Week 11 Reading Diary B- The Life of Buddha: Siddhartha's Success

Siddhartha the Hermit

This chapter was a pretty long one. I like that the theme of the gods making individuals do things for their and Siddhartha’s wills comes back in this chapter. They make Chandaka fetch the horse for Siddhartha. I do feel bad for Siddhartha’s family because they did not have the chance to say good bye to them, especially since he does have a wife and son. However, his will is so strong that thinking of them is not something he will succumb to.

Gopa and SuddhodanaGrieve

And of course everyone is supremely sad that Siddhartha has left them so suddenly. I still feel bad for them that Siddhartha left so suddenly. And even the horse, Kanthaka is so lost in mourning for Siddhartha that he dies of grief.

Siddhartha Desertedby His First Disciples

It was nice to have Maya come back into the story to see her son and make sure that he was not dead. Man, I could never have the resolve that Siddhartha had to practically waste away to nothing from being so involved in meditation. Of course he needed to eat and gain fat to survive, however his disciples did not think that he was doing it as he was supposed to, and now he is alone.

Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha

Mara had not disturbed Siddhartha in the slightest, and he meditated on. As he had earlier seen the golden bowl go upstream with the thought that if it did then he would succeed, and he did succeed. His enlightenment was quite the thing to think about, all the links that were listed.

Image Information: Siddhartha and the Bowl; Web source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 11 Reading Diary A- The Life of Buddha: The Birth and Realizations of Siddhartha

For this week, I decided to go with reading stories from the Untextbook. I decided to read “Life of Buddha”.

Maya’s Dream

This kind of reminds me of the Bible. A woman having a dream about a baby that will be holy and born to her.

Birth of Siddhartha

What? Maya didn’t actually have to give birth, the gods just delivered Siddhartha to the arms of the maidens that were with her. Wouldn’t that be nice…

Siddhartha at the Temple

Poor Siddhartha lost his mother, who was supposed to know nothing but happiness and joy. At least her sister, Mahaprajapati will be there t take care of him. I did really enjoy the part where she tries to put jewelry on him, only to be stopped by a Goddess. My favorite line was “This child will have his thoughts; they are the gems of purer water”.

The First Encounter and Two More Encounters

The King should not shield Siddhartha from the unpleasant aspects of the world. If he is to become a Buddha, should he not know what it happening around him? At least the gods were jealous of the man and taught him the things about the world that his father did not want him to know about.

The Fair Maidens and The Great Truths

Had the king not kept Siddhartha from the truths of the world, perhaps he could have coped with them throughout his life. Instead, seeing them because of the gods he has to deal with them in a way he would prefer not to. It is sad that it scares him so much.

Image Information: Siddhartha and the Truths; Web Source: Wikipedia.

Week 10 Reading Diary B: The War and the End

• Last section of The Mahabharata, let’s do this!
• So Yudhistira wants peace instead of fighting the war, he doesn’t want blood to spill because he believes that it will only create an endless cycle of hate and war. Not everyone agrees with him though, especially Draupadi, who is still angry about being humiliated and undefended by her husbands (pages 133-136).
• Krishna attempts to make peace with Dhritarashtra on behalf of the Pandavas, telling him to cast aside Duryodhana, who at the same time wants to take Krishna captive (pages 136-140).
• Poor Arjuna felt discouraged about fighting his cousins, but luckily Krishna was there to give him the words he needed to fight (pages 147-148).
• I am glad that Narayan omits a lot of the information in the epic, I know that I definitely would not want to read page after page about the war, or philosophy.
• Duryodhana doesn’t give up his tricks, and tries to kidnap Yudhistira in an attempt to win the war. This however does not work, but does lead to the death of Arjuna’s son (pages 156-158).
• Duryodhana is advised one last time to make peace with his cousins, but of course refuses to do so. Of course, his pride and the evil within him lead to his death in this way (pages 163-166).
• I love reading stories of Karma, like how Karna could not advance towards Arjuna’s chariot because of a past deed (page 170).
• I did not realize that Bhishma would survive for so long on his bed of arrows, however it was nice that Yudhistira sat next to him as he died and spoke to him and learned from him at the urging of Krishna (pages 177-178).

Image Information: Yudhistira and Krishna; Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Week 10 Reading Diary A: A War is Coming

• Since we had a week off of school, it took me a while to remember what was happening, and I had to refresh myself on the story so far.
• I love that every time Duryodhana  tried yet again to make a fool of the Pandavas, only to have to be saved by them afterwards (pages 85-86).
• Yudhistira had to go through the pain of seeing all of his brother dead on the ground from ignoring the cries od Yama, only to become the hero by answering all of his hard questions, that’s admirable (pages 87-92).
• And then when talking of entering King Virata’s service, he says that he will play dice with him all day, oh, his brother did not like that statement! (Page 93)
• Poor Draupadi, who was assaulted by the Queen’s brother. The plight with him, and his death only brought them to Duryodhana’s eye (pages 96-99).
• Uh-oh, and Duryodhana wants to use the death to his advantage so that he may attack their kingdom (pages 99-102).
• Wow, Uttara is such a fake. What must have been going through Arjuna’s mind while he drove the man’s chariot into battle? Especially when he ran away (pages 103-105). At least he came back.
• Duryodhana is so cunning, tricking King Salya into enjoying his treats so that he wil lead his army, but Yudhistira is just as cunning to have him whisper discouragements to Karna in battle (pages 117-119).
• Poor Dhritarashtra just never knows what to do when it comes to the war between his sons and nephews.

Image Information: Prince Uttara and the Cows; Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Week 9 Reading Diary B: The Exile of the Pandavas

• Dhritarashtra had taken on the five Pandavas brothers to raise after their own father had died, and deeply cares for them as if they were his own sons. So, of course he will want to bring them back when he is urged to by Bhishma and Vindra.  (Pages 41-43)
• Of course the Pandavas prosper in their new land given to them by Dhritarashtra and make a desert into a beautiful land. They even have the helpful sage visit them and council Yudhishthira on how to run the kingdom (page 45).
• Duryodhana is of course jealous of his cousins, which is no surprise. He has spent so much of his time hating them, that seeing them so happy in their land makes him angry. (Page 48) Although thankfully, Dhritarashtra doesn’t agree with his son’s woes (page 51), and neither does Vyasa who warns the brothers that something is afoul with his brother inviting them to their kingdom (page 52).
• Of course, as Vyasa had warned them, the dice game goes badly…. Very badly. Yudhishthira is stupid enough to gamble away quite literally everything, including his brother and himself (pages 56-60). Dhritarashtra luckily gives them back all possessions, only for Yudhishthira to idiotically accept yet another game that lands them in exile (page 68). Why did no one try to stop in the first time?
• I did really like Draupadi’s call to the gods which left her clothed as they tried to remove them (page 64).
• Honestly, I would be just as angry as Draupadi is about the exile, and I would not let Yudhishthira qualm my anger, it is his fault that they are out there, after all (pages 76-79).

Image Information: Giving Draupadi Away in the Dice Game; Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.