Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? (13 page)
Read Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? Online
Authors: R. E. Sherman
The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.
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Solomon further noted that when the heart is committed to refusing to be righteous (i.e., the person is wicked), the individual’s worth is drastically reduced or badly disfigured:
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
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Buddha went even further, claiming that anyone who lies has already become so corrupted that his or her heart is of little value—so much so that the individual is fully capable of committing every possible type of sin:
If a man has transgressed one law, and speaks lies, and scoffs at another world, there is no evil he will not do.
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Other Effects Noted by Solomon
Solomon noted a broader range of specific positive and negative consequences for speech than did Buddha. Those consequences are italicized for emphasis below in proverbs that present vivid contrasts.
1. Effects on Relationships
He who covers over an offense
promotes love,
but whoever repeats the matter
separates close friends.
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There is one who speaks rashly
like the thrusts of a sword,
but the tongue of the wise
brings healing
.
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The lips of the righteous
nourish many,
but fools die for lack of judgment.
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Through the
blessing
of the upright
a city is exalted,
but by the mouth of the wicked
it is destroyed.
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2. Effects on Health
3. Favorable vs. Troublesome Effects
Blessings
are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked
conceals violence
.
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The words of the wicked
lie in wait for blood,
but the speech of the upright
rescues them
.
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An evil man is
ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
but the righteous will escape from trouble.
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In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to
poverty
.
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Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
keeps his soul from troubles
.
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The Downside of Too Many Words
The first three proverbs of Buddha cited at the beginning of this chapter provide dramatic contrasts between the great value of a few powerful, life-changing words and the worthlessness of hundreds, even thousands, of empty words. The following proverbs of Buddha also emphasize the lack of value in a sheer volume of words:
Solomon also highlighted the hazards of prolific, unbridled speech:
So, while Buddha saw large quantities of words as worthless, but not necessarily harmful, Solomon detailed their potential negative effect.
Restraint
The importance of restraint exercised over what one says is evident in some of Solomon’s proverbs:
In a multitude of words transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent.
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A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
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He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
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Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
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A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.
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Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.
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A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.
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Buddha attached a similar level of importance to restraint in speech:
Types of Good and Bad Speech
If the two paragraphs appearing in boxes at the beginning of this chapter—which describe the effects and types of Right Speech in Buddhism—were used instead as a summary of the content of Solomon’s proverbs on right speech, they would be perfectly accurate. Not only that, but most of the key words in those paragraphs (or virtual synonyms of them) are specifically used in Solomon’s proverbs on speech. For example, “idle chatter” is cited, and it also appears in a proverb of Solomon:
Idle chatter leads only to poverty.
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In the following we will explore specific types of good and bad speech and their parallels in Buddha and Solomon.
1. Tell the Truth—No False or Deceitful Speech or Lies
Solomon gave pointed prohibitions against speaking falsely:
Put away from you a
deceitful
mouth and put devious speech far from you.
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A proverb of Buddha has a very similar flavor, covering a broader range of types of speech:
Beware of the anger of the tongue, and control thy tongue! Leave the sins of the tongue, and practise virtue with thy tongue!
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Buddha went further than this in a later proverb of the Dhammapada, plainly stating that the ultimate destiny of hell awaited the liar:
He who says what is not, goes to hell; he also who, having done a thing, says I have not done it. After death both are equal, they are men with evil deeds in the next world.
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2. Only Speak in a Friendly, Warm Manner—No Slander or Malicious Talk
Solomon put great value on keeping interpersonal communications positive:
The great value of noble, wholesome words cannot be underestimated, in Solomon’s view:
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
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That some speech can be sweet is emphasized in the following proverb of Buddha:
The Bhikshu who controls his mouth, who speaks wisely and calmly, who teaches the meaning and the law, his word is sweet.
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3. Only Speak Gently—No Harsh Words
Solomon encouraged limiting speech to gentle words since harsh words can evoke strong reactions and feelings:
Buddha elaborated on the consequences harsh words will have on those who utter them:
Do not speak harshly to anybody; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful, blows for blows will touch thee.
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4. Talk Only When Necessary—No Idle Chatter
As noted before, one proverb of Solomon’s actually refers to “idle chatter”:
Idle chatter leads only to poverty.
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Though no proverb of Buddha uses these specific words, the importance of not talking too much is clearly emphasized:
A man is not learned because he talks much; he who is patient, free from hatred and fear, he is called learned.
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Clearly, practicing wholesome speech and avoiding negative talk was very important to both great wise men. They each devoted many proverbs to this issue. Speech had wide-ranging consequences for the individual, for his or her immediate circle, and for those in the wider community, and good speech was an essential part of the path of wisdom.
Right Action
“1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means
to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others.
”
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The summary in the box above describes Buddha’s notion of Right Action. And yet, it could equally be applied to Solomon. The first two points above are covered in a single proverb of Solomon:
There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
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Let’s look at this in the form of a chart that puts the different parts of the Buddhist description of Right Action side by side with
specific proverbs of Solomon that refer to the same concepts, drawing primarily from Proverbs 6:16–19 quoted above. The second column guides you to the sections of the rest of this chapter that discuss these points. The numbers of the sections correspond to the numbers in the box above.
Buddhist Description | Chapter Subheading | As Described in Proverbs |
| ||
To abstain from harming sentient beings . . . and doing harm intentionally or delinquently. | (1) Don’t Harm, Be Kind; (2) Do Good | A man who stirs up dissension among brothers. |
To abstain from taking life (including suicide). | (1) Don’t Kill | Hands that shed innocent blood. |
To abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness and dishonesty. | (2a) Be Generous; (2b) Don’t Steal, Defraud, or Lie; (2c) Avoid Hypocrisy | A lying tongue. A heart that devises wicked schemes. Feet that are quick to rush into evil. A false witness who pours out lies. |
To abstain from sexual misconduct. | (3) Don’t | Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? |
