History is said to be shaped by the lives of great men. Great men are leaders. They bring about change; improve the lives of others; they introduce new ideas, models and theories into society. Most of the world's religions were founded, developed or discovered by great men. Two particular religions - Christianity and Buddhism - developed in different parts of the world, under different circumstances and in different social atmospheres. But every religion is based on the teachings of a great man. When you compare the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, you find that the two share many things in common. This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas: conception and birth. In these two areas, the Buddha and Jesus are found to share many similarities. Sources on the Buddha's life indicate that he was born around the 6th century BCE. The events and conditions of his conception are miraculous. Tradition says that the Buddha's mother, Maya2, had just returned from the Full Moon Festival in the month of Asalha3, when a deep sleep overtook her. While sleeping, she imagined a beautiful white elephant approaching her. The Mahavastu Pali texts report that the elephant is: light in step, flawless in limbs, glittering like snow-white silver with six tusks, a gracefully waving trunk and a crimson head.4 The elephant, holding a lotus white in the trunk, circled the queen's body three times, and then entered her womb from the right side. It is believed that when the aspiring Buddha entered his mother's womb, "a limitless and glorious splendor appeared, surpassing even the majesty of the devas." 5 This light was so powerful that the darkness...... middle of paper......23 See http://www.bible2000.org/forgottenindex.htm24 Love, Roy C., and Julia Ching. The Buddhist tradition. In Willard G. Oxtoby, ed. Religions of the world: oriental traditions. P. 221Bibliography:Edwardes, Michael. Ed. A Life of the Buddha - From a Burmese manuscript. The Folio Society, London; 1959Oxtoby, Willard G. World Religions: Eastern Traditions. Oxford University Press; 4th edition. 11 March 2014Holy Bible - Web "The official King James Bible online". June 4, 2015.http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Khosla, Sarla. The historical evolution of the legend of the Buddha. Intellectual Publishing House, Delhi; 1989 "Pseudepigrapha, apocrypha and sacred writings". Network. June 1, 2015. http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/MH Shakir. [Translation] The Holy Quran. Network. May 18, 2015. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/koran/browse.html