David Stewart, Jr.
While there are many significant differences between
the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known
as the Mormon or
Right Understanding
The Bible teaches: “For wisdom is better than rubies;
and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it” (Proverbs
8:11). Solomon wrote: “Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of
transgressors is hard” (Proverbs 13:15).
Studying the Holy Scriptures can help us to gain understanding and grow
closer to God. The Book of Mormon
prophet Nephi states: “the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he
speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding” (2
Nephi 31:3). The Doctrine and Covenants, a book of modern scripture, teaches:
“It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance” (D&C 131:6). It
further notes: “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and
truth” (D&C 93:36).
Right Thought
Thoughts form the foundation of our character. Buddha taught: “Mind is the forerunner of
(all evil) conditions. Mind is chief; and all that we are is mind-made. If a
man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as wheel follows the
foot of the ox that draws the wagon… If
a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow
that never leaves him.”[1]
The Bible teaches: “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he”
(Proverbs 23:7). Christ taught: “those
things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they
defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the
things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man”
(Matthew 15:18-20). The Book of Mormon teaches that God “looketh down upon all
the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart;
for by his hand were they all created from the beginning” (
LDS Prophet David O. McKay declared: "Your
thoughts are the architects of your destiny." The prophet Spencer W. Kimball wrote: "A
man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all
his thoughts." He continued: "How could a person possibly become what
he is not thinking? Nor is any thought, when persistently entertained, too
small to have its effect. The 'divinity that shapes our ends' is indeed
ourselves.”[2] The Christian mathematician Blaise Pascal
wrote: "All our dignity consists then in thought. By it we must elevate
ourselves, and not by space and time, which we cannot fill. Let us endeavor
then to think well; this is the principle of morality."[3] Buddha taught: “Him I call indeed a
Brahman who does no evil through body, speech, or mind, and is restrained in
these three respects.”[4]
The Book of Mormon teaches the importance of right thought, right speech, and
right action: “if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your
words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the
faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the
end of your lives, ye must perish” (Mosiah 4:30).
Right Speech
Buddha taught that right speech consists in abstaining
from musavada (lying), pisunavaca (slandering), pharusavaca (harsh speech), and
samphappalapa (frivolous talk). He taught, “The liar goes to hell; also he who
having done a thing says, ‘I have not done it.’ After death both are equal,
they are men with evil deeds in the next world.”[5] “Thou shalt not bear false witness against
thy neighbour” is one of the ten commandments (Exodus 20:16). The Lord further commands: “Thou shalt not
raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous
witness” (Exodus 23:1). Jesus taught, “every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). Christ
further declared: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth
forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart
bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth
speaketh” (Luke 6:45). In a book of modern revelation called the Doctrine and
Covenants, the Lord admonishes to “clothe [oneself] with charity; and cease to
do evil, and lay aside all [one’s] hard speeches” (D&C 124:116). He further commands us to “cease from all
your light speeches and light-mindedness” (D&C 88:121).
Right Action
Buddha taught that right action includes abstinence
form panatipata (killing), adinnadana (stealing), and kamesu or micchacara
(sexual misconduct). Similarly, murder,
theft, and adultery are condemned in the Ten Commandments of the Bible. King Solomon wrote: “But whoso committeth
adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his
own soul” (Proverbs 6:32). The apostle
Paul taught, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
Right action includes kusalakamma, or wholesome deeds;
mettâ, or loving kindness; karunâ, or compassion; mudita, or sympathetic joy;
and câga, or generosity. As a tenet of
faith, Latter-day Saints declare: “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of
good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Article of Faith 13).
The prophet Moroni writes: “charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth
not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh
no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (Moroni
7:45). Of good deeds towards our fellow-men, the
Psalmist of the Bible writes: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor:
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and
keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth” (Psalms 41:1-2).
The Dharmapada states: “Careful in speech, controlled
in body, aware of the workings of the mind; patient under insult, never angry;
this is the path of great progress.”[6] In the Book of Mormon, Christ teaches: “he
that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is
the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with
anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29).
Right Livelihood
Buddhists and Latter-day Saints believe that one’s
livelihood must be honorable. For Buddhists, “the right livelihood means
abstaining from a livelihood that brings harm to other beings, such as trading
in arms, living beings [slavery and prostitution], intoxicating drinks and
poison as well as slaughtering, fishing, soldiering, deceit, treachery,
soothsaying, trickery, etc.” LDS Prophet Spencer W. Kimball stated, "I
feel strongly that men who accept wages or salary and do not give . . . [fair]
time, energy, devotion, and service are receiving money that is not
clean." President Kimball also noted that “money obtained by evil or idle
practices, such as theft, gambling (including lotteries), graft, illegal drugs,
oppression of the poor, and the like is unclean money.[7]”
He further taught: “Clean money is that [pay] received for a full day's honest
work. It is that reasonable pay for faithful service. It is that fair profit
from the sale of goods, commodities, or service. It is that income received
from transactions where all parties profit. Filthy lucre is …money…obtained
through theft and robbery,…gambling,…sinful operations,…bribery, and from
exploitation."[8] Modern scripture condemns slavery and
exploitation of any sort: “it is not right that any man should be in bondage
one to another” (D&C 101:79).
Right Effort
Buddists define right effort as Ńyânâtiloka, or
"the effort of avoiding or overcoming evil and unwholesome things, and of
developing and maintaining wholesome things." Right effort is important to
developing the character and the state of mind from which other virtues
flow. Jesus taught, "Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled"
(Matthew 5.6). The Apostle Paul declared that “God is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Nikita Ivanovich Panin wrote: “Two men
please God -- who serves Him with all his heart because he knows him; who seeks
Him with all his heart because he knows Him not."
Wrong passons and desires can make us slaves. Buddha
taught: “From lust comes grief, from lust comes fear; he who is free from lust
neither sorrows nor fears.”[9] He also wrote: “Men, entwined in craving, are
terrified like the bound hare. Held fast by fetters and bonds they undergo
sorrow again and again.”[10]
It is important for us to purify ourselves of unrighteous desires and replace
them with good desires. In the Book of
Mormon, the Lord states: “I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their
works, according to the desire of their hearts” (D&C 137:9). It is
important not only for us to do the right actions, but to do them sincerely and
for the right reasons. The Lord teaches
that if one “offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it
with real intent it profiteth him nothing” (
Jesus taught that the first and great commandment is
to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37-38). Our work is to keep God’s commandments
with all of our might, mind, and strength (D&C 11:20). Achieving harmony and obeying God requires
effort. The Lord tells us to “Neither be idle but labor with your might” (D&C
75:3). We are commanded to “labor diligently” (
Right Awareness
Buddhists and Mormons both believe in the importance
of proper understanding and awareness in our worship. Jesus taught the importance of right
awareness, stating: “we know what we worship…the hour cometh, and now is, when
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the
Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:22-23). To the Greeks who did not know what they worshipped,
the Apostle Paul proclaimed: “[God] hath made of one blood all nations of men
for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before
appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord,
if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from
every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain
also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring”
(Acts17:27-28). He continues: “And the
times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to
repent” (Acts 17:30). In the Doctrine
and Covenants, the Lord states: “Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord,
that is not made in my name? Or will I receive at your hands that which I have
not appointed?” (D&C 132:9-10). He
further declares: “Wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the
same is accepted of me if he obey mine ordinances” (D&C 52:15). Through right awareness, we can be sure that
our actions are acceptable to God and will lead us to harmony.
Right Meditation
Right meditation can help us to purify ourselves and
achieve harmony. Budda taught: “Not to
do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one's mind—this is the advice of the
Buddhas.”[11]
Latter-day Saints are counseled to study, mediate, and “feast upon the word of
Christ” (2 Nephi 32:3). We are
commanded: "Treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and
it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto
every man" (D&C 84:85). LDS Prophet Joseph Smith taught: "The
things of God are of great import; and time, and experience, and careful, and
ponderous, and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, oh man, if
thou wilt lead a man unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost
heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad
expanses of eternity; thou must commune with God!" Latter-day Saints find great meaning in
prayer, study, and meditation, as properly directed prayer and meditation can
help us to achieve inner peace and to better serve our fellow man.
Differences between Mormons and Buddhists
A Supreme Being
Latter-day Saints recognize God, the Supreme Being, as
the source of knowledge, truth, and justice.
The Bible teaches:“there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the
Almighty giveth them understanding” (Job 32:8). God “has all power, all wisdom,
and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being,
even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name” (
Jesus Christ
Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus was not just
another prophet: He was unique, the literal son of God. Jesus alone had power over death. Christ’s atonement paid the penalty for the
misdeeds of those who turn to God with their whole hearts and obey God’s
laws. Obedience to God’s laws is
necessary for us to achieve a state of eternal harmony.
The Church
Latter-day Saints believe that God established His Church, an organization led by disciples called by God and given authority to teach God’s word and act in God’s name. In the church, we have opportunities for mutual support, learning, and service that would not be possible for individuals meditating alone. The Church is necessary to help us to fully live the eightfold path and to achieve inner harmony and peace in this life and in the coming world. The Book of Mormon teacher King Benjamin teaches: “I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness” (Mosiah 2:41). Achieving this happiness and harmony and helping others receive harmony also is the purpose of our lives.
[1] Dharmapada 127-128,
1-2.
[2] Kimball, Spencer W. The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 103-105.
[3] Pascal, Blaise. Pascal’s Penses, number 347.
[4] Dharmapada 262
(391).
[5] Dharmapada 187
(306).
[6] Dharmapada, cited in Hsing Yun, p. 7.
[7] Kimball, Spencer W. As
cited in Gospel Principles, chapter 27.
[8] Kimball, Spencer W. LDS Conference Report, Oct. 1953, p. 52.
[9] Dharmapada 37 (215).
[10] Dharmapada 41
(342).
[11] Dharmapada 244
(183).