Jesus-Vorlage

Horst Gunkel: Die Jesus-Trilogie - Volume 1: Jesus - The First Trip to India - Chapter 7

Terms printed in bold italics are explained in a glossary at the end of the page.
There are also occasional footnotes, to explain a term or fact - you can show them by a click.

When Jesus had visited Sekundus a year earlier, he was initially somewhat confused. At the time, he had heard from Sekundus that if he wanted to go to the Essenes in En Gedi, he would first have to go to Antioch: "Are you sure, Sekundus, Antioch²⁵ is in Syria?"

But Sekundus was able to clear up the misunderstanding: "Antioch is the name of a district of Jerusalem, which it received 200 years ago as a reference to the cosmopolitan city and the ruling dynasty of the same name in the Seleucid Empire, when the Seleucids under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes expelled the Greeks from Judea and allowed the Sabbath to be observed again, which the Greek rulers had previously forbidden on pain of death. Antioch, however, is the capital of the province of Syria, although it lies at the far end of Syria towards the evening²⁶ in the middle of the sea, which the Romans called Mare nostrum²⁷ ."

So now Jesus was on his way there. He had set off early in the morning, although his mother wept at losing him again after such a short time. Joseph was also visibly disappointed that his former apprentice had already left again.

The young man walked straight all day and reached the southern end of the Sea of Galilee in the evening. He slept outside under a blanket that his mother had given him, which he intended to use as a cloak on cold evenings or in the morning. The next day he walked all day along the Sea of Galilee. In the late afternoon, he refreshed himself with a dip in the lake, then filled a hose with water,²⁸ which he hung around his neck, as he would only rarely come across water points over the next few days.

As on his earlier journeys, he held conversations in villages with people he met who were curious about where he came from and where he was going. He noticed how the pronunciation of the Aramaic he spoke gradually changed. There were different dialects, but traveling on foot and talking to people everywhere made it easy to get to grips with the gradual change in language. However, this communication meant that things progressed more slowly than without these pauses. On the other hand, the conversations sometimes led to him being invited by people to share their humble meal. In this way, it took him ten days to travel from Nazareth to Damascus, his intermediate destination, where he enquired about the route to Antioch.

He didn't stay in Damascus any longer. He had noticed that the bigger the city, the busier the people. In the cities, people were less interested in talking to strangers, as you were constantly meeting unknown people. In smaller towns, people were more approachable. Walking between Damascus and Antioch was just as relaxed as before. Jesus talked to the people in the villages here too and was happy to be exposed to the changes in the Aramaic dialects in this way. In addition to Aramaic, Hebrew was of course also spoken in his home country. Now, however, he was pleased that they had mostly Aramaic at home, so there were no language problems anywhere. He only had a very incomplete command of Greek and Latin, although these were the standard languages in the Roman Empire (Greek, of course, only in the eastern part of the empire).

After three weeks of walking from Damascus, he reached the cosmopolitan city of Antioch, the capital of the province of Syria and one of the major cities alongside Rome, Athens, Alexandria and Carthage. Around 500,000 people lived in Antioch at the time.²⁹

Jesus first went to a synagogue. He introduced himself to the rabbi, told him that he was from Nazareth, had a rabbi from Jerusalem as a friend and had lived with the Essēners for a while. He was looking for people who would follow the teachings of an awakened man from the Orient. There was said to have been an ambassador from him here. Unfortunately, he was met with incomprehension by the rabbi and had to leave without having achieved anything.

Next, he tried his luck at a Roman temple, where they also knew nothing of all this. Jesus felt quite lost in the big city. At night, like many other people, he slept in one of the larger squares, as close as possible to a large building that kept out the worst of the wind. Foraging was also much more difficult here than in the countryside. There was no wild fruit to be found, and no families who wanted to be told by strangers and offered food in return. He often took on small jobs in exchange for a meal instead of a wage.

He hadn't been able to find anything at any of the religious places of worship and was already regretting that he had come here and not to the Therapists in Egypt. But one evening, he had gone back to his bed for the night at the large city temple near the market square and had just gone to sleep, when an old man came and touched him on the side with a stick. Jesus opened his eyes. "Are you the young man who asked about the Awakened One from the East?" the man asked.

"Come with me," was the answer. They walked through a few streets and on the way the old man said: "I've been looking for you for a few days. They say you were with the Essēners and are now looking for the message from the King of the East, in which the teachings of the Awakened One are proclaimed. But you are a good 100 years too late for that, my friend. I didn't live through that time either. However, my father was often there as a young man and studied the teachings of the Awakened One, they called him the Buddha. He lived by it all his life. I also witnessed some of it, but my mother didn't think much of it. She sacrificed to the Greek gods."

In the meantime, they had arrived at the old man's house. He was probably still the owner of the house, even though his eldest son had now taken over his business, a fruit and vegetable store. The family lived above the store and the old man, whose name was Dimitros, said: "I sleep here in the kitchen on the bench on the left. You can have the other bench tonight. We'll see tomorrow. You must be hungry." Jesus, who hadn't eaten anything all day, nodded. Dimitros fetched a loaf of bread, some feta cheese and fruit that didn't look very fresh, probably the leftovers from the store that were no longer selling well. Jesus, however, was delighted: "I haven't had such a great supper for ten weeks since I left my parents' house in Nazareth!"

Dimitros watched as Jesus filled himself. Then he asked: "Why are you looking for this teaching?"

Jesus told him about his disputation with the rabbis in the temple in Jerusalem: "They are so incredibly faithful to the scriptures, even though various scriptures say the opposite. I was with the Essēners, and what I liked about them was that they are not so selfish. They share the possessions and assume that they are only temporary owners of the things YHWH has lent them anyway. Their art of healing is superior to that of the Nicht-Essēner. But some things are very strange. They also refer to the Scriptures again, but in the interpretation of a man they call a teacher of righteousness. Everywhere this belief in scripture and this message of one who must be believed in everything, even if it contradicts logic in my opinion. There is this God YHWH, the creator of heaven and earth. He is said to have created the world and established it: It was good.³⁰ But then everything doesn't suit him again and he sends the Flood because people were obviously not as good as he thought. He destroyed all but eight people. Are the others really all so fundamentally evil that they have to be punished with death, even the babies? And all the drowned animals, were they just as evil? But you can't talk about all that, the answer is always: 'But it is written!´"

Dimitros smiled, closed his eyes and said as if in a trance: "You're right to be uncertain and to harbor doubts. In a matter where one can really be in doubt, doubts have arisen in your mind. Do not go by hearsay, not by tradition, not by the opinions of the day, not by the authority of holy scriptures, not by mere reason and logical conclusions, not by invented theories and favored opinions, not by the impression of personal merit, not by the authority of a master! But when you realize for yourself: These things are unwholesome, are reprehensible, are censured by men of understanding, and, if performed and undertaken, lead to mischief and suffering, then you may give them up.^"³¹

Jesus looked at Dimitros with transfigured eyes: "That's great! I've never heard anything so brilliant! Did you say that off the top of your head?"

"No, my dear, I could never do that. The way you just spoke, this text came back into my head. My father has said it several times in such a way that it is probably deeply rooted in my head. My father said that these are the words of the Awakened One, this Buddha."

Jesus was very enthusiastic and wanted to know more about Dimitros' father and this Awakened One. They sat together for a long time that evening by the light of an oil lamp. If it was only this, the journey to Antioch had been worthwhile. Shortly before they went to bed, Jesus asked: "And the commandments? Do you also know the commandments of this Awakened One? How should you behave?"

Dimitros shook his head: "No, my dear, there are no commandments. The Awakened One is not a master who tells you something that you must do. The Exalted One has suggested rules of conduct and recommended that you follow them. They are meant to be suggestions for responsible action."

"I don't think I can repeat them verbatim. Nor are they commandments, but suggestions for ethical behavior. But I can give you the gist of them. As far as I can remember, the Awakened One gave his ordinary followers, i.e. not those who have joined his order, five rules:

These are roughly the five ethical rules of conduct. I am not an expert in this, as my father was. But I have spent my whole life trying to put the Awakened One's recommendations into practice. Three days ago I heard about you, Jesus. I knew then that the recommendation to be generous towards everyone also means that I should seek you out and pass on what I know to you."

Jesus stood up, placed his right hand on his heart and solemnly declared: "I, Jesus of Nazareth, hereby declare that I will go to the kingdom of the East and seek the followers of this Awakened One. I will learn in that far country all that is lacking in Judea. I will return to Judea and help my people to become kind, generous, frugal, truthful and mindful."

Dimitros had tears in his eyes: "If I were twenty years younger, I would offer to come with you, but I can't, I'm too old. Sometimes I asked myself what my life was actually good for. But today I know: giving you a brief insight into the Awakened One's teachings was the most important thing in my life. It has given this life meaning. It won't be long before I die. But I have the certainty that this life has been useful. God bless you, Jesus!"

That night Jesus could hardly sleep, he was so excited! He had finally found something! Oh, what does something mean here: he had found the decisive clue! Dimitros had said that his life had been given meaning by having given Jesus the decisive clue about the awakened man. But it also gave his own life meaning. He wanted to find the teaching of the Awakened One and bring it to Judea. However, there was a problem. He only knew that he had to travel to a "kingdom in the Orient", but which one? At least the direction was clear. Who knows what else he would discover in this legendary kingdom? Among other things, Dimitros had pointed out to him that all of Pythagoras' knowledge came from the same country as the Awakened One. Pythagoras was no stranger to Jesus. When he was learning the building trade from his father, the teachings of the great Greek physicist were often referred to.^{32
33}

The next morning, Jesus had breakfast with the whole family, then helped Dimitros' son to fetch fruit and vegetables from outside the city and bring them to the store. In the evening, Jesus talked to Dimitros again. He told him that he was worried about going in the right direction. After all, he didn't know which kingdom it was.

Dimitros explained to him: "I know it's quite far away, it's not part of the Roman Empire. This part of the Roman Empire, Syria, used to belong to the Seleucid Empire, Antioch was just one of the great cities of that empire. Most of the former Seleucid Empire and even more now belongs to the Parthian Empire, which lies towards the east. In any case, you have to go through Mesopotamia first.³⁴ I used to sell spices when I was still the owner of this store. My father told me that the spice merchants come from around where the Awakened One lived. If you like, we can go to the market tomorrow where the spice merchants sell their wares. You could join a caravan and travel with them."

"Wonderful," Jesus exclaimed, "my plan is taking shape. I will travel through Mesopotamia, through the Parthian Empire and into the land of the Awakened One, stay there for a year or two, learn all the important things and then bring the good teaching to Judea!"

"You are particularly lucky in a way," said Dimitros, "when my father was still a young man, hardly any goods came from the empire behind the Indus River, where the Awakened One must have lived, because transportation on the Silk Road was interrupted due to the decades of ongoing wars between the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire. Trade is now much more intensive. Caravans travel along it every day. There is almost no danger from the troops any more. There is only danger from highwaymen and gangs of robbers. That is also the reason why the merchants travel in caravans and are protected by armed men."

The next day, they went to the spice market. Jesus noticed that not only spices were for sale there, but almost everything. This market was mainly frequented by traders who traveled along the Silk Road. This was the first time Jesus had heard of such distant lands as China, India, Bactria, Gaul, Britain and Spain, as well as the Sassanid Empire. He wandered around hour after hour, talking to the merchants, looking at everything and almost forgetting about Dimitros. He tried to find a caravan that he could join. But he discovered that they charged fees that he could not afford.

Then Dimitros touched him on the shoulder: "Jesus, I've asked around. The caravans here are well equipped, they don't need helpers. But a day's march from here, in Seleukeia Pieria, which is the nearest port, the ships from Rome, Alexandria and Athens arrive. The caravans are assembled there. They also hire helpers there, camel drivers and so on. You can apply there."

"That's it, Dimitros, you're brilliant! Let's go home, I'll leave bright and early tomorrow morning to be in Seleukeia Pieria by the evening. I'll be looking for a job as an assistant in a caravan there for the next few days." They went home. The next morning, Dimitros accompanied Jesus to the outskirts of the city, to the road that led to Seleukeia Pieria. They said goodbye. Jesus set off on his way. He arrived in Seleukeia Pieria in the evening. He ate the bread that Dimitros had given him, then looked for a place to sleep.

Nothing suitable was found the next day. The next day, however, two ships arrived, one from Athens and one from Rome. The one from Rome arrived first and they were looking for men to unload. Jesus volunteered and now, like others, carried baskets and crates from the ship to land.

There he saw merchants arriving with camels to accept the goods. He stopped unloading and spoke to the camel drivers. They rented out the camels and their services, but were still looking for helpers. Some of them spoke Aramaic, others a language he did not speak. As it turned out later, it was Bactrian. In one caravan, both Aramaic and Bactrian were spoken. This seemed most interesting to Jesus. For here he could communicate in Aramaic and gradually learn the other language, which he concluded must be similar to the language of his destination region, as he had never heard such words before. He offered himself as an assistant and was accepted.

It took two days to set up the caravan, which consisted of over 60 animals. The caravan leader was Agathocles, a weather-beaten man of about 50 who hailed from Bactria and, as it turned out, had been traveling the Silk Road with caravans for over 30 years, assisted by his son, a burly man in his twenties named Demetrios. They were also accompanied by two armed guards who rode on horseback and were primarily used as scouts, Jesus learned.

One of these men, Aeschylus, was the bodyguard of Alexander, the merchant who hired the caravan. The scouts usually rode ahead at a distance of one to three hours, sometimes even further, in order to discover obstacles, such as impassable places due to landslides or floods, but also to scout out whether bands of robbers or marauding troops posed a threat. In addition to Jesus, a second young man named Ptolemy was hired in Seleukeia Pieria.

The caravan traveled to Antioch in one day to buy provisions, for which Aeschylus allowed two days. They arrived in the evening and camped at the caravan site not far from the spice market. In the evening there was another special surprise: Dimitros arrived with a large bag. Jesus was happy to see his friend again.

"Jesus, it's good to see you. I was worried that you would go on the great journey without being properly equipped." Dimitros gave him the bag: "My friend, you will be traveling through regions so cold that you can't even imagine it. You will spend days and weeks trekking through snowy mountains and over icy rivers where you have no chance of surviving in your clothes. Here are the essentials you'll need: a fur coat, a thick camel hair blanket and hard-wearing leather socks with a fur lining. Take good care of these items, as they are coveted by robbers and thieves. And don't think you won't need any of it because it's warm for the first two, maybe three or four months. You'll cross mountain passes so high you'll think you're in heaven. They're so cold that you'll feel like you're in an icy hell at the same time."

Jesus embraced his friend, because he had not expected this. He had only ever known Palestine and Syria, where some nights were cold, especially in winter. But he would never have thought that it could be as cold as Dimitros described.

The two spent the evening together and Jesus learned that Dimitros had also visited the caravan site on the previous two evenings, because he did not know when Jesus would return. On the other hand, it was clear that he would come, because all caravans traveling to or from Seleukeia Pieria had to pass through Antioch.

"I still don't understand why you are doing all this for me. The things you have given me are worth a fortune!" said Jesus to his friend.

He smiled: "You, my friend, are worth more to me than anything else. I have told you that now that I have helped you with your daring plan to seek the Awakened One's teachings and bring them to Palestine, my life has taken on meaning. However, if you could not realize your plan, it would empty my life of all meaning. Jesus, I trust in you. If anyone can bring the teachings of the Awakened One to the Roman Empire, it is you." The two very different friends hugged each other goodbye. Jesus promised: "When I come back, I will seek you out and tell you. I will be the first to proclaim the teachings of the Awakened One to you!" Dimitros smiled: "That's nice of you, but you'll be gone longer than you think. I won't be alive in ten years' time. But you, Jesus, have a great responsibility. I will only hear the good teaching when I am born again." Jesus didn't understand what his friend meant by this. He didn't seem so senile that he could believe that someone who had died could be born again. Instead of answering, he embraced his friend, who wept as he hugged him. Then Dimitros kissed Jesus on the cheek before he left.

25 The Indian Buddhist emperor Aśoka (he reigned 268-232 BC) declared in his 13th rock edict where he had sent Buddhist missionaries, including to King Amtiyoka of Syria (i.e. Antiochos II Theos, 261-246 BC).

28 Tubes made from animal intestines were the usual way of transporting drinking water when traveling.

29 Jesus had now traveled at least 800 km since his departure from En Gedi. (This is the shortest possible distance. In my experience, you have to add 25 to 30% to the distance actually covered on long-distance hikes that are not signposted). Six weeks had passed since his departure from En Gedi.

30 And God looked at everything he had made, and behold, it was very good. (Gen 1:31)

32 The Indologist Leopold von Schroeder was the first to point out the fact that Pythagoras had practically all his knowledge from India (Schroeder, Leopold v.: "Pythagoras und die Inder. Eine Untersuchung über die Herkunft und Abstammung der pythagoreischen Lehren", Leipzig: Schulze 1884).

33 Pythagoras was also the first to introduce the idea of rebirth and transmigration into European thought (cf. Gruber, Elmar and Kersten, Holger: "Der Ur-Jesus. The Buddhist Sources of Christianity", Munich: Langen Müller 1994, p. 79).

Antioch - was one of the capitals of the Seleucid Empire, refounded in 300 BC (after an earthquake). Today the city is called Antakya and is located in the far south of Turkey on the Syrian border (near Aleppo). In 64 BC, the Roman Empire incorporated the remains of the Seleucid Empire. Antioch became the capital of the province of Syria (the richest province of the Roman Empire after Egypt). At the time of Jesus, Antioch had 500,000 inhabitants, making it one of the four largest cities in the empire (alongside Rome, Alexandria and Carthage).

Awakening - other spiritual traditions speak of enlightenment, in Buddhism we prefer to use the term "awakening" for what the Buddha has achieved. While everyone can understand something different by "enlightenment", "awakening" describes what is specifically Buddhist, the fact that the awakened person has fully realized the three characteristics of dukkha, anicca and anattā. For the awakened person, it is as if everything that came before is as absurd and illogical as a dream, hence the term "awakening".

Awakened One - synonym for the Buddha, one who has attained awakening.

Bactria - is the historical name of a landscape around the former capital Baktra (today's Balch in Afghanistan), which lies north of the Hindu Kush. Bactria became the center of science, Buddhist-Hindu theology and world economy.

Buddha - literally: awakened one; one who has reached the goal of Buddhism and is thus liberated from the shackles of egoism. (The feminine form is also Buddha).

Essēners - a religious group in ancient Judaism before the destruction of the Second Temple (70 AD), whose main theological motifs were the "messianic expectation of the near future" and the "criticism of the un pure temple cult" in Jerusalem. According to various contemporary authors (Philon of Alexandria, Pliny the Elder and Flavius Josephus), they followed strict, sometimes ascetic, rules of life. According to this, it was a Jewish religious community that emerged in Palestine in the 2nd century BC, which may also have been influenced by Zorastrianism, Pythagoreanism and Buddhism. (Wikipedia, 10.1.24)

Exalted One - form of address for the Buddha, used only by his followers.

Judea - name of the settlement area of the Jews at the time of Jesus. Judea has been part of Palestine since 63 BC, which in turn is part of the province of Syria of the Roman Empire.

Rabbi - is a functionary in the Jewish religion. His main task is to teach the Torah (part of the Tanakh). The basic form of the rabbi developed when scholars gathered to codify the written and oral laws of Judaism.

Seleucid Empire - It was one of the Hellenistic Diadochi states that formed after the death of Alexander the Great. During the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the empire, founded in 312 BC, ruled the Near East and its greatest extent stretched from Asia Minor (today: Turkey) to Bactria.

Synagogue - (from ancient Greek συναγωγή synagōgē, "assembly") is a building used for assembly, communal worship and often also as a house of instruction for a Jewish community. It is the most important institution in Judaism.

Tanakh - or Tenakh (Hebrew: תנ״ך TNK) is one of several names for the Hebrew Bible, the collection of sacred writings of Judaism. Among other things, it contains the Torah (instructions). Christianity has adopted all the books of the Tanakh - in a slightly different order. They form the "Old Testament".

Therapists - (ancient Greek Θεραπευταί) were a mysticism-oriented group of Jewish hermits in Egypt from the beginning of the 1st century BC. The source of what we know about the therapists is Philon of Alexandria, who lived in the first half of the 1st century AD. He describes the therapists in De vita contemplativa ("On the contemplative life"). Together with the Essēners, the Therapeutae are considered the forerunners of Christian monasticism. Some histo ricians hypothesize that the term Θεραπευταί for the pre-Christian order of monks and nuns was possibly a distortion of the Sanskrit/Pali word Theravāda, a form of Buddhism (according to: Wikipedia 10.1.2024).

Theravāda - one of the early schools of Buddhism, the only Hinayana school that still exists. Theravāda means "school of the elders", which indicates that its followers practise Buddhism as the Buddha himself did. They focus on the teachings of the Pāḷi canon, the oldest Buddhist scriptures.

YHWH - is the proper name of the god in the Tanakh. As there are no vowels in the Hebrew script, it only contains consonants. It is pronounced Yahweh or Jehovah.

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