The Buddha: A Drama in Five Acts and Four Interludes
The Buddha: A Drama in Five Acts and Four Interludes
The Buddha: A Drama in Five Acts and Four Interludes, written by Paul Carus in the early 20th century, dramatizes the life of Siddhartha Gautama, who becomes the Buddha. The play explores his spiritual journey towards enlightenment, highlighting themes of ambition, sacrifice, and the nature of reality. Through interactions with key characters like King Suddhodana and Princess Yasodhara, the narrative delves into Siddhartha's internal struggles between duty and the pursuit of deeper truths. This work is notable for its exploration of Buddhist themes in a dramatic format.
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“When a tree is burning with fierce flames, how can the birds congregate therein? Truth cannot dwell where passion lives. He who does not know this, though he be a learned man and be praised by others as a sage, is beclouded with ignorance.””
— Paul Carus
“If a traveller does not meet with one who is his better, or his equal, let him firmly keep to his solitary journey; there is no companionship with fools. 43””
— Paul Carus
“Blessed is he who has found enlightenment. He conquers, although he may be wounded; he is glorious and happy, although he may suffer; he is strong, although he may break down under the burden of his work; he is immortal, although he may die. The essence of his being is purity and goodness.””
— Paul Carus
“There are ways from light into darkness and from darkness into light. There are ways, also, from the gloom into deeper darkness, and from the dawn into brighter light. The wise man will use the light he has to receive more fight. He will constantly advance in the knowledge of truth.32””
— Paul Carus
“Look about and contemplate life! 1 Everything is transient and nothing endures. There is birth and death, growth and decay; there is combination and separation. 2 The glory of the world is like a flower: it stands in full bloom in the morning and fades in the heat of the day. 3 Wherever you look, there is a rushing and a struggling, and an eager pursuit of pleasure. There is a panic flight from pain and death, and hot are the flames of burning desires. The world is vanity fair, full of changes and transformations.””
— Paul Carus
“Surrender the grasping disposition of selfishness, and you will attain to that calm state of mind which conveys perfect peace, goodness, and wisdom.””
— Paul Carus
“Some say that the self endures after death, some say it perishes. Both are wrong and their error is most grievous.””
— Paul Carus
“The cause of all sorrow lies at the very beginning; it is hidden in the ignorance from which life grows. Remove ignorance and you will destroy the wrong appetences that rise from ignorance; destroy these appetences and you will wipe out the wrong perception that rises from them. Destroy wrong perception and there is an end of errors in individualized beings. Destroy the errors in individualized beings and the illusions of the six fields will disappear. Destroy illusions and the contact with things will cease to beget misconception. Destroy misconception and you do away with thirst. Destroy thirst and you will be free of ail morbid cleaving. Remove the cleaving and you destroy the selfishness of selfhood. If the selfishness of selfhood is destroyed you will be above birth, old age, disease, and death, and you will escape all suffering. 9””
— Paul Carus
“When the fire of lust is gone out, then Nirvāna is gained; when the fires of hatred and delusion are gone out, then Nirvāna is gained; when the troubles of mind, arising from blind credulity, and all other evils have ceased, then Nirvāna is gained!””
— Paul Carus
