A self that was not a self, a self not sundered from the world, a self cleansed of its samskaras, of the accumulation of wounds in love and wisdom, of its karma, free of all attachments, free of illusions -- how wonderfully appealing that seems, because to detach from all craving and clinging is to become the universe itself. Let's not be petty. Let's get rid of the self and live in the moment. Renounce and enjoy, as Gandhi said.
Did it simply not occur to Solomon that this strategy was possible? Was he too busy? Too worried about the succession of the kingdom to his incompetent son Reheboam? Too depressed about the split kingdom that he foresaw? He says:
(Ecc. 2:18-19)
Was it left to the east alone to plumb this depth, to see life this way and to take this course? Or did others see life from the Buddha's perspective, raw and open, only to choose another response, against renunciation and for individuation, even though it involved suffering, perhaps choosing to move from one to a different set of flaws for different emphases in what would be permitted and prohibited, depending on the purpose of life as one understood it?
We can reframe the question. It's not why didn't Solomon see the Buddha's Noble Truths (though this may be the question many young Jewish born Buddhists ask,) but why did Solomon chose a different way?
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Copyright 1998 - Ira Rosenberg
Last Updated 09/18/98 (rge)