Customer Reviews

Lady of the Lotus

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I happened upon this book, The Lady of the Lotus, over 25 years ago. Even after all this time I still consider it to be one of my all time favorites. What a lovely yet bittersweet love story. It tells a possible tale about about Buddah and his wife, a person I wasn't aware may have even existed along with their son. Can't say enough about how this book had such an emotional affect upon me. I still have the paperback that I cherish and will never part with.

I happened across this wonderful story among my grandmother's forgotten treasures in the form of an old, beaten-up, paperback with yellow pages. I was only in high school and I loved it so much that I read it twice. I then gave it to my English teacher to read and he loved it also. Now I am an English and Humanities teacher and plan to read excerpts of it to my Humanities class during our unit on India. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys spirituality, romance, or adventure...it has it all!

Didn't you ever wonder at the feminine deity carvings from millennia ago? You know: the pretty young woman, either alone or with a baby? Everyone thinks they're early depictions of the Virgin Mary - they are, in fact, statues of Buddha's wife, and in some cases she is holding their only son Rahula.

LADY OF THE LOTUS is one of my favorite "bio-novels" of all time. My favorite story about this book is told by Barrett himself: he went to see some Indian friends and told them he was planning to write a book about Buddha's wife, Yashodhara (a/k/a "Tara"). It was, he said, something of a lark that wouldn't take him more than a few months.

"It will take you ten years!" he was told - and they were right. He worked and researched for over ten years, to tell the story of the wonderful young Yashodhara, wife of Prince Gautama Siddhartha, whom we know today as Buddha. It was a story Barrett believed should be told, and boy was he right.

Though a bit pendulous with some early details about Buddha's princely life, this book is excellent for anyone who wishes to learn about true Buddhism and its origins. Barrett not only tells us about Buddha's first outing as a student; he explains how this affected the household and Yashodhara. Barrett recounts the story of Yashodhara's mother, who was also Buddha's aunt - and he tells of the beginnings of the evil Devadatta, the murderous cousin of Buddha.

The detail and recounting of that time are excellent. Two of my favorite passages: one tells of Buddha's first attempt to find suitable clothing when he first leaves home. He just can't be sure what to wear, but he will not go naked. My second favorite passage deals with Yashodhara talking Buddha into letting the masters carve a wooden statue of Buddha, so everyone can see what he looks like. I'd never heard that story before.

This also tells a bit about Rahula, Buddha's only offspring and the question of Buddha's legacy to him. (Barrett has to address this, since legend has it Buddha showed Rahula the habit and said, "This is my only legacy for you.") Barrett really weighed and measured every word, and his prose is simple, clean and the dialogue ... well, why didn't anyone make a film of this yet? Because they are allergic to the really good stories, is why!

All in all this is more a family adventure first, spiritual second. It tells of the ridiculous formalities that surrounded Buddha and which he seemed to accept as his due - and somehow I think that is closer to the truth than we've ever been.

Finally, I'd caution that this book's title not be mistaken: it is LADY OF THE LOTUS, not LADY IN THE LOTUS and this is an error I've heard before.

Get this and study it! The whole thing is closer to the truth than anything else, and it far outstrips the miserable Hesse novel.

Mr. Barrett has done his research and from this, has created a plausible tale regarding the wife of Siddharta Gautma (ap) later known as Buddha. Yasodara is not formally acknowledged as his wife. This is one of my favorite books. Read it.. I think it may become one of yours too. !

this book is both interesting and mind-opening. Read it for pleasure, and absorb it for growth.