There is an organic unity between understanding of precepts and the quality of practice in Buddhism that serves well when learning about Orthodoxy.
Buddhism has always had some form of ‘iconography’.
Buddhists venerate the lives of ascetics, relics and ‘saints’.
Buddhists (at least the Tibetans) have highly complex and developed forms of liturgical practice, including chanting, incense, etc. (e.g. they aren't intimidated by the typicon :-))
Buddhists understand that it is wise not to live for the present life, but to struggle for the future one.
Buddhists understand the value of dispassion and mental stillness.
Thank you for the explanation. All monastics of any religion share similarities. That is why Thomas Merton attended a conference with his Buddhist brothers in Thailand. Unfortunately for Merton, he never took a course in the physics of electricity and electrocuted himself.
With all due respect I cannot for the life of me see any similarities between Buddhism and Xstianity besides these superficial sweeping generalities you list...especially given the respect for Buddhism by the likes of the brain trust of the SS in Nazi Germany who were extremely interested in Vedic- and Buddhist- teachings, in the Lamaist culture, and in Zen-Meditation - Goal? to construct its own nazi religion with elements of these eastern beliefs.
Fr. Seraphim Rose describe Zen Buddhism (which combines the insights of the Buddha with those of Taoism) as 'the highest form of philosophy humanity could attain without Divine revelation.'
The Buddha managed to get an awful lot right, and what's wrong Buddhisms teachings are mainly uncorrected hold-overs from Hindu pagan ideas.
Taoism is curious, in that some of its adherents insist that it isn't a religion, and that one can be a Christian Taoist in the same way one can be a Christian Aristotelian. Indeed the Tao occupies the same place in Chinese thought that the Logos did in Greek thought when St. John was penning his Gospel. Read the Tao te Ching with the thought kept in the corner of one's mind that the Tao is a person: there is only One who fits, and He died on a cross and rose again on the third day.
Fr. Damascene, one of Fr. Seraphim's followers even wrote a book using quotes from the Tao te Ching and Christian Scripture to preach the Gospel.
I don't recall whether it was Fr. Damascene or Fr. Seraphim, who said, 'To Lao Tzu was given the intuition of the self-less absolute, to the Hebrews was given the revelation of the personal absolute.'