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How Buddha Became Saint Josaphat. The Christian World and the Founder of Buddhism

Summary/Abstract: Siddartha Gautama – the founder of Buddhism remained little known in the Christian world for centuries. The first version of the Buddha’s biography reached Europe thanks to Marco Polo and, despite numerous factual errors, was a unique source of information about Buddhism at the time. Other accounts were often limited to stereotypes, presenting the founder of Buddhism as a pagan god. Such views are still present in some Catholic circles today, despite the development of religious studies and interfaith dialogue conducted by the Church. However, a noteworthy phenomenon is the specific Christianization of Buddha that took place in the early Middle Ages. This happened thanks to the Legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, which was extremely popular in the Christian world, and was a paraphrase of the life of Siddartha Gautama. In this way, Christians unconsciously recognized elements of Buddha’s life as close to the ideals of the Gospel.

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