Universe, then He is also directing the affairs of the nations and in these august times called the “Time of the End”, allowing the revelations to come forth of His soon to come amazing prophetic drama. This will only be realized when the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel are reclaimed, redeemed, and restored back into brotherhood with the Jews of the House of Judah and then the era of the Messiah will being in what is called the “World to Come.”
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The Lost Ten Tribed Israelites were the First Primitive Buddhists
Part One- “The Oldest Buddhist shrine holds clues to the Buddha Sakya Mundi; a Lost Israelite Prince's Birth Place”
Part Three – “Buzi the Jewish Cohen in Solomon’s Temple was the First “Buddha Mundi”
Part Four – “The Rise of G-d’s “Battle Axe”; the Formidable Military Forces of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel”
Part Five- “The Messianic Gift of the Prince Siddhartha to the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel”
Part Six – “Lost Israelite’s Final Apostasy in Buddhism in a Land of Mourning and Lamentations”
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The G-d of Israel proclaimed that there are only two groups of people who will be restored back into covenant with Him, the Jews of the House of Israel and the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. Both families, the Jews and the Israelites were scattered across the face of the earth and would become HaShem emissaries incognito sent to elevate the 70 nations of the world, so that even Righteous Gentiles could become part of the covenant. Even the children of Ishmael still rooted in Islam, the children of the Lost Ten Tribes who today are immersed in Buddhism, or the Lost Ten Tribes who today call themselves Christians will be assimilated into the Jewish culture. This will be because deep in their hearts they are known by the Divine to be “safe to save” and willing to live in peace with their brothers; all descendants of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Only the G-d of Israel knows who they are.
We are quickly being polarizing a world in which there will be only two choices; we are either for the Hebrew Israelites; both now part of the Jews of the house of Judah and the Lost Israelites of the House of Israel or we will be against them. This comes to one sobering conclusion, if you are a descendant of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel, whether Muslim, Buddhist or Christian, and you still despise your brothers, the Jews, you may be left outside, not redeemed to participate in the coming “Era of the Messiah” even though you think you want to be a part of them.
So today, the G-d of Israel is whistling for you to come back home to the brotherhood of Klal Yisra’el (All Israel). To learn more about this redemptive process, you are Welcome to Contact “Kol Ha Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Vision to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). This super Event of all Times will entail establishing in the region of Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness into a new homeland for the Return of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel when All Israel will finally be redeemed.
For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their chosen destiny.