Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha, Part A

 Week 6 

In the reading "The Life of Buddha" (Part A) by Andre Ferdinand Herold, I noticed so many elements that really contributed to the creation of this story. It starts before Buddha is even born where the details in "Maya's Dream" set the precedent for how the imagery will be portrayed throughout the story. I really liked the ties to nature that are presented and how the holy animal, an elephant, is present during every turning point of the story. The elephant in the beginning even represented the baby in Maya's dream. I also noticed the author really hones in on the feelings of each character, such as Maya's happiness, and King Suddhodana rejoice. I noticed in every part of the story, there really wasn't a time where they weren't accepting of the situation because they were okay with the work of their Gods except up to the very end. One specific part of the story in "The Birth of Siddhartha" was the actual birth of Siddhartha in the gardens amongst blooming nature. I found the words used to describe the scene to resonate with me and really shows how this birth was one with the nature and would replenish all living things by giving them the gift of live in all things. I also noticed this when the author set the scene of people realizing he will become Buddha in "Siddhartha's First Meditation." He is tied to "refresh the world", "bring light into the world" "bring the world safely into harbor", "set the world free" and "bring deliverance from birth to death." I am mostly intrigued in this story with the imagery created through words. It helps to visualize the story and really explain the scene and makes it seem so peaceful. Of course there has to be conflict, and I think it was set up so well that since he is expected to be Buddha, the king wants to turn a blind eye on him finding out what evil in the world looks like. This creates a false sense of living that can soon take a toll as seen in "The Great Truths" where we see a total shift from the beginning as he discovers evil and death in the world. I also found it kind of interesting because death is still portrayed in a visual way through strong adjectives.

(Source: Buddha in nature as described from the story)