Do you think it's possible that Buddha's teachings "travelled" and influenced Native American traditions?

http://survive2012.com/index.php/american-pyramids...

http://www.crystalinks.com/pyramidchina.html

http://blog.tours4fun.com/egyptian-hieroglyphics-f...

stone discs, pyramids, shrines, sacred geometry, hieroglyphics.....these things are found all around the world and appear to be of the same or similar origin.

if i could recommend a couple books you should check out "Fingerprints of the Gods" and "Chariots of the Gods"....2 different authors but they discuss all the similarities of the ancient and mysterious artifacts from around the globe. "Chariots of the Gods" was fantastic.

basically i think it all goes back to the lost city of atlantis....some civilization had to have had some sort of flying technology to be able to spread wisdom around the globe all within 1 generation because that what we see is all the same types of glyphs and structures started popping up around the globe in the same time period.

Ever heard of the Piri Reis map..?

"The Piri Reis map shows the western coast of Africa, the eastern coast of South America, and the northern coast of Antarctica. The northern coastline of Antarctica is perfectly detailed. The most puzzling however is not so much how Piri Reis managed to draw such an accurate map of the Antarctic region 300 years before it was discovered, but that the map shows the coastline under the ice. Geological evidence confirms that the latest date Queen Maud Land could have been charted in an ice-free state is 4000 BC."

So there is a map of antarctica's coastline....that coastline hasnt been ice free in 4000 years and the technology to see it didnt come out til the 1900s...so this is a huge mystery is it not? I think if we could discover who made this map then we have the supposed angels of the bible and the ancient teachers of the far east and the americas and egypt and the middle east. find who made the map and you will find who had the technology to fly around the globe making maps and spreading wisdom. all signs point to the lost city.

My ramble may seem off topic but i think instead of saying that buddha was the teacher i am thinking we should find out who taught buddha.

Anything is possible, and both the Native American and the Buddhist teachings are earth rather than heavenly oriented. But other than that basic similarity, I don't see much else that they share. We don't find the Four Noble Truths or the Three Refuges in the Native American tradition. But it should also be noted that over a thousand years ago a great Buddhist saint, Padmasambhava, said that, "When the iron bird flies, the Dharma will travel to the land of the Red Men."

Kuma

I have always been fascinated by the 'similarities within different cultures;' even though these cultures are miles apart and have had no 'contact,' that we are aware of. The 'similarities' run from - spiritual matters, too colour design on cardinal points and myths and legends in general. I believe these 'similarities' are what C.G.Jung called the 'collective conscious;’ the Buddhist called the Ethnic Records, (a kind of time line of human history) both of which can be 'tapped into' either consciously or unconsciously.

However, as said, there appears to be no link between the Buddhist and Native American traditions.

Supposedly the original Native American migrated across the the Bering Straight from Asia to Alaska and then spread throughout the Western Hemisphere. So I am sure their beliefs have their roots in the same culture and beliefs as Buddha's teachings did.

I wouldn't rule it out, but to me it sounds unlikely at best.

Asians may well have visited North and even South America long before Europeans did. There is little to suggest they ever attempted to colonize the Americas if they did visit.

It is quite likely that Pacific Islands people might have explored the coasts of the American continents, though, and this could have happened many years before even the Vikings. Again, there is little to suggest efforts to colonize, but they could have had some cultural influences.

There is a strong human inclination to question our origins and early experiences. This is a thread which connects nearly all humans. We ask the same questions and come up with similar answers which are still different, but lead in very much the same directions.

Interesting question.

I think it is a lovely tradition. I love it for the aspects you have explained, the joy of both receiving and more importantly giving but also because it promotes a healthy attitude to materialistic things. For me, today's world is far too hung up on possessions and this tradition would go a long way in breaking down that. It would teach a person not to be so possessive of things for as soon as they let one toy go to another child they would receive another one in return for someone else. I just love this idea!!!

Native American belief systems pre-date the Buddha.

Possible, but highly unlikely. The arrival of Native Americans from Asia occured thousands of years before Buddha. They're really wasn't any contact between the two areas. There is an account of a couple of Chinese men visiting the southwest (assuming its correct), but it's unlikely it would have resulted in that.

It is true that there were Buddhist missionaries in Greece and Palestine at the time of Christ. It's possible there was Buddhist influence there.

no. observable truths don't need to travel. people can see it for themselves just by observing their lives.

primitive cultures didn't have electronic distractions. so when they weren't busy they could actually contemplate things and figure it out themselves..

I think the similarities we see in all faiths & belief systems are those kernels of truth that are always available to all.

Beyond the dogma, beyond the do's & do not's, do not the mystics, sages, & wise men of all belief systems basically all say the same thing?

The message is always the same, the differences are cultural & POV specific.

But ultimately what we call truth here is only a guide.

Truth isn't something you learn, Truth is what you become.

Many Blessings!