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Van Hoang Analysis of Old Path White Clouds The book, “Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha,” narrates the story of the Buddha. The book moves back and forth and also tells us the early life of Siddhartha, before and after his enlightenment. The first 80 chapters narrate the life and work of the Buddha until his death at the age of 80. The last chapter informs the reader of the teachings of Buddha and how the Buddha have continued to live on. The book narrates the life story of a man known as Gautama and how his awakening changed the world around him. Gautama later becomes the Buddha when he attained enlightenment under the sacred tree. It also lays a lot of emphasis on Tathagata’s teachings as well as documenting the social, political and cultural milieu that existed across the period within with the Buddha lived. The book talks of the Buddha’s experiments that helped him attain the enlightenment, based on the common practices, then followed by the Buddha’s own thinking that took him beyond these practices. The book also narrates the relationship between Buddha and the kings during his time, his father being one of them, and how his teachings influenced them. The book also touches on how the way the sangha was politicized. The Buddha stressed that the community was in support of only those who were in pursuit of the enlightenment. The book also explains how the religion tried to influence the politics of the time. The book displays in a clear way the teachings. Just as the Buddha had said, the enlightenment was a part of every person. The book paints a picture of a human being, who makes efforts and practice to attain enlightenment and shares the knowledge with others. The book is a novelization of Buddha’s life and teachings written by Thich Nhat Hanh and published in 1991 by Parallax Press. The author writing style is simple and poetic, and he

relays the smaller and larger events of the life of the Gautama Buddha in a highly readable fashion. The book is divided into two main parts, the first part which is Book one, second part which is Book Two and the last part which is Book Three. It has a total of 81 chapters with book one having 29 chapters, Book Two 25 chapters and Book Three having 26 chapters. In the story, there a lot of character transformation. The transformation happens from sentence to sentence, from paragraphs to paragraphs and from chapter to chapter. At the time that Siddhartha lived, there was a lot of competition for resources from the Northern states of India1. At this time, the traditional religious order of India was being challenged by a number of religious and philosophical schools. These schools were not in line with the old religious views of India. A lot of schools in India which were materialistic undermined the reputation and authority of the priestly class, leading to temporary religious anarchy which contributed to the development of new religions. Siddhartha’s ideas have some similarities with the work of another Indian sage, Kapila. Both seemed to be concerned of providing humanity with relief from the sufferings. Both of them believed that meditation and knowledge were the only way to salvation. They also struggled to attain a state of human perfection and had a purely agonistic approach. The difference between them is that Kapila organized his views in a system of philosophy that dint hint on human sympathy in general while the Buddha delivered his message with a living, showing sympathy and a great concern for the poor and the oppressed. This paper will give an in-depth analysis of Old path White Clouds where Thich Nhat Hanh is retelling the life story of the Buddha. This analysis will use Northrop and other authors’ 1 Violatti, Cristian. "Siddhartha Gautama." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified December 09, 2013. https://www.ancient.eu/Siddhartha_Gautama/.

theory and their methods. In the analysis, this paper will also criticize the work of Thich Nhat Hanh as well as praise his strong points. This paper will draw attention to the power of his work, simplify the complex and subtle argument and elaborate some of its implications. Old Path White Clouds retells the story of the Buddha’s life and teachings. It draws graphical and doctrinal information from the early Buddhist scriptures. Some of the goals of Thich Nhat Hanh are highlighted in the appendix and includes: the emphasis on the unity between the more orthodox and old southern Buddhism’s schools and the newer more innovative northern Buddhism’s schools, he attempts to appeal to a modern audience by rewriting Buddha’s life through excluding the miracles and other depictions that are not appealing to the modern world, he depicts Buddha as a man close to us by including difficult moments of Buddha during his life. Nhat Hanh has a complex agenda which reflects the adaptive strategies of Buddha as it tries to blend itself in the West and east and attempts to make itself relevant under the current circumstances. In chapter one and two, the Buddha who had been living in Bamboo Forest Monastery in Jajagaha had stopped off the village of Uruvela along Neranjara River in order to bring back Svasti to Monastery2. Svasti becomes acquainted with Rahula and tells him that he was homesick. In the process, Buddha delivers the Sutra on tending water buffaloes. In the third chapter, Svasti meets Siddhartha for the first time and he offers him a gift of Kusa grass, which the young boy used to cut, as a cushion for meditation. Svasti and Sujata meat for the first time. Siddhartha tell them the story of the swan short don by Devadatta’s arrow. In chapter five, Sujata meets Siddhartha for the first time after finding Siddhartha collapsed by the river shore. A gal named Nandabala is also mentioned as she offered Siddhartha a bowl of milk to drink when he

2 Thich, Old Path White Clouds (170-213).

was starving and weak. In chapter six of the book, Prince Siddhartha is born from a ruling family. Asita Kaladevala also visits the family at the palace. It is during the ritual plowing that Siddhartha attends his first meditation. From the first six chapters it is evident that the story moves back and for in narrating the life story of Buddha. The story is not narrated in a chronological order. Though, the story is narrated in a clear and easy to understand words. Let’s look at the life story of Buddha as per the book. The book narrates the story of a young man known as Siddhartha, who was born in the kingdom of Gautama from Sakya clan. Siddhartha had all the benefits of power and wealth not forgetting a careful education. Siddhartha was groomed to succeed his father, but he could not bring himself to fulfill that role. Siddhartha was troubled when he found out of the passive human suffering3. He, therefore chose a life of a monk who always practiced meditation successfully as the tutee of the most highly accomplished meditation masters of his time. But Siddhartha knew he hadn’t achieved his goal yet, so, he moved from his teacher to look for his enlightenment. Then, Siddhartha practiced some of the most ascetic methods but they did not liberate him from suffering. He abandoned the ascetic practices and seek for better solution. His disciples also abandoned him claiming that he has failed. Siddhartha later found enlightenment under a sacred tree and became the Buddha. He decided to teach others were willing to be taught through new ways that they could understand. During his ministry, he founded Sangha, a community that includes the monks, nun slay men and laywomen. Through his work, thousands of people achieved awakening and liberation from suffering4.

3 Ibid., 1991, 186 4 Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism. (Oxford University Press, 1998).

Old Path White Clouds contain many of the early teachings of Buddha just as preserved in the earliest Buddhist scriptures, and Nhat Hanh presents these teachings as significant reinterpretations. In the book, the author blends modern liberal democratic humanist element and traditional Buddhist, in combination with the products of his own experience so as to imagine an institution that is ideologically ideal or an institution that respects the human dignity as it chase the institutional goals. It is true that Nhat Hanh takes his project seriously and clearly understands the meaning of a dysfunctional institution. In the book, Nhat Hanh imagines Sangha as a functional system that involves a number of related characteristics that work together. The characteristics are articulated in the words of Gautama Buddha as well as through the illustrative anecdotes. Buddha was the most authoritative figure in the Sangha during his life as Nhat Hanh narrates it.5 The author also makes it clear in the book that the position that the Buddha takes in the Sangha is rightfully his as he has earned it through his spiritual accomplishment. In the Buddha’s encounter with his former ascetic companions, he makes it clear that he is in charge of the spiritual authority. The Buddha tells his former companions that he has found the way and he will show them6. The five companions accept the spiritual authority that Buddha had over them. In the book, Nhat Hanh narrates how the most accomplished students of the Buddha becomes teachers and also the advisors of the Buddha depending on their levels of accomplishments. The Sangha, as evidence puts it, is a meritocracy and the Buddha uses the rhetoric of merit, and most forcefully when dealing Devadatta’s ambition. Devadatta claims that there are several senior disciplines who deserve to lead the community of the Bhikkhu. Monks

5 Rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught, (London: Unwin, 1967). 6 Thich, Old Path White Clouds (170-213).

assume the authority according to their abilities and when one seeks more authority with ambition, he is rebuffed. Nhat Hanh envisions a functional meritocracy and many conditions within the Sangha support this meritocracy. One of the conditions is the freedom of thought.7 Nhat Hanh retells a famous story where the Buddha encounters a young boy, who asked him how to know when to accept or rejects claims. The Buddha replies that he should only accept those things which accord to his own thinking and reasoning, which the virtuous and the wise support8. The things which brings benefit and happiness in practice. So teachings must be reasonable enough to be accepted, and must come from a trustworthy source. These conditions constitute what Nhat Hanh calls, “The character of Buddhist teaching concerning freedom of thought.”9 The book also shows that the tolerance for individual judgment underlies a number of characteristics of the Sangha. The king Pasenadi tell Buddha that he does not need to wield a sword or threaten others with sword to be paid absolute respect. Despite the statement by the king, Nhat Hanh shows that the Buddha is not always respected and even if his or Sangha’s integrity is threatened, he or his followers do not resort to violence. Devadatta appears dangerous to the Sangha and even threatens to kill the Buddha but he is not stopped. The Sangha responds actively and not violently. Though some of the members of the Sangha are anxious about the split, the Buddha retains his peace of mind. He advises the monks not to give matter too much thought. In this situation the Buddha gives more importance to spiritual practice and the teachings than institutional concern. Nhat Hanh imagines an institution that does not forget the human concerns that it tries to address.

7 Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, (3-8) 8 Thich, Old Path White Clouds (530-589). 9 Ibid, 1991, 595

In the book, the Sangha is made a humane and workable institution by several other characteristics as imagined by Nhat Hanh. Many rules are generated and readily modified in the Sangha when the need arises.in establishing rules the Buddha accepts suggestions from the monks and advisors with an open mind. Even the monks who fail to abide by the rules are treated in a tolerable manner and not punished. Occasional scolding is inflicted only on those whom the Buddha knows will benefit from them. One of the teacher, Svasti is never scolded, although we are not told the reason as to why he was never scolded. The Buddha treats Svasti and other monks as equals. In this book, the Buddha portrays the social responsibilities as the concern of both the lay disciples and monastics. The Buddha’s sense of social responsibilities extends even to supporting other religious groups. Nhat Hanh in his book Old Path White Clouds, has brought out teachings and life of the Buddha in a clear way. But there are a number of aspect which the author did not bring to light. The author did not sufficiently critique the institutionalized sexism of the early Sangha. The nuns in the Sangha did not enjoy the status that the monks have. The nuns have been subjected to more rules that restricts them to a limited number of activities and roles. The nuns have been subjected to a less careful education as well as less economic support from Laity. This have even continued to the present day, though, modern nuns have demanded and received equal treatment in some of the traditions. In the Old Path White Clouds the story of Mahapajapati’s is used to acknowledge the unfairness of the early nuns’ discriminatory. The Buddha himself accepts the ability of women to achieve spiritual liberation. Sariputta proposes some of the discriminatory rules that the nuns must accept, but he is challenged by Moggallana who says that the eight rules are indeed discriminatory. The author depicts himself as one who rationalizes sexism instead of criticizing it. Women are capable of liberation if given the opportunity but in the book, the

Buddha never addresses the issue of their status in the society. It is evident that Nhat Hanh rationalizes, supports and fails to portray the ugliness institutionalized sexism. From the book, Nhat Hanh does not accurately represents the historical reality. The author idealizes the Sangha and the Buddha beyond credibility. Mahayana and modern western ideas are anachronistically inserted by Nhat Hanh. These are not particularly accurate reflections of early history or the doctrines. The book has the Buddha speak about the interpenetration and inter-being, these words are used only in the Mahayana doctorial innovations and the Buddha may have provably not used them in his teachings. Hanh also speak about equality, discrimination, and oppression in a way that is more of modern Western liberal ideology as opposed to the traditional Buddha’s prospective ideas. In the book, “Buddhism, in order to be Buddhism, must be suitable, appropriate to the psychology and the culture of the society that deserves it.”10 So for Nhat Hanh, Buddhism is a religion for the living people. The author also sees his ideal institution as a hierarchy, which is an inherently violent, or at least problematic, organizational structure. In the book, the Buddha also has the power to eject an aspirant from the Sangha or refuse his entry. Hanh uses pointedly violent metaphor to show this power since he shows the conversation that the Buddha says that he will kill the monk who does not respond to any of the teachings. In this way, Hanh expresses an awareness of the institutional violence and mostly the violence within the Sangha. Other references do not contain these Buddha’s words about killing the monks who defy the teachings. Instead of Nhat Hanh looking at the act of Siddhartha abandoning his wife and child as a socially irresponsible withdrawal from his family and from the world, he romanticizes it. It has been a tradition for criticizing Siddhartha for leaving his family for the quest of seeking enlightenment. Nhat Hanh does not repeat the criticism but associates Mahayana with more 10 Ibid, 1991, 523

expansive ideas and doctrines. Nhat Hanh comes to term with using modern terms, “The Buddha saw that it would be necessary to return to the society in order to set the wheel of Dharma in motion and sow the seeds of liberation.” Conclusion Old Path White Clouds is a beautiful book and we need constructive, responsible imaginative vision that Nhat Hanh has offered. The teachings that Nhat has given in the book, according to me are one of the best hopes we have for creating the world that we truly desire. These teachings are at the leading edge of a culture that respects the human dignity. Nhat has also given suggestions on how the teachings can be applied in other religious traditions. In the book, Nhat Hanh demonstrates the act of recreation that all religious traditions must engage in. from his demonstrations, there are only two options: the lake of fire that consumes us, the fountain that relieves our thirst and gives us life.

Bibliography Violatti, Cristian. "Siddhartha Gautama." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified December 09, 2013. https://www.ancient.eu/Siddhartha_Gautama/. Collins, Stephen. Selfless Person, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1982. Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Thich, N. Hanh, Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha. Trans. Mobi Ro (i.e. Mobi Warren). Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1991. Rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught, 2nd ed., London: Unwin, 1967.

Schober, Juliane, ed. Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997....