ওল্ড পাথ হোয়াইট ক্লাউডস(হার্ডকভার)

one of the best book on buddhas life

শাক্য-সিংহ সিদ্ধার্থর গৌতম বুদ্ধ হয়ে ওঠা এবং তার পরে বৌদ্ধ ধর্মের উৎপত্তি, বিকাশ, বিস্তৃতি নিয়ে এই বই। থিচ নাথ হান অনেকদিন ধরে বুদ্ধ এবং বৌদ্ধ ধর্ম নিয়ে গবেষণা করে এ বই লিখেছেন। ফলে ফিকশনের মধ্যেই উঠে এসেছে ইতিহাস। কখনও কখনও বৌদ্ধ দর্শনের সারকথা তিনি নিয়ে এসেছেন প্রসঙ্গিকতায়। গল্পের মধ্যে দিয়ে বুদ্ধের সময়ে পৌঁছে গিয়ে বুদ্ধ, তৎকালীন সময় এবং মানুষদের চেনা যায়। যেহেতু এই বইটি মূল বইয়ের অনুবাদ তাই অনুবাদ নিয়েও বলতে হয়। আমাদের দেশের দু'জন সেরা অনুবাদকের যৌথ কাজ বইটি। অনেক আশা নিয়েই ধরেছিলাম। কিন্তু কোন কারণে স্থানে স্থানে ছন্দপতন হয়েছে। সারবত্তা থেকে সরে গেছে দূরে, বা মূল বইয়ের সুর ধরা যায়নি।

The story starts with a young monk named 'Svasti' meditating in the 'Venuvan Vihara' situated in 'Rajgaha'(sometimes in 516 B.C) with a calm and peaceful surroundings. After a while he opened his eyes and smiled to himself. Then he remember how he became the part of Buddha's community. He can clearly recall the time when he first met with Buddha and heard the stories of Buddha(from his childhood to Awakening) which were told by the Buddha himself. Now this is how the writer starts with first few chapters of his book. Gradually we will get to know about the early life of Buddha when he was not Gautama Buddha but Siddhartha Gautama and the time when he left his home to find the true salvation. We will also discover the life of Buddha after his Awakening. During the journey Buddha will tell us his findings like meaning of life, ways to find peace which he learned from his awakening. We will learn how Buddha formed 'Sangha'(Buddhist Community), how he set the rules of Buddhism and how he spread Buddhism. This book will also introduce us with some of Buddhas main disciples. Story will end with the same young monk with whom it began. But this time he is not young anymore. My comment: So basically this is a Autobiography of Buddha. but it's not monotonous, i’d say interesting as it is told like a story by the writer. He tries to show Buddha as a human being rather than a god in his writing, he takes us to a short tour where we can see how Buddha enlightened himself and how he spread his teachings among his disciples. People who has a minimum interest with Buddhism or meditation (coz after reading this book it seems meditation is the key in Buddhism) can start with this book, it's a complete package for starters. It's not some kind of religion text book or didn't focus on any specific topic, but it beautifully covered the life and core teachings of Buddha.