The World’s Most Centered and Compassionate Spirituality Unveiled! The roots of the Buddhist tradition are humble, akin to many other religions and spiritualities; its fundamental ideals were established by a simple dissatisfied man with a burning desire for greater fulfillment. When the Hindu brahman Prince Siddhartha Gautama embarked on his journey for answers, it took him on the path of two extremes: the life experience he had gleaned from princehood and that of asceticism, the bare minimum of life in order to achieve a higher spiritual existence. When both of these methods failed him after giving each a fair trial, he decided on a Middle Path, a life avoiding the extremes of luxury and asceticism. Soon after realizing this, Siddhartha
…show more content…
In this way, the Bible is wide open for interpretation in terms of its original meaning and connotation, while the Dhammapada still holds solid ground in its principles (Easwaran). When one looks closely at the subject of meekness and humility, for example, as it is brought up in both the Dhammapada and the Bible, the Buddhist document is much easier to understand for it’s wholistic and simple message than the Christian. The Dhammapada’s take on humility: “ Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth! Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods” (Easwaran). Versus the Bible’s take on meekness: “Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:6-10, Bible). The Dhammapada is direct and simple in its diction and message. It simply advises the Buddhist to “overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good”, explicit and easy to understand exclamations of antithesis. How could the message be misinterpreted as anything other than what it states, anything other than the direct words from the Buddha? The Bible, on the other hand, is a story. It is a tale told by many. In fact, the Bible has about thirty-five authors according
In this way, the Bible is wide open for interpretation in terms of its original meaning and connotation, while the Dhammapada still holds solid ground in its principles (Easwaran). When one looks closely at the subject of meekness and humility, for example, as it is brought up in both the Dhammapada and the Bible, the Buddhist document is much easier to understand for it’s wholistic and simple message than the Christian. The Dhammapada’s take on humility: “ Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth! Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods” (Easwaran). Versus the Bible’s take on meekness: “Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:6-10, Bible). The Dhammapada is direct and simple in its diction and message. It simply advises the Buddhist to “overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good”, explicit and easy to understand exclamations of antithesis. How could the message be misinterpreted as anything other than what it states, anything other than the direct words from the Buddha? The Bible, on the other hand, is a story. It is a tale told by many. In fact, the Bible has about thirty-five authors according