160 erik seldeslachts
dhamma).^141 Any comparison with Mdhyamika ideas is anachronistic,
however, for this school probably originated somewhat later than the
time of the Therapeutai (second century AD?). Or, should one consider
here the possibility of in uence in the other direction?
In popular literature attention is sometimes drawn to the name
therapeutaí, which would on the one hand correspond in Greek to the
view of Buddhists of their own activities as a kind of healing (Greek
therapeúein), and on the other hand render the designation theravda
“doctrine of the Elders” for the Hnayna branch of Buddhism (or
theravd for a follower of this branch). Apart from the fact that the rst
meaning of therapeúein is “to do service”, the latter part of the argument
is of course linguistically not very convincing. If there is any truth in
it, it may be that paronymic attraction of therapeúein “to heal; to serve;
to worship” in itself may have been strong enough to replace the sole
element thera “(Buddhist) Elder”.
Mention should be made here of attempts to draw also the sect
of the Essenians into the Buddhist zone of in uence and to consider
them as the transmitters of Buddhist thought to Jesus and emerging
Christianity,^142 but these do not seem to lead to more than the constata-
tion of similarities and probabilities.
Finally, Buddhism also has af nity with several Hellenistic schools
of thought, without there being any clear indication of mutual in u-
ence. With Epicureanism, for example, Buddhism has in common its
stress on spreading to all mankind a salutary message based on ratio-
nal insight, which must lead to “absence of fear”, in particular of the
supernatural.^143 Both share as well the high value attached to actively
helping people in general as well as to “friendship” in particular, though
Buddhism sees this more as a means of putting an end to suffering
rather than as the Epicurean pursuit of pleasure.^144
- Concluding Remarks
When we have a nal look at the circumstances which explain the
limited success of or response to Buddhism in the West, we may keep
in mind the following observations.
(^141) Williams 1989, p. 175.
(^142) E.g., by Dupont-Sommer 1981.
(^143) Warder 1956, pp. 57–58.
(^144) Warder 1956, p. 57.