Both the eight fold path and the ten commandments both serves as guidelines on how to live a pure life. Also to have a completely good life, one can not choose to follow some and ignore others, they go hand in hand.
Answer:It is not all that similar. A better question would be how do the two sets differ. In Buddhism, there is no god to tell people what to do; therefore, there are no commandments. The eightfold path is merely a suggestion. The Buddha taught that if people followed that path, they would be able to become enlightened and no longer need to be reborn.
Just to start, a copy of each:
10 Commandments (Note: There are several versions a general purpose version is used)
- I am the Lord thy God, ... Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long.
- Thou shalt not kill.
- Thou shalt not commit adultery.
- Thou shalt not steal.
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
Eightfold Path (With bit of expansion for each heading)
WISDOM (The Exercise of Judgement)
- Right Understanding - Aspire to better the state of yourself and others
PERSEVERANCE ( Sound Ethical Discipline)
- Right Thought - Think on that which is good
- Right Speech - Be positive, honest, comforting and caring
- Right Action - Exert energy to do what you think is good for all
- Right Livelihood - Use your talents well for the good of humanity
- Right Effort - Do not exert effort in the pursuit of evil
MEDITATION (Concentration and Focus)
- Right Mindfulness - Direct your attention to good & proper things
- Right Concentration - Be caught up in a life of good works and love
The Comparison:- The 10 commandments are based on a deity giving instructions, the Eighfold Path is a list of human activities developed by a human for other humans
- The God specifies obedience and how you are supposed to act towards him, there is no Buddhist equivalent section as Buddhism needs no deity
- Human to God relations are most important in the 10 commandments, at least they come first. Human to human relations take a lower position.
- The 10 Commandments is based on negatives - don't do this or that. The Eightfold Path is positive (Do's) with the exception of a general don't exert yourself to be evil.
- The Eightfold path does not micromanage - specific examples of not being good are not spelled out
- The 10 commandments gives no examples on how to be good except how to be good toward God and your social superiors.. just how not to be bad. The list is limited to five wrong doings. The Eightfold Path offers a wider spectrum of activites through its generality.