Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? (44 page)

Buddha’s exhortation to love people everywhere reiterates the same theme that was sounded by Moses nine hundred years earlier.

Buddha’s example of caring for anyone anywhere as a mother would her only child is echoed in Jesus’ exhortation to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. It differs in that Jesus’ exhortation is tighter in scope; however, this scope is widened to the whole world in the second quotation from Jesus.

Buddha/Jesus Similarities to Solomon’s Proverbs

There are many examples of the words of Buddha (and of Christ) echoing the writings of Solomon. Often, the similarities are so striking that one can only wonder whether Solomon’s influence was direct. This chapter provides numerous examples of this, but it is not intended to be a comprehensive collection, which would be much more extensive. The similarities between Buddha and Solomon were covered in great detail in
Chapters Three
through
Nine
.

Love Your Enemies

Solomon (950
B.C.
)

“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”
¹⁰

Note that Buddha’s first proverb above ends with the words, “This is an old rule.” This is direct evidence that at least one of the proverbs in the Dhammapada came from an earlier source than Buddha himself.

Solomon’s proverb may have had its roots in these words of Moses, who in this verse is recording a portion of the commandments to the Israelites as given to him by God:

The natural tendency of people to distrust and even to hate people of a different race or culture is very common. Why should you feed your enemy if he is hungry, and give him water if he is thirsty? Isn’t it to melt your enemy’s animosity, so that he will be persuaded to be kind and caring? Buddha’s teachings closely parallel Solomon’s proverb, and his exhortation to love echoes Moses’ teaching.

Jesus expanded on Solomon’s proverb. He starts with doing good, and then adds spiritual ways of loving your enemy—by blessing them and praying for them. In Jesus’ second quotation above, additional examples are provided.

Care for Your Companions

The concept of caring for others as one would within a close-knit family was expressed by Solomon centuries before Buddha.

Solomon (950
B.C.
)

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.”
¹⁶

“. . . there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
¹⁷

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later, I’ll give it tomorrow’—when you now have it with you.”
¹⁸

Buddha’s wisdom and Jesus’ teaching echo Solomon’s emphasis on caring for one another. Buddha equates tending to the sick and suffering with tending to him personally. In the following explanation of what will happen at the last judgment, Jesus made the same comparison much more clearly:

The italicized passages above directly mirror Buddha’s teaching, and the meaning is reinforced by the entire passage.

Buddha’s and Jesus’ words above are much more similar to one another than they are to Solomon’s proverbs. At first this might be taken as evidence that Buddha influenced Jesus. However, it should be remembered that Solomon was the wealthiest and most powerful king of his time, so the notion of someone caring for him out of compassion for his needy state would have been ludicrous. On the other hand, both Buddha and Jesus were very poor, and doing something to care for them personally would have been a very natural thing to do.

Generosity

Solomon (950
B.C.
)

“One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
²²

“He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, righteousness and honor.”
²³