"The Buddhist, ... who in his conviction that every good deed can by no possibility escape its reward, ... is a Transcendentalist."

“For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was the preeminent leader of the 19th Century American Transcendentalist philosophical movement which held many tenants in common with Buddhist thought. For example, Emerson’s dedication to compassion, reincarnation, interconnectedness, karma, and development of the individual are all core Buddhist concepts.

Emerson’s concept of “flux” is synonymous with Buddha’s universal truth of continuous change (arising from the law of cause and effect). “Everything changes, nothing remains without change.” Buddha famously said.  Similarly, Emerson held the universe is fundamentally in flux and “Permanence is but a word of degrees.” Both philosophies agree that all things exist in a ceaseless flow of change, what Emerson calls “interminable oceans.”  This is why Emerson suggested, “The quality of the imagination is to flow and not to freeze.”

Emerson calls “development” the central purpose of human existence. He praises the necessity of “the never-ending task of self improvement.” He praised reason and divided it into perception, insight, recognition, and cognition. Emerson writes, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.” Likewise Buddha offered, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.” 

His concept of “unity” seems interchangable with the Buddhist idea of interconnectedness. In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson writes of “the resolution of all into the ever-blessed ONE” which suggests the reality of an ultimate metaphysical unity. Further, he states “Man is a piece of the universe made alive.” and “A man is related to all nature.” Of course the Buddha taught that the nature of reality is impermanent and interconnected.

Quotes like, “Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence” suggest Emerson may have held some belief in reincarnation.

Furthermore, his belief in the infallibility of apt reward and punishment is identical to karma. Buddha explains that karma is not an illusion and that we are responsible for our actions. “You cannot do wrong without suffering wrong” says Emerson. Even more tellingly he states, “Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed.” Also, to those who are paying attention, “Life is a perpetual instruction in cause and effect.”

Emerson’s dedication to the compassionate life is shared with the Buddha. Emerson writes, “Give all to love; obey thy heart” and “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”  

The Buddha taught that compassion is not merely virtuous, but that it is essential to enlightenment. Transcendentalists dedication to nonviolence is also central to Buddhism. Emerson writes, “The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.”

The quotation,“Patience and fortitude conquer all things” shows the necessary attitudes for renunciation of the violent churnings of the material world. Indeed, he describes the onset of enlightenment, “There is a time when a man distinguishes the idea of felicity from the idea of wealth; it is the beginning of wisdom.”

Emerson issues the following warning about materialism and the ownership of material things, “A man builds a fine house; and now he has a master, and a task for life: he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair, the rest of his days.” Perhaps this is why Emerson presents the admonition, “Money often costs too much.” Rather, upon deeper examination one must come to the conclusion, “The first wealth is health.” He concludes his argument, “The greatest man in history was the poorest.”

Emerson shows his appreciation of the beginner’s mind, “To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child.”

“Shoshin” or beginner’s mind is an attitude of childlike awareness without preconceptions, of openness and eagerness when looking at the world or studying a subject. In the essay, Nature, he writes, “If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.”

Like the Buddha, he also expresses his desire to exhibit “right mindfulness.” Right mindfulness is awareness of one’s body, senses, thoughts, and surroundings and is also known as “being fully present.” He writes, “With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.” Similarly, Buddha offered, “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

Furthermore, Emerson is also very clear in his appreciation of  Zen simplicity: “To be simple is to be great.” He elucidates further,“We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts; which exactly answers its end; which stands related to all things; which is the mean of many extremes.”

Like the Dalai Lama, Emerson writes of religion in the simplest of terms, “Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble.” Similarly the Dalai Lama offers, “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” In conclusion, many concepts, basic to Transcendentalism, are also key to the philosophy of Buddhism. This is what led him to state, “The Buddhist, … who in his conviction that every good deed can by no possibility escape its reward, … is a Transcendentalist.”