January 2022 Theme: Eastern Philosophies and Religions

Eastern Philosophies and Religions is a fairly broad topic, but my emphasis is toward South, Southeast, and East Asian creeds, generally excluding the Abrahamic religions (and also excluding any indigenous religions of Oceania, which I'm afraid could be getting too far afield into the area of anthropology).

I'm reluctant to totally dismiss Islam, though, considering its significant presence on the Indian subcontinent as well as its dominant position in a country like Indonesia; so feel free to choose an Islamic topic that focuses on India (or, say, Indonesia), perhaps the partition of the imperial Raj (e.g., Yasmin Khan's The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan, which I read for this year's RTT July theme "Now we are free" and which really covers Hinduism and Islam together anyway).

Tnere's a gorgeous two-volume boxed Norton Anthology of World Religions (Amazon link, cuz I'm having trouble with the LT link) that I've got shelved and unread, with the first volume covering Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism (the second volume being Abrahamic). Considering that each volume easily exceeds two thousand pages, though, this might not be everyone's choice!

My own interest leans more toward Hinduism, so here are some suggestions for Hindu-related reading:

1. You might want to turn to the great Hindu epics, the Mahabharata (Wikipedia) and the Ramayana (Wikipedia). Beware that the Mahabharata is not really a "book" but more a "book shelf" consisting of ten paperback volumes in Bibek Debroy's prose translation; and Debroy's prose translation of the Ramayana comprises three paperback volumes. But there is a highly praised blank-verse abridged version Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti which "only" takes in a bit over 900 pages (with a lot of white space, since it's in verse form, so don't be too intimidated, and one of Satyamurti's admirers is Philip Pullman).
   
   There are a couple of interesting illustrated versions of these epics, The Illustrated Mahabharata as well as The Illustrated Ramayana (the latter produced by Bibek Debroy), and there's a children's illustrated Ramayana: The Divine Loophole. I'm not so sure how useful these are, though, if you don't know the underlying stories to begin with.
   
   Steer clear of R.K. Narayan's "translations of Mahabharata and Ramayana. I've only read the latter of the two, which is a very abridged version which (in my opinion) pandered to a Western readership.


2. The single-most important work of Hindu scripture is probably the Bhagavad Gita (Wikipedia), which is available in numerous editions. My own preference (because of its supplemental materials) is the Norton Critical Edition, but there's also "new translation and study guide" by Nicholas Sutton and you can find numerous inexpensive paperbacks in any Barnes & Noble. (There are also editions published by ISKCON, but I'm not familiar with them that I would want to give a specific recommendation.) The Gita is actually 18 chapters (about 700 verses) from the sixth book of the Mahabharata and is a reasonably short read, but it helps to have an edition with a good introduction which puts the Gita into the context of the Mahabharata epic. The Gita is a dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna, on the battlefield and can best be described as an ethic of "selfless action."


3. I said that the Gita is probably the singlemost important work of Hindu scripture, but I want to emphasize the word "probably" because I don't want to ignore the Upanishads (Wikipedia), which strongly influenced German idealist philosophy and, through the German idealists, influenced New England Transcendentalism.
   
   There's an "easy read" abridgement of the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran but caution, this is very definitely an abridgement (and not identified as such by Easwaran) and also a rather loose translation. Still, it seems a pretty good introductory read. If you're looking for more rigor, though, you might want to check out the Oxford World Classic (link to Amazon because I'm not getting a good LT link), which includes good annotation.

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For Buddhism, there are the numerous works either written or co-authored by the Dalai Lama or in some way under his auspices, as well as Alexander Norman's excellent The Dalai Lama: An Extraordinary Life (rather secular, but that's OK, though I question its overly sympathetic portrayal of the CIA). There's also Heinrich Harrar's memoir Seven Years in Tibet. Also, among various biographies, there's Karen Armstrong's Buddha, which I haven't read but which I reference for the simple reason of my general admiration for the author.

For Daoism, the basic text of course is the Tao Te Ching. Fans of Ursula Le Guin might like to read her "translation" (here's my very guarded 4**** review). I have the original hardcover, which includes a CD of Le Guin's own reading of the text. Without that CD (which isn't included in the currently in-print softcover), I'd be more inclined toward Jane English's translation.

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Fictional works.

Of course, there's Kim, one of my most reread books. I may give it yet another reread for this January theme, and if I do, it will be in the Norton Critical for the supplementary materials.

For Parseeism, check out Cyrus Mistry's Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer (which I discussed briefly under our August 2020 theme and to which I gave 5*****). For a lighter read, you might want to check out Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry mystery series, starting with The Widows of Malabar Hill. There's also Nev March's Murder in Old Bombay (which might be the start of another Parsee series, though this first book is definitely inferior to Massey's series, tends to go on an unnecessary digression on Kim, and stars an English rather than a native South Asian).

Under the area of fiction, I'm also going to include Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, which I've never read but which I've seen described as being more a work of German Romanticism than a work on Buddhism.

As to Islam in India (although I am generally shying away from the Abrahamic religions for this month's topic, but that's just me), I do want to mention the works of Attia Hosain. I have the two Virago Modern Classic editions of her novel Sunlight on a Broken Column (TBR) and her short stories Phoenix Fled (which I gave 4****).

There are loads of fictional works out there, though, and I'll leave it to everyone's imagination.

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Finally, and he requires a segment all to himself, there is महात्मा. That's Sanskrit for "mahatma" (which I cribbed from Wikipedia, a language for which I'd love to do a little bit of study but I'm finding the devanagari script a bit "put-offing"). Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. There's such a wealth of material here, including An Autobiography, which is available in reasonably priced paperback as well as in the critical edition published in 2018 by Yale University Press. For something briefer, there's the Penguin anthology of Gandhi titled The Power of Nonviolent Resistance: Selected Writings.

Among the numerous biographies, there's what looks to be a very interesting two-volume work by Ramachandra Guha, Gandhi Before India and Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World (followed by a third volume India After Gandhi). And on my own TBR pile I've got Arthur Herman's Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age.

This is an area of which I have absolutely no knowledge, but sadly, not very interested, either. So it will be fiction for me! I have 3 choices and in fact, may read all 3 during 2022: Siddartha, Kim, and Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man. Would like to read about Gandhi. I will take your suggestions for possible reads on that one.

I have had Siddartha on my shelves for some time and I will use this theme as an reason to finally get it down and give it a read!

I also have on my shelves, The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I know it is a novel of Indian historical fiction and the description says it is "Brimming with betrayals, religious fervor and war-torn streets" so if I can, I may fit this one into January as well.

>3 DeltaQueen50: I wouldn't call The Palace of Illusions "historical fiction"; at least, it's not just "historical fiction" but is a whole lot more. From reading the description, it seems to be a take-off (a feminisation take-off) of the epic Mahabharata. The Pandavas are the five brothers whose kingdom is usurped by the leader of their cousins' clan and who are thus compelled to go to war with their cousins. I'm especially interested in the book's treatment of Panchaali's "complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna." In Mahabharata, Lord Krishna serves during the war as charioteer of one of the Pandava brothers, the archer Arjuna, leading to Krishna's religious and ethical teaching to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita portion of the epic.

I think I may even have The Palace of Illusions somewhere around the house, though I can't find it in my LT catalog. If I come across it, I'll definitely read it for January.

I'm hoping to do a re-read of Kim in the Norton edition and I also have a collection of stories drawn from the Hindu epics, as a starting point.

>3 DeltaQueen50: Oh shes one of my fav authors, Ive read most of her books. Most of them take place in the states, and there is conflict between the traditional older generation and younger ones wanting new. Im thinking there is traditional thought in here, about as m uch as Kim. But try it and see. I decided to read this book for the upcoming Asian challange.

Wasnt there a book called killing buddha remember reading it decades ago, might be interesting to visit.

And Karen Armstrong writes on this topic in several of ther non fiction reads.

I have The Palace of Illusions on my shelf too and I'll be reading it for this.

>4 CurrerBell: You have fired me up to definitely want to read Palace of Illusions in January!

This one's tricky. I found fiction that fits Islam, but it doesn't look like much included in the way of history.

Not sure what I'll do here. I do try to select from my tbr. Not sure what might be of interest that's not on my tbr.

I requested Kim from the library and am going to begin today--I know it's early, but no wait for the ecopy from the library!

I read Kim early (see #10). I was underwhelmed. I guess I expected more with Kipling's book being on the 1001 list and the Modern Library's Best 100 list. It is the story of a boy and his Lama who are in search of a sacred river (mythical). One reviewer said Kim was a likeable young adult who "outwits" those he comes into contact with. I would word it as a boy who is a con. I find this to be a "cheap" version of Dickens. 305 pages 3 stars (barely)

>11 Tess_W: Sorry for your disappointment. I find Kim, one of those books I've reread more than most, a "better" version of Huckleberry Finn. (I reread HF a few years ago and was surprisingly underwhelmed. Interestingly, a church friend did the same thing and had the same impression I did. I actually preferred, on rereading, A Connecticut Yankee over HF.)

Oh well, we'll see. I may do another Kim reread for January, but if I do I'll do the Norton Critical for the supplementary materials. But Bibek Debroy's three-volume translation of Valmiki Ramayana is first on my list. (All I've ever read has been R.K. Narayan's abysmal abridgement of the Tamil Ramayana.) I'd love to start onto Debroy's ten-volume translation of Mahabharata; but considering that's not a book but a book shelf, it might prove a bit overwhelming. Anyway, I have read Carol Satyamurti's wonderful 900-page blank-verse adaptation/abridgement of Mahabharata, and I've got a number of other books in line for January, so....

>12 CurrerBell: Sounds like you better get reading!

>13 Tess_W: Actually, I'm awaiting The Trumpet Major (Thomas Hardy) from ABE, because I do need a "Napoleonic Era" read for this quarter and I'm just not feeling up to getting into John Bew's Castlereagh: From Enlightenment to Tyranny. It's supposed to be here by today (so I'm off in a minute to check my PO Box), but if it doesn't come I'll settle for a Kindle read. But I have been watching a fairly short (just six hours) "Great Courses" video on Buddhism that I'll be posting to this thread as soon as I'm done.

And for a first-quarter 2022, I'm thinking of doing a complete read/reread of Hardy's Wessex novels along with Claire Tomalin's Hardy biography.

>11 Tess_W: >12 CurrerBell: Hey! Popping my head out of my lurker cave to say that I've started Kim (by Rudyard Kipling; narrated by the Indian-born British actor, Sam Dastor). I had a false start a few days ago, but I'm all in now! I slowed the audio down to .8 speed so that I could catch each word with virtually no sound distortion (which makes me think my iPhone, ever since the last upgrade, is ticking things up a notch in playbacks and/or one of the symptoms of my "Broken Reading Brain syndrome" is that I'm processing audio slower. But I digress...) I was expecting a fast-paced adventure story; but after realizing it's really not that at all, I adjusted my expectations: It is challenging to negotiate and I find myself googling for additional context and understanding; but I'm already seeing how influential this work is and; developing a clearer picture of British Colonialism on the subcontinent. In respect to the "Eastern Philosophies and Religions" theme of the month, I paying a bit closer attention to the Buddhist Lama... While I don't think this will be a favorite book of mine, I can definitely appreciate it and I can see myself re-reading it in the future (so, yes, will probably pay the extra $$$ for the Norton edition) and looking for more works in the future along the Buddhist line. In the meantime, if I happen to see someone begging on the streets, I'll be sure to take the opportunity to be virtuous! :-D #WinWin

>15 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Odd that you would say that about the speed. In the past year I have had to adjust my speed on all my reads to 90%. I'm listening on an expensive Samsung tablet so I don't think there is sound distortion, I think my hearing process is declining!

>14 CurrerBell: I love Hardy, but haven't read The Trumpet Major....going in search of it.

I also have Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man to read, if I can get to it.

I just finished listening to Kim (by Rudyard Kipling; narrated by Sam Dastor) and, wow. I need to sit with it in my head for a little bit before I start on my next read; but this is definitely one for the re-read stacks! The ending left me in a sort of story after-glow and even now as I think on it, I'm amazed how it all worked. So, happily, I made a liar out of myself with the previous assertion that "While I don't think this will be a favorite book of mine..."!

Just finished watching the Great Courses video Great World Religions: Buddhism and gave it 3½***, a somewhat low rating for me where Great Courses is concerned. It actually was pretty good, but it was only six hours (twelve half-hour sessions) and there's another Great Courses video on Buddhism, by the same instructor, that runs for twelve hours (24 half-hour sessions), which seems to be more comprehensive and which I also intend to watch.

If anyone's planning on watching just one of these videos, though, the better one is presumably the longer one. These GC courses are a really good deal, and if you subscribe to Great Courses Plus (newly called Wondrium) it's only $10/month (though you have to pay in $30 quarterly payments) and you get an almost complete streaming smorgasbord of every video that you'd pay substantial amounts for in DVD if you bought them individually.

>17 Tanya-dogearedcopy: THANK YOU! I really feel great when I come up with a topic on this group that leads a member to discover a new "favorite" – especially a favorite that's been a love of mine for many, many years.

>19 CurrerBell: so glad you came to love it as much as I do!

I've just started reading The Palace of Illusions and I think I'll definitely be enjoying it, but I have one caution for other members of this Group who might be planning on reading it. Have you read Mahabharata in one version or another (presumably abridged, because it's not a book but a book shelf)? Just going into The Palace of Illusions cold, I think, could be like reading Ursula Le Guin's Lavinia without having ever read Aeneid, or worse, not even knowing anything of what Aeneid is all about. Or think back to last January's theme, Shakespear's Children, and whether you would have read any particular Shakespearean take-off without having read the corresponding Shakespearean original, or at least knowing something of the original's plot.

Just a caution, to avoid disappointments. I have read Carole Satyamurti's Mahabharata abridgement, and I'm already starting to see how I might not be "getting" some of The Palace of Illusions if I didn't know the original source. But I'm only just beginning The Palace of Illusions, so I can't really say for sure.

>21 CurrerBell: Ah, good to know! I actually have The Palace of Illusions on my wishlist. I'll put a "Note to Self" comment on it in regard to Mahabharata and add the latter to my WL. I have to be honest, this pushes the title down on the list a bit-- so probably not going to happen this year.

Or think back to last January's theme, Shakespear's Children, and whether you would have read any particular Shakespearean take-off without having read the corresponding Shakespearean original, or at least knowing something of the original's plot.

I think you have a good point; when I did the shakespears children theme I am sure having any background in the Bards plays would have made a difference in 'getting' the takes on them. So I have been thinking, I have collection from college called the dance of shiva and other tales from india translated by oroon ghosh. The stories cover several 'books' such as The Nadas, Vedic gods and goddesses,brahama stories, shiva stories, shatki stories as well as the ramanaya and the maharabata. I remember reading this many times, but Im afraid I have forgotten much. Palace of Illusions is reminding me a bit, but I am thinking that rereading this collection, esp pertaining to the epics, might be a good idea. plus I can use this for the Asian challenge, maybe?

ETA just looked at the touchstone, that cover is the book i have!

I know so little about this topic and have been very grateful for this commentary with its good suggestions. I am most intrigued by The Palace of Illusions, which I found at the library last week and am now ready to begin reading.

I haven't read any version of Mahabharata and was planning on reading Palace of Illusions this month. I just checked Amazon and Mahabharata is available in various forms, the shortest being about 500 pages long and the longest being the complete collection that runs over 6,000 pages. I may go ahead with The Palace of Illusions and perhaps try a version of the original at some other time.

>25 DeltaQueen50: There is a fairly short (just a bit over 200 pages) version by R.K. Narayan. I didn't at all care for his adaptation of Ramayana, thought it was sort of a "Cliff Notes" version, but I'm a purist. I do see that this version I've linked to on Amazon has a Foreward by Wendy Doniger, which may say something for its quality. If you're in a rush, I see it's available on Kindle.

Reading my copy of stories from India and am remember more about it. But tbh, I forgot he has chapters of Buddah stories and Akbar the Great. Interesting that some of Akbars stories arent that different from Buddah, but then, every major religion has some form of 'do unto others as you would have done to you.

>26 CurrerBell: I have picked up a Kindle copy of the Mahabharata that is about 500 pages. I will read it this month and, since I doubt if I will have time to fit in Palace of Illusions, I will save it for another time.

Diane Collinson, Fifty Eastern Thinkers 3½***. A fairly decent and useful – not great, but fairly decent and useful – "dictionary" of philosophers representing Zoroastrianism (just Zoroaster), Islamic, Indian, Tibetan (just three), Chinese, Korean (just two), and Japanese philosophy. My one disappointment is the omission of Vietnam, considering the importance of the Buddhist opposition to the U.S.-supported governments during the war era; but this is political, and I don't know how significant Vietnamese philosophers might have been as "thinkers" as opposed to "activists."

Some are fairly obvious – Zoroaster, Muhammad, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), The Buddha, Gandhi, Confucius, Mencius, Lao Tzu, and interestingly Mao Zedong – though I'm personally also familiar with Patanjali of the Yoga Sutras, though I haven't yet read them. Others are completely new to me.

Each individual is given about eight to ten pages, which include five to maybe seven or eight pages of text accompanied by an additional couple pages of notes, and each "region" is given a short introduction. There's also a good deal of repetition in text entries from one individual to the next, but that's actually good because (1) it reinforces certain common themes and (2) it allows you to read up on just one or two individuals if you're using this book as a "dictionary" rather than as a "straight through" read like I did.

This is part of a series of Routledge Key Guides; and if the others are as good as this, they could be worth looking into depending on any particular topic that draws your interest. Fifty Eastern Thinkers is written at a fairly introductory level, but it's far from condescending; and I assume the other series entries are likewise.

The Palace of Illusions

I loved this novel! It left me wanting to read The Mahabharata, and I’m looking for the abridged (900 page) version from Penguin. I’m so glad to be introduced to this fascinating epic and to Hindu concepts of morality, honor, and fate. I’ll also be looking into the first volume of the Norton Anthology of World Religions (easily available from library) for a little more background.

>30 dianelouise100: Don't know why you're looking for the Penguin. I haven't read the Penguin, but I took a quick look at the "Look Inside" on Amazon and I see that it's prose. It looks fairly good, but perhaps with a bit of an academic flavor. Nothing wrong with that, but there's a blank verse translation by Carole Satyamurti {Wikipedia} that is really outstanding, published by W.W. Norton (though not as a Norton Critical Edition).

Satyamurti's a really interesting figure. Don't be misled by her surname. She was British, and she took her husband's name upon marriage (he being South Asian). She was a sociology professor, not at Oxbridge but at one of the newer urban universities, and she took a poetry writing course one day just for the fun of it. She started writing poetry, within a couple years had a couple published books along with some rather respectable prize, and decided to abandon her professorship (early retirement, perhaps) in favor of writing poetry. She then decided to "translate" the Mahabharata.

Problem was, she didn't know Sanskirt, or even any modern South Asian language. So she assembled previous translations, abridged them in her own words, and then rewrote them in blank verse. It's a really superb production, and it includes a short Forward by the Hinduist Wendy Doniger. It also includes a highly complimentary back-cover publicity blurb by Philip Pullman.

Satyamurti's version is subtitled "A Modern Retelling" but don't be put off by that. I think she used that subtitle to make clear that she wasn't claiming to be a translator. It really seems to be quite faithful as an abridgement and its book/chapter contents seem to be designed to parallel the text of the original.

Granted the Sanskrit poetry of Mahabharata wasn't blank verse, but the Aeneid wasn't written in heroic couplets and I still love Dryden's version. I found Satyamurti's use of blank verse made the story very readable.

Whatever you do, though, I definitely recommend that you stay away from R.K. Narayan. I haven't read his Mahabharata translation, but his Ramayana is really very poor. It's far too abridged and it panders to a Western readership (using words like "nectar" and "ambrosia," for example).

Incidentally, Mahabharata includes the Bhagavad Gita, about 700 or so verses somewhere around the mid-point of the epic. The Gita is probably the most revered Hindu scripture of the post-Vedic era and was extremely influential on Gandhi – who translated it from Sanskrit to Gandhi's own native Gujarati, including his own commentary that he developed while studying it in an ashram with some of his followers, Gandhi's annotated version subsequently having been translated into English. There's also a translation of the Gita in a Norton Critical Edition with all the useful NCE trimmings.

I'm currently some fifty to seventy-five pages into The Palace of Illusions (just about at the point where Panchaali goes off on foot following Arjun).

>31 CurrerBell: Thanks so much for this information and recommendation. I’ve just now looked at a Kindle sample of Satyamurti’s version and I see that it is quite readable. I had chosen the Penguin because I wanted an actual translation, and hopefully annotation as well, which I thought the Penguin might provide. And I don’t object to prose. Unfortunately Amazon doesn’t offer a sample of it, only the “look inside.” I’ll most likely follow your recommendation and dive into the modern retelling.

I just finished The Palace of Illusions and gave it 5*****. It's really outstanding, and the conclusion is especially powerful. I have to say, though, that I might not have appreciated it as much if I didn't know Mahabharata, because it's the "feminist" reworking of the original epic that's of significance here. I would be like reading, say, Marion Zimmer Bradley without knowing the Arthurian myth.

Next, I'm starting on Ramayana. I'd planned to read the three-volume translation by Bibek Debroy, but at Barnes & Nobel I stumbled across an abridgement by Krishna Dharma, a prominent member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which could make it interesting and which does have some really gorgeous illustrations. I'd still like to get to the unabridged Debroy translation eventually, but this alternative will let me get some additional reading done this month. (I have read the Ramayana abridgement by R.K. Narayan, which I really disliked and to which I gave a 2** review.)

ETA: Also, The Palace of Illusions does not include the Bhagavad Gita (one of the most sacred books of Hinduism and a major influence on Gandhi), which is about 700 verses and appears in Mahabharata about midway through, right before the main battle. There's a reference to the Gita in the novel, but it's a bit cursory and you really need to know the Gita to have a full comprehension of the person/nature of Krishna.

I have just finished Classic Tales from India: How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head and Other Stories by Vatsala Sperling & Harish Johari. This book was written for Western children. It is a book for kids from 9 to 90! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute reading this book and studying the beautiful artwork.

These ancient stories are taken from the grand epics of ancient India, such as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, an epic poem, and ancient text in the Sanskrit language, the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is gorgeously illustrated using a nine-step traditional Indian process. The other stories are: How Parvati Won the Heart of Shiva; Ganga: The River That Flows from Heaven to Earth; Ram the Demon Slayer; Hanuman’s Journey to the Medicine Mountain; The Magical Adventures of Krishna; and Who Is the Greatest Archer in the World: Karna or Arjuna?

February thread is here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338785

I am not sure if I am going to be able to fit in Mahabharata this month so I went ahead and read Siddhartha for this theme. Although set in India, this is a book that was written with western readers in mind and as such barely skims the surface of Indian philosophy. For me this was a book of interest but not one of learning.

I have completed The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. I have read reader reviews of her books previously, generally highly rated, and been curious about them.

The book begins in 1921 but flashes back to 1915. I found this irritating considering the short time span. The protagonist is Perveen Mistry, one of the first women attorneys in India. Working for her father, she is appointed to execute the will of Omar Farid, a wealthy client of her father's. Farid has three wives and children who will benefit from the will. During Preveen's involvement a guardian she finds questionable will be murdered and she will involve herself in the investigation of his death.

As a mystery I find the book average however central to the plot are women's legal and religious status which adds much more interest. Even one of the first female attorneys in India must observe laws of both she finds limiting. Because I have long been interested in the history of dower rights this falls right into my wheelhouse.

Finished the dance of shiva and other tales from india enjoyed many of the stories and folktails Esp liked the buddah stories. Reminds me, in the book Lamb by Christopher Moore Jesus spends his missing years studying with buddah; while it is totally conjecture, you can see how close their philosophies match. One thing that surprised me was the story of the mustard seed. I always thought that was a Chinese tale, when duh, Buddaism came to china.

I esp liked the scene of Buddahs death comforting disciples:

one of his disciples began to weep, the compassionate Buddah stroked tenderly and said "Anada,have I not always told you that nothing is permanent in this world, that we were born only to die? Anada could not restrain his tears "Lord what will happen to the sangha (organization )" Buddah responded "I do not think I lead the sangha, or that it depends on me for its existance. Why then should I leave any instructions for it? Let the truth be your guide and your refuge. And in the working out of truth be a lamp unto yourselves and be a refuge to all. There shall be no other refuge but all of you, my disciples and friends

How should we honor your memory lord, asked another disciple
"by no memorial of stone or wood, the brother or sister ....who will be correct in life and will observe my teachings it will be he or she who will honor me the most"

'Anada asked, what will we do with your mortal remains?"

"Dont bother with my remains, be earnest in following the truths of our order that I laid down for you, and let them be your only teachers"

4* recommended for those who want an short read of the religion, the culture and the myths

>1 CurrerBell: I just wanted to pop in before the end of the month to thank you for hosting this month with this theme. While I didn't quite take to the Eastern Philosophical aspect as much as the prompt should have probably warranted, I was introduced to some some great books! Feeding my History Nerd Brain, I was able to further contextualize some things both fictional (e.g. Watson, in the Sherlock Holmes stories is a veteran of the Second Afghan War) and non-fictional (e.g. The Seven Years War and America's War for Independence) and; overall learned a lot about Indian History. I sill have books I ordered coming in about British Colonialism in Central Asia, so I will probably be reading the topic for awhile!

Before I go, I wanted to recommend something that may interest you, The Years of Rice and Salt (by Kim Stanley Robinson). The premise is that instead of The Plague wiping out only a minority percentage of Western Europe, it actually devastates the area and the East rises. On the surface, this is a story of reincarnation over the centuries; but the closer you look, the more you see thematically. Eastern religion has a hand in the background with Kali; but it's been awhile since I've read it-- so maybe if I were to look again, there might me more to it than meets the eye!

Anyway, I'm off to dig a little deeper into the book I picked for next month's theme of, "A Trip to the Country", Tess of the D'Urbervilles (by Thomas Hardy); but if I have time, I have Up the Country (by Emily Eden) on hand :-)

I didn't get around to my re-read of Kim, too much else calling out to me, but I will return to this topic later.

I’ve finally started reading Carole Satyamurti’s version of The Mahabharata, which I obviously won’t finish in January, but will in February. This book has quickly captured and held my interest, and I am loving Satyamurti’s blank verse rendition.

I just finished Satischandra Chatterjee's An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. While it had some good material, I couldn't give it more than 2½** because of the numerous typos throughout. It may be, though, that this poor quality may only be in the particular edition I used (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House 2016) and older editions (1st 1939 through 7th 1968) by a different publisher are of higher quality and may be available on ABE.

I'm not going to have time to get to Bibek Debroy's three-volume translation of Ramayana, but I've got an abridged translation by Krishna Dharma that seems to be of pretty good quality so I'm going to finish up the month with that.

I never did get to my reread of Kim, but I can do that in February as part of the First Quarter read (and arguably it also fits in with the February monthly theme). For those interested in further reading, there's Quest for Kim: In Search of Kipling's Great Game which I just got from ABE and intend to read as a follow-up to my Kim reread (first read in the Norton Critical). I think one or two of you seem to have enjoyed Hopkirk's The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia.

I try to read books on my shelves to fit this challenge. Something has to get me to read all those books! It was difficult to find one to fit the theme but I think that Jade Dragon Mountain might come close. It was a mystery set in 1708 in Dayan, the hinterland of the Chinese Empire. The town was bustling and full of strangers waiting for the Emperor to grace them with his presence. He would appear in time to usher in an eclipse of the sun as that was in his power. It was a matter of some excitement and a way for the Emperor to bring the people in that fractious region to heel. Only, unbeknownst to those people, the Jesuits had been supplying the Emperor with the astronomical calculations for some time.

The motive for murder was based on the Jesuits supplying the information and the investigation was hampered by the mythology around the Emperor. It was a well thought out mystery with an interesting setting.

Just finished, in the wee hours this morning, Malcolm David Eckel's 5***** "Great Courses" 12-hour video on Buddhism. Caution, Eckel has two different "Great Courses" videos on this subject, the other being a 6-hour video that doesn't include as much material.

I made a start on Indische Märchen which begins with snippets from Vedic literature and the Mahabaharata, but it was too disjointed and without context, so I'm putting this aside for now.

I just finished up Krishna Dharma's adaptation of Ramayana. 3½*** to this version, substantially better than R.K. Narayan's 2**, though I really do want eventually to get to the three-volume translation by Bibek Debroy. (There's also an abridged version by Ramesh Menon that could be of interest.)

Personally, as between Ramayana and Mahabharata, I prefer the latter, but that's a matter of taste (just as, in the Greek classics, some will prefer the Iliad and others the Odyssey). One problem with Ramayana is that there is a great deal of very fantastical battle scenes, arguably more so than in Mahabharata; and, when you abridge the epic, Ramayana comes off a bit "BIF POW BAM SOCK"-cartoonish. And that's what happens with Dharma's abridgement.

Dharma's edition also includes substantial illustrations, some b&w and others very beautiful color. They aren't great works of art, but younger readers might enjoy them; and Dharma's edition does have a bit of a feel of a "younger reader version" to it, something along the lines of The Boy's King Arthur with its N.C. Wyeth illustrations and some of those other illustrated classics published for children by Scribner some decades ago.

Incidentally, for those who enjoyed The Palace of Illusions, Divakaruni has an earlier novel titled The Forest of Enchantments, which is a retelling of Ramayana. I'm planning on getting hold of it in the near future.