Was Plato a Buddhist? 


I recently finished writing an essay (which can be found here if you're interested) analysing the nature and meaning of happiness in Plato's Republic. In it I argued that the form of happiness Plato describes has more in common with the Buddhist idea of enlightenment than it does with conventional pleasure or happiness, which is seen as a poor image or shadow of the real thing. (The real thing being true inner harmony and balance achieved through the practice of justice and a form of philosophical meditation). Although I may have overplayed the resemblance, it is an interesting question as to whether Plato and other Greek thinkers before and after him were influenced by the spiritual teachings of the East, or whether they reached the same conclusions independently through their own efforts. 

There are certainly many parallels between Plato's philosophy and ancient Buddhist teachings, including an emphasis upon inner harmony as the means to enlightenment, a dismissal of the everyday causal world as impermanent and illusory, meditation on the eternal and pure essence of things (Plato's so-called 'forms') as a means to increasing wisdom and awareness, as well as a belief in the immortal soul and reincarnation (the Myth of Er). Plato's own teacher, Socrates, was also known to lapse into deep meditative trances from which he could not be roused for hours or even days at a time.

Given that Siddhartha Guatama, the most recent Buddha, was born several hundred years before Plato, it is not inconceivable that both Plato and his contemporaries had access to (or at least anecdotal evidence of) his teachings. Such teachings also form part of a long spiritual tradition, reaching back into antiquity, which Socrates and Plato would have undoubtedly been aware of. In many ways, Plato's Republic seems to be an attempt to explain such ideas through logical deduction and analysis, rather than relying upon the purely subjective personal experience that forms a large part of the Buddhist method. However, I can't help feeling that this is not how Plato himself actually reached his conclusions, as his arguments seem more of a temporary scaffolding surrounding the ideas than the solid foundation upon which they are built. He appears to be trying to relate in words, stories and analogies what amounts to a mystical vision, and in such a way that it will create a similar experience in the minds of those reading it. Indeed, his stated aim is literally 'enlightenment': the turning of the individual towards the light of knowledge, wisdom and good, which is seen as the ultimate source of all human understanding. (The good 'lights up' the intelligible universe in the same way that the sun lights up the physical one.)

Personally, I find that while many of Plato's arguments are unconvincing when taken by themselves, his basic message is fairly sound and very much in tune with what I know of Buddhist teachings. Where Buddha appeals to inner knowledge and personal experience, Plato appeals to the power of the intellect to distinguish truth from falsehood. Where Buddha emphasises the importance of the spiritual path for liberation from suffering, Plato emphasises the practical requirements for good government and individual morality. However, to large extent both appear to be singing from the same hymn sheet, and I can't help thinking that there is a much deeper connection between the two than is generally appreciated. 

Posted on Saturday - January 08, 2005 at 06:12 PM            

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