13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Introduction to the Ramayana, July 1, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Ramayana (Paperback)
In this "retelling" of the Ramayana, Buck succeeds in shortening a lengthy epic into 432 pages. Buck's Ramayana is exciting, poetic, and inspiring, somehow maintaining the digressive narrative of the original without alienating its Western audience; Buck's version makes a good introduction to a work which has had immeasurable religious impact on various Asian cultures.
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
They say the Bible is the greatest story ever told, but..., July 24, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Ramayana (Paperback)
In King Lear, a promise given by a foolish old man brings catastrophic changes to the world around him. Likewise, a foolish promise by an elderly king launches the epic Ramayana. Both stories bring forth the depth and strength of the human spirit. King Lear is a tragedy. The Ramayana is also; the author places his noble characters in harm's way to demonstrate their greatness. The Ramayana's chief purpose is to demonstrate the proper exercise of Dharma, the Hindu principle that is often loosely translated as "Law". The protagonist, Rama, his wife, Sita, his brothers and the army of animals they enlist show through their actions how life is to be spent in the service of truth.
Here's the plot (not to give away too much). Rama's father, King Dasratha promises two boons to his youngest wife Kaikeyi. Dasratha abdicates, intending to make Rama king, but Kaikeyi uses her boons on the eve of Rama's ascension to the throne, one to make her son Bharatha king in Rama's stead, the second to banish Rama for 15 years. The king wants to renege on his promises, but Rama refuses to let this happen. He leaves the kingdom willingly.
Rama, Sita and Rama's brother Lakshmana live in the jungle for 15 years, in the course of this time, Sita is kidnapped by daemons bent on destroying the world. Rama enlists the help of the bear and monkey kings to recapture her and this is the heart of the story.
Now, what makes this story is its characters and their courage. Rama will never break a promise, even when it may cost him his life. Sita and Lakshmana leave the palace for a life spent wearing the bark of trees. The animals, especially the immortal monkey, Hanuman, inspired by the love between Rama and Sita, fight ferociously against their much more powerful foes. They all obey Dharma and their difficult task is the moral lesson of this religious text.
What's interesting about Hinduism and the Ramayana in particular is its existential nature. The daemons are masters of Maya, the illusion of the material world. Maya is the daemons' most powerful weapon, they create a disorienting world in which there is precious little grounding. Where does a person find roots in such a world? The Ramayana gives us the example of Rama and the adherence to whatever truth we can find. Practice truth, fight deception, join in the struggle of the world to be conscious of itself. So what is real? For me, the most dramatic incident is one in which the fierce, brave, Hanuman answers the question. Rama gives Hanuman a bracelet as a gift. Hanuman tears it to bits. Rama asks why. Hanuman says, "though this bracelet looks expensive, it was really worthless, for nowhere on it did it bear your name." Someone asks Hanuman, "Why don't you destroy your body as well?". Hanuman rends his flesh and there, on his bones are the words, "Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama".
So, too, your computer has become an instrument of truth. Read this book, it is incredible.<P
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Yankee who truly loved and reverenced this Eastern Epic, November 19, 2002
William Buck's Ramayana is beyond magnificent. He discovered Eastern mythology in 1955 through a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, set himself to learn Sanskrit, and devoted himself to a truly profound study of them. He captures, more than most Indian translators, the spirit of this epic, which (along with the Mahabharata) is the foundation of Indian culture. Buck truly loves the characters and the meaning of the story. He takes a few liberties with detail, but none of these changes alter his overall fidelity to the original composer's intent. He not only captures the wonder and magic of the story, but by his rendering, shows why it continues (unlike, say, the Greek myths which only educated elite in the West might concern themselves with) to enchant the population (even the illiterate) of India, and fill it with unshaken faith in the protagonist, Shri Rama. Nothing, not the Iliad or Odyssey, nor the Tolkien or Wagnerian Rings, can come close to the spiritual and mystical endurance of this tale.
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