The characteristic difference between the Buddha revelation and the Christ revelation

Rudolf Steiner:  "The characteristic difference between the Buddha revelation and the Christ revelation is that the Buddha addressed himself to people who were not yet meant to gain awareness of the self, of an I that went through successive incarnations. We have to see this if we are to get the right understanding of Buddhism. I have frequently referred to an analogy used in later Buddhism which says that a true Buddhist sees the principle which goes from incarnation to incarnation as a mango fruit planted in the ground which produces a new tree which in turn produces new fruit. All the new mango has in common with the old is the name and the shape. Characteristically, Buddhists would not speak of a real I that continued through different incarnations. They did not do so because in the East, a real I did not come to full awareness. We can still see today that when people who base themselves on the teachings of the East want to understand the Western point of view they cannot penetrate to the point where the I comes into play."

Source:  The Fifth Gospel, February 10, 1914. GA 148. Rudolf Steiner Press, pp. 179-180.