When Buddha Meets the Beloved
Reflections on the Silent Kinship Between Islam and Buddhism
In an age swollen with noise, division, and spectacle, there is something sacred about the quiet space where two great faiths stand side by side — not to debate or convert, but to recognize. Islam and Buddhism, born worlds apart in landscape and language, seem at odds in their form — yet in essence, they bow to the same flame: the flame that burns away illusion, that calls the soul home.
At a glance, they appear distant cousins.
Islam calls the heart to the One — Allah, the Creator, beyond image, beyond form.
Buddhism leads the seeker inward — toward the cessation of suffering, toward emptiness, anattā, the great release.
But deeper still — beneath theology, beyond doctrine — they meet.
Both speak of the illusion of self.
Both offer a path of discipline, mindfulness, and remembrance.
Both demand humility and presence, as refuge from the craving mind.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,
"Die before you die."
The Buddha taught,
"All conditioned things are impermanent — strive on with diligence."
Can one not hear the same wind blowing through both trees?
The Sufis, mystics of Islam, have always danced on the edge of silence and mystery, where language falters and truth lives. Rumi wrote,
"I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within."
And the Buddha?
"Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace."
These are not merely quotes. They are pointing, fingers toward the same moon — the stillness beneath identity, the groundless ground of being.
Lately, a viral video claimed the name of the Prophet Muhammad was discovered inscribed upon the chest of the Leshan Buddha in China. For a seeker like myself — one who has walked both the dusty path of Islam and the wind-swept hills of the Dharma — such a claim stirs the heart. But the truth does not need archaeological proofs or sensational headlines. It waits, quietly, in the breath.
Let us not force unity where the Divine has already sown harmony.
Let us instead walk with reverence, with curiosity, with bare attention.
Say Allahu Akbar.
Watch the breath.
Bow in gratitude.
Return.
There is room in this universe for many lamps — all lit by the same sacred fire.
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