Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? (4 page)

Meditation

Buddhists practice meditation extensively. In
Chapter Eight
, within the discussion of the eighth step of the Noble Eightfold Path, I cite over a dozen verses referring to meditation that were written prior to Solomon’s reign. Meditation was a key part of the practice of Judaism in Solomon’s day. In its intended practice, the person who was meditating would become completely fixated on a proverb or a verse of the Torah. This is illustrated in the following:

Proverbs were meant to serve as objects of meditation, as is intimated in the following proverb of Solomon:

Overcoming Ignorance with Wisdom

Escaping the woes of ignorance is a goal of utmost importance to Buddhists. Buddha said:

Buddha espoused a way of escaping from ignorance by first gaining wisdom and understanding and then pursuing an intensive regimen of self-effort to progress toward enlightenment. Overcoming ignorance by seeking wisdom and understanding was also critical to Solomon:

Enlightenment

Solomon pursued a path leading to enlightenment:

He advocated a comprehensive range of practices under the general heading of “being righteous.” Buddha taught the importance of following eight noble steps of right behavior and motivation. To Solomon, “the prospect of the righteous is joy.”
³⁶
For Buddha, “Nirvana [is] the highest happiness.”
³⁷

Monks

Buddhists are known for their gatherings of monks in orange robes. During Solomon’s reign, the order of priests (Levites) established by David was very active in maintaining ongoing temple worship and ceremonies. The Bible dictates that priests are to wear special garments (“a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash”).
³⁸

Secular Ethics

A hallmark of Buddhism is its secular ethics. Likewise, God is mentioned in only a small percentage of the verses of Solomon’s writings. This is in radical contrast to the writings of Solomon’s father, David, where reference to God, either explicitly or implicitly, exists in
nearly every verse
of the seventy-five psalms he wrote. The contrast is very striking. The vast majority of Solomon’s proverbs have a very earthly flavor, giving no explicit recognition of the presence or involvement of God in human affairs. Instead, Solomon leaves the reader with the sense that there is some kind of inexorable, universal force, like karma, that causes every person to receive the due consequences of their previous actions.

2. Every one of the twelve key elements of Buddhism was also expressed, in great detail, in Solomon’s writings.

The twelve key elements of Buddhism are found in the Four Noble Truths and the steps of the Noble Eightfold Path. The content of a high percentage of Buddha’s proverbs is very similar, and sometimes almost identical, to specific proverbs of Solomon. By and large, those proverbs that are exceptions to this rule are expressions of Hindu beliefs that clearly differ from Judaism.

In
Chapters Three
through
Nine
of this book we will review over one hundred instances where the essence and flavor of a proverb of Buddha is very similar to that of a proverb of Solomon. Below is an example:

Often, as in the above comparison, the proverb of Solomon that is similar to one of Buddha’s also has a precursor in earlier Old Testament writings. We will see that much of the wisdom of Buddha is much more ancient than he was.

3. Solomon’s ways of the “righteous” coincide with Buddha’s “right” ways of thinking and acting.

Every one of the steps of Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path consists of “right” ways of thinking and acting—each of which have very close parallels in Solomon’s depiction of the ways of the “righteous” and the “upright.” This is covered in detail in the Appendix. The following table provides some notable examples.

4. Buddha’s Five Moral Precepts closely parallel the last five of the Ten Commandments of Moses, a prominent foundation of Judaism.

The first four moral precepts of Buddhism are very close to the sixth through ninth of the Ten Commandments. These precepts are presented in two proverbs of Buddha: