Carl Jung on the "Buddha"

The Buddha is the leader of human beings and the gods, the one who no longer has any god above himself, but is himself the world-being, without sorrow or joy. Carl Jung letter to James Kirsch 02/12/1960

The quotation above comes from a letter written by Dr. Jung to James Kirsch regarding a vision that Dr. Kirsch had sent to Dr. Jung.

At the beginning of the letter Dr. Jung laments the fact that Dr. Kirsch did not previously send him the "Visions of the Androgynous XP" which in Dr. Jung’s view held the key to Dr. Kirsch’s "situation."

The quotation is part of Dr. Jung’s presentation of historical parallels to the "Anthropos" or "XP." The Quotation comes from the third historical parallel:

3. "An even stronger example of 1) the "Godless" Buddha the Exalted, perfect one, the all-Knowing, all-conquering, the leader of human beings and the gods, the one who no longer has any God above himself, but is himself the world being, without joy or sorrow. Carl Jung, Jung-Kirsch Letters, Pages 261-262.

Note: In the letter Dr. Jung places the word "and" between human beings and the gods in italics for emphasis.