The Beatitudes
The Teaching
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Commentary
The Greek ‘makarios’, better rendered as ‘deeply satisfied at the soul level’ than merely ‘blessed.’ These are not commandments but observations about the nature of reality.
‘Poor in spirit’ points to kenosis, the emptying of the ego-self, which is the precondition in all mystical traditions. It is Sunyata in Buddhism, Fana in Sufism, the Taoist ‘subtract daily.’
‘The meek shall inherit the earth’ is almost word-for-word the Taoist teaching: the soft and yielding overcomes the hard and strong (Tao Te Ching Ch. 78). The Zoroastrian concept of Asha, the person living in alignment with the cosmic order of truth, produces the same qualities.
Themes
Connections 16
Arose apart
No known transmission between Christianity and Taoism while these teachings took shape. The Church of the East reached Chang’an in 635 and described itself in Taoist and Buddhist terms (Xi’an Stele, 781), long after both took shape.
Travelled
Christianity reached Gnosticism by 100 CE. The same milieu. Irenaeus wrote against the Gnostics (c. 180); the Gospel of Thomas, whose Gnostic character is itself disputed, shares sayings with the Gospels.
Arose apart
No known transmission between Buddhism and Christianity while these teachings took shape. No known exchange while either’s teachings took shape. The Buddha’s life later reached Christian Europe as the legend of Barlaam and Josaphat (10th–11th c.), and a Christian church in Tang China used Buddhist terms (Xi’an Stele, 781).
Unsure
Contact through Persia (the Magi of Matthew 2; the Church of the East under the Sasanians). Zoroastrian influence on Christian end-times, by way of Judaism, is argued.
Arose apart
No known transmission between Hinduism and Christianity while these teachings took shape. Christians lived in Kerala from early centuries, but exchange of ideas begins only with the Jesuits: Akbar’s court debates (from 1580), Roberto de Nobili writing on Hindu doctrine in Tamil (from 1606), then Wilkins’s English Gita (1785), the Upanishads in Latin (1801–02) and Vivekananda (1893). All long after either’s formative teachings.
Travelled
Christianity reached Sufism by 700 CE. Early Muslim ascetics wore wool and learned from Christian monks, and early Sufi literature is full of meetings with them. The extent is argued.
Travelled
Judaism reached Christianity by 30 CE. Christianity began as a movement within Judaism.
Arose apart
No known transmission between Christianity and Taoism while these teachings took shape. The Church of the East reached Chang’an in 635 and described itself in Taoist and Buddhist terms (Xi’an Stele, 781), long after both took shape.
Arose apart
No known transmission between Christianity and Sikhism while these teachings took shape. Contact came under British rule in the 19th century.
Travelled
Christianity reached Sufism by 700 CE. Early Muslim ascetics wore wool and learned from Christian monks, and early Sufi literature is full of meetings with them. The extent is argued.
Unsure
Contact through Persia (the Magi of Matthew 2; the Church of the East under the Sasanians). Zoroastrian influence on Christian end-times, by way of Judaism, is argued.
Arose apart
No known line from Christianity to this scientific work.