Sutasoma: The Ancient Tale of a Buddha-Prince from 14th Century Java

Kate O'Brien's new translation delivers to the reader a highly approachable and li

Kate O'Brien's new translation delivers to the reader a highly approachable and lively rendition of this Buddhist epic, comparable in both complexity and scale to that of the Ramayana, yet significantly less known or understood.

O'Brien's accompanying analysis reveals a fascinating aspect of the poem, until now not fully comprehended. Aside from its function to elucidate the compatibility of Buddhahood and kingship, it also reveals within its verses what amounts to a literary mandala, as complex and philosophically rich as the beautiful mandala images of Tibetan Buddhism, yet firmly rooted in the Javanese milieu of the Majaphit polity which spawned this version of a very ancient tale. It is this literary mandala that is the path to Sutasoma's enlightenment, and this in turn the key to his success as a World Protector and Universal Monarch.

This entertaining and attractively illustrated edition will appeal to readers with interest in the literary traditions of Southeast Asia and of tantric Buddhism, and also to a wider audience who wish to understand the foundations, both mystical and practical, underpinning much of Javanese and Balinese society today.