A Christmas Carol - A modern Buddhist parable? Was Charles Dickens a Bodhisattva?

The_Dharma_Farmer

Hi everyone, Namo Baddhay!

I hope this find you well at a traditionally festive time of year! :-) I have always love "A Christmas Carol", and this time last year it dawned on me that there are striking similarities to this and both the 5 stages of spiritual development and the mandala of the 5 Buddhas too! In fact, "A.C.C" is a handbook for self-transcendence and a guide to the path of the Mahayanan figure, the Bodhisattva. I'm curious as to whether others have noticed this and if so, what are your thoughts?

Here is the link to the first of six articles I have prepared on the matter, I hope you enjoy and may it be of use in your journey.

thedharma-farmer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/a-bodhisattvas-christmas-carol-part-1.html

In Metta, Jay x

vinlyn

In simply answering your headline question:

"A Christmas Carol" is my favorite work of fiction. I have read it at least a dozen times over the years, and about every other year watch the George C. Scott film of it. And I think that Dickens was the greatest writer of his time, and one of the finest writers in Western literature.

But no, just as I yesterday wrote that Curt Cobain wasn't any type of Buddhist figure, neither was Dickens. Dickens was just a man, albeit an extremely talented one.

The_Dharma_Farmer

Agreed on every level. This was born out of a debate I was having with a friend a while back, who claimed that figures such as Mother Teresa could be seen as embodying the Bodhisattva principle in a modern context, people like Dr Ambedkar, Martin Luther King etc. I think we can recognise traits of the Bodhisattva Ideal in some of these people's aspirations certainly, but I don't think we can compare them to cosmological figures such as Manjusri or Avelokatesvara. I suppose the next logical question to pose would be for another discussion thread - is the path of the Bodhisattva a realistic aspiration and can it ever be realised in a lifetime? I suppose it would depend on what tradition people practice in (if at all) and whether the Ideal itself is merely a teaching to personify (literally) the nth degrees of the various paramitas? Food for thought.

I'm quite comfortable with people being compared to Bodhisattvas (after all, otherwise the various vows and initiation ceremonies in a few traditions are a waste of time, lol), but I agree, I think a very important distinction needs to be made when discussing both ancient (Santideva) and modern (Cobain/Dickens) figures in the context of such etherial cosmological figures.

Couldn't agree more on Dickens :-D And no-one could claim Cobain was a Buddhist figure, surely? I read that thread, I could see what that guys was trying to say, but I'm with you (I think) on this one.

Thanks for the thoughts x

vinlyn

"I think we can recognise traits of the Bodhisattva Ideal in some of these people's aspirations certainly, but I don't think we can compare them to cosmological figures..."

Yes, this is the key! :thumbsup:

The_Dharma_Farmer

hehe! I feel quietly vindicated ;-)

If you get a chance, feel free to have a read of the full article, it's always nice to share. Metta.

riverflow

vinlyn said:

"A Christmas Carol" is my favorite work of fiction. I have read it at least a dozen times over the years, and about every other year watch the George C. Scott film of it.

^^^ the George C. Scott version is the best! Whole chunks of the dialogue are straight out of the book, and Scott's acting is (unsurprisingly) perfect.

poptart

The best movie version is Scrooge with Alistair Sim, the best ever portrayal of that character. Funnily enough I watched it again yesterday while baking mince pies. It has become an annual routine. Trouble is I always get tears in the pastry at the end.

BhikkhuJayasara

I do not like musicals at all.. but for me nothing beats 1970 Scrooge with Albert Finey(came out 8 years before I was born), all the great songs from " I hate people" to " I like life", " thank you very much"... . No other scrooge is as likely to make you laugh as cry. I've never felt the same with any other version and I do feel it has buddhist principles of positive thought and skillful action. Also the fact that he had the power to change himself as well as develop compassion for his fellow man.



also grew up with the Disney version as a kid haha, scrooge mcduck!.

Jainarayan

riverflow said:

vinlyn said:

"A Christmas Carol" is my favorite work of fiction. I have read it at least a dozen times over the years, and about every other year watch the George C. Scott film of it.

^^^ the George C. Scott version is the best! Whole chunks of the dialogue are straight out of the book, and Scott's acting is (unsurprisingly) perfect.

Yep, the George C. Scott version is probably even better than Alastair Sim's. Scott brings a level of nastiness and cantankerousness that really has to be admired.