Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings

By Marcus J. Borg and Jack Kornfield

Side-by-side examples that let you discover the teachings of Jesus and Buddha—and the striking similarities between them.

This stunning collection is perfect for those curious about the influential teachers Jesus and Buddha, and their lessons of peace, love, patience, and kindness. Witness as two of the most holy beings meet in a thought-provoking encounter of the spirit. 

Compare the Bible verse: “Jesus knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone” (John 2.24-25) to the Buddhist scripture: “He was expert in knowing the thoughts and actions of living beings” (Vimalakirtinirdesha Sutra 2).

Written by a renowned New Testament scholar and national bestselling author, and with an introduction by Jack Kornfield, Jesus and Buddha is a timeless testament to what makes us similar rather than different. With over 100 examples presented side by side, this is a perfect book for anyone interested in Christianity, Buddhism, mindfulness, meditation, and all ways of seeking enlightenment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646041183

Marcus J. Borg

Marcus J. Borg (1942–2015) was a pioneering author and teacher whom the New York Times described as "a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars." He was the Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University and canon theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, and he appeared on NBC's The Today Show and Dateline, ABC's World News, and NPR's Fresh Air. His books have sold over a million copies, including the bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Jesus, The Heart of Christianity, Evolution of the Word, Speaking Christian, and Convictions.

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Cover: Jesus and Buddha, by Marcus Borg and Jack Kornfield

This compilation reveals a remarkable synchronicity in early teaching from East to West.

—New Age Journal

Beautifully laid out… a popular book designed to foster reflection.

—Religious Studies Review

Enlightening and beautifully printed.

—The Living Church

An eloquent overview of the similarities between Christianity and Buddhism.

—Detroit Free Press

Jesus and Buddha by Marcus Borga and Jack Kornfield, Ulysses Press

INTRODUCTION

by Jack Kornfield

You hold in your hand a remarkable and beautiful book. In our modern times we have had translated for us the teachings of all the world’s major religions, the wisdom of the ages. Jesus and Buddha, two of the greatest holy beings ever to walk the earth, inspiration to billions, are now meeting in an encounter of the spirit in the West. When we listen deeply to their words, we find that in many ways, they speak with one heart.

The brotherhood of these sacred physicians, healers of the sorrows of humanity, was portrayed to me in a faraway land long ago. While studying Buddhism I had the privilege of visiting a monastery in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. It was built on an island by a master of peace known as the Coconut Monk and filled with monks during the war years. Passing along the waterways in the midst of active fighting, our boat arrived at the dock where Buddhist monks greeted and escorted us around. They explained to us the teaching of nonviolence and forgiveness on which they had staked their lives. We ate together.

Then they took us to the end of the island where, on top of a hill, there was an enormous fifty-foot-tall statue of a standing Buddha. Next to Buddha stood an equally tall statue of Jesus. They had their arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling. While helicopter gunships flew by overhead and the war raged around us, Buddha and Jesus stood there like brothers, expressing compassion and healing for all who would follow their way.

The bond of love depicted by these statues rests on the universal wisdom that they share. They both taught the Laws of the heart, the eternal fragrance of virtue, the path of generosity, the power of faith, contentment and compassion. They both inspired their disciples to turn from the materialism of the world and live a life of the spirit, to come to know the timeless truth, to awaken to the undying. There is one truth, not many, say the Buddhist texts. It is open to all. See and know this for yourself, said the Buddha. Jesus pointed in the same openhanded fashion when he said, The Kingdom of God is within you.

That this is universal wisdom there can be no doubt. When holy men and women—revered elders, Christian monastics and Buddhist masters—have met in recent years, they know one another like family, as living the same life of purity and holy renunciation. The meeting of Thomas Merton and the Dalai Lama was said to be filled with profound connection and delicious laughter. Then there is the story of the old Zen master who met a famous Christian abbot in an airport in the United States. It was a chance encounter and there was no translator present, so they sat together for an hour, holding hands and smiling broadly.

What matters is not the scholarly or theological differences between Buddhism and Christianity, but that both offer us direct teachings, instructions, practices, ways to conduct our lives and free our hearts. Jesus and Buddha say to us, even today, Follow me. Do we dare?

If we could read, listen to, take to heart and enact even one verse from these teachings, it would have the power to illuminate our hearts, free us from confusion and transform our lives.

Read these passages slowly, savor them. Take them as medicine, as dispellers of doubt, as poetry of the soul, as clarity for the mind, as words that pierce the veil of the heart, that show us the Way, that bring to us sacred blessings.

May it be so.

EDITOR’S PREFACE

by Marcus Borg

As the world reckons things, I am an expert in the study of Jesus. In my understanding and appreciation of the Buddha, however, I am an amateur. I do not know scholarship surrounding the Buddha as I do about Jesus.

As a Christian, I have lived with Jesus all of my life. I have not lived with the Buddha. In adulthood, I have become a non-exclusivist Christian. It seems clear that the sacred has been known in all of the major religious traditions, and I do not think that Christianity is the only adequate religion, even though it is my home.

Thus I write as a Jesus scholar and a devoted but non-exclusivist Christian. Buddhists might see matters differently, and I know that some Christians would. But the cumulative product of my thinking and experience is the conclusion that Jesus and the Buddha are the two most remarkable religious figures who have ever lived.

Moreover, there are striking similarities between them. I have sometimes

Reviews for Jesus and Buddha

[Edwin Lindeman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book, enjoyed the parallels that the authors provided. Definitely recommend

[eightambliss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jesus and Buddha is a wonderful, enlightening book that compares the similarities in the lives of Jesus Christ and Buddha.Both were of virgin birth, both healed the sick, were tempted by the devil, ate with prostitutes and taught the way of life, leading their disciples and followers down a path of better living.I was given this book as a gift by my mother and will forever treasure it. As someone who was raised as a Christian, but came to believe in the teachings of Buddha, this is a wonderful way for someone to see that they are following the right path, no matter if they see themselves as Buddhist or Christian. It also makes a wonderful book for new believers of either faith. Highly recommended and very easy to read-I don't think it is possible to be disappointed.

[dubiousdisciple · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Three thousand miles from where Jesus was born, another miraculous birth occurred: the Buddha. As the Buddha walked on water, passed through walls, and raised the dead, so did Jesus in his day. As the Buddha fed 500 with a few small cakes, so did Jesus work with loaves and fishes. Five hundred years after a terrible earthquake marked the death of the Buddha, the earth shook again when Jesus breathed his last.Given the eerie parallels between these two lives, one naturally wonders if their teachings were also similar. In a book that is probably best read as a daily devotional, Borg provides a “Jesus” saying on the left side of each page, and a parallel “Buddha” saying on the right side. Here are some of my favorites:Jesus: “There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” Buddha: “Stealing, deceiving, adultery; this is defilement. Not the eating of meat.”Jesus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in a steal.” Buddha: “Let the wise man do righteousness: A treasure that others cannot share, which no thief can steal; a treasure which does not pass away.”Jesus: “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” Buddha: “Do not let there be a schism in the order, for this is a serious matter. Whoever splits an order that is united will be boiled in hell for an aeon.”What is going on, here? Were Jesus and Buddha spiritual masters inspired by a single cosmic source? Is the Christian “very God of very God” one with the Buddhist “God of gods?” You can’t help but be inspired as you contemplate the similarities of these two great religious leaders.

[ffielder-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I intend to keep this in my personal collection because it is an inspiring book that I love and can dip into again & again.