Abraham and the Buddha

I would like to read Abraham’s story in the light of the Buddha’s teaching, and I would like to understand the Buddha’s teaching in the light of Abraham’s story. I will also sprinkle a bit of Western philosophy. I am not well-educated or deeply researched on any of these topics, and I do not want to say anything offensive. I simply want to scratch an itch of mine. Let’s see how this goes.

Abraham’s story

There are many versions of Abraham’s story, each with different lengths and details. I’m going to tell the story in a way that fits my analysis. Here it goes:

Abraham wants to have a son for a long time and asks God to bless him with one. After many years, and only in his old age, he is finally given his first child.

Some time later, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son to Him. Abraham agrees, and right before he kills his son, God sends him an animal to sacrifice instead.

This is how the story goes when I try to retain its essence.

Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling

This book is special—not because of the story it analyzes, but because of how creatively it approaches the analysis. The book is filled with different interpretations of Abraham’s story. It feels almost like a psychological exploration, attempting to get inside Abraham’s head. While reading it, I found myself pulled into that space as well. It’s a work that definitely deserves another read.

His work brings out the depth and emotional intensity of the narrative, especially when we imagine Abraham as a modern, everyday person facing these choices.

Kierkegaard explains a Middle Eastern story from a Western perspective. Let’s now see how Eastern philosophy might interpret it.

Through the Lens of the Buddha’s Teaching

I’m going to use the Four Noble Truths to interpret Abraham’s story:

  1. The truth of suffering (suffering is part of life).
  2. The truth of its origin (craving and aversion).
  3. The truth of cessation (suffering can end).
  4. The truth of the noble path (the way that leads to liberation).

When Abraham longs to have a son, he experiences the First Truth. He suffers because his desire for a son makes him dissatisfied with his present reality. His mind and heart are occupied by this longing, which becomes his dissatisfaction.

On the apparent level, he suffers because he doesn’t have a son. But if we look deeper, the cause of his suffering isn’t the absence of a son—it’s the presence of craving. Here, he experiences the Second Truth.

Abraham is fortunate that his wish is eventually granted. His craving is satisfied, and his attachment to the idea of having a son becomes an attachment to the son himself.

On the apparent level, this attachment seems to bring him happiness. But does it really? A closer look reveals that his happiness comes with fear—the fear of loss.

The moment of testing comes. Abraham doesn’t lose his son to an accident, he is asked to give him up willingly. Even worse, he is asked to kill him. This is more challenging because his son isn’t taken away by external circumstances; Abraham must confront his own deepest attachment and let it go.

At this point, Abraham is brought back to the First Truth. His mind and heart are unstable again. But this time, the cause of his suffering isn’t craving—it’s aversion. He does not want to do what is expected of him.

Kierkegaard explores at length how difficult this moment is.

Abraham does not succumb to his aversion. He resolves to do what is asked of him. He equanimiously about to sacrifice his son. That is the moment a killing happens. It is not his son, it is not the animal, but it is his attachment. His attachment to his son is sacrificed for the love of his God.

In the first instance, Abraham’s inner world was imbalanced by his desire, and balance was restored by God when He granted Abraham a son. His suffering originated from himself and ended through God’s grace.

In the second instance, Abraham’s inner world was imbalanced by God’s request, and balance was restored by Abraham when he let go of his attachment. Abraham’s suffering originated from him, but this time ended through his own response.

In both cases, Abraham ends up with a son. The external result is the same, but internally, Abraham is transformed. The second Abraham is not the same as the first. The second Abraham experiences the Third Truth by walking the noble path.

Abraham now understands that what is given is arisen by God, and what is taken away is passed away also by God. His source of craving and aversion is transformed. He is no longer guided by them but by his trust on God. By dealing with what is impermanent, he comes to recognize what is permanent.

Many of us live our lives oscillating between the First and Second Truths, only making it halfway through. A few have gone the whole way, turning the complete wheel many times.

Half of the truth is on the surface, apparent to anyone. The other half lies beneath the surface, visible only to some.

closing

To me;

Abraham’s story is the embodiment of the Buddha’s teachings.
The Buddha’s teachings are the principles underlying Abraham’s story.

The Buddha’s teachings are Plato’s ideas, and Plato’s form is Abraham’s story.

Socrates knows that he knows nothing. Abraham knows that his son is not his.

Abraham “kills” a normal man for God.
Nietzsche “kills” God for a supernatural man. Abraham is the Übermensch.

Descartes reaches undisputable certainty by “killing” all his certainties.

They are the same Abrahams at the beginning and end of the story, yet they are also different Abrahams before and after the journey.

They appear in different forms, names, and shapes.
They are all one, and they are all different. They are different colors, but each is a color nevertheless.

The Buddha’s teaching is a class; Abraham’s story is an object. A variable can have many names but only one value.

The second Abraham understands the first, but the first Abraham would not understand the second.

Jesus is killed by the first Abraham. What kills Him is loved by the second Abraham.

What is true is universal; it doesn’t belong to any individual but only individualized.

Tao’s way,
Buddha’s Nirvana,
Abraham’s God,
Socrates’ wisdom,
Plato’s Cave,
Heraclitus’ fire,
Jesus’ sacrifice,
Muhammad’s surrender,
Rumi’s mystical love,
Descartes’ undoubtable certainty,
Nietzsche’s Übermensch.