Transcendentalist and Buddhism

It has often been said that Transcendentalist ideas of those like Emerson and Thoreau are closely related to the philosophy of Buddhism. I have been thinking about this issue for some time now because when I first read Emerson back in high school I did think that it was kind of similar to Buddhism. I have read some of Emerson’s other pieces and now as I am getting reacquainted with him, I’m thinking about this issue once again. On the surface value, the way Emerson writes about nature along with men encourages the idea of unity among the two and how we are all part of one another and depend on each other. This is closely related to the Buddhist concept of inter-being which means that all things are made of one another and part of one another. You can’t have one thing without the other. So if you look at a piece of paper, you have to see the trees that are in it, the water that nourished the trees, the sun, the lumberjack that cut down the tree, the food that feed the lumberjack, and etc., etc. I think makes a good argument about how as humans we can’t separate ourselves from nature and anything else because it is all part of us and we as humans shouldn’t be above anything. Thoreau too speaks on those lines, but with greater appreciation of the wonders of nature and how we are only a small part of the whole picture.

Even the chapters in Emerson’s are reflective of Buddhism ideals like discipline, spirit, and beauty. He explores these issues about human relations to nature and our place among everything. As I’m reading this again now in college, I see that it isn’t as close as I thought. There is a large concentration on soul and spirit where as Buddhist don’t believe in that idea of self. Buddhists are very aware of their place in society and what they are doing that impact the world and causes suffering. With the Transcendentalist, they are just becoming aware of what they are doing and they don’t understand their place with nature and society. Transcendentalists discuss subjects of philosophy, literature, and culture along with other things, but haven’t become fully aware of much yet. They are just starting to pierce the skin of their enlightenment. Emerson and Thoreau might have been ahead of their generation, but they were only just beginning to understand nature and the human’s place.