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31 Soc. Change 1 (2001)

handle is hein.journals/sclcnge31 and id is 1 raw text is: 1-2 Social Change : March-June 2001 : Vol. 31 Nos. 1&2 The unconventional wisdom of the tree god Ranjit Hoskote* THE JATAKA STORIES, IN WHICH THE BUDDHA RECOUNTS HIS PREVIOUS LIVES to his disciples, have long passed into India's folklore. In these tales, the Buddha appears as the Bodhisattva, the Buddha-on-the-way, who exercises his energies in the service of others, so advancing along the path of perfection. While the Bodhisattva's journey towards enlightenment is the central theme of the Jataka narratives, they also enshrine the central values of the Buddha's teaching: compassion, selfless joy, the interdependence of all beings. In the retelling of the tale of the sal tree which follows, the Bodhisattva takes the form of a tree god who holds a dialogue with Brahmadatta, king of Kashi. In the course of this dialogue, Brahmadatta is offered a salutary insight into virtue. He learns that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the political conduct of a ruler is not entirely divorced from the ethical conduct expected of a private individual. The Jatakas disturb our complacency in subtle ways. One of the Bodhisattva's lessons seems to be that there is a realism of compassion which is more significant, and more effective in the long run, than the realism of expediency. Where expediency leads us to mutually assured destruction by turning all against all, compassion ensures that everyone can flourish without damaging anyone else. One afternoon, as they sat in the grove of Jetavana, the Buddha told his disciples the story of the sal tree. I Long ago, when Brahmadatta was king of Kashi, he determined to build a great new palace for himself. The rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms have palaces that are supported by many beams, he reasoned with the more cautious side of his personality. But I shall build a palace whose roof is miraculously supported by a single column, and live on in legend. * A poet, art critic and cultural commentator, Fellow of International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, USA (1995), Awardee of the Sanskriti Prize for Literature (1996), Biographer of Pilgrim. Exile, Sorcerer: The Painterly Evolution of lehangir Sabavala (1998). 1, Sea View, 14/A Road, Khar, Mumbai-400 052.