Mansions of the Moon

 by Shyam Selvadurai

"the best people's souls- those Brhamins practising austerities and sacrifices in the forests - pass from the fires of cremation  into the air, rising to the moon where they dwell for six months in its mansions.  Then their Atmans continue upwards into the world of the gods and from theire into the Land of the Fathers.  Yet their journey does not end there dhara.  Soon a person who consites entirely of mind comes to lead them to the world of Braham, where they live in eternal bliss" pg 116.

This book is the fictional story of the life of Siddhartha, who became the Buddha, as told through his wife, Yasodhara.  I didn't really know anything about him other than that he was wealthy and left all this behind.

The story tells how Siddhartha, who is a disappointment to his father (uncle?), a raj, because he is not a good fighter and athlete.  Siddhartha goes away and gets acclaim as an administrator but when he comes back his father still doesn't like him and embarrasses him alot.  There are a couple other relatives who work with his father and seem to run things.  Siddhartha decides to marry a young girl he knew from childhood.  She is happy to marry him but shocked when instead of him getting a good job from his father he is sent to a distant outpost where they have no servants and must clean their own house and clothes, cook their own meals and even grow their own food.  His wife is at first distressed but finds she likes the manual labour and the joy that comes with growing things.  The people like Siddhartha because he is fair.  However Siddhartha does not like having to make judgements on people and he is attracted to teaching of ascetic monks.  He is visited by a former Raj, who gave everything up to become a monk, wandering the country.  Siddhartha is impressed by the man and his ideas and the fact he left everything behind.

A drought affects the countryside where Siddhartha and his wife live.  When the tax collectors come to collect taxes Siddhartha says they will give nothing because if they do the people will starve.  Shortly after his wife's brother comes and tells Siddhartha that because of his behaviour  he is being replaced.  The woman's brother is quite violent and has created alliances with some other local "tribes" because of the woman he has "married".

Siddhartha and his wife return to the family home in shame.  Siddhartha is appointed as a judge and seems to be doing a good job but he starts to go to visit some monks camped out outside the city.  His  wife announces she is pregnant thinking this will cause him to realize his responsibilities but shortly after the child is born he leaves his wife telling his wife that he has to follow his calling.  She is devastated.

Ten years after Siddhartha left rumours come that he is in the neighbourhood.  He has bome very famous for his teachings. His wife tells her son not to expect a visit from his father because his father has abandoned them.  Siddhartha does come to visit when he finds out his father is dying.  He meets his son and sees his wife again. When the Raj dies all the people in his household will have to leave their house.  The woman are worried about what will happen to them.  Siddhartha's wife asks him to intercede with the new Raj on behalf of his family of women.  He says he cannot do this as he would have.  She is further devastated when she finds her son has run off to join Siddhartha as have two cousins she was close to.

His wife decides that women do have the stamina to become wandering monks begging for a living.  She convinces many of the women to shave their heads, dress in white gowns and start to walk for 15 days to catch up with Siddhartha.  It is physically difficult but they are helped along the way.  When they catch up with Siddhartha the monks vote against women joining the order.  But the women persist and finally they are allowed to become monks with several restrictions on their behaviour basically making them subservient to the male monks.  The woman accept these rules knowing they will have little contact with the men.

Having read  up on the wife, Yasodhara, I learned that she lived to 78 years of age and Buddha died two years later.  Very long lives for those times.

Obviously very little is known about the real lives and interactions of Buddha and his wife, etc.  The author is a man.  He did a great job of presenting a story about what it might have been like, how difficult life was for women, so dependent on their males for their care and support.