Spinoza's Philosophy and Buddhism – Was Spinoza a Buddhist?

A casual remark from someone 'Let the Thai Spinoza arise…..' made me suddenly realize that Spinoza's philosophy and Buddhism have many similarities. I thought I had made an earth-shattering discovery (an illusion I often have) but after some further reading I saw that many before me had already pointed out the close connection between the two worlds of thought.

There are twenty centuries between the Buddha and Spinoza. According to the latest historical research, the Buddha ('the Enlightened One', his name was Siddhartha Gautama) lived between 563 and 483 BC. but a hundred years later date is also mentioned. If I mention elements of Buddhist philosophy below, these are the foundations that are accepted by most Buddhist sects.

As the Buddha opposed his early Hindu environment, so did Spinoza with regard to Christianity and parts of Greek philosophy. Both were true revolutionaries of the mind.

Baruch Spinoza lived from 1632 to 1677. 'Baruch' means 'the Blessed One' as 'Barack' in Barack Obama. He was a second generation immigrant. His father, a Sephardic Jew, whose ancestors had been expelled from Spain around 1500, traveled from Portugal to Amsterdam where he started a fruit trade. At the age of twenty-three, Spinoza was already anathematized by the Jewish Synagogue. After that he would grind his lenses, think and write in The Hague and surroundings, in upstairs and attic rooms and in relative solitude. Only after his death was his most important work, the 'Ethica' in Latin and Dutch published in Amsterdam.

I am just an interested amateur in the philosophical field and am open to criticism.

Spinoza: Deus sive Natura

Good or Nature, that is what Spinoza is all about. Not 'nature' as we now understand it, the trees, flowers and beasts, but all that exists, an infinite being in time and space, which consists of an infinite number of attributes of which we know only two: matter and spirit, which incidentally run parallel. performance.

It is the entire universe or cosmos. Above and beyond this God there is nothing. It is not a personal God, but a substance with its own necessary and unchanging laws.

Nothing in this nature has a purpose. Everything is connected in an infinite chain of causes and effects. Everything is connected. This also applies to humans. Spinoza therefore denies free will. We often think we have a choice, but in reality we are driven by both our physical and mental state. As Spinoza said, “We do not desire something because it is good, but we call it good because we desire it.” Desire comes first, then we call it good, and then we say we choose it of our own free will.

Because everything proceeds according to necessary laws, Nature has no purpose. A rose is not red to attract bees, but it is red and therefore attracts bees. That seems like sophism, but it is also important for the way we approach life. Our existence in itself has no purpose ('What are we on earth for?') although we can develop goals for ourselves within it.

Everything in nature is aimed at self-preservation and can only be changed by something stronger. This also applies to people. Man is not outside or above nature, but is a part of it, subject to the same laws.

Spinoza adds, however, that a sense of community and caring for others are indeed necessary for our self-preservation because we can only exist in a just community. He believes that democracy is the best form of government, but women are not allowed to participate because, he claims, women are judged by their beauty and not by their intelligence...

Buddhism

Buddhism in itself is not so much a philosophy as a healing method. The Buddha is actually a doctor who is less interested in metaphysical problems than in healing the suffering of the people. That suffering, the imperfection and transience of everything that exists, is ultimately an immutable law that we must accept. That knowledge only brings peace and happiness. It is necessary for us to leave all kinds of illusions behind us. The illusion of fame and fortune, of revenge and resentment and of hatred and jealousy. Ignorance is the core of suffering.

The underlying philosophy of Buddhism: the Dharma

Buddhism is therefore a healing method. But just as a doctor must have medicine as a science behind him, Buddhism needs a philosophical system to substantiate its claim to healing. That foundation is called the dharma. It is both a vision of reality and the teaching that results from it. In everyday Buddhist speech, the dhamma usually refers to the teaching, but hereinafter I will only talk about the dharma as a view of reality.

The concept of dharma is originally a Hindu concept, centuries older than Buddhism. In the course of all this time it has been subject to many interpretations. I am describing here the core as it is accepted by most Buddhist sects.

The dharma is the entire cosmic order and law. There is nothing outside this reality. Everything is subject to this order and laws. Everything is dependent on each other and only exists with the notion of cause and effect. This also applies to us humans, both to our physical and mental condition. For example, thoughts and feelings often arise in our body, but are experienced as spiritual. Buddhism recognizes the intimate entanglement of body and mind, of matter and spirit. They cannot be thought of separately, a thought that appeals to me as a doctor. There is also no distinction between mind and feeling, the Sanskrit word City (in Thai chit) is the unity of heart and mind.

Dharma also describes how people should treat each other, although opinions differ on this.

Buddhism denies an independent and definite 'self'

A central truth in Buddhism is the denial of an independent, definite self, an identity fixed forever unaffected by the environment. I'm not going to get into the connection that can be made between a "self" and reincarnation and Nirvana. Spinoza does not write explicitly about the 'self', but from his thoughts it can be deduced that the 'self' is also subject to external influences and is therefore changeable. The 'self' is also part of the greater whole and cannot be separated from it. A sharp division between our 'own' and the 'other' is therefore not possible. Everything depends on each other. And the 'self', moreover, is not only spiritual, but a unity of body and mind, which go together, says Spinoza and says Buddhism.

Short summary of the similarities between Spinoza and Buddhism

They both describe the unity of this world. We must know and accept the laws that underlie this world. We must learn to distinguish between reality and illusion. Compassion (called 'mêtta karunaa' in Buddhism) is an attitude necessary for understanding reality. Both see no problem in striving for happiness and peace, the only desire allowed by the Buddha.

The Differences Between Spinoza and Buddhism

There are too. Buddhism emphasizes more the letting go of individuality and the 'self' and sees the letting go of desires as an absolute starting point of liberation from suffering. Spinoza wants to moderate desires and not to renounce them completely. Perhaps Buddhism's compassion is more passive and Spinoza's more active.

How did Spinoza and the Buddha arrive at their philosophy?

Also there in a nice parallel. The story of the Buddha is well known: a moment outside the palace with his luxurious and hedonistic life, he was confronted with old age, illness and death. He knew no rest until he thought he had found out the truth. Spinoza, in one of his letters, writes the same about his mental state: 'I saw that I was in great danger and had to do everything I could to find a remedy, however uncertain. Like a sick person facing death does everything he can to find a remedy, however uncertain, because therein lies his only hope.'

For both, only an austere life leads to the truth and they put that into practice. But does that mean foregoing ordinary enjoyment and fun? No. The Buddha advocates the Middle Way. He came to that understanding after mortification yielded no understanding and he accepted a bowl of rice from a girl when he hovered on the brink of death. The Buddha regularly spoke about a good meal, a pleasant meeting and the beauty of nature. Spinoza also says in the same vein: 'Keep away from sorrow and focus on joy. You can never be happy enough'.

Both philosophies emphasize the way out of suffering, not only of ourselves but of all. This is not possible without the knowledge of the laws of Nature. Armed with that knowledge, we are free and happy.

Does that come to us? No. Spinoza decides his Ethics with 'Everything excellent is as rare as it is difficult'. The Buddha might agree.