Extra Credit Reading: The Life of Buddha by Ferdinand Herold Part A
For this assignment I chose to read the Life of Buddha by Ferdinand Herold. Which can be found here!
The first story is of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. The king is described as a good king that is kind and gentle to his subjects. The queen is the embodiment of all things good and wonderful. The story goes on to tell a tale of how the queen asked the king for a favor. Because there was so much suffering in the world, she wanted to live in the tower high above the city and there she would surround herself with lovely things. She would be abstinent and live there forever. The king granted her favor, but promised to always be kind to those who needed it. She went up to the tower and life was good.
I feel like this could be told in so many different ways. How someone sacrifices themselves for the good of all people. Maybe could do a war story for this one? Or like a battle scene?
The next story is Maya's dream. This tells about how she has a dream that she is pregnant, but with a child that is blessed by the gods. She sends for her husband so that she can share the good news with him. When he gets there, she asks him to get the Brahmans to interpret her dream. They told her that she was going to have a son and his name was going to be Buddha.
This to me sounds like a story out of the Bible. I think this could be told to match some of the writings of that time. I think there could be an interesting twist on this one.
The next story, The Birth of Siddhartha, tells about when Queen Maya is ready to give birth. The garden of flowers is decorated, she is dressed in her best attire and there is a party ready to go when it's time. It's as if it's a huge celebration. When the child is born, the whole world rejoices.
The next story is Asita's Prediction. It tells the story about an old hermit that comes to visit and tells of great tales the child will experience. I wasn't super impressed with this little snippet so I have no ideas as to where it could lead for a story.
The next story is titled Siddhartha at the Temple. This story tells about how Queen Maya died. :( Her sister took over caring for the child. The child's light was so bright that when she put jewels and gold on him, it was dull in comparison. She then took him to the temple of the gods. When Siddhartha arrived, the statues of the gods came to life. They all sang a song of celebration for the child.
The story following talks about the prince's first meditation and how everyone was in awe of it. I didn't find anything remarkable about this story either.
The first story is of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. The king is described as a good king that is kind and gentle to his subjects. The queen is the embodiment of all things good and wonderful. The story goes on to tell a tale of how the queen asked the king for a favor. Because there was so much suffering in the world, she wanted to live in the tower high above the city and there she would surround herself with lovely things. She would be abstinent and live there forever. The king granted her favor, but promised to always be kind to those who needed it. She went up to the tower and life was good.
I feel like this could be told in so many different ways. How someone sacrifices themselves for the good of all people. Maybe could do a war story for this one? Or like a battle scene?
The next story is Maya's dream. This tells about how she has a dream that she is pregnant, but with a child that is blessed by the gods. She sends for her husband so that she can share the good news with him. When he gets there, she asks him to get the Brahmans to interpret her dream. They told her that she was going to have a son and his name was going to be Buddha.
This to me sounds like a story out of the Bible. I think this could be told to match some of the writings of that time. I think there could be an interesting twist on this one.
The next story, The Birth of Siddhartha, tells about when Queen Maya is ready to give birth. The garden of flowers is decorated, she is dressed in her best attire and there is a party ready to go when it's time. It's as if it's a huge celebration. When the child is born, the whole world rejoices.
The next story is Asita's Prediction. It tells the story about an old hermit that comes to visit and tells of great tales the child will experience. I wasn't super impressed with this little snippet so I have no ideas as to where it could lead for a story.
The next story is titled Siddhartha at the Temple. This story tells about how Queen Maya died. :( Her sister took over caring for the child. The child's light was so bright that when she put jewels and gold on him, it was dull in comparison. She then took him to the temple of the gods. When Siddhartha arrived, the statues of the gods came to life. They all sang a song of celebration for the child.
The story following talks about the prince's first meditation and how everyone was in awe of it. I didn't find anything remarkable about this story either.
Title: Siddhartha
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Comments
Post a Comment