Jesus & Buddha

The Parallel Sayings

This is a very thoughtful book; not one to be picked up, read through and then left in the bookcase. From start to finish it is packed with the rich saying of Jesus side by side with the wisdom of the Buddha. It is written in eleven sections; what they both had to say about; Compassion, Wisdom, Materialism, Inner Life, Temptation, Salvation, The Future, Miracles, Discipleship, Attributes and Life Stories.

Here an example:

Jesus

Your father in heaven makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous (Matthew 5:43).

Buddha

That great clouds rain down on all whether their nature is superior or inferior. 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).

Here's another:

Jesus

There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile (Mark 7:15).

Buddha

Stealing, deceiving, adultery; this is defilement. Not the eating of meat (Sutta Nipata 242).

 

There are indeed many parallels but the book can give the impression that Jesus and Buddha were two great men, two prophets, two spiritual leaders, and while Buddha was all of the above, let's not forget, Jesus was much, much more:

                                               

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave

 and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in

obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the

place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names (Philippians 2:6-9).

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