High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! There is speculation concerning a possible connection between Gautama Buddha and Jesus Christ, and between Buddhism and Christianity. Buddhism originated in India about 500 years before the Apostolic Age and the origins of Christianity. There are two kinds of speculation: 1) That a number of aspects of early Christianity were directly influenced by Buddhism; and 2) That both the Buddha and the Christ were influenced by a common source that preceded both of them. Regarding the latter, the proverbs of the Buddha (the Dhammapada) bear widespread similarities to the Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes of King Solomon, who lived three and a half centuries before the Buddha. Further, as a Jewish rabbi, the Christ was very familiar with Solomon's writings. In addition, the first colony of Jews to settle in India did so during the lifetime of the Buddha. Regarding the first kind of speculation, scholars have explored direct connections between...