| |
BOOKS
Under The Bodhi Tree
Following the Buddha on
the eightfold path to enlightenment
By Ashok Koshy
The destruction
of the awesomely beautiful Bamiyan Buddhas by an insensitive regime recalls
afresh childhood memories of hours spent pouring over history books recounting
the life and times of one of the greatest sages of history, Siddhartha
Gautam, the Buddha. The publication of this elegantly produced book that
delves into the theological and philosophical teachings of the Buddha,
drawn from a study of the original Pali canons by a writer of impeccable
credentials in matters theological, provides the reader with an academically
sound and remarkably readable document. That the book is ostensibly focused
"to the western reader", as the author confesses in her introduction,
should not in the least disappoint readers born elsewhere.
|
|
|
|
BUDDHA
By Karen Armstrong
Viking
Price: $19
Pages: 205
|
|
Siddhartha was born in Kapilavastu in the foothills
of the Himalayas in the 6th century b.c. to parents of considerable means
who cloistered him from all visions of pain and suffering. He married
the beauteous Yashodhara at the age of 16 and fathered a son, Rahul. At
the age of 29, exposed to the trauma of "birth, ageing, illness,
death, sorrow and corruption", he bade a silent farewell to his slumbering
wife and child and set forth to seek "positive counterparts"
to the sickness he witnessed about him-"the wide open road"
to a state of "homelessness".
Historians call the period between 800 to 200
b.c. that saw vital changes in the fabric of society the Axial Age "because
it proved pivotal to humanity". It manifested itself in four core
areas: China (Confucius and Lao Tsu), India (Buddha and Mahavira), Iran
(Zoroaster) and the eastern Mediterranean (Socrates and Plato).
 Karen
Armstrong gently leads the reader through the Buddha's own journey over
seven excruciatingly trying years, to enlightenment under the bodhi tree;
neither forcing her Christianness or her personal views along the way.
The occasional parallels drawn with Judaism, Christianity and Islam only
serve to heighten the impact of the narration. There follow 45 more years
of seeking and discovering before the Buddha attains parinirvana-the "going
out"-exhorting his disciples to "seek liberation with diligence"
by adhering to the Four Noble Truths and the eightfold path to enlightenment.
Armstrong spent seven years as a nun in the
Society of the Holy Child Jesus before opting out of the cloister "wearied
by religion and worn out by the struggle" within herself. Over the
years since abandoning the holy order, the "runaway nun" has
gone from atheist to "freelance monotheist", steering clear
of either the Catholic Church or any other established religion. She claims
her communion with God begins and ends in the library where she toils
for three years and more researching a book, drawing "my spirituality
in study".
Armstrong's current work is part of the Penguin
Lives Series whose subjects range from Saint Augustine and James Joyce
to da Vinci and Joan of Arc. The publishers propose to put out, ere long,
volumes on Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley. Rather a case of swinging
from the divine to the ludicrous, one imagines.
|
|
|
 Government
Budgeting: Principles and Practices
By C.N. Sudarsanan
(Sree Sudarsan, Rs 400)
Where the money should and does go.
|
|
 Used
Book
By Makarand Paranjape
(Indialog, Rs 250)
Poetry on human nature and social realities-love, irony, sympathy,
triumph and oppression.
|
|
 Empowering
Indians
By Y.S. Rajan
(Har-Anand, Rs 395)
Assessing the nation's economic, business and technological strengths
in the 21st century.
|
|
 Notes
on the Great Indian Circus
By Khushwant Singh
(Penguin, Rs 250)
A range of articles that reflect the Indian psyche.
|
|
 Spring
Through Autumn
By G.B. Jain
(OrangeDot, Rs 250)
The reminiscences and reflections of a physician.
|
|
|
METRO TODAY
Web
Exclusives