Il principe Siddhārtha e Francesco d’Assisi

Un esercizio in teologia comparata

Abstract

The words of Pope Francis, who in his recent trip to Myanmar, compared some verses of the Dhammapada to a passage of the pseudo-franciscan Simple Prayer, give the opportunity to construct a broader comparison between two key figures of world spirituality; Buddha Siddhārtha and Saint Francis of Assisi, especially in relation to the practice of compassion. Comparative
theology, a discipline widely practiced in the english speaking world, essentially moves by juxtaposing the religious texts which show the slightest similarity as a means to reaching, by a homologous and contrasting manner, a deeper intellectus fidei.