In the note on Sir Edwin Arnold, I came across a quote that reminded me of a book I read last year: “Thenceforward his soul was seized with just one consuming passion: to communicate to his countrymen in England, in the language native to them, the vision he had seen of India,… It was this vision he pledged himself to convey, be it in song or speech or story, ‘for England; O Our India! As dear to me as She.’ “[1]
A Beautiful Indian Landscape[2]
Last spring I read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri after reading her short stories book in an English course.
A movie based on the book The Namesake. I haven’t seen it but I’ve heard it is pretty good.[3]
I really enjoy her writing because she does what Sir Edwin Arnold does in his poem: she brings out the beauty of India. I don’t remember the plot very well now, but the story really inspired me to want to travel to India someday. Even though I still don’t know much about India or Buddhism, I want to learn more so that when I do visit, I know more about the culture of the people there.
Like Nhuy, I also found connections between The Light of Asia and Christianity. The story about Siddartha and the swan reminds me of a story in the Bible in 1 Kings. Two prostitutes came to see King Solomon. Each woman had a baby, but one of the babies
died during the night. The woman whose baby died traded her baby for the other and placed the dead baby with the other woman. Now there is a fight about whose baby is still alive and the women argue before the king. Solomon says that he will cut the baby in half and give half to each woman. The true mother argued against this, saying that it would be better to spare the life of the child and give him to the other woman than to kill him. The other woman said that it was best to kill him so that neither woman would have him. Solomon then gave the baby to the woman who said not to kill him because she was the true mother.[4]
The Judgment of Solomon[5]
Likewise in the poem, an unknown priest makes nearly the same verdict: “ ‘If life be aught, the savior of a life/ Owns more the living thing than he can own/ Who sought to slay—the slayer spoils and wastes,/ The cherisher sustains, give him the bird:’.”[6] This also sounds a lot like the Jain principle of ahimsa- nonviolence. It was best to minimize violence than to obey the laws of ownership.
I haven’t decided quite yet how I feel about Jainism and Buddhism. I understand how they work, but not how they fit with what I believe. Perhaps it will take more research. But learning about the two has definitely made me more conscious of the differences in world beliefs and also the similarities in the ideals they promote.
[1] Sir Edwin Arnold, The Light of India (New Delhi: Crest Publishing House, 1879), 7.
[2] Beauty of India, http://www.johansentravel.com/images/Beauty%20of%20India%20(37).jpg
[3] The Namesake Preview, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sOaA-4Y8tI
[4] The Bible, I Kings 3: 16-28. Also available: http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=I+Kings+3%3A+16-28&passage2=&passage3=&passage4=&passage5=&version1=31&version2=0&version3=0&version4=0&version5=0&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0
[5] The Judgment of Solomon, http://guardiansatlaw.org/solomon.htm
[6] Arnold, The Light of India, 19.
No comments:
Post a Comment