Hermitism - The Faith of Elders

Wiki : A hermit (from the Greek ἔρημος erēmos, signifying "desert", "uninhabited", hence "desert-dweller"; adjective: "eremitic") is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion and/or isolation from society.

Perhaps hermitism isn't one of the faithful religion of this day and age and perhaps it isn't this generations new age hoop-la-dee-da. But what ever it is, is a old time faith of elders. Not one religion has its monopoly upon the ever seeking and faithful lot of humanity. None but the Hermit. For the Hermit is John The Baptist (John 5:35), the buddha ("Stricken" by asceticism - or rather in the company of.) or even Lao Tzu. No one can really describe the hermit. In the west he is the one whom baptized the living Christ. Yet for another it is the awakened maya. Case in point : The Hermit is the one who brings about reform in religion. Be it Judaism to Christianty, or Hindusm to the Jains/Carvaka awakening the Buddha , it is always the secluded individual that bring about reformation.

The following link is a site specializing in the writings, contemplations and the visions of various forms of hermitism.
Link - The Hermitary - Resources and Reflections of Hermits and Solitude

The Lords Prayer

Convicted forger A. Schiller was serving his time in Sing Sing prison in the late 1800s when guards found him dead in his cell. On his body they found seven regular straight pins whose heads measured the typical 47/1000ths of an inch or 1.17 millimeters in diameter. Under 500 magnification it was found that the tiny etchings seen on the heads of the pins were the words to The Lord's Prayer, which is 65 words and 254 letters long. Of the seven pins, six were silver and one was gold - the gold pin's prayer was flawless and a true masterpiece. Schiller had spent the last 25 years of his life creating the pins, using a tool too small to be seen by the naked eye. It is estimated that it took 1,863 sepatate carving strokes to make it. Schiller went blind because of his artwork.

Source - Anomalies-Unlimited

The 666 Preacher - Jose Luis "De Jesus" Miranda

José Luis de Jesús Miranda isn't the typical preacher. He claims to have at least 100,000 members world-wide in his congregation and every church meeting is held in a 500 seat auditorium, never with a bare seat in the house. But what makes this one so strange? Pastors usually don't travel in armored vehicles, preach on a stage flanked by undercover guards, spend $350,000 a year on security and have the number 666 tattooed on their bodies. But Miranda does. Why? Miranda an ex-heroin addict says he began to have revelations one night in 1976, when two angels appeared to him, heralded by trumpets. De Jesús says that at that moment, Jesus Christ merged with him. After that, he began to preach his version of the gospel and his version is indeed strange.

Miranda says that sin doesn't exist, he is one with God and also the Anti-Christ. Basically a 'do what feels good' philosophy. But it didn't start that way. At first Miranda believed himself the be an incarnation of Paul, but then came the conclusion he was one with God - therefore Jesus the Christ reborn. Miranda can't seem to decide who he is. Upset by his teachings others outside the congregation began to call him the Anti-Christ, this didn't bother Miranda one bit. In fact he acknowledged that he is indeed the Anti-Christ and commanded his followers to get the number tattooed on their arms, which all 500 loyal Houston Tx followers have done thus far. (See video bellow) Miranda also claims that all other religions must be destroyed and that he will one day rule the world via a New World Order.

Is he the next Jim Jones? Who knows for sure, but certainly he has a strong psychological hold on his followers. His show even boasted the highest December rating on the spanish tv station Univision. Much to critics' surprise the show generated the highest ratings of any TV show in the month of December, even surpassing the ratings of the live broadcast of the Latin Grammys in November by a substantial amount of viewers. Keep an eye on this one.

Links - Growing in Grace (English version), The Growing in Grace Cult (Cult Info), CNN.com "Pastor with 666 tattoo claims to be divine." & ABC.com "Jesus Might Be Alive and Well in Houston."

Video - CNN (Growing in Grace church members tattoo 666 on their bodies)

Video II - Interview on the Today Show

Antoni Gaudí's - Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia [official site & wiki], or Catalan for "The Holy Family", is a yet-to-be-finished Roman Catholic basilica in Barcelona, Spain.

The church’s design is rich with Christian symbolism, with façades featuring intricate details describing the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most awe inspiring is the eighteen towers representing the 12 Apostles, 4 Evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and a central tower - the tallest of them all - representing Christ.

The construction of the Sagrada Familia basilica started in 1882, directed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who devoted his life to it. When people said that the construction had taken a very long time, Gaudí replied that he was building the church for God, and that his client wasn’t in a hurry. He then became known as "God’s Architect."

In 1926, Gaudí got run over by a street car. Because of his raggedy attire and empty pockets, no one wanted to take him to the hospital. Eventually, he was taken to a pauper’s hospital where no one recognized him until his friends found him and tried to move him to another hospital. Gaudí refused, saying that he belonged with the poor, and died a few days later.

Because Gaudí refused to work with blue prints, preferring to use his imagination and memory instead, construction of La Sagrada Familia was halted after his death. Part of the church was even burnt during the Spanish Civil War. Construction of La Sagrada Familia was restarted afterwards and continues until today.

The Manga Bible

Hodder Headline will be selling a manga version of The Bible(SMS Version). Ink and color are done by a guy called Siku of Marvel comics. Don't know about you but this blogger will be picking one up!
Link

UFO's in Ancient Artwork?

"In a time when there were no airplanes, weather balloons, or experimental military crafts, classic silvery discs, emanating beams of light appear in many famous Renaissance Era paintings, also religious text from China and India. Athough not always obvious, the resemblance is uncanny. Reports of unidentified flying objects appear even in our most ancient historical records. For anyone looking at the most ancient primitive cave drawings and petraglyphs it seems impossible now to take them for anything other than technology." Siriusly has brought togather an amazing collection of Artwork displaying what seems to be - well UFO's. Link below after some of my favorite images.

~ "The Baptism of Christ" ~ Fitzwilliam Musuem, Cambridge, England Painted in 1710 by Flemish artist Aert De Gelder

~ "The Madonna with Saint Giovannino" ~ Above Mary's left shoulder is a shining, or glowing, disk shaped object. A man and his dog can clearly be seen looking up at the floating object. Painted in the 15th century, Palazzo Vecchio lists the artist as unknown ~ although attributed to the Lippi school.

"La Tebaide" ~ Academy of Florence, painted c.1460-1465 by Paolo Uccello The close-up (right)

Haratonohama, Hitachi, Japan ~ 1803 The book "Ume No Chiri" (Dust of Apricot) tells us that a "foreign ship and crew" was once witnessed at Haratonohama (Haratono Seashore) in Hitachi no Kuni (Ibaragi Prefecture), Japan. The outer shell was made of iron and glass ~ and strange letters were seen inside the ship. Notice also four examples of alien heiroglyphs.

Many more images at - Siriusly

Top 5 weirdest patron saints

Mental Floss has compliled a collection of the top 5 weirdest patron saints :
1) Saint Drogo (1105-1185), a Flemish nobleman who was reportedly able to bilocate, maintaining his presence in two locations at once. Witnesses claimed seeing Drogo working in fields simultaneously, and going to mass every Sunday. He is the patron saint of coffee and coffeehouses, we suspect because his peculiar talent for multitasking. (He’s also the patron saint of those whom others find unspeakably repulsive, but that’s another story altogether.)

2) Saint Anthony the Great (251-356), an Egyptian Christian monk who lived in a tomb for some years to overcome the temptation of “boredom, laziness and the phantoms of women,” and thus is known (among other things) as the patron saint of gravediggers.

3) Saint Lawrence of Rome (225-258), having been martyred by being roasted alive on a gridiron, is the patron saint of cooks and tanners.

4) Saint Nicholas, commonly associated with Santa Claus, is said to have aided the poor father of three marriageable girls who could not afford their dowries. To save them from a life of prostitution (a common fate for unmarried women in third-century Asia Minor), he dropped three sacks of gold down their father’s chimney late one night. (Sound like another St. Nick we know?) Thus, he is known as the patron saint of prostitutes.

5)French saint Thérèse de Lisieux (1873-1897), known as “The Little Flower of Jesus,” who wrote “Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.” She is the patron saint of flowers.

Via - Mental Floss

Consciousness and Reality Documentaries

Some guy catalogues every Google and Youtube video dealing with consciousness and reality. This Site is a trip in of itself. An amazing video collection indeed! In fact after you're done with the videos, which will take ages, take a look around his page. This one is for surfing for hours.
Link - DEDROIDIFICATION

Greeks - Worshipping the Ancient Gods Again

After a break of 16 centuries, Greek pagans are worshipping the ancient gods again - despite furious opposition from the Orthodox church.

"Not since the late fourth century AD, when the newly Christian Roman state outlawed all forms of pagan worship, had a high priestess officiated on the sacred site. It was high noon when Doreta Peppa, a woman with long, dark locks and owlish eyes, entered the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus. At first, tourists visiting the Athenian temple thought they had stumbled on to a film set. It wasn't just that Peppa cut a dramatic figure with her flowing robes and garlanded hair. Or that she seemed to be in a state of near euphoria. Or even that the group of men and women accompanying her - dressed as warriors and nymphets in kitsch ancient garb - appeared to have stepped straight out of the city's Golden Age. However this was indeed an act of worship.

So big, that like a thunderbolt from the deity himself, the one-hour ceremony has achieved the near-impossible task of unnerving Greece's powerful Orthodox church. Since Peppa's performance 10 days ago, hierarchs have redirected the venom they usually reserve for homosexuals, Catholics, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, masons and the "barbaric" Turks at the "miserable resuscitators" of the degenerate dead religion. In fire-and-brimstone sermons priests have slammed the "satanic" New Ageists and fulminated against their idols. "

Article and interview in full at - The Guardian UK

God and Gorillas

Anthropologist Barbara J. King explains what our distant cousins can tell us about religion and why it's OK for scientists to believe in God.

"Every human culture has believed in spirits, gods or some other divine being. That's why human beings have often been called Homo religioso. Some people take this long history of belief in the otherworldly as evidence for God; doesn't it explain why religion continues to be so pervasive? But many scientists are coming up with their own, decidedly secular, theories about the origins of faith. Take Daniel Dennett, the philosopher who has proposed that religion is a meme -- an idea that evolved like a virus -- that infected our ancestors and continued to spread throughout cultures. By contrast, anthropologist Pascal Boyer argues that religious belief is a quirky byproduct of a brain that evolved to detect predators and other survival needs."

"Of course, these thinkers are either religious skeptics or outright atheists who mean to imply that we've been duped by evolution to believe in supernatural beings when none, in fact, exist. That's what makes Barbara J. King, an anthropologist at the College of William and Mary, so unique. She has no desire to undermine religion. In fact, she's been deeply influenced by the religious writers Karen Armstrong and Martin Buber. But her main insights about the origins of religion come not from researching humans' deep history, but from observing very much alive non-human primates. "

"For the last two decades, King has studied ape and monkey behavior in Gabon and Kenya, and at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. In her new book, "Evolving God: A Provocative View on the Origins of Religion," King argues that religion is rooted in our social and emotional connections with each other. What's more, we can trace back the origins of our religious impulse not just to early cave paintings and burial sites 20,000 to 40,000 years ago, but much earlier -- back to our ancient ancestors millions of years ago. And today, King says, we can see the foundations of religious behavior in chimpanzees and gorillas; watching our distant cousins can do much to explain the foundations of our own beliefs."

The entire interview of a very provocative concept from Kingcan at Salon.
Source-Quotes from the same article.

The Other Tomb of Jesus Christ - Kashmir

Many of us in the west know the story of Christ and where he was buried, its referred to as the Holy Sepulchre. It was the place where a great stone rolled to the door, outside the walls of Jerusalem, in the place called Calvary. We grew up hearing this story countless times, for the simple fact that this story correlates to the telling in the Biblical documents we have collected and amassed, known as the Bible. But it shouldn't come as a shock to some, that other nations (and in fact other religions) have had to contend with the figure of Christ. And in doing so, many have laid claim to being the place where the 'true' tomb of Christ exist. And this is where our journey begins.....

The Ahmadis believed that Jesus, or as they call him Yuz Asaf survived the crucifixion and subsequently traveled to Kashmir, where he lived, preached and died. Similar beliefs are held about Yuz Asaf by a wide variety of people and groups, including some hindu groups that see him as Isa Masih, a Hindu Saint. The belief is held because in the Hindu literature known as the Bhavishya Maha Purana there contains some ten verses indicating that Jesus was in India/Kashmir during the reign of King Shalivahan, which has been placed within 39 to 50 C.E. Jesus is said to have spoken to the King and gave his teachings in full, there after his teaching where included alongside Hindu teachings. Other local beliefs about Yuz Asaf include that he married a woman called Marjam (that is, Mary) who bore him a number of children, and that he lived to be between 105-110 years old before he died. It is also claimed that Jesus' mother, Mary, died when he was 38 years old, and is buried nearby in the town Murree in Pakistan, where her burial place is called Mai Mari da Ashtan. There is also the Yusufzai, which is the name of a tribe in Afghanistan who still maintain ancient Israelite customs. To them the word means 'child or children of Joseph.'

It is worth noting that in Islam, Jesus' name is Isa as well. Moreover, Islam in general doesn't even believe that Jesus underwent the crucifixion, but that someone substituted for him on the cross (Some say one of his brothers). Also, In Iranian traditions by Agha Mustafai, it is said that Yuz Asaf came there from the west and preached, causing many to believe in him. It is said he also taught a strange form of reincarnation there. [See : (John, 1:21), (Matthew 11:14.) and (Matthew 17:12,13). Where Elijah became John the Baptist/Second chapter of II Kings, Elijah does not die, but rather is called up into heaven while yet alive.] Within northwest Afghanistan, centered in the city of Herat, an explorer of Sufism, O. M. Burke, came across a sect of some 1000 people who are devotees of Yuz Asaf, whom they also knew as Isa, son of Maryam.Their tradition includes Isa, the prophet from Israel, having escaped the cross, traveled to India and settled in Kashmir.

So there we have it, many groups of peoples all thru out Asia saying that Jesus went to Kashmir, taught, lived, had children and died in old age. But is there any sort of inscription on the so-called "Tomb of Christ"? Indeed there is, in Persian script the inscription says : "At this time Yuz Asaf proclaimed his prophethood. Year fifty and four [in the reign of King Gopadatta]. and He is Jesus, prophet of the Children of Israel." But what of it? The correct dating and significance of the year 54 is not clear. The year has been placed within the reign of King Gopadatta at 107 C.E. by Kersten, and at 78 C.E. by Professor Fida Hassnain, director of archives and antiquities in Kashmir. Very interesting indeed. Sadly, not many western minds take any of this seriously. So no outside sources have made much of these legends or even tried to partake in serious research on the subject of the tomb. But nonetheless, if this is in conflict with your system of belief (Christianity) , just remember next time you're speaking to a Muslim, Hindu, Iranian or Sufi what John 3:16 truly says : "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Perhaps this whole salvation thing is larger then your first glance....
Links, quotes and sources - Wiki -Yuz Asaf , TombofJesus.com & Traditions of Jesus
within Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Paganism, The BBC Documentary - "Did Jesus Die on the Cross?" Featuring the Kashmir Site- At Google Video & Amature Video of the Grave Site in Kashmir - YouTube

World’s Largest Jade Buddha

W.Y. of Random Citations has a post of this amazing sculpted Buddha: the world’s largest jade Buddha statue!

The statue was sculpted from a piece of jade 7.95 meters high, 6.88 meters wide, 4.10 meters thick, weighing 260.76 tons. This piece of jade was found in the nearby Xiuyan town, known as "hometown of jade", on 22 July 1960.

Anshan Jade Buddha Via Wiki

The Green Pastures - Rare Film - 1936

This is a film that modern audiences may approach with mixed feelings. At a time when black actors struggled harder than any other period, this film emerged with the historical significance of being the first in history to use an entirely black cast. The Green Pastures, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Marc Connelly, is a reenactment of stories of the Old Testament in which all the characters (including God) are African American and speak in a black southern dialect.The Green Pastures follows stories of the Bible, such as Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood, Moses and the exodus from Egypt, and the crucifixion of Christ, but places them in a rural black southern setting.


There is nothing intrinsically offensive about this all-white use of all-black stereotypes to illustrate the gospel religion of Deep South slavery. On one hand at times one can tell stereotypes where forced upon some of the actors, on the other hand, in a matter of seconds, they are given the ability to act as true actors of the day, i.e. no stereotypes. While one could easily find fault with some of the direction given to the actors - its does stand as an amazingly progressive film for 1936. Moments like the mass Exodus of Slaves, singing gospel hymns, is nothing short of moving - frankly breathtaking. And one can almost sense the joy of the actors portraying such a scene in that day and time.

There can be no questioning the uplifting moral fiber of the tales, the infectious spirit of its music, or the genuine affection brought to their parts by the actors involved. In my mind this is a must see, not only is it an amazing film in it own right, but it serves as a piece of history. One where the white audience is served the foolish stereotypes of their day and at once back-handed by the graceful presence the actors displayed in a story where slaves are lifted up by God (a black YHWH). It was no accident that the film is double handed, and for this reason its is truly a work of art and a rare jewel of its day.

Read another review at - Black-Flim.com

Nicholas Roerich - His Visionary Art

In my last post i told you about Nicholas Roerich and his dealing with the 33rd Vice President of the United States, also his influence on the reverse of The Great Seal of the United States. As a fan of the mans Art, i thought i would also share that with you as well. With out further ado, the artwork of Nicholas Roerich.

The collection of all his works may be found here - The Nicholas Roerich Museum

Nicholas Roerich - Yogi to a Vice President

Nicholas Roerich (Russian- Николай Константинович Рёрих) was a poet, artist and eminent man of learning who had emigrated from White Russia and settled in Paris. He was regarded as one of the most distinguished of the Theosophical elite of the period. Apart from searching for the home of the Mahatmas, the purpose of his scientific expedition across Tibet and Xinjiang to Altai (1923-26) was never made entirely clear in his diary, but appears to have been related to the return of a certain sacred stone. Roerich also laid claim to having had an encounter with UFO's.



Henry Wallace, the 33rd Vice President of the United States (1941–45), also Franklin Delano Roosevelt's two-term secretary of agriculture, sampled a great many religious creeds, studying Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, and Christian Science, among others. He also investigated secret societies and Eastern cults, developing a fondness for the arcane symbols and practices favored by such groups. Not long after Wallace assumed his post at the Department of Agriculture, he became acquainted with a strangely charismtic Russian emigre named Nikolay Konstantinovich Roerich. The business matter that brought Roerich and Wallace in contact was a pet project of the guru called the Roerich Paca and Banner of Peace. Wallace was so taken with Roerich's plan - and promoted it so energetically - that in 1935, delegates from twenty-one nations turned out to put their names to the agreement at a White House ceremony. Franklin Roosevelt himself presided over the gathering.



Shortly after Wallace pursuaded his fellow cabinet officer, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., to make a change in the U.S. currency. An exotic-looking symbol of a pyramid with an all-seeing eye at its apex had long been part of the Great Seal of the United States. At Roerich'surging, Wallace convinced his colleague to make the symbol a fixture on the back of every one-dollar bill. Morgenthau later claimed that it was not until after the change had been made that he learned of the pyramid's "cabalistic significance for members of a small religious sect." Documents leaked into newspapers soon there after showing personal letters between Wallace and Roerich, calling Roerich "My Yogi". Wallace was then accused of harboring communist sympathies. Shortly there after Wallace publicly cut ties with Roerich. The two where never in contact again.

Or as Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. explains, "Wallace's search for inner light took
him to strange prophets.... It was in this search that he encountered Nicholas
Roerich, a Russian emigre, painter, theosophist and con man. Wallace did Roerich
a number of favors, including sending him on an expedition to Central Asia
presumably to collect drought-resistant grasses. In due course, H.A. [Wallace]
became disillusioned with Roerich and turned almost viciously against him." [2]

Sources :FusionAnomaly - Wiki - Wallace - Wiki - Roerick

Monk Can Control Body Temperature by Meditating

"In a monastery in northern India, thinly clad Tibetan monks sat quietly in a room where the temperature was a chilly 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a yoga technique known as g Tum-mo, they entered a state of deep meditation. Other monks soaked 3-by-6-foot sheets in cold water (49 degrees) and placed them over the meditators’ shoulders. For untrained people, such frigid wrappings would produce uncontrolled shivering.

If body temperatures continue to drop under these conditions, death can result. But it was not long before steam began rising from the sheets. As a result of body heat produced by the monks during meditation, the sheets dried in about an hour.

In 1985, the meditation team made a video of monks drying cold, wet sheets with body heat. They also documented monks spending a winter night on a rocky ledge 15,000 feet high in the Himalayas. The sleep-out took place in February on the night of the winter full moon when temperatures reached zero degrees F. Wearing only woolen or cotton shawls, the monks promptly fell asleep on the rocky ledge, They did not huddle together and the video shows no evidence of shivering. They slept until dawn then walked back to their monastery."
Source - Harvard University

Strange Politics - Mitsuo Matayoshi - The only God

"Mitsuo Matayoshi is an eccentric Japanese politician, self-styled as The only God Mitsuo Matayoshi Jesus Christ or Matayoshi Jesus. He is the leader of the World Economic Community Party. Matayoshi was trained as a preacher of a Protestant sect, and did religious activity. After a life of preacher he has developed a particular concepts of Christianity, strongly influenced by Eschatology. In 1997 He established the World Economic Community Party based on his conviction that he is the God and Christ.

According to his program he will do the Last Judgement as the Christ but the way to do this is totally within the current political system and its legitimacy. His first step as the Savior is to be appointed the prime minister of Japan. Then he will reform Japanese society and then the United Nations should offer him the honor of its General Secretary. Then Matayoshi Jesus will reign over the whole world with two legitimate authorities, not only religious but also political.

He has presented himself in many elections but he has not won yet. He has become well-known for his eccentric campaigns where he urges opponents to commit suicide by hara-kiri (disembowelment, note that he avoids the more polite seppuku) and says that he will cast them into Gehenna (Hell)."
Source - Wiki
Official website (in Japanese)
Unofficial website (in Japanese)
Matayoshi campaign poster with English translation

Tiger's Nest Monastery - 3000 miles above Bhutanese

"One of the most holy sites in Bhutan, the Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown here on the back of a tigeress and then meditated in a cave, contained within the present structure, for three months. The monastery (goemba in Bhutanese) was built in its present form in 1692. It suffered a devastating fire of unknown origin during the night of April 19, 1998. Speculation is that the fire was caused either by lightening or an overturned butter lamp. Old photographs and diaries were used to make the reconstruction as close to the original as possible, though there was little documentation of the wall paintings and other artwork housed inside.Special permission is required for non-Bhutanese to visit the monastery, usually granted only to practicing Buddhists on a religous retreat. This photograph was taken from the viewpoint across the valley, the furthest point ordinary tourists can reach before being stopped by a guard."
Source - UNM.EDU
Image via - Leo Palmers portfolio

The History of Religion in 90 Seconds

Want to see 5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds? Ready, Set, Go!
You may need to click the the box bellow to activate Shockwave-Flash.

Buddha was a Catholic Saint - Barlaam and Josaphat

Now that i have your attention lets look to what the many various sources say about Barlaam and Josaphat, including the Catholic Encyclopedia. Right out the gates The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05 states :

"Barlaam and Josaphat, a legend popular in medieval times. It corresponds in part to the legend of Buddha. Versions of the story have been found in nearly every language." The Columbia Encyclopedia

The Getty Museum, which holds a german manuscript (Barlaam und Josaphat), compiled by Rudolf von Ems in the 1200s, states :

The text of Barlaam and Josaphat is a Christianized version of the story of Siddhartha (later known as the Buddha). According to the revision, the young Indian prince grew up sheltered from the world in a luxurious palace and was devastated when he encountered death and illness for the first time. A Christian monk by the name of Barlaam heard of his distress and introduced Josaphat to Christianity. Much to the chagrin of his father, King Avenir, Josaphat adopted Christianity as his faith. Instead of succeeding his father as king, Josaphat decided to spend the rest of his days in the desert with Barlaam, leading the life of a hermit. Upon their deaths, both Barlaam and Josaphat were recognized as saints. The Getty

The Catholic Encyclopedia States :

The story is a Christianized version of one of the legends of Buddha, as even
the name Josaphat would seem to show. This is said to be a corruption of the
original Joasaph, which is again corrupted from the middle Persian Budasif
(Budsaif=Bodhisattva). The Catholic Encyclopedia

A Bodhisattva is one who seeks enlightenment so that, once awakened, he may efficiently aid other beings with the expertise of supreme wisdom. Gautama Buddha, the historical buddha and founder of Buddhism, was a bodhisattva not only in his life, but as recorded in his previous incarnations.

Wikipedia explains the change in language from the term Bodhisattva to Josaphat best :

Josaphat’s name may be traced to the Sanskrit term bodhisattva via the Middle
Persian bodasif. Investigation by researchers at the Korean Seoul National
University indicates that the name Buddha or Bodhisatta in Sanskrit changed
to Bodisav in Persian texts in the sixth or seventh century, then to
Budhasaf or Yudasaf in an eighth-century Arabic document, and Iodasaph in
Georgia in the 10th century. That name was then adapted to Ioasaph in Greece in
the 11th century, and Iosaphat or Josaphat in Latin since then." Wiki

However, Barlaam nor Josaphat where offically formally canonized, they were included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November). Nonetheless, the tale was popular among the many during the Middle Ages, who saw Josaphat as a Saint. Not to mention that with-in the The Golden Legend, Josaphat is seen as the successor to Saint John Damascene. Bear in mind that The Church only began to formalized canonization in the 13th century, when it was discovered that many 'Saints' where indeed A) from other faiths, as in this regard or B) nonexistent individuals based soley on Legend. This is why before formal canonization, Gautama Buddha was a Christian Saint.

You can read The Golden Legend Here at the Catholic Saints Forum : The Golden Legend