Whose Proverbs Covered a Broader Range of Topics: Buddha or Solomon? (What About Power?)



Let's look at some topics on which the Buddha was silent, or nearly so. Of the 423 proverbs of the Buddha, the following ones pertain to power:
    The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength. (Dhammapada 5)

    These wise people, meditative, steady, always possessed of strong powers, attain to Nirvana, the highest happiness. (Dhammapada 23)

    He who always greets and constantly reveres the aged, four things will increase to him, viz. life, beauty, happiness, power. (Dhammapada 109)

    The swans go on the path of the sun, they go through the ether by means of their miraculous power; the wise are led out of this world, when they have conquered Mara and his train. (Dhammapada 175)
The Buddha equates wisdom, self control, and kindness with power and strength.

Consider these proverbs of Solomon:
    Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. (Proverbs 3:27, NIV)


    Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing. (Proverbs 11:7, NIV)


    When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding. (Proverbs 28:12, NIV)

    When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive. (Proverbs 28:28, NIV)
And these passages from Ecclesiastes:


    Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city. (Ecclesiastes 7:19, NIV)

    As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. (Ecclesiastes 8:8, NIV)
Solomon also equates wisdom and kindness with power. He contrasts the results of the wise versus the wicked being in power. He describes the power of the tongue for good or evil, and over life or death, and the power of wickedness over those who practice it.

The Buddha took one view of power, whereas Solomon takes a broader perspective about it.

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