Siddhartha and Solomon
Buddhism searches to solve the problem that the God of the Bible has solved for us.
Siddhartha, the historical figure that Buddhists consider to be “the Buddha,” reminds me of Solomon in the Bible. But while the two have their similarities, their conclusions were starkly different.
Siddhartha and Solomon were both royalty who lived in the lap of luxury and had everything they wanted or needed—or if they didn't already have it, they had the means to attain it. They both wondered if there was more to life than “stuff.” They also both pondered the meaning of suffering.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon states that many things are vanity, a chasing after the wind, and that there is nothing new under the sun. He had grown tired of his luxury. Siddhartha thought that maybe if he owned nothing, he would find the meaning of life. He walked away from his luxury. Solomon and Siddhartha both saw that “stuff” is not the answer—things cannot give life its meaning.
Siddhartha saw suffering as evidence that our desires and attachments are getting away from us. He taught that if we desire less (lower our standards), we'll never be disappointed. Nirvana, a state where we desire nothing and do not suffer, becomes the ultimate goal, though it may take several lifetimes to achieve it. Ultimately, Siddhartha (and Buddhists) seek a way to escape suffering.
Christians, too, look forward to the end of suffering. However, the Bible teaches that suffering is God's way of sanctifying us to make us more like him. The Bible also teaches us that we will never achieve perfection, even if we had many lifetimes. We need perfection in order to live forever in heaven with God, where suffering ceases. Blessedly, God sent his one and only Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life for us and die an agonizing death (the ultimate act of suffering) as the final sacrifice for our sins.
Siddhartha was right: our desires and attachments get away from us. We are all proved to be sinners, and we are all in need of a Savior. The answer is not to try harder, to think and act the right way, to earn enough merit, and to reach Nirvana after one failed lifetime after another.
The answer is to admit we cannot reach perfection, and to repent of our sins, and to believe that Jesus died for our sins.
Solomon had a similar psychological crisis to Siddhartha. But he found a different answer, one that was outside of himself. Ecclesiastes ends with his conclusion: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). What does fearing God entail? It means bowing to his Son and accepting him as savior.
Siddhartha needed to realize, as Solomon did, that he can never achieve Nirvana. The most amazing thing is that the God that demands perfection is the same God that sent his Son to die for us because we can’t achieve perfection. Once we believe this, we will want to live a better life out of gratitude to God for our salvation rather than as an attempt to earn His favor. We need Jesus for that.
Tara W. is a recent RPGM Explore participant and member at Westminster RPC near Denver, Colorado.