|
The traces of Nikaya found in the New Testament beginning I already posted an article titled "what Jesus experienced from Buddha's teaching" here. After adding five chapters to the article, I newly edited and finished this writing. chapter 1. come and see Nikaya: 'It is in this way, too, that the Dhamma(Gottama's word) is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable, to be personally experienced by the wise.'(A3:54 Paribbājakasutta) New Testament: He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day.(John chapter 1 39) soogar's commentary: The Nikaya and New Testament expressions of ‘come and see’ are so identical that no further explanation is necessary. chapter 2. all you who are weary and burdened Nikaya: A burden indeed are the five aggregates(thought's 5 raw materials ie rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra, viññāna) and the carrier of the burden is the person. Taking up the burden in the world is stressful. Casting off the burden is bliss.(SN 22.22 Bhāra Sutta) New Testament: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.(Matthew 11) soogar's commentary: In the New Testament, the 'burden' that Jesus said undoubtedly is a 'psychological burden'. This is in full agreement with the expression of Nikaya, which considers the five khandha(rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra, viññāna) as burden. chapter 3. has already committed adultery with her in his heart Nikaya: "Intention, I tell you, is kamma(action). Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, & intellect.(AN 6.63 Nibbedhika Sutta) New Testament: You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5 27-28) soogar's commentary: Gottama's declarative expression such as 'intention is the action(kamma)', jesus transformed it into a narrative expression using the example of adultery, but the contents of Nikaya and the New Testament are exactly the same. (Meanwhile, considering the context, appropriate attention should be given to the choice of interpretive meaning of kamma which has a wide range of its usage as kamma=intention, kamma=thought and kamma=action etc.) Chapter 4. The tempter came to him Nikaya: "And what is bhava(object)? These three are bhava(object): sensual bhava(object), form bhava(object), & formless bhava(object). This is called bhava(object).(SN 12.2 Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta) New Testament: After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.".. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'".. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." (Matthew 4 2-9) soogar's commentary: At a glance, we can easily find that three kinds of bhava(objects) for the three trials are carefully selected. The 1st is kāmadhātu's bhava(object) related to food and shelter for body such as bread loaf, the 2nd is rūpadhātu's bhava(object) related to the title(appellation) such as 'son of god' and the 3rd is arūpadhātu's bhava(object) related to the honor of glory and wealthy etc. Anyway, the implications in Nikaya and the New Testament that sages(ariya) have a specially different perspective(discerned eye) for three kinds of bhava(objects) are same in content. chapter 5. God of the living Nikaya: “Ananda, if there were no kamma(thought) ripening in the sensuality-property, would sensuality-bhava(object) be discerned?” “No, lord.”(AN 3.76 Bhava Sutta) New Testament: He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.(Mark 12 27) soogar's commentary: There is even a bhava(object) called God only when kamma is in operation. In other words, there is not even a bhava(object) of God without kamma acting. The Nikaya and the New Testament are in complete agreement in that the primary concern of a disciplinant is not bhava(object) but his/her own kamma(thought). chapter 6. Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani Nikaya: Five khandha(rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra, viññāna), monks, is anatta(not self). If five khandha were the atta(self), this five khandha would not lend itself to dis-ease. It would be possible [to say] with regard to five khandha, 'Let this five khandha be thus. Let this five khandha not be thus.' But precisely because five khandha is anatta(not self), five khandha lends itself to dis-ease. And it is not possible [to say] with regard to five khandha, 'Let this five khandha be thus. Let this five khandha not be thus.'(SN 22.59 Anatta-lakkhana Sutta) New Testament: And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?(Matthew 27 46) soogar's commentary: It is impossible for me to reach at anatta(not self) by abandoning myself. The reason is because the subject who is trying to discard 'I' is 'I', so the more I try to throw it away, the more 'I' become stronger. Gottama reached at anatta(not self) by proving logically that five khandha(rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra, viññāna) are not mine, not my self and not what I am. Jesus went one step further. He realized that the khandha were not only mine but also owned by God(nibbana). So, processes of achieving anatta(not self) in Nikaya and the New Testament are perfectly same in content. chapter 7. eight Beatitudes Nikaya: And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding? Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.(SN 56.11 Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta) New Testament: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(Matthew 5 3-12) soogar's commentary: According to the contents of Magga-vibhanga Sutta(S45: 8), which explains the Eightfold Path in detail, Eights of Eightfold Path and eight of the eight Beatitudes can substitute one another without any difficulty. (1)right view=>Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness (2)right resolve=>Blessed are the meek (3)right speech=>Blessed are the peacemakers (4)right action=>Blessed are the merciful (5)right livelihood=>Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake (6)right effort=>Blessed are they that mourn (7)right mindfulness=>Blessed are the poor in spirit (8)right concentration=>Blessed are the pure in heart. chapter 8. twelve apostles Nikaya: Now what is dependent co-arising? From (11)birth as a requisite condition comes (12)aging & death. From (10)becoming...From (9)clinging/sustenance...From (8)craving...From (7)feeling...From (6)contact...From the (5)six sense...From (4)name-&-form...From (3)consciousness...From (2)fabrications...From (1)ignorance.(SN 12.20 Paccaya Sutta) New Testament: Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called (1)Peter, and (2)Andrew his brother; (3)James the son of Zebedee, and (4)John his brother; (5)Philip, and (6)Bartholomew; (7)Thomas, and (8)Matthew the publican; (9)James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was (10)Thaddaeus; (11)Simon the Canaanite, and (12)Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.(Matthew 10 2-4) soogar's commentary: It is hard to be sure because the records of the twelve apostles in the New Testament are limited. However, through the following four examples, we can feel that there is some connection between the content of the corresponding paticca-samuppāda branches and the records of the corresponding apostles. (1)ignorance=>Peter who denied Jesus three times, (4)name-&-form=>John who is mysterious person, (7)feeling=>Thomas who tried to put his finger into the print of the nails and (12)aging & death=>Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus and committed suicide. chapter 9. cross Nikaya: Friends, just as the footprints of all legged animals are encompassed by the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant's footprint is reckoned the foremost among them in terms of size; in the same way, all skillful qualities are gathered under the four noble truths.(MN 28 Maha-hatthipadopama Sutta) New Testament: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself(anatta/not self), and take up his cross, and follow me.(Matthew 16 24) soogar's commentary: The cross of Jesus that we would take nowadays may not be physical one but psychological. So the cross(four noble truth) must be already working in us. The order of the four self-operated tasks is as follows. (1)What's the dukkha(pain)? (2)What's the cause of dukkha(pain)? (3)What's the cessation of dukkha(pain)? (4)What's the way of practice leading to the cessation of dukkha(pain)? From this viewpoint, Nikaya's 'four noble truth' and the cross of the New Testament are just different expressions of the same meaning. ending God(nibbana) has no emotions about all life including human beings. God(nibbana) is merely delighted that the cross(four noble truth) works well in all living beings. Only those who have realized the truth of the cross(four noble truth) can join in the joy.(fin.) .(2018.1.16) [이전] [위로] [다음] |