Imparting Buddhas compassion

The World Buddhist Culture Trust in collaboration with Telangana Tourism organised a programme titled ‘Wisdom and Compassion – The way of Buddha’ on Sunday at Ravindra Bharathi. The cultural event was presented through a series of dance dramas by Kathak maestro Shovana Narayan and her troupe of eight students. A group of six Buddhist monks also took part in the event.

The programme opened with a screen display of paintings of the Buddha with the hymn "Om Mani Padme Hum" in the background. The monks then formed a line on a raised backdrop while the dancers performed in the foreground. This short piece represented that the dancers are the audience possessing Tamas, Rajas and Sattva whereas the monks are pristine and pure.

This was the introduction. The first act was the story of Ashoka. Shovana brilliantly displayed his arrogance and lust for battle as the students enacted the Kalinga War. The ending depicted his spiritual transformation brought about by the horrors of the battlefield and his conversion and acceptance of the way from a Bhikshu.

The second act was the poignant episode from the life of the Buddha. It showed a mother telling a story to her sick child who is horrified to discover that her baby had died during the narration. When she requests the Buddha to bring her child back to life he asks her to bring some mustard seed from a household, which has not experienced death to accomplish this.

Realising that everyone in their life experiences this loss and that all life is transitory the mother is enlightened. Shovana in the mother's role excelled. The last enactment was the presentation of the Buddha's severe fasting penance before his spiritual realisation. The finale was a sonorous chanting display by the monks. Senior guru BV Papa Rao, M Harikrishna, and Rimpoche Duboom Tulku graced the occasion and Raisa Luther compèred the show.