Enemies and Resentment

Comparing the Bible's 'love your enemy' with Buddhism's equal treatment of enemy and friend (怨親平等). Both traditions teach transcending hatred toward adversaries, and their methods and foundations invite deep dialogue.

Attitude Toward the Enemy

Bible

Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Sutra

以怨報怨，怨終不滅。以德報怨，怨乃可滅

“Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.”

Comparison

Jesus' 'love your enemies' and the Dhammapada's 'repay hatred with virtue' point in nearly identical ethical directions. The Bible's basis is becoming like the Father in heaven in his perfection (Matthew 5:48); the Buddhist basis is insight into the law of cause and effect. The methods are also similar: Jesus transforms the heart toward enemies through 'prayer,' while the Buddha teaches through compassion practice (慈悲修行).

The Power of Forgiveness

Bible

λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· οὐ λέγω σοι ἕως ἑπτάκις ἀλλὰ ἕως ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά

“Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.'”

Sutra

忍辱仙人被歌利王割截身體，無有嗔恨。何以故？我於爾時，無我相、無人相、無衆生相、無壽者相

“When the ascetic of patience had his body cut by King Kalinga, he had no anger or resentment. Why? Because at that time I had no mark of self, no mark of other, no mark of sentient beings, no mark of a life span.”

Comparison

Jesus' unlimited forgiveness and the ascetic's absolute patience both abolish the limits of forgiveness. For Jesus, the driving force of forgiveness is gratitude for having been forgiven by God first; for the ascetic, the basis of endurance is insight into the emptiness of the self. Both traditions show that forgiveness is not weakness but the greatest strength, and that it is the path liberating not only the other person but oneself from resentment.

Making the Enemy a Friend

Bible

ἀλλὰ ἐὰν πεινᾷ ὁ ἐχθρός σου, ψώμιζε αὐτόν· ἐὰν διψᾷ, πότιζε αὐτόν· τοῦτο γὰρ ποιῶν ἄνθρακας πυρὸς σωρεύσεις ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ

“To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.'”

Sutra

願一切衆生得安樂，願一切衆生離苦難。願一切衆生不失所得安樂，願一切衆生怨親平等

“May all sentient beings find ease and happiness. May all sentient beings be free from suffering and hardship. May all sentient beings not lose the ease and happiness they have found. May all sentient beings treat enemies and friends with equal regard.”

Comparison

Romans' 'do good to your enemy' and the Metta Sutta's 'equal regard for enemy and friend' both teach a practice that transforms adversarial relationships into benevolent ones. The Bible aims at melting the enemy's heart through acts of goodness; the Buddhist text aims at erasing within one's own mind the distinction between resentment and intimacy through compassion meditation. Both traditions are convinced that the path to making an enemy a friend lies not in force but in love and compassion — one of humanity's most exalted spiritual teachings.