Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? (26 page)
Read Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? Online
Authors: R. E. Sherman
Solomon urged people to “pursue righteousness and love.” How would one do that? Probably by doing good deeds and truly caring for other people, without significant ulterior motives. Buddha pointed out, in the first of the two proverbs quoted above, that one could accumulate happiness by finding a good deed and
performing it repeatedly. Those who did, he implied, would find it so satisfying that they might develop a longing to keep doing it.
Solomon told us that the righteous would
find
life, prosperity, and honor. Buddha stated that happiness would never leave him.
Solomon | Buddha |
| |
He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. | The virtuous man delights in this world, and he delights in the next; he delights in both. He delights and rejoices, when he sees the purity of his own work. |
| The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he is happy in both. He is happy when he thinks of the good he has done; he is still more happy when going on the good path. |
How can a person sow righteousness? Some ways that come to mind are teaching, training, and mentoring. One’s motivation can be love or a sense of caring or obedience to religious commands, which is a definition of pursuing righteousness.
For Solomon, the rewards seem to come from external as well as internal sources. For Buddha, a good life consists, to a fair degree, in the doing of good, wholesome deeds, so that, afterward, you will feel good about what you have done. Recollection of recent good deeds will bring good memories that will make you feel happier. Isn’t that what pursuing righteousness and love is all about? Nevertheless, it takes effort to pursue this kind of happiness, as keeping focused on doing good deeds often goes against man’s natural inclinations.
Solomon | Buddha |
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The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, but the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth. | Let the wise man guard his thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, very artful, and they rush wherever they list: thoughts well guarded bring happiness. |
Taken together, the quotations of Solomon and the quotation from Buddha above suggest that for the righteous, purity of mind can create clarity of vision, which in turn enables one to advance along a smooth path. Conversely, the impurities in one’s mind can cause one’s path to become crooked and treacherous. To the Jew, God orchestrates these karmic consequences:
With the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
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The straight way is the path taken by those who do not wander—wherever their desires might motivate them to go.
Solomon | Buddha |
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The integrity of the upright guides them. The unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. | It is good to tame the mind, which is difficult to hold in and flighty, rushing wherever it listeth; a tamed mind brings happiness. |
Buddha’s notion of a “flighty” mind is similar, though potentially more innocent, than Solomon’s notion of the “duplicity” of the “unfaithful.” After all, duplicity, or double-mindedness, could be described in terms of a mind that is “difficult to hold in and flighty,” prone to wander wherever it desires. Integrity, in contrast, requires being single-minded. It means being mentally and spiritually disciplined by a set of ethical standards and a desire to rein in
rogue desires and thoughts. Integrity stabilizes a flighty, meandering mind.
Solomon | Buddha |
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Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered. | If a man’s thoughts are not dissipated, if his mind is not perplexed, if he has ceased to think of good or evil, then there is no fear for him while he is watchful. |