1,700 years of Buddhism in Europe Timeline 

Did Pythagoras meet the Buddha?

Pythagoras (c. 580–500 BC) was a contemporary of the Buddha Gotama (c. 624 – 544 BC) in India, he was about 36 years old when the Buddha entered parinibbāna, he may have met the Buddha in person.

The Buddha was very famous in his lifetime, his teachings spread all over the world and reached Europe where it was practiced for many centuries, as can be seen on mysterious objects with symbols that represent meditation techniques and concepts originally taught by the Buddha. The practices that were fully integrated into local societies went unnoticed by scholars who never expected to find any traces of Buddhism.

Pythagoras taught metempsychosis, the equivalent of Dependent Origination - first taught by the Buddha. Pythagoras may have been a famous meditation teacher who left a footprint of knowledge that can be found from Crete to Scandinavia, expressed by objects made during 1,700 years that contained his "mystic numbers", thought to be lost to the world. When comparing the numbers found on archeological objects to the concepts used to explain meditation there is a 100% match. The mystic numbers of Pythagoras and unwritten doctrines of Plato may have been too difficult to write down in words, but artists made thousands of images as votive objects to illustrate their deepest experiences by making use of images, both realistic and abstract, to represent concepts.

In the series of texts the lost history of meditation, that was "first taught in Greece by Pythagoras, the one who loved wisdom" according to Roman author Porphyry, is described within the context of symbols found on objects which are the same as concepts originally taught by the Buddha. By understanding the lost links of Buddhism in Europe many mysteries that surround history and culture in Europe can be solved. 

A re-interpretation of early European history will reveal cultures at peace with each other, sharing a common approach towards ethics. Instead of being warriors that sacrificed humans, as described in texts, surreal helmets were a sign of concentration with eyes “to see the truth as it is”, they used their swords of wisdom and spears of attention to destroy personal defilements in a quest for liberation.

For a translation of the Phaistos disk and other texts that explore the lost links of Buddhism in Europe find links and descriptions as listed.

All contents is the personal view of the author

A brief visual overview:

trade routes

600 BC to 1200 AD

Development of symbols:

from Phaistos hieroglyphs,

Linear A & B clay tablets

to Old Norse Viking runes in Maeshowe

Symbols were used in Crete to explain to students how to meditate from the 6th century BC by teachers such as Pythagoras; " the first to introduce the teachings in Greece", as described by Roman author Porphyry (3rd century biography: Life of Pythagoras).

The symbols, concepts to explain meditation techniques, were used for centuries without change but different combinations were chosen by local teachers and artists to make special votive objects. The same "carpenter's angle" found on the Phaistos Disk that was used to measure the "house that the mind builds" with the building blocks of kamma was still used after 1,500 years in complex combinations by the makers of the rune inscriptions in Maeshowe: “bindrune”. The warrior illustrated as an X-man carries a sword of wisdom and wears a triangular cap to show that he is in search of liberation (X rune) through the application of concentration (angle ❯ to investigate 6 senses).

The system was again summarised formally on the Rök rune stone in Sweden in the 9-10th century, a display of knowledge that lasted 1,500 years. Its combinations of lines still have the same structure as the system of meditation originally taught by the Buddha.

The 10 lines on the back represent the same as the 10 trees in Maeshowe: Ten Dhammas. The 16 lines on the front explain the same as the shield of the early rock engraving of Tanum: Sixteen Insight Knowledges.

These themes were first illustrated on the Phaistos Disk of Crete, possibly made in the 6th century BC by Pythagoras, "to those who were rightly purified he brought back the memory of the acts of their former lives". The methods were first taught by the Buddha who died in 544 BC when Pythagoras was about 36 years old. This lost history is explained from various angles in the 6 pdf texts as listed.

All contents is the personal view of the author.

Useful key to

translate rune symbols

ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚨ ᚱ ᚲ ᚷ ᚹ ᚺ ᚾ ᛁ ᛃ ᛇ ᛈ ᛉ ᛊ ᛏ ᛒ ᛖ ᛗ ᛚ ᛜ ᛟ ᛞ

RuneTranslationKey180820

Viking coins minted from the 7th century are mysterious and cryptic, very little is known about the meaning. It is generally thought that "illiterate Vikings" copied the themes they used - crosses were automatically interpreted as Christian, supposed crude animal images are interpreted as monsters, dragons and porcupines. There is a lost history, much older, that is not recognised by experts, the sophisticated information expressed by Viking on their coins is hidden to untrained modern eyes. Were Vikings aware of the mystic numbers of Pythagoras, used since the 6th century BC? 

With careful investigation Viking symbols can be traced back to the earliest Greek coins minted in Boeotia near Delphi, symbols that were used unchanged for up to 1,700 years before the meditation practices - illustrated on objects ranging from the Vix crater and Phaistos Disk to the Old Norse rune inscriptions in the Maeshowe cairn in Orkney - were finally replaced by Christianity and forgotten. The lost links of Buddhism in Europe are exposed in this video, a clip with animated text (no sound) that is a summary of findings described in an illustrated text: Viking Coins Eye of the Mind.

Read more: 

PDF text download

www.lostlinksofbuddhism.com

www.settiwessels.com