Jason Reza Jorjani, PhD, is a philosopher and author of Prometheus and Atlas, World State of Emergency, Lovers of Sophia, Novel Folklore: The Blind Owl of Sadegh Hedayat, and Iranian Leviathan: A Monumental History of Mithra’s Abode.
Here he presents a narrative concerning the possible Scythian/Iranian origin of Buddhism. He points out that the appelation “Sakamuni” is a likely reference to Gautama’s Scythian origins. His bold hypothesis suggests that Gautama is one and the same with Lao Tzu, the ostensible founder of Taoism. Further Jorjani suggests that Gautama may have also been the magus, Gaumata, who briefly ruled the Achaemenid Persian empire. Fundamentally, he sees Buddhism as a refutation of Zoroastrian thought.
Many viewers will know that Jason Reza Jorjani has suffered from libel and persecution as a result of his, generally misunderstood, political views. He is a brilliant scholar who has now been unfairly disgraced and is forced to fight a legal battle, while continuing his research and writing, without any regular employment. Therefore we have set up this “Go Fund Me” page in order to assist this worthy individual. Please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-fund-jason-reza-jorjani039s-next-project and contribute generously.
(Recorded on July 5, 2019)
Published on July 21, 2019