Reading Notes: Life of Buddha: Maya's Dream Part A

Photo of Maya having a dream of the elephant by Wikipedia

For this weeks reading, I dove into the Life of Buddha. The first story really interested me as there were several instances of divine intervention that were seamlessly sown into the story. The characters seemed to have a good connection with the gods. When the king entered the forest, he was visited by a voice from the sky. For most people, they would fear they had some psychological disorder. The characters in the story, quickly accepted the divine presence and believed everything the voice had to say. The level of suspension of disbelief used was what caught my attention during this scene. When considering how I would retell this story, it may be difficult to alter the setting to a more modern one while keeping the level of suspension of disbelief for the readers. With regards to the characters, I really focused in on the Brahmans. Once the king and queen had had their connections to the gods, they went to the Brahmans for advice. These characters in the story seemed to not only have a personal connection to the gods, but also some sort of mystical foresight. They were able to predict the life of the royal couples future son. In Indian culture, Brahmans are one of the castes found in the culture. They are typically tied to more religious activities but such a prediction seems a bit far fetched even for them. Lastly, the ending of the story left enough room for the other parts of it to flourish. The prophecy the Brahmans spoke of provided a very linear methodology of how the subsequent stories would unfold.

Story link: Life of Buddha: Maya's Dream

This story is part of the Buddha unit. Story source: The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922).