Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

Hello!

While reading the anthology for this week, my favorite story was The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses, also known as Tayodhamma Jataka from The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers.

Photograph of a Pink Lotus Flower.

No Changes Made. Taken by Hong Zhang (jennyzhh2008) on 07-15-2015. Source: pixabay

This story involved the Bodhisatta being a monkey son of Devadatta, a monkey king. The monkey king feared being overthrown by his children, and so he would castrate them to ensure that would never happened. Unbeknownst to him, however, was that the mother of Bodhisatta hid her pregnancy and fled the king, giving birth to her son and raising him in secret. When Bodhisatta journeyed to meet his father, he managed to overpower his father's attempt to crush him in a hug and outwit his father's attempt to have him killed by an ogre. After the second, his father died from anguish over failing to kill his son. The story ended with Bodhisatta being crowned king.

The first thing that struck me about this story was the obvious cruelty of the father in castrating all of his children. This cruelty, similar to much cruelty in this world, stemmed from fear. I liked this aspect because it made the story seem very realistic to me. While I was reading this story, I was reminded of the backstory of Desmond Flynn in The Bargainer by Laura Thalassa, whose king father murdered all of his half siblings and ruled as a tyrant until Des defeated him and became the new king.

Another aspect I liked was the ogre. I'm sure his notoriety did not come from nothing, so the fact that he so obviously respected and adored the Bodhisatta just shows even more how strong and respectful this character is.

The theme of the Bodhisatta having to face a challenge in order to gain power reminded me of certain Greek myths, such as the Labors of Hercules. Facing near insurmountable challenges, the heroes of the stories manage to defeat the odds and step into their rightful places. The hero's journey is one of my favorites, so I enjoyed reading it in this Buddhist story.

The final thing of note that I enjoyed in this story was the dramatics of how the king saw the ogre following his son and instantly his heart burst into pieces. I'll admit, that got a laugh out of me.

Bibliography: The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses, or Tayodhamma Jataka, from The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers.