Saturday, January 24, 2015

What do the teachings of Jesus (Matthew 5-7) and the teachings of the Dao De Jing have in common?

In general Matthew 5-7 (The Sermon on the Mount) and the
principles of Dao De Jing promote living selfless lives of virtue. Below are specific
similarities.


1.
Humility--Both philosophies promote being humble and
avoiding self-glory. Jesus promises wealth and power if someone practices humility, and
the Tao selection threatens a fall from glory if someone practices extreme
arrogance.


  • Matthew 5:5 (one of the Beatitudes)
    states that if someone is meek (humbly patient) that he will inherit the
    earth.

  • #9 Hubris from Dao De Jing: "Claim credit and
    honour and you will soon fall."

2.
Avoid Materialism--Throughout both works, the authors
stress the futility of accumulating
possessions.


  • Matthew 6:19-21--Jesus warns
    against clinging to and hoarding earthly things which can be easily destroyed. Instead,
    he advises his listeners to focus on intangible, eternal "treasure" that will
    demonstrate the virtue of someone's soul.

  • Similarly,
    Selection 19 "Simplicity" from Dao De Jing suggests that if humans could do away with
    profit, then theft and corruption would
    disappear.

3. Living in Peace
with Others


  • Several portions of
    Matthew 5-7 discuss forgiving one's enemy, turning the other cheek, loving one's
    neighbor, and going the "extra mile" if someone asks you to go with him or
    her.

  • Dao De Jing is slightly more assertive on how
    important it is for humans to get along with one another. Its teachings argue that if
    humans could rid themselves of their notions of "duty" and "justice," then they would
    live peaceably together because no one would be thinking about how he had been treated
    unfairly.

Of course, the philosophies of these
two religious/philosophical texts share many more commonalities because they both asks
adherents to think beyond themselves and the present.

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