("St. John of Damascus")
c. 676-749 A.D.
It is not known where or when this story was written, but it is
believed to have been translated into Greek (possibly from a Georgian
original) sometime in the 11th Century A.D. Although the ultimate
author is usually referred to as "John the Monk", it has been
traditionally ascribed to St. John of Damascus.
The text of this edition is based on that published as ST. JOHN
DAMASCENE: BARLAAM AND IOASAPH (Trans: G.R. Woodward and H. Mattingly;
Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1914). This text is in the
PUBLIC DOMAIN in he United States.
This electronic edition was edited, proofed, and prepared by Douglas B.
Killings (DeTroyes@EnterAct.COM), November, 1996.
PREPARER'S NOTE: Readers of this work will note some startling
similarities between the story of Ioasaph and the traditional Tale of
Buddha. The work seems to be a retelling of the Buddha Legend from
within a Christian context, with the singular difference that the
"Buddha" in this tale reaches enlightenment through the love of Jesus
Christ.
The popularity of the Greek version of this story is attested to by the
number of translations made of it throughout the Christian world,
including versions in Latin, Old Slavonic, Armenian, Christian Arabic,
English, Ethiopic, and French. Such was its popularity that both
Barlaam and Josaphat (Ioasaph) were eventually recognized by the Roman
Catholic Church as Saints, and churches were dedicated in their honor
from Portugal to Constantinople. It was only after Europeans began to
have increased contacts with India that scholars began to notice the
similarities between the two sets of stories. Modern scholars believe
that the Buddha story came to Europe from Arabic, Caucasus, and/or
Persian sources, all of which were active in trade between the European
and Indian worlds.
--DBK
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