JESUS and Buddha: Two Messengers, One Light Rev. Ted Tollefson UU Society of River Falls Dec. 7, 2014

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1 JESUS and Buddha: Two Messengers, One Light Rev. Ted Tollefson UU Society of River Falls Dec. 7, Prologue JESUS AND BUDDHA: Two Messengers of Light Two sons of Wisdom, two sages and prophets Two World teachers with hundreds of millions of followers Two peace-makers and world-shakers Two moral and spiritual revolutionaries who changed everything in their times and much in ours. I will be offering side by side comparison of the teachings of Jesus and Buddha on 3 key points: their Diagnosis of what ails us their ministerial responses to the reality of Life and Death their Ethics: the Golden Rule and the Silver Rule. Come, let us inquire together with an open heart and an open mind: how might the ethical & spiritual teachings of Jesus and Buddha light our path as Unitarian Universalists? 2. Two Diagnosis of What Ails Us: Sin and Suffering Both Jesus and Buddha are portrayed as Great Physicians. They hear the cries of human sorrow and come to heal us or to help us heal ourselves. Their diagnoses of the human condition are distinct and yet alike. Jesus speaks out the tradition of Biblical prophets who find humankind marred by Sin. Buddha speaks out the tradition of Asian sages who find humankind marked by Suffering. Sin and Suffering is where their ministries begin. The Biblical doctrine of sin operates on two levels, it has a vertical axis that connects humankind to God; it has a horizontal axis that connects humans beings to our neighbors. Put these two axes together and you have a cross or a cross in a circle. The vertical dimension of SIN, sin with a capital S points to the way that humans are separated, estranged, alienated from God or the Ground of our Being. (Paul Tillich)

2 When we defy Divine Commandments, whe we break our promises, when we act as if we were gods, the sinful split between Creator and Creation widens. This tendency to be estranged from the Creator and his Plan pre-dates any action. It is original sin. It does not begin with us, it comes down to us from Adam and Eve, and is transmitted from generation to generation. Our world is fallen, we are fallen as the old Episcopal catechism of my ancestors says: We are sick and there is no health in us. The horizontal axis of sin is particular actions that miss the mark. The Hebrew word for sin is borrowed from archery: we keep missing the target most of the time despite our best efforts. These sins involve our doing not our being: they estrange us from our neighbors, they cause of us to lose track of our best selves. Buddhism offers a different diagnosis, and a different treatment plan. Buddhism focuses its attention on human suffering or Dukkha. This term comes from blacksmithing: a wheel is out of joint or dukkha, if it is not round, if it does not turns smoothly around its axis. If you have ever tried to drive on a flat tire or misaligned wheels--- you know dukkha : the whole car shakes and it might be hazardous to drive. In Early Buddhism, Dukkha exists in the horizontal axis of humanity in this world. Later forms of Pure Land Buddhism will add in much that original Buddhism left out---- transforming Buddha into a supernatural savior with three bodies who carries his faithful followers to a Western Paradise. (John Cobbe) The causes of Dukkha are habits of our heart, mind and actions that create suffering for our selves and others. For Buddhists pain is a persistent feature of embodied life; these bad habits transform pain into great suffering. In early Buddhism, as shocking as it may seem, there is no vertical axis to explain or cure suffering----- there is no supernatural Creator, Judge or Savior. There are no supernatural angels to help alleviate our suffering. The teachings of Old Buddha are naturalistic, humanistic, agnostic.

3 Sin & Suffering: Points of Convergence With those differences firmly in mind, I want to point out two areas of possible convergence, two clearings where these paths cross. Clearing #1: Persistent imperfection The world, our selves, our neighbors are rarely perfect we can always imagine a better self, a better neighbor, a better sermon than the one we are experiencing right now. Christian and Buddhist teachings invite us to embrace persistent imperfection in our selves & others. If we can admit that we are imperfect we are much less likely to need a scape-goat--- someone else to blame for our own short-comings. That makes us less dangerous as neighbors. As I said on New Member Sunday: we don't do perfect here, we do better. If you're hoping for perfection here, you've come to the wrong place. This sermon, which returns to the full manuscripts of my early ministry, is an attempt to try something new and maybe better, maybe worse. Clearing #2: Habits of Heart, Mind & Action As Christian teachings evolved, the Church began to map the 7 Deadly Sins which keep us alienated from God and each other. [gluttony, lust, sloth,anger, pride, envy, greed?] Buddhist tradition identified 4 Toxins that multiply pain into suffering: fear, anger, desire and ignorance. Not identical lists, but parallel lists. Knowing the 7 Deadly Sins or 4 Deadly Toxins can make us less likely to sin, less likely to create suffering. These lists are a good diagnostic tool which might produce a more individualized treatment plan for sin or suffering. 3. Two Responses to Life and Death All spiritual and ethical teachings must deal with the terrible realization that we are alive now, but we won't always be---- Jesus and Buddha were not only teachers and prophets they were ministers who had to respond personally

4 to people like us caught between love and loss. Here are two stories of these ministers in action. Jesus Raises Lazarus (John ) This story appears only in the Gospel of John which was written 200 years AFTER the death of Jesus. John emphasizes the divinity of Jesus the Christ more than earlier gospels like Mark which emphasize the humanity of Jesus. Jesus receives news that Lazarus, beloved brother of Mary & Martha is sick. He waits two days and then tells his disciples--- Let's go to Judae and wake up our friend Lazurus. One of the disciples points us that they were just stoned in Judea and that if Lazarus is just asleep, he can wake up on his own. Jesus says (in effect): Sorry guys, I didn't mean to be so metaphoric... I meant Lazarus is dead, and I'm going to wake him from death, so that you might believe. So Jesus and the disciples go to Bethany in Judea where Lazarus has already died. Martha his sister says, Jesus...if only you had been here, our brother would still live. Jesus says: Your brother will rise again...do you believe in me, Martha? After Martha says Yes, Lord, I believe in you! Jesus holds a similar interview with Mary, who says when asked: Yes Lord, I believe in you! Jesus weeps with the sisters to share their grief, then leads Mary and Martha to the grave of Lazarus. He commands that the stone be rolled away despite complaints that after 4 days Lazarus is likely to stink. The stone is rolled away, and Lazarus walks out alive, still wrapped in his funeral shroud. That's one story of a minister named Jesus facing life and death; there is one other story of miraculous events where Jesus points to his Father rather than himself (JN. 12: 49) but the trajectory is similar: the power to work miracles, to alter the laws of physics usually comes from a transcendent Source.

5 Old Buddha was faced with a similar request from a young mother, still holding her dead child in her arms. She said: O Lord Buddha, can't you raise my child from death? Buddha replied, Perhaps, but first you must bring me a mustard seed from a house that has experienced no pain, no disease, no sorrow, no death. The young mother goes to every home in the village--- rich and poor, upper caste and out-caste and in every home what does she find??? After a long day of searching she comes back to Buddha and says: Lord Buddha, there is no house in our village that has escaped pain, disease, suffering and death. Old Buddha says: Yes...and where does that discovery lead? According to tradition, the young mother bowed to the Awakened One, and buried her daughter. The next morning, she joined the followers of the Buddha. She became known as Karuna whose name means tender-hearted compassion. Do you see, do you hear, do you feel the power of these two Spiritual Doctors coming face to face with the mystery of life and death? Jesus in the gospel of John says Believe in me. Buddha in this story says, in effect, Go and see for yourself. Which doctor do you prefer? Who would you call upon in your hour of need? Where do you find comfort: in hoping for a better life beyond this one? Or in embracing this life with its all its limitations? Or do you prefer both? Or neither? Who or what is the doctor of your soul? 4. Two Ethics: Golden Rule, Silver Rule Having considered how Jesus and Buddha frame their diagnoses for what ails us (sin or suffering) and having watched these two Great Physicians deliver their remedies (Believe in Me or Go & See for Yourself) let us consider their ethics

6 their basic rules for how we live in this imperfect world where sin and suffering abound where disagreements sometimes arise and where perfection continues to slip through our grasp. Jesus, like his Jewish contemporary Hillel, summarized the horizontal covenant in a single brilliant phrase: Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. This isn't new, or completely original---- almost every religion has a Golden Rule. Jesus's gift is to state it in simple, positive and unforgettable terms: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In this last 50 years, we have learned much about two different paths to moral development. For those of us who move from our heads/thinking types moral decisions come from applying general principles to specific situations (Lawrence Kohlberg). For those of who move from our hearts/ feeling types morality comes from empathy. (Carol Gilligan) The Golden Rule builds a bridge between heart and mind: it is a principle inviting us to use empathy or moral imagination to discern what is right. There are a couple of potential problems with the Golden Rule. First, our empathy is not always accurate. We may misread the clues from another person. Second, the Golden Rule can be compromised by our biases--- those who derive pleasure from pain or inflicting pain on others are not likely to do what is really best for others. Buddha's Silver Rule isn't original either--- it is a common thread in the most the religions of India and also is part of the Hippocratic oath. The Silver Rule is Do no harm. While the Golden Rule relies heavily on intent, the Silver Rules binds us to the wheel of consequences. If we don't know what another person wants or needs, we ask. If another person cries out, or asks for mercy or says I can't breathe We must STOP what we are doing.

7 The limitations of the Silver Rule have to do with the unconditional trust that Old Buddha places in human discernment. If we misread the cues, if we're blinded by hateful prejudice we may do great harm and have no back-up system. That's where the Golden Rule comes in with its call for empathy, for compassion. Taken together, the Golden Rule of Jesus and the Silver Rule of Buddha form a complementary system: we can begin with empathy and then correct in light of consequences or vice versa. Together, these two moral guidelines make a moral guidance system much more trustworthy than either taken separately as if the Prophet Jesus and the Sage Buddha joined hands across the centuries. 5. Conclusion What are we learning so far about Jesus and Buddha? They are both spiritual and ethical teachers (called rabbi or guru by their early followers). Both start as humans and within a few centuries they are mythologized into gods by their followers. Both are moral & spiritual revolutionaries who tore down the temples of their ancestors (Jewish and Hindu) to build something radically new. Both are Universalists : they make the spiritual/ethical gifts of their parent religions(judaism, Hinduism) available to all---not just an ethnic elite. Both appeal to the people on the margins of society by offering hope for a better future. Both are messengers from the One Light that we celebrate in this season of winter holidays and holy days. I believe they can both Jesus and Buddha can help us to become better Unitarian Universalists. What Christians call Faith, Love & Hope what Buddhists call Wisdom, Compassion, Liberation We lift up in the words over our front door and our vision statement: Wisdom, Compassion and Justice. That's what we stand for, that's why we are here: to grow in Wisdom, Compassion and Justice.

8 6. Closing Words: The One Light (adapted from Emerson's refulgent essay The Over-Soul ) As we grow in Wisdom, Compassion and Justice may the One Light that shone so brightly through these two Sages shine through us here today. When the One Light illumines our minds, it is Wisdom, Truth, Awakening. When we know the truth it sets us free from fear free from the superstitions of the past. When the One Light warms our hearts it is Love, Compassion, Kindness, Care. When our hearts open the world begins to feel like home. We take care of one another as if we were kin because we are: we are human-kind. When the One Light energizes our will it is Goodness, Justice, Equality before the Law. Our neighbors' well-being becomes our business. And we will not rest until life in this society once again has the shape of Liberty and Justice for all. Thank you Jesus! Thank you Buddha! Amen! Blessed be!

9 7. Resources for Further Study Marcus J. Borg. Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings. A meticulous scholarly account of textual parallels between these two Prophet-Sages. John Cobbe. Beyond Dialogue: Buddhism and Christianity in Mutual Transformation. Fascinating connections between Pure Land Buddhism and Christianity---two Saviors with much in common. Robert Elinor. Buddha & Christ: Images of Wholeness. Big picture book which focuses on the images and narratives that connect Buddha and Christ. Elmar R. Gruber and Holger Kersten. The Original Jesus: The Buddhist Sources of Christianity. An attempt to document the influence of Buddhist teachings on Jesus. Thich Nhat Hahn. Living Buddha, Living Christ. Deep reflections on these two Master- Teachers by a contemporary Vietnamese Buddhist. Paul F. Knitter. Without Buddha I could not be a Christian. Personal testimony on how Buddhist practice can enrich Christian faith. Thomas Merton and D.T. Suzuki, Zen and the Birds of Appetite. An intimate series of dialogues and essays by two 20 th century mystics: one a Trappist monk, the other a Japanese Zen teacher. The friendship between the two authors shines through. Paul Tillich. The Dynamics of Faith. An artful Lutheran theologian revisions God as the Ground of Being ; sin then becomes separation from that Ground. Jay G. Williams. Yeshua Buddha. An imaginative reconstruction based on the idea that Jesus was a Dharma teacher. The Gospel of Thomas. An early account of the Jesus sayings that portrays Jesus as an Awakening Sage, much like the historic Buddha. Like Buddha, the key to awakening in not belief but Gnosis or Bodhi : direction inward illumination, awakening, insight.

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