God reveals himself to each of us according to our own nature, a Conservative rabbi said to me once via a piece he wrote for the Forum on Faith column in the Danbury News-Times. I used to oversee this column, making sure the ecclesiastical professional of the week dropped his or her pearls in my electronic mailbox so I could get it to the paper on time and according to AP standards. I worked as a volunteer, and my greatest reward over the years I did this was this line from the rabbi.
I love his words as a reminder that not a single one of us has cornered the market on wisdom or truth or God Almighty.
I cleaved to these words when I found I could not trust the people I held most dear. I cleaved to these words because they brought me back to the Word, the very Truth that speaks to the heart of the faithful somehow and in some way and in some text.
The text most familiar to me is the New Testament, but it is not the only sacred text, not the only source of truth. I am not a scholar; I can say only that the New Testament is mine and I love it. During the darkest time of my life, though, not the Gospel but the handed-down wisdom of the Buddha brought me home to a faith in the ultimate good. Kindness not to be found at the Christian table healed my broken heart. With that in mind, I offer up just a few words that Jesus and Buddha shared though they lived in different times and places. You can find these passages and many, many others in Jesus and Buddha, which was edited by the brilliant Marcus Borg.
1. Jesus: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20).
2. Buddha: Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy, like the radiant gods. (Dhammapada 15:4).
3. Jesus: Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?
4. Buddha: The faults of others are easier to see than one's own.
5.Jesus: Your father in heaven makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45).
6. Buddha: The light of the sun and the moon illuminates the whole world, both him who does well and him who does ill, both him who stands high and him who stands low (Sadharmapundarika Sutra 5).
7.Jesus: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
8. Buddha: May fear and dread not conquer me (Majhima Mikaya 6:8).
9 Jesus: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
10. Buddha: Anyone who withdraws into meditation on compassion can see Brahma with his own eyes, talk to him face to face and consult with him (Digha Nikaya 19:43).
11. Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
12. Buddha: If by giving up limited pleasures one sees far-reaching happiness, the wise one leaves aside limited pleasures, looking to far-reaching happiness (Dhammapada 21:1).
13. Jesus: Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them (John 20:26).
14. Buddha: He goes unhindered through a wall (Anguttara Nikaya 3:60).
I love his words as a reminder that not a single one of us has cornered the market on wisdom or truth or God Almighty.
I cleaved to these words when I found I could not trust the people I held most dear. I cleaved to these words because they brought me back to the Word, the very Truth that speaks to the heart of the faithful somehow and in some way and in some text.
The text most familiar to me is the New Testament, but it is not the only sacred text, not the only source of truth. I am not a scholar; I can say only that the New Testament is mine and I love it. During the darkest time of my life, though, not the Gospel but the handed-down wisdom of the Buddha brought me home to a faith in the ultimate good. Kindness not to be found at the Christian table healed my broken heart. With that in mind, I offer up just a few words that Jesus and Buddha shared though they lived in different times and places. You can find these passages and many, many others in Jesus and Buddha, which was edited by the brilliant Marcus Borg.
1. Jesus: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20).
2. Buddha: Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy, like the radiant gods. (Dhammapada 15:4).
3. Jesus: Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?
4. Buddha: The faults of others are easier to see than one's own.
5.Jesus: Your father in heaven makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45).
6. Buddha: The light of the sun and the moon illuminates the whole world, both him who does well and him who does ill, both him who stands high and him who stands low (Sadharmapundarika Sutra 5).
7.Jesus: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
8. Buddha: May fear and dread not conquer me (Majhima Mikaya 6:8).
9 Jesus: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
10. Buddha: Anyone who withdraws into meditation on compassion can see Brahma with his own eyes, talk to him face to face and consult with him (Digha Nikaya 19:43).
11. Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
12. Buddha: If by giving up limited pleasures one sees far-reaching happiness, the wise one leaves aside limited pleasures, looking to far-reaching happiness (Dhammapada 21:1).
13. Jesus: Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them (John 20:26).
14. Buddha: He goes unhindered through a wall (Anguttara Nikaya 3:60).
1 comments:
Thanks so much for contributing this post to blog carnival at On the Horizon! Stop by and check out the other excellent submissions!
As always, your writing gives me much to think about as I go through the rest of my day. I never realized that the parallels were so profound and palpable. Fascinating.
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