Socrates

Is Socrates a Buddhist?

Socrates was not a Buddhist of his era. There has always been a comparison between the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama and Socrates because each of these individuals had similar dialectic. Both Siddhartha's and Socrates' philosophies consisted of exchanging arguments and counter-arguments respectively advocating their theses and antitheses. Therefore many would question whether Socrates was Buddhist even though these two individuals were from different eras. However Socrates is not a Buddhist for many reasons. Some of these reasons include: that the Buddha is categorized as a salesman and Socrates is categorized as a maven, and the Buddha claims to be enlightened while Socrates claims to know nothing.

In Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, Gladwell gave specific titles to individuals who demonstrate their knowledge in certain ways. These titles included mavens, salesmen, and connectors. The two titles which apply to the Buddha and Socrates are maven and salesman. Gladwell defines a maven in his novel:

To be a Maven is to be a teacher. But it is also, but it is also more emphatically, to be a student. Mavens are really information brokers, sharing and trading what they know. For a social epidemic to start, though, some people are actually going to have to be persuaded to do something. (69)

The title of maven best fits Socrates. In The Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato, Socrates is constantly engaging in conversation with someone claiming to be an expert, in this case, Euthyphro. By questioning Euthyphro, Socrates would gradually reveal that the interlocutor was in fact very confused and did not know anything on about the matter which he spoke to be an expert. Socrates used dialogue and inquiry of others in his quest for wisdom.

In comparison to Socrates, the Buddha is given the title of salesman, based on the way he presents his knowledge. Gladwell defines a salesman in his novel: "There is also a select group of people-Salesmen-with the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing, and they are as critical to the tipping of word-of-mouth epidemics as the other two groups" (70). This title best fits Siddhartha Gautama because after his enlightenment, he pondered how he could persuade others to believe in his discovery. He wanted true happiness and peace for everyone. In The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha by E.A. Burtt, Burtt describes how the Buddha persuaded others:

His friendliness to all who came to him in sincere search, was genuine and unreserved. He therefore aroused in his followers a wondering, eager, affectionate devotion such as only the greatest leaders of men have awakened. On the other hand, he was a thinker, of unexcelled philosophical power. His was one of the giant intellects of human history, exhibiting keenness of analytic understanding that has rarely been equaled. (22)

Burtt's description perfectly portrays the Buddha as a salesman because he would persuade others to follow his beliefs, which he stated would ultimately lead to nirvana. The difference in a maven versus a salesman will remain one of the significant differences between the Buddha and Socrates. However the Buddha and Socrates both engaged differently in their teachings of their own knowledge.

Socrates and Siddhartha Gautama each had different methods of gaining their own knowledge. The Buddha went into isolation for seven years looking for the answers and meaning of life. Through meditation and isolation under a spreading tree in the wilderness, Siddhartha found the enlightenment. The Buddha then decided to leave his isolation in order to teach and persuade others to believe in his discovery. After his enlightenment, the Buddha shared his knowledge with five holy men. These men understood immediately and became his disciples. From there on the Buddha and these men traveled from city to city spreading and preaching the teachings of the Buddha, the Dharma. Their compassion knew no