In college I took a course in logic, a conveyance of good common sense, where we had to establish and prove a basic syllogism (A + B = C). If you’re still following our most recent thread, let’s call the previous two posts (Idle Worship Parts 1 and 2) the “A” and the “B”, leading to our “C” conclusion, the term “universals”: briefly mentioned in my last post, and put to use as our title here.

If you recall, I heralded my regard for both Christian and Buddhist teachings, while establishing a distinct separation between the two namesakes of said doctrines; ie Jesus the walking emissary of God, and Buddha the apex of human self-awareness. Without meaning to step on toes on either side of my premise (and I know I will) I’ve been savoring this opportunity to provide some examples and easy-to-digest comparisons from the two sources.

(For accuracy, I’ll clarify my jailhouse references; in print, The New King James Version of the Bible and on our tablets, a commonly accepted translation of the Dhammapada.)

Even before I was locked up I’d begun to understand that, regardless of who said them and where, there are concepts (or, precepts, axioms, principles, etc.) for proper living, that are indeed “universal.” My first concrete example came from the Bible, to which I re-connected as soon as the jail Chaplain, Pastor Christie, could procure me one. (Interesting side note, Pastor Christie baptized me and my “bunky” in our mess hall, and I later found out that he had found the Lord 20 years earlier while an inmate in our same facility.) While looking for verses to help guide me toward the repentance I truly desired, one of the very first to find me (I always say that apt scripture finds us, not the other way around) was from Galatians 5: 22 – 23:

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Bingo. If those aren’t words to live by, I don’t know what are.

The more I read, of both sourcebooks, the more I found the lessons I was looking for (or better put, they found me.) Forgiveness obviously was a big one, and distinct passages quickly surfaced, such as:

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of his Love, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” ~ Colossians 1: 13-14.

The next big one was Truth (capital “T”) because all things start and end therein. We’ve all heard this most famous verse from John 8:32: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Another lesser-known but equally apt passage is “Sanctify them by your truth; your word is truth.” (John 7:17).

The Dhammapada distinctly mirrors these points of merit (and more) in specific verses:

(6) “The truth guards him who guards himself”.

(36) “Overcome anger by love, evil by good, greed by generosity, and lies by truth.”

(41) “The world holds dear the man who speaks the truth, remains just and minds his own business.”

(In fact, any of the Buddha’s followers caught in a lie was immediately and permanently cast from his inner circle.)

The final dictum I wish to cover in this post, dear reader, before letting you go back to your reruns of “Family Guy”* is Charity. First we’ll quickly return to the Buddha, who rightly holds that:

(38) The three steps to bliss are; speak the truth (again,) refrain from anger, and give when asked.”

(And from one of his speeches to his disciples): “There is help for those who have compassion for others, but none for those who cling to themselves alone. Hard times try the souls of men and teach them righteousness and charity.”

I’ll round out this chat with one more Biblical verse, that I just found today: “And now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13:13.)

Of course there are other “universal” traits for good living, and I promise to come back to those in future discussions. But as you know I do like to keep each post on the brief side, for everyone’s sake.

(*And for the record, I love “Family Guy” and how Seth McFarlane rarely pulls punches. Maybe I’ll devote a future post to Peter Griffin & Co, especially the show’s hilarious and brazenly insightful takes on religion.)