Shakespeare Through Buddhism

Shakespeare and the Buddha may seem to have little in common between them but studying the two together can help coming to an entirely different conclusion. The similarity in the ideas of the two is amazing. The Buddha has dwelt at length on suffering and its cause; also, how it affects man. Shakespeare has shown suffering in his great tragedies and other plays and traces its cause to a flaw in the tragic hero or erring character. The reasons for human suffering are similar in both of them. Similarly, compassion, love, anger, jealousy, friendship, tolerance, contentment, kindness to animals, empathy, charity, mercy, loyalty, intuition, good conduct, the flip side of wealth and power, and nothingness are phenomena that both valued immensely.

This book puts together the ideas of Shakespeare and the Buddha in plays such as The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, King Lear, As You Like It, and The Tempest. What emerges is that the thoughts of these two geniuses merge all the time and one sees that the two great minds think alike.