[Buddha-l] a meaningful coincidence?

[Michael Attwood]

I recently found, quite serrendipitously, a parallel between the 
Suttanipatta and the Bhagavadgita, and I'm wondering what to make of it. In 
the the Sela Sutta (Sn 548 ff, pg 64 ff in Saddhatissa's translation) the 
Buddha gives a little after dinner discourse for some Brahmins who have 
provided a meal. Lord Krishna gives a longer list, but of a similar kind of 
comparison in the BG. Here are three of the parallels

Sn (569) Amongst burning objects the sun is principle
BG (X.21) I am the radiant sun among the luminaries

Sn (569) Amongst planets the moon is principle.
BG (X.21) I am the moon among the stars.

Sn (568) Amongst rivers, the sea is principle.
BG (X.24) I am the ocean among the bodies of water.

Is this a meaningful coincidence I wonder? Does one text preceed the other 
do you think, ie is one text quoting the other? Dates for the BG seem to 
vary wildly from source to source - is there a definitive date for it?

Would anyone care to comment on Sn 568-9 in general. I look at them and see 
resonances with Upanishadic verses, but have not being able to locate 
anything like it in the Brihadaranyaka or Chandogya. Might it be a reference 
to a Vedic verse? I know of times when the Buddha of the Pali Canon quotes, 
or at least paraphrases or parodies the BU, but does he ever quote from the 
Vedic Samhitas?

Thanks
Jayarava (aka Michael Attwood)

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