Equality and Buddha-Nature

Comparing the Bible's equality before God with Buddhism's equality of Buddha-nature (佛性). Exploring how both traditions articulate the fundamental equality of human beings and all existence.

The Equality of Beings

Bible

οὐκ ἔνι Ἰουδαῖος οὐδὲ Ἕλλην, οὐκ ἔνι δοῦλος οὐδὲ ἐλεύθερος, οὐκ ἔνι ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ· πάντες γὰρ ὑμεῖς εἷς ἐστε ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Sutra

一切衆生悉有佛性，一闡提人亦有佛性

“All sentient beings without exception possess Buddha-nature; even the icchantika possesses Buddha-nature.”

Comparison

Paul's declaration and the Nirvana Sutra's teaching both directly negate the structures of discrimination of their respective eras. Paul dismantles social distinctions of ethnicity, class, and gender; the Nirvana Sutra dismantles religious distinctions of practice ability and moral qualification. Christianity grounds equality in standing before God; Buddhism grounds it in the universality of Buddha-nature. Both traditions assert a fundamental equality beneath apparent differences.

Transcending Discrimination

Bible

Ἀδελφοί μου, μὴ ἐν προσωπολημψίαις ἔχετε τὴν πίστιν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς δόξης

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, 'You sit here in a good place,' while you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there,' or 'Sit down at my feet,' have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

Sutra

不捨道法而現凡夫事，是爲宴坐

“Manifesting the affairs of ordinary people without abandoning the Dharma — this is true sitting in stillness.”

Comparison

James's critique of discrimination and the Vimalakirti Sutra's deconstruction of the sacred-ordinary divide both directly challenge hierarchies that have formed within each tradition. James points out that rich-poor discrimination in the church betrays the essence of faith; Vimalakirti shows that the distinctions between ordained and lay, saint and ordinary person, are meaningless before ultimate truth. Both traditions teach that genuine spirituality transcends social and religious rankings.

A Path for All

Bible

ἀνοίξας δὲ Πέτρος τὸ στόμα εἶπεν· ἐπ' ἀληθείας καταλαμβάνομαι ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης ὁ θεός, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει ὁ φοβούμενος αὐτὸν καὶ ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστιν

“So Peter opened his mouth and said: 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.'”

Sutra

十方佛土中，唯有一乘法，無二亦無三，除佛方便說

“Throughout the buddha-lands of the ten directions, there is only the one-vehicle teaching. There is no second or third, except for the Buddha's skillful means.”

Comparison

Peter's conversion and the Lotus Sutra's one-vehicle (一乘) teaching are both turning points within each tradition that proclaim the universality of salvation/liberation. By acknowledging that Gentiles too can receive God's grace, Peter opened the door of the gospel to the whole world; the Lotus Sutra, by revealing that diverse paths of practice ultimately converge in one enlightenment, opened the hope of Buddhahood to all sentient beings. Both traditions declare that there is no such thing as 'unqualified' on the path of truth.