Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? (25 page)
Read Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? Online
Authors: R. E. Sherman
Solomon | Buddha |
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The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. | One’s own self conquered is better than all other people. Not even a god, a Gandharva, not Mara with Brahman could change into defeat the victory of a man who has vanquished himself, and always lives under restraint. |
Buddha’s goal was to become spiritually impervious to the attacks and impacts of spiritual powers through a long-lasting act of spiritual anesthesia. Solomon had confidence that the righteous would prevail against the attacks of both hostile people and spiritual powers.
So long-lasting are the effects of righteousness and wickedness that they have clear implications for immortality. Solomon’s proverbs about immortality are based on being “righteous,” and Buddha’s, on “vigilance.”
Solomon | Buddha |
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When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation. A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself. The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death. | Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvana), thoughtlessness the path of death. Those who are in earnest do not die, those who are thoughtless are as if dead already. |
The next comparison lays Buddha’s succession of four consecutive proverbs next to parallel proverbs of Solomon.
Solomon | Buddha |
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He who The He who | He who |
The last of Solomon’s proverbs above talks about reaping calamity. Buddha heaped up a daunting list of eleven vivid calamities that could await anyone who punished or harmed blameless people. That is the essence of karma in action.
Solomon also included the following, for which no parallel can be found in the Dhammapada. Nevertheless, it, too, shows a karmic-style effect:
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.
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Happiness Karmic Proverbs
The results of good karma are quite different for the follower of Solomon’s teachings than for the Buddhist. For the former, wholesome, fulfilling connectedness with others is the result, whereas for the Buddhist, the desired result is solitary bliss. Though the source of happiness was different, the operation of karma in bringing about the happiness was similar.
Solomon | Buddha |
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He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. | If a man does what is good, let him do it again; let him delight in it: happiness is the outcome of good. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. |