https://ensignmessage.com/articles/buddha-the-israelite/
BUDDHA THE ISRAELITE
By The late Isabel Hill Elder, Northern Ireland
IN almost startling confirmation of the Israelitish origin of Buddhism many references are to be found in ancient writings, symbols and rock inscriptions which compel us to the conclusion that the original Buddhism was none other than the Israel religion. When the prophet Ezekiel was carried captive to Babylon at the age of 25 both he and his father, Buzi, as Aaronites had the missionary urge to see their kinsfolk of Israel cleansed from their idolatry and return to the worship of the one true God, the God of Israel.
In the book of Ezekiel we have the missionary prophets denunciation of the sins of the House of Judah with whose King (Jehoiachin) , and Court officials Ezekiel was carried captive to Babylon. (II Kings XXIV, 14 -16, Ezekiel 1, 2)
The prophet covers a wide field for he sees in a vision the whole House of Israel, twelve tribed Israel, revived and restored to God’s favour. The home training of Ezekiel in the house of his father, Buzi, had one object and that was missions to Israel.
Buzi, the Aaronite, with the prophetic eye, saw disaster rapidly approaching for the unfaithful House of Judah, and a like punishment to that which had overtaken the House of Israel,100 years earlier, when the King of Assyria had carried them captive in the reign of Hoshea and placed them in ” the cities of the Medes” (II Kings XVII). During a revolt in Assyria the Israelite captives made their escape and, for the most part, turned south-east to the shores of the Caspian Sea. These tidings having reached Buzi his missionary spirit was aroused to go forth to these escaped captives, his kinsfolk. Taking with him five disciples, probably trained in the schools of the prophets, Buzi came to these outcast Israelites with a message of hope and forgiveness; he would make a supreme effort to turn them from idolatry to the worship of the one true God. As he journeyed towards their camping places his name Buzi became Buddha; this change is easily understood when we realise that in the Semitic languages the “Z” and “D” sounds are related, e.g., in Hebrew Zahab and Dahab both mean “gold” and so Buddha would be a natural alternative for Buzi. It is then as Buddha that we first hear of Buzi, the father of Ezekiel, between Media and the Caspian Sea and his followers as Budii.
It was from the region of Media that the “wise men” came to Bethlehem at the time of the birth of our Lord (Budh, in some oriental languages meaning “wise “) probably descendants of some of these Israelites who had been taught by ” Buzi the Wise.”
These escaped Israelites are mentioned by Herodotus (Book I, Chapter 1) as belonging to the nation formed by Deioces and as revolting from Assyria and asserting their independence not many years after Israel’s deportation to Media in the reign of Hoshea. (II Kings, XVII 6). Here amongst these Israelites Buzi (Buddha) began his mission and in this region Buddhism was found in its most ancient form and which began to spread about 600 B.C., not as now professed and practised nor even altogether as it was established in India under King Asoka 300 years after its first propagation. As Dr. Moore (” Lost Ten Tribes “) observes
“it has been corrupted by various pagan additions and has assumed shapes according to the various idolatries it has encountered till at length but little of the original remains in a pure form, e.g., the celibacy of priests is now universal, but according to its own records its founder married twice if not thrice and gave his disciples precepts as to the choice of.a wife.”
pt 1