Jesus vs. Buddha vs. Socrates

[Beta Ray Bill]

Here are a shitload of quotations comparing Jesus, Buddha and Socrates, with how I understand them written after each one. I swear I am not trying to take anything out of context, but yeah, I'm a little biased.

Five of Jesus' best quotes:
1: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? (Matthew 5:43-47 )

This one sounds good, but it's long, so let's break it down:
a) Don't follow the law, love your enemies. Can do!
b) Asking God to help your enemies is the proper way to do things. That just feels empty. I'd feel greater satisfaction if I did the helping, not God.
c) God rewards and punishes the good and the bad evenly. So, what's the difference? If neither way has the upper hand, why are there commandments?
d) I thought we were supposed to love our enemies. Why is Jesus bad-mouthing corrupt tax collectors? Is that showing love for a common enemy?
e) So if you're kind to people that aren't your friends, you are better than anybody else? That just feels kinda wrong to me.

2: “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34)

Wow, deep. Why do I feel like I've heard it before, though...

3: “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

Loving God is the most important law, but loving your neighbor as yourself is just as important. Huh? Which one was the most important one again?

4: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)

Basically, devote your life to Jesus or you are damned. Pretty wordy way of saying that.

5: “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)

If you stay devoted to something, you'll be successful. Can't argue with that. Good one!

Five of Buddha's best quotes:
1: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”

So, we are responsible for creating ourselves. Maybe the best thing to believe in is ourselves? Sounds plausible.

2: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

I knew I heard this quote before! Buddha said it first, remember. Old philosophy, and Buddha says it better.

3: “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

So I need to discover peace through my own reasoning, because being told what peace is doesn't help as much sense as discovering it through contemplation? Deep.

4: “In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.”

So there is no right direction to follow, there are many, and you have to pick which direction that you wish to follow through your own reasoning? Talk about free will!

5: "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”

Wait a minute. I don't have to believe a spiritual teacher unless his teachings make sense to me? Wow! I'm tossing my Bible right now!

Five of Socrates' Best quotes:
1: "The hottest love has the coldest end."

Hmm...so mad passionate affection for anything will lead to a dissatisfying result? I better keep my passion in check! (Especially my spiritual passion.)

2: "Whenever, therefore, people are deceived and form opinions wide of the truth, it is clear that the error has slid into their minds through the medium."

Hmm...so if I believe something far-fetched, I've made an obvious error? I guess it's up to me to know what is closer to being the truth, and stay away from far-fetched ideas.

3: "One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing."

So no one has discovered any kind of truths? Maybe there is more "belief" in human existence than "knowledge?"

4: "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think."

Knowledge doesn't come from a teacher, it comes from one's self. Sounds a little Buddha-ish, doesn't it?

5: "The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."

Good comes from searching for the truth, not staying bubbled up in a cloud of intellectual (and spiritual) limitations.

Well, they are all pretty impressive quotes, but if you compare them to each other, Buddha and Socrates focus on growth of knowledge and understanding, whereas Jesus focuses on faith and obedience. There are exceptions. I'll admit that Jesus did say some good stuff. But a great deal of his teachings are about faith in someone else to teach you things, whereas Buddha and Socrates encourage you to have faith in yourself to discover things. To me, Buddha and Socrates are the wiser, for I'd rather be involved with discovering myself, then discovering someone else. But as I've said before, Jesus wasn't all bad.

[max-greece]

Nice post. I'd give Buddha the edge overall but I think that is where you were leading me which probably means you're fooling me as Buddha said but if it was Buddha that said that.....

Oh crap.

[Captain Colostomy]

If the Buddha was real, he was the man.

[Minimalist]

1: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? (Matthew 5:43-47 ).

Stolen from the Greeks 4 centuries later.

" Then we ought not to retaliate or render evil for evil to anyone, whatever evil we may have suffered from him.

Socrates addressing Crito in Plato's Dialogue "Crito"

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

Stolen from the OT.

King James Bible
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deut 6:5

[Beta Ray Bill]

I knew the size of this post would scare people away from it, but I thought it important to show that Jesus' sayings were more religious rules than guidelines for personal growth. I didn't pick what I thought were easily down-playable Jesus quotes, I took them from a couple Christian's top ten lists, and chose the five I thought were honestly the best. But they still can't stand up to Buddha or Socrates. I believe it's more important to live life to the fullest, not just prepare yourself for some sort of unproven afterlife.

And Minimalist, thanks for your quotes. They are easily applicable to the concept that early Christian writers, who really had little understanding of the man that lived decades before them, just copied the OT and Greek religion to piece together their implausible religious ideas.

And I didn't get them from the internet, I read books. (Okay, I got Socrates from the internet.)

[pocaracas]

You can't use the name of Socrates...
It reminds me of this former portuguese prime minister...

[Searching4truth]

Id like to see more comparative posts like this. I found it intriguing

[Minimalist]

early Christian writers, who really had little understanding of the man that lived decades before them, just copied the OT and Greek religion to piece together their implausible religious ideas.

They don't even need "a man" for that. Just a legend.

---

The most obvious that pops to mind is this from Plato's "Laws.

I would never concede to them that the rich man is really happy if he is not also good; while, if a man is superlatively good, it is impossible that he should be also superlatively rich.

The alleged jesus is given these words to mouth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Matty 19

[SavedByGraceThruFaith]

Here are a shitload of quotations comparing Jesus, Buddha and Socrates, with how I understand them written after each one. I swear I am not trying to take anything out of context, but yeah, I'm a little biased.

Five of Jesus' best quotes:
1: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? (Matthew 5:43-47 )

This one sounds good, but it's long, so let's break it down:
a) Don't follow the law, love your enemies. Can do!
b) Asking God to help your enemies is the proper way to do things. That just feels empty. I'd feel greater satisfaction if I did the helping, not God.
c) God rewards and punishes the good and the bad evenly. So, what's the difference? If neither way has the upper hand, why are there commandments?
d) I thought we were supposed to love our enemies. Why is Jesus bad-mouthing corrupt tax collectors? Is that showing love for a common enemy?
e) So if you're kind to people that aren't your friends, you are better than anybody else? That just feels kinda wrong to me.

2: “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34)

Wow, deep. Why do I feel like I've heard it before, though...

3: “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

Loving God is the most important law, but loving your neighbor as yourself is just as important. Huh? Which one was the most important one again?

4: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)

Basically, devote your life to Jesus or you are damned. Pretty wordy way of saying that.

5: “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)

If you stay devoted to something, you'll be successful. Can't argue with that. Good one!

Five of Buddha's best quotes:
1: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”

So, we are responsible for creating ourselves. Maybe the best thing to believe in is ourselves? Sounds plausible.

2: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

I knew I heard this quote before! Buddha said it first, remember. Old philosophy, and Buddha says it better.

3: “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

So I need to discover peace through my own reasoning, because being told what peace is doesn't help as much sense as discovering it through contemplation? Deep.

4: “In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.”

So there is no right direction to follow, there are many, and you have to pick which direction that you wish to follow through your own reasoning? Talk about free will!

5: "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”

Wait a minute. I don't have to believe a spiritual teacher unless his teachings make sense to me? Wow! I'm tossing my Bible right now!

Five of Socrates' Best quotes:
1: "The hottest love has the coldest end."

Hmm...so mad passionate affection for anything will lead to a dissatisfying result? I better keep my passion in check! (Especially my spiritual passion.)

2: "Whenever, therefore, people are deceived and form opinions wide of the truth, it is clear that the error has slid into their minds through the medium."

Hmm...so if I believe something far-fetched, I've made an obvious error? I guess it's up to me to know what is closer to being the truth, and stay away from far-fetched ideas.

3: "One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing."

So no one has discovered any kind of truths? Maybe there is more "belief" in human existence than "knowledge?"

4: "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think."

Knowledge doesn't come from a teacher, it comes from one's self. Sounds a little Buddha-ish, doesn't it?

5: "The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."

Good comes from searching for the truth, not staying bubbled up in a cloud of intellectual (and spiritual) limitations.

Well, they are all pretty impressive quotes, but if you compare them to each other, Buddha and Socrates focus on growth of knowledge and understanding, whereas Jesus focuses on faith and obedience. There are exceptions. I'll admit that Jesus did say some good stuff. But a great deal of his teachings are about faith in someone else to teach you things, whereas Buddha and Socrates encourage you to have faith in yourself to discover things. To me, Buddha and Socrates are the wiser, for I'd rather be involved with discovering myself, then discovering someone else. But as I've said before, Jesus wasn't all bad.

But only Jesus Christ is God and only Jesus Christ can save you.

[Jackalope]

Here are a shitload of quotations comparing Jesus, Buddha and Socrates, with how I understand them written after each one. I swear I am not trying to take anything out of context, but yeah, I'm a little biased.

Five of Jesus' best quotes:
1: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? (Matthew 5:43-47 )

This one sounds good, but it's long, so let's break it down:
a) Don't follow the law, love your enemies. Can do!
b) Asking God to help your enemies is the proper way to do things. That just feels empty. I'd feel greater satisfaction if I did the helping, not God.
c) God rewards and punishes the good and the bad evenly. So, what's the difference? If neither way has the upper hand, why are there commandments?
d) I thought we were supposed to love our enemies. Why is Jesus bad-mouthing corrupt tax collectors? Is that showing love for a common enemy?
e) So if you're kind to people that aren't your friends, you are better than anybody else? That just feels kinda wrong to me.

2: “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34)

Wow, deep. Why do I feel like I've heard it before, though...

3: “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

Loving God is the most important law, but loving your neighbor as yourself is just as important. Huh? Which one was the most important one again?

4: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)

Basically, devote your life to Jesus or you are damned. Pretty wordy way of saying that.

5: “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)

If you stay devoted to something, you'll be successful. Can't argue with that. Good one!

Five of Buddha's best quotes:
1: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”

So, we are responsible for creating ourselves. Maybe the best thing to believe in is ourselves? Sounds plausible.

2: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

I knew I heard this quote before! Buddha said it first, remember. Old philosophy, and Buddha says it better.

3: “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

So I need to discover peace through my own reasoning, because being told what peace is doesn't help as much sense as discovering it through contemplation? Deep.

4: “In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.”

So there is no right direction to follow, there are many, and you have to pick which direction that you wish to follow through your own reasoning? Talk about free will!

5: "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”

Wait a minute. I don't have to believe a spiritual teacher unless his teachings make sense to me? Wow! I'm tossing my Bible right now!

Five of Socrates' Best quotes:
1: "The hottest love has the coldest end."

Hmm...so mad passionate affection for anything will lead to a dissatisfying result? I better keep my passion in check! (Especially my spiritual passion.)

2: "Whenever, therefore, people are deceived and form opinions wide of the truth, it is clear that the error has slid into their minds through the medium."

Hmm...so if I believe something far-fetched, I've made an obvious error? I guess it's up to me to know what is closer to being the truth, and stay away from far-fetched ideas.

3: "One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing."

So no one has discovered any kind of truths? Maybe there is more "belief" in human existence than "knowledge?"

4: "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think."

Knowledge doesn't come from a teacher, it comes from one's self. Sounds a little Buddha-ish, doesn't it?

5: "The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."

Good comes from searching for the truth, not staying bubbled up in a cloud of intellectual (and spiritual) limitations.

Well, they are all pretty impressive quotes, but if you compare them to each other, Buddha and Socrates focus on growth of knowledge and understanding, whereas Jesus focuses on faith and obedience. There are exceptions. I'll admit that Jesus did say some good stuff. But a great deal of his teachings are about faith in someone else to teach you things, whereas Buddha and Socrates encourage you to have faith in yourself to discover things. To me, Buddha and Socrates are the wiser, for I'd rather be involved with discovering myself, then discovering someone else. But as I've said before, Jesus wasn't all bad.

But only Jesus Christ is God and only Jesus Christ can save you.

Right. Sure he is. Sure he can.

Derp.