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The Hindu
2 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Review of The Buddha's Path to Awakening
The increasing popularity of Buddhism among people who identify themselves as spiritual but not religious has led to a watering down of the life story of the Buddha. The rich narrative literature in Pali that chronicles Siddhattha Gotama's path to awakening does not restrict itself to a single lifetime simply because, according to the Buddhist worldview, it takes countless lifetimes to attain enlightenment. Ideas of karma and rebirth are deeply woven into the fabric of early Buddhism. While these seem problematic to contemporary audiences given the implications for social justice, it is also true that discarding these robs us of the truths contained in the language of myth, miracle and metaphor. The Buddha's Path to Awakening, translated by Sarah Shaw from the Jatakanidana in Pali, is a commentary on the 547 birth stories known as the Jatakas, which underwent numerous adaptations in the centuries after the historical Buddha's lifetime. Composed by an anonymous monk in the 5th or 6th century CE in the region known as present-day Sri Lanka, this text is significant to seekers and scholars alike because it preserves the oral traditions that have emerged and accumulated around the Bodhisatta, a title that is used to refer to a person who takes a vow to attain Buddhahood after which there is no rebirth. This is not a selfish aspiration. It stems from the motivation to be free of suffering in order to help free others. Freedom of enlightenment According to ancient Buddhist lore, there were several Buddhas before the historical Buddha aka Siddhattha Gotama known to contemporary readers. One of them was Dipankara. During his time, Bodhisatta Sumedha took this vow: 'I will fulfil the ten perfections, and a hundred thousand eons and four incalculable epochs from now, I will become a Buddha!' The story of the historical Buddha, who was born in Lumbini and got enlightened in Gaya, goes back to Sumedha who cultivated the perfections of generosity, virtue, renunciation, wisdom, heroic strength, forbearance, truthfulness, resolve, loving kindness, and equanimity over numerous lifetimes. With this book, Shaw, a faculty member in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford, has produced a translation that makes the Jatakanidana accessible to people who have no knowledge of Pali but a strong wish to understand and even emulate the Buddha's path. As she notes, 'The taking of the Bodhisatta vow, the key event near the outset of this work, is not simply a narrative linking device. It also serves as a gateway, or an opening, for a heroic search that can be undertaken by anyone.' Oddly, she does not comment on how this seems inconsistent with the Bodhisatta's pronouncement that 'Buddhas are not born in a Vaishya or a Sudra family but come from a Kshatriya or a Brahman family — whichever people think is superior at the time'. This inconsistency makes one wonder if the text that 'dates to... centuries after the formation of the Pali canon' was corrupted by later additions. One of the most poignant sentences in this translation reads: 'The Bodhisatta renounced the kingdom that had been given to him like a glob of spittle, without any hankering for it.' This is a stunning articulation of the freedom that the Buddha's path promises. The Murty Classical Library of India deserves kudos for producing such a fine work with the original Pali and the English translation on facing pages, bringing ancient wisdom to new audiences. The reviewer is a journalist, educator and literary critic.
Deccan Herald
5 days ago
- General
- Deccan Herald
Guwahati girl becomes 'first Assamese' to graduate in Sanskrit, Classical Hindi from Oxford
The 21-year-old Assamese girl pursued her BA in Sanskrit and Classical Hindi at the university's Balliol College under the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, the statement added.
