Buddha Says What?
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35
In my teenage years, I did a serious study of world religions. I grew up as a Christian and was serious about my faith, however, I wanted to be informed and understand other religions. How could I truly know if Christianity offered something unique if I didn’t investigate the other options?
So, there I was in the school cafeteria, reading the “Qur’an” or looking at a chart of all the Hindu gods before baseball practice. I truly was an odd duck (and my wife would tell you I still am).
I remember coming across a memorable line from Buddha that caught my attention. He said, “From love comes grief, from love comes fear; he who is free from love knows neither grief nor fear.”
How does that strike you? Personally, it seems to be significantly different from the Christian values I was raised to believe. We know that God is love and that He created the world out of that generous love of the Trinity. We know that Jesus valued love above everything else and went to the cross because of His deep love for us.
Paul also said, “If I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2).
If you don’t have love, can you truly exist? Is it possible for a person to rid themselves of love? I really wouldn’t want to find out. You and I were created to love, created by and for love.
Jesus knew that love is not easy, and by its very nature, it is costly and sacrificial. If Jesus went with Buddha’s advice, then there would be no resurrection, no crucifixion, and no need for the Incarnation. You cannot be risk-avoidant and love like Jesus.
In the end, Buddha was right: from love comes grief and fear, but that is the price of such a precious gift. May we generously share our love. It is how we are to be known as His disciples after all.
