The Tale about King Solomon and Ashmedai
The tale about King Solomon and
Ashmedai contains many layers and ideas, it is not just an ancient
fable, but actually a story about human pride, delusions, and the
nature and cause of suffering in a manner that is very similar to
Buddhism.
Facing Challenge
It tells the tale of king Solomon who was ordered by God to build the
temple in Jerusalem.
Since it was forbidden to use iron tools in the building process,
because this metal was used for weaponry and the temple was a sacred
place of peace, not a monument for violence or hatred, he was forced to
find a way to carve and chisel the huge stones. After he consulted with
the elders and the wise he was told that there is a
magical substance/creature -The Shamir
that can carve these stones. In order to find the shamir they
tell him to capture a male and female demons and ask them where it can
be found. So our protagonist king does exactly as he was told and
captures two demons. However the demons tell him that they don’t
know where the Shamir is and that their
king Ashmedai is the only one who possesses
this knowledge.
Capture Ashmedai
King Solomon commands his trusted minister
Benayahu Ben Yehoyada to
capture Ashmedai giving him a chain
on which was graven the Divine Name and a ring on which was graven the
Name. eventually benayahu tricks ashmedai and captures him, and the
story describes their journey, where Ashmedai takes different symbolic
actions that have philosophical meaning and understanding of the human
mind and the delusions and folly of the human being.
During their journey, he saw a
blind
man straying from his way and he put him on the right path. He
saw a
drunken man losing his way
and he put him on his path. He saw a
wedding
procession making its way merrily and he wept. He heard a man
say to a shoemaker,
make me a pair of
shoes that will last seven years, and he laughed. He saw a
diviner practising divinations and he laughed.
Ashmedai Brought to Solomon
When they reached Jerusalem he was not taken to see Solomon for three
days. On the first day he asked, why does the king not want to see me?
They replied, because
he has
overdrunk himself. So he took a brick and placed it on top of
another. When they reported this to Solomon he said to them, what he
meant to tell you was, give him more to drink. On the next day he said
to them, why does the king not want to see me? They replied, Because
he has over-eaten himself. He
thereupon took one brick from off the other and placed it on the
ground. When they reported this to Solomon, he said, he meant to tell
you to keep food away from me. After three days he went in to see him.
He took a reed and
measured four cubits and threw it in front of him, saying, see now,
when you die you will have no more than four cubits in this world. Now,
however, you have subdued the whole world, yet you are not satisfied
till you subdue me too. These actions have significance that is
similar to the teachings of the Buddha.
When Benayahu asks him to explain his actions ,heת Benayahu said to
Ashmedai, why when you saw that blind man going out of his way did you
put him right? He replied: It has been proclaimed of him in heaven that
he is a wholly righteous man, and that whoever does him a kindness will
be worthy of the future world. And why when you saw the drunken man
going out of his way did you put him right? He replied, They have
proclaimed concerning him in heaven that he is wholly wicked, and I
conferred a boon on him in order that he may consume his share [in the
future] - (which is a similar idea to the one of karma.) Why when
you saw the wedding procession did you weep? He said: The husband will
die within thirty days, and she will have to wait for the
brother-in-law who is still a child of thirteen years. Why, when you
heard a man say to the shoemaker, make me shoes to last seven years,
did you laugh? He replied: That man has not seven days to live, and he
wants shoes for seven years! Why when you saw that diviner divining did
you laugh? He said: He was sitting on a royal treasure: he should have
divined what was beneath him.
Hidden Buddhist Ideas behind the Tale
In that way Ashmedai shares with him the
delusional true
nature of the World of Phenomenon. He shows him the
concept of
impermanence, change, karma, attachment to things which cause
suffering, human ignorance, and even teaches king Solomon a
lesson when eventually he uses the king’s hunger for power and
wisdom and tricks him, captures the King’s signet ring with the
sacred name, wears his own image and sits on his throne for seven
years, while the king roams the land as a beggar and during that time
he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes which deals with similar concepts and
most of you are probably familiar with this book because of the
classic Byrds cover of Pete Seeger’s song “Turn! Turn!
Turn!”.
The ancient tale of King Solomon and Ashmedai - The King of Demons was
written in The Babylonian Talmud which was edited in the 5 century. I
only read the tale as a child in a short modern version, so when I
finally read the story that was written in Aramaic I was reminded of a
strange story that took place some fifteen years ago.
About the Author
David Weitzman
The jewelry artist David Weitzman combines ancient and sacred knowledge into a unique line of jewelry designed to bring people both beauty and inspiration. David's artwork harnesses the power of spiritual symbols and sacred geometry from around the world to bring those wearing this sacred jewelry happiness, vitality, excitement, and love.
