This award-winning book contains the English translation of Sugata Saurabha ("The Sweet Fragrance of the Buddha"), an epic poem on the life and teachings of the Buddha. Chittadhar Hrdaya, a master poet from Nepal, wrote this tour de force while imprisoned for subversion in the 1940s and smuggled it out over time on scraps of paper. His consummate skill and poetic artistry are evident throughout as he tells the Buddha's story in dramatic terms, drawing on images from the natural world to heighten the description of emotionally charged events. It is peopled with very human characters who experience a wide range of emotions, from erotic love to anger, jealousy, heroism, compassion, and goodwill. By showing how the central events of the Buddha's life are experienced by Siddhartha, as well as by his family members and various disciples, the poem communicates a fuller sense of the humanity of everyone involved and the depth and power of the Buddha's loving-kindness.
For this new edition of the English translation, the translators improved the beauty and flow of most every line. The translation is also supplemented with a series of short essays by Todd Lewis, one of the translators, that articulates how Hrdaya incorporated his own Newar cultural traditions in order to connect his readership with the immediacy and relevancy of the Buddha's life and at the same time express his views on political issues, ethical principles, literary life, gender discrimination, economic policy, and social reform.
Epic of the Buddha: His Life and Teachings, Chittadhar Hrdaya, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 448 pages, $24.95
Chittadhar Hrdaya was one of the twentieth-century Nepal's most eminent poets. Born into a Newar family in Kathmandu, he devoted his life to writing in his native language of Nepal Bhasa (also called "Newari"). He composed this epic poem about the life of the Buddha while imprisoned for five years for publishing a poem in Newari that was regarded as subversive by the Nepalese government, smuggled it out on scraps of paper hidden in a tin box.
Todd T. Lewis is Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross.
CONTENTS: Epic of the Buddha
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Translators' Preface to the Second Edition
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vii
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Translators' Preface to the First Edition
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xi
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Introduction, by Todd T. Lewis
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3
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Part One: Sugata Saurabha, the Epic of the Buddha, by Chittadhar Hrdaya
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1.
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Lumbini
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21
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2.
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Family Tree
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30
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3.
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Nativity
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49
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4.
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Mother
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65
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5.
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A Pleasant Childhood
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76
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6.
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Education
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85
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7.
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Marriage
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103
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8.
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The Great Renunciation
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127
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9.
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Yashodhara
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147
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10.
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Attaining Enlightenment
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162
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11.
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The Basic Teachings
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177
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12.
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The Blessed One in Kapilavastu
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203
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13.
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Handsome Nanda
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220
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14.
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The Great Lay Disciple
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238
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15.
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Twelve Years of Itinerant Preaching
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247
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16.
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A Dispute over Water
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262
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17.
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The Monastery Built by Vishakha
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272
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18.
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Devadatta's Sacrilege
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286
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19.
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Entry into
Nirvana
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308
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Part Two: Perspectives on the Epic of the Buddha, by Todd T. Lewis
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20.
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The Life of the Buddha: Previous Accounts in the Buddhist Textual Tradition
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325
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21.
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The Kavya Sanskrit Poetry Tradition and the Indic Aesthetic Tradition
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328
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22.
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The Nepalese Context and Newar Cultural Traditions
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335
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23.
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Chittadhar Hrdaya: A Literary Biography of His Formative Years
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340
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24.
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Domestication of Newar Traditions in Sugata Saurabha as Those of the Ancient Shakyas
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345
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25.
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The Modern Confluence of Buddhism in the Kathmandu Valley: Reformist Theravada and Traditional Mahayana
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350
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26.
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Buddhist Doctrinal Emphases and Expositions
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360
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27.
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The Spell of Idealizations and the Revitalization of Newar Civilization
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369
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Notes |
379 |
References |
407 |
Index |
415 |
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