The Adulterous Woman narrative in the Gospel of John, also called the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53–8:11), is not considered an original part of the Gospel of John by most contemporary scholars.

In the Adulterous Woman narrative, the author of the Gospel of John refers to the story of the Buddha’s enlightenment. See below for the list of similarities. The author of the Gospel of John uses the many parallels between the Adulterous Woman narrative and the Buddha’s enlightenment to help readers understand the message of Jesus in light of the Buddhist tradition.

The rest of chapter 8 (John 8:12–8:59) elaborates on the main themes of the Buddha’s enlightenment, making it clear that both the first part of chapter 8 (the Pericope Adulterae) and the rest of the chapter form a coherent narrative. This coherence is evidence that the Pericope Adulterae was part of the original Gospel of John.

Common themes between the enlightenment of the Buddha and the rest of chapter 8 in the Gospel of John (John 8:12–8:59).

Interpretation

Jesus, writing twice on the ground, refers to the two instances in the Bible where Moses receives or inscribes the Ten Commandments on stone tablets. The first instance is when Moses ascends Mount Sinai and receives the original stone tablets directly from God, who had inscribed them with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18: “God gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.”) The second instance is when God instructs Moses to cut a new set of stones and bring them up the mountain. This time, Moses writes the words on them as dictated by God (Exodus 34:28: “Moses wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant-the Ten Commandments”).

It is interesting to note that in the story of the adulterous woman, Jesus first writes on the ground with his finger — just as God wrote with his finger on the stone tablets. The second time he writes, however, no finger is mentioned, just as no finger is mentioned when Moses wrote on the stone tablets in Exodus 34:28.

In the narrative of the adulterous woman, Jesus is associated with the Buddha. Jesus touches the ground with his hand just like the Buddha touched the ground with his hand during the night of his enlightenment. Jesus gesture of writing on the ground with his finger is linked to the Buddha’s teachings. Through this passage, the author of the Gospel of John draws a comparison between the Law of Moses (the Ten Commandments) and the teachings of the Buddha. These two traditions represent profoundly different approaches to human existence, ethics, suffering, and ultimate purpose.

The Law of Moses is divine revelation from a personal Creator God (Yahweh), who commands obedience as part of a covenant relationship with the Jewish people. Breaking the law is a sin against God. The Law of Moses emphasizes external obedience to specific divine rules as acts of faithfulness. Buddhist ethics provide guidelines for harmlessness (ahimsa) and mental clarity, but the deeper focus is the internal purification of the mind through insight into impermanence and interdependence. The teachings of the Buddha are universal; they address fundamental aspects of human existence that transcend culture, time, religion, gender, social status, or historical context. They are not presented as divine revelation tied to a specific creed or deity, but as observable truths about reality that anyone can verify through direct experience and ethical living.

The Pharisees and Abraham, Brahmins and Brahma.

In the narrative of the Gospel of John, the author uses intentional puns on the names of people or locations to strengthen his message. In the case of the name “Abraham” in the Greek text of the Gospel, the author appears to allude to Brahma of the Indian tradition.

The Scribes and the Pharisees, descendants of Abraham, are compared by the author of the Gospel of John to the Brahmins of northern India at the time of the Buddha, who considered themselves descendants of Brahma.

During Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were a prominent Jewish religious group known for their strict adherence to both the written and oral laws of the Torah, emphasizing personal piety and ritual purity.

A Brahmin refers to a member of the highest caste in the traditional Hindu social hierarchy, historically associated with priesthood, teaching, and the preservation of sacred knowledge. Brahmins, who claimed a direct link to the divine creator Brahma, were responsible for performing rituals, studying sacred texts, and guiding others on the path of dharma.

The message of Jesus to the Pharisees in the Gospel of John can be compared to the message of the Buddha in response to the established Brahmin religious tradition of his time in the Ganges Valley.

How did Buddha consider the Brahmins?
The Buddha’s relationship with the Brahmins was often one of tension and critique, as he challenged the established caste system and the authority of the Brahmins. In light of this, the Buddha advocated for a path to enlightenment based on personal practice and ethical conduct, regardless of birth status, class, or even sex, arguing that one’s actions, not one’s caste, determined their true worth. The Buddha advocated liberation from individual existence, which can be reached by all through correct knowledge and correct behavior.

How did Jesus consider the Pharisees?
In chapter 8 of the Gospel of John, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for their pride and greed, and for not living up to their own teachings.

Jesus and “the Jews”

The Gospel of John, written around 90–110 CE, stands out among the four Gospels for its frequent and often harsh use of the term “the Jews” (Greek: hoi Ioudaioi). It appears 70 times—far more than in Matthew, Mark, or Luke combined—and in many passages “the Jews” are presented as opponents or even enemies of Jesus.

In the narrative of the adulterous woman, it becomes clear who “the Jews” are for the author of the Gospel of John. “The Jews” do not represent the Jewish people living in Galilee and Judea at the time of Jesus. They represent the religious authorities known for their strict adherence to both the written and oral laws of the Torah, emphasizing personal piety and ritual purity. The message of Jesus challenges the established rules and precepts of the religious leaders and experts in Jewish law in first-century Judea.

The sinful adulterous woman

For first-century Pharisees, sin was any deviation from God’s will as revealed in the Torah. Holiness required separating oneself from impurity and sin through meticulous observance, ethical living, repentance, and trust in divine justice. The Pharisees’ approach aimed at making all of Jewish life a sacred extension of the Temple service. In the narrative of the adulterous woman, Jesus represents the Buddha and offers an alternative view of the Pharisees’ notion of sin.

For the Buddha, a person whom the Pharisees consider sinful is actually ignorant rather than inherently evil or damned. Such a person needs guidance, insight, and training to develop wisdom and ethical conduct — not condemnation or punishment. The goal is to overcome ignorance through the Noble Eightfold Path (right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration), which cultivates wholesome states and reduces suffering.

In Buddhism, there is no inherent sinfulness or divine judgment. Everyone has the capacity for awakening and can transform unwholesome patterns into wholesome ones. This perspective places full responsibility — and full potential for freedom — in the hands of the individual.

The Pharisees seeing Abraham and the Brahmins seeing Brahma face to face.

John 8:56-58
Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

In the narrative of the adulterous woman, Jesus takes the role of the Buddha, and the Pharisees represent the Brahmins of ancient India. In the Buddhist sacred texts (Tevijja Sutta DN 13), the Brahmins, descendants of Brahma, admit to the Buddha that they have never seen Brahma face to face. Therefore, they do not have direct divine knowledge from Brahma. Similarly, in the story of the adulterous woman, the Pharisees—descendants of Abraham, who never had direct divine knowledge from Abraham—ask Jesus how he has seen Abraham. The response of Jesus to the Pharisees is similar to the response of the Buddha to the Brahmins: both Jesus and the Buddha accessed direct divine knowledge by themselves.

Jesus and the Buddha are their own witnesses

John 8:18 – Jesus said: I am the one who bears witness about myself.

The notion of “Witness” among first-century CE Pharisees
According to the Law of Moses, two witnesses are needed.
The Pharisees were deeply committed to the Torah as a living guide for all aspects of Jewish life. The verses in Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15 establish the legal standard in ancient Israelite law that a matter must be confirmed by at least two witnesses for it to be considered valid or actionable in court. One witness alone was insufficient, especially for serious accusations.

The notion of “Witness” for the Buddha
The Buddha Is His Own Witness
In the narrative of the adulterous woman, Jesus takes the role of the Buddha. During the night of his enlightenment, the Buddha did not rely on external authorities, gods, or other people to validate his attainment. Through deep meditation, he directly perceived the truths of existence — impermanence, suffering, non-self, and the path to liberation (the Four Noble Truths). In essence, the Buddha serves as his own witness because enlightenment is an internal event — a profound shift in consciousness that one knows directly, like seeing for oneself rather than being told.

The notion of “witness” for the Earth
The Earth is the Buddha’s witness (Bhumisparsha Mudra)
As the Buddha meditated, the demon king Mara (personifying temptation, doubt, fear, desire, and the forces of illusion/ego) attacked him. Mara challenged the Buddha, saying: “Who will testify that you deserve this seat of enlightenment?” Mara claimed the seat for himself. In response, the Buddha reached down with his right hand and touched the ground. He declared: “The Earth is my witness.” The Earth responded, affirming the Buddha’s right to the seat, based on his countless lifetimes of virtuous deeds, generosity, ethics, and practice performed on the Earth. Mara was defeated, and the Buddha attained enlightenment shortly after. The Earth symbolizes objective reality rather than opinion, authority, or divine judgment. The Buddha does not appeal to a god, scripture, or social status. He appeals to what is true.

The notion of “Witness” for Jesus
Like the Buddha, Jesus is also His own witness, together with His Father.
In John chapter 8, Jesus is responding to the Pharisees who challenged His self-testimony (“You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true” — John 8:13). He points to this well-known requirement from “your own Law” (the Torah) and applies it by saying that He is one witness and the Father who sent Him is the other—thus fulfilling the two-witness rule for the truth of His claims.

The Pharisees are the sons of Abraham, the Brahmins are the sons of Brahma

John 8:33 –  The Pharisees answered Jesus, “We are Abraham’s children”
John 8:58 – “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

In the adulterous woman narrative, Jesus is associated with the Buddha and the Pharisees are associated with the Brahmins of ancient India at the time of the Buddha.

The Pharisees of first-century Palestine were considered children of Abraham because they were members of the Jewish people who traced their ancestry to Abraham and participated in the covenant established with him. The Pharisees emphasized observance of the Torah, ritual purity, faithfulness to God’s commandments, and preservation of Jewish identity under foreign rule. In chapter 8 of the Gospel of John, Jesus points out that although the Pharisees claim to be descendants of Abraham, their actions are not in accordance with Abraham’s actions. Jesus acknowledges the Pharisees’ biological descent from Abraham but challenges their claim to be his true children. True children would act like Abraham. He emphasizes that he is sent by the Father (God) and speaks what he has seen with his Father.

At the time of the Buddha, Brahmins (the priestly caste) claimed superiority as the “sons of Brahma” — born from the creator god Brahma — making them pure, heirs of sacred knowledge, and spiritually elite. The Buddha frequently calls himself a Brahmin, one who is liberated, ethical, wise, and free from defilements — but not by birth, as the Brahmins claim, but by actions and insight.

Jesus passes judgment on no one

John 8:15-16 – You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.

In the adulterous woman narrative, Jesus is associated with the Buddha. In Buddhism, the notion of “judgment” differs significantly from the Jewish religion of the Pharisees of the first century CE, which often features a divine judge, an eternal soul, a final judgment day, and heaven/hell as permanent destinations. There is no creator God or external supreme arbiter who passes verdicts on souls. Instead, judgment operates through impersonal natural laws, personal discernment, and practices aimed at reducing reactive, ego-driven judging. Harsh judgment is seen as a manifestation of the three poisons (greed, hatred, ignorance) and a cause of further suffering. It reinforces the “delusional small self.”

Deathlessness

John 8:51 – Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

In the narrative of the adulterous woman, Jesus takes the role of the Buddha. The Buddha’s awakening involved discovering the path to this deathless state. For the Buddha, the “Deathless” refers to the ultimate liberation from the cycle of birth, aging, death, and suffering (samsara). It does not mean literal physical immortality or an eternal soul living forever in a heaven-like realm. Instead, it points to the ending of all conditions that lead to suffering, aging, death, and repeated existence.

“Deathless” for the Buddha does not mean a literal eternal life for a self or soul. Instead, it is the cessation of rebirth. Since death depends on birth, ending the conditions for rebirth (through the elimination of greed, hatred, and delusion) makes one “deathless.”

Fully enlightened beings realize this deathless state while still alive. The body may still age and die, but the mind is liberated—no further rebirth. Nirvana here and now is possible through insight into the nature of phenomena.

Jesus and the teachings of Buddha are beginningless.

Jesus mentions his beginningless nature to the scribes and the Pharisees:

Jesus said to them, “Before Abraham was born, I am.” – John 8:58

The teachings of the Buddha are based on laws, principles, and norms that have not been created by the Buddha. They have not been revealed to him by any superior power or even by any human teacher. They are not a construction of his mind. He has not invented them. They exist from a beginningless eternity, valid by themselves, always the same, unalterable, and necessary. In Buddhism everything arises through dependent origination—a chain of causes and conditions with no absolute beginning. Ignorance conditions formations, which condition consciousness, and so on, looping indefinitely until broken by insight and the Noble Eightfold Path.

The intended pun on the word “olive” (John 8:1) confirms the reference to the enlightenment of the Buddha in the adulterous woman narrative.

The Greek word for “olives” in verse 8:1 is ελαια, pronounced el-ah’-yah. The author of the Gospel of John uses a pun involving the Sanskrit language to lend weight to his message. Here, ελαια, the Greek word for “olives,” refers to the Sanskrit word alaya (आलय), meaning “dissolution” or “merging.”

This Sanskrit word, “alaya” (आलय), appears in classical Sanskrit literature, Hindu texts, and especially Buddhist philosophy to convey the idea of the individual self merging into the absolute or universal consciousness. This is precisely what the Buddha experienced at dawn on the night of his enlightenment, an experience referred to and commented on in the rest of chapter 8 of the Gospel of John.

The word “mountain” appears five times in the Gospel of John. In each of these instances, the symbolic meaning is a place of worship or meditation. Therefore the symbolic meaning of “the Mount of Olives” is the state of mind when the individual self merges into the absolute or universal consciousness, the state of enlightenment. In the Greek text of the Woman Caught in Adultery, the word “dawn” follows the words “Mount of Olives.” Dawn is precisely the moment when the Buddha reached the state of enlightenment after a long meditation.