Are There Any Links Between the Epistle of James and Buddhism? An Examination of James 3:6

Abstract

James contains about sixty-three words or phrases that do not occur elsewhere in the Bible, including ‘cycle of nature’/‘wheel of birth’ (3:6). The majority of scholars have thought this comes from Orphicism. Given the place of the Wheel of Life in Buddhism, this article examines the possibility that it was Buddhism which influenced the writer.