Bodhisattva is a short poem by the Indian English poet and translator Tapan Kumar Pradhan

Tapan Kumar Pradhan

Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan , Indian writer and poet in English, Hindi and Oriya, is a versatile creative artist in such diverse fields like poetry, short fiction, essays and caricature....

 on the theme of Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

's attempts at nirvana

Nirvana

Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...

 or liberation through a succession of many births or incarnations

Incarnations

Incarnations can refer to:*Incarnation of supernatural or religious entities*Incarnations of Immortality, a book series by Piers Anthony*Incarnate , a character class in a role-playing game...

. Pradhan won the Upasika Kamaladevi Prize for Buddhist Literature from the Mahabodhi Society of Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

, Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...

 for his essays based on the theme of Bodhisattava poem.

The poem

'Tis the birds now chirping in the bowers of Jetavana -

and how their lilting cacophony's lost all meaning :

such meaning it used to have when I was a child

a handsome young prince happy

I used to sing to their tune,

And then I returned later with the queen

to watch them make love

Secretly - but that was another day, another life.

Within this one life I have seen so many lives -

A thousand lives. But how can I forget that day

When in these very woods He had said Jetavana

Is full of wisdom, and so is the whole world

Full of knowledge. And you need only to renounce

All. I said no to my desires.

Said no till woman's caresses

troubled no more, neither pain nor passion

but only this desire

of being alive, I went

with a bowl into the hamlets, I fasted

for forty-nine days and nights

to subdue this desire, and then I had

no more desires, but only

to be like Him - but then how many lives ???

In one of my previous lives I'd been a hangman too :

You can hang only the body not the soul - the Atman

Is deathless, isn't it ? - Like Him ! And how many lives ??

I was becoming so unlike

so unlike

everything that was not Him !

The other day I went to see the flames

lap up the body

of the young man - the father wept, it is

I told the mother, only Illusion.

I was becoming so unlike ... ...

Everything had seemed so full

Of meaning

when I'd not learned to seek

any meaning at all.

And how far have I come

since the day I was a bird

a mindlessly chirping bird

before a thousand births, long long ago ??

Allusions and criticism

The poem is written in the narrative style with flashback

Flashback (narrative)

Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

 and is replete with allusions and symbol

Symbol

A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...

ism which are typical of Dr. Pradhan's works. The poem questions Lord Buddha's doctrine that annihilation of one's desires through self control and self abnegation can lead to the goal of emancipation or nirvana

Nirvana

Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...

. Boddhisattva is a state of worldly incarnation prior to the final stage of attaining enlightenment

Enlightenment (spiritual)

Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...

 or Buddhahood

Buddhahood

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

. The state of Buddha

Buddha

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

 or complete enlightenment remains a mystery, and is unknown to the common person. But the stage of struggles and self-doubt typical of a Boddhisattva is easy to understand by the laiety. The poem compares the state of a "mindlessly chirping bird" at the beginning of the Boddhisattva's journey with that of an old renunciate

Renunciate

Renunciate refers to someone who has renounced lay life, generally to pursue ordination or monastic life. The term is used in a number of religions:Catholic:*Novice*PostulantBuddhist:*SamaneriHindu:*SannyasaTo turn away from....

who is yet to find liberation in spite of years of self control.

External links

• The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas, all-in-one page with memory aids & collection of different versions.
• What A Bodhisattva Does: Thirty-Seven Practices by Ngulchu Thogme with slide show format.
• Access to Insight Library: Bodhi's Wheel409