Reading Notes- The Life of Buddha- Part A
For week five’s reading, I decided to read the
introduction to the life of Buddha, beginning with the birth of Siddhartha. I
will have to say that it has been incredible getting to read all of the
introductions to the births of extremely important religious figures. Each one
has their own style of writing, whether it be formal, symbolic, or use of
plain, understandable wording. This story in particular, I found was the
easiest one to read, and did not find myself getting lost in wording. Because
of this, I decided to look up the date of this story, which is 1922. I won’t
sit here and say that 1922 was the same as yesterday, but I feel like it is one
of the younger pieces I have read. I will however, despite the age of the
piece, it was one of the most imaginative ones I have read yet. What I mean by
this is that every word/sentence the author wrote, imagery was accompanied with
it. He used just such descriptive words for everything, and set the scene in
such a way that you had a perfect idea imagined in your mind. For example, the
story, The Birth of Siddhartha, everything leading up to his birth, from the
decoration of the forest, to what Queen Maya was wearing, was described in such
a way that you might as well have been watching a film remake of it. It is
something that I will absolutely be working on to be able to put in my own
story later this week. Another element that caught my attention immediately was
the use of metaphors and simile, or really just the use of comparison in
general. For example, in Siddhartha's First Meditation, things such as “To a world darkened by
ignorance, he has come like a torch. His law will bring light into the world”
and “To a world consumed by an evil fire, he has come like a lake. His law will
refresh the world.” I really am not sure how I will be able to recreate it with
such elegance as the author did, but I will strive for my amateur best.
Bibliography: The Life of Buddha, by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922), The Life of Buddha
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