The Half-closed Eyes of the Buddha and the slowly Sinking Sun
Shankar Lamichhane (1928-1975)
About the author
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| Shankar Lamichhane |
· was born in Kathmandu but lived in Banaras with his uncle at a young age.
· After receiving college education at Tri-Chandra College in Kathmandu, he took his first job at the age of twenty – two and worked for a number of governmental and cultural institutions in the capital.
· In his later years, he became the manager of handicrafts store.
· Lamichhane was an admirer of modern American fiction and frequently mixed with foreign visitors to Nepal.
About the story
The story deals with the monologues of two characters a tourist guide in Kathmandu valley and a foreign tourist. The story is different from conventional stories and instead of showing actions and events, the story records what the two characters think in a stream of consciousness technique.
Characters
The foreign tourist
The main character of the story. He is also the main narrator in this story. He presents Nepal as a naturally beautiful and culturally rich country. This is a land of peaceful atmosphere, and the country of religious tolerance and co-existence.
The guide
The tourist guide is Nepali who is one of the major narrators of the story. He has wider knowledge of Nepalese culture, religion and even tourist sites or destinations where one can see perfect blend of nature and human made cultural heritages.
The paralyzed child
The child is attacked by polio and born to a poor farmer family. His whole body is useless: he can’t speak, move his hands, chew his food, or even spit. His only living parts of his body are eyes that indicate he is alive. For the tourist guide, he is certainly no divine incarnation.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions
a. How does the tourist describe his initial impression of the Kathmandu valley?
The tourist describes his initial impression of the Kathmandu valley as the green valley with its geometric fields, its earthen houses of red, yellow and white. For him, this valley is the place with peaceful atmosphere, the scent of soil and mountains in the air, and outspread arms of blue hills that embrace the inhabitants.
b. According to the tourist, why is the West indebted to the East?
According to the tourist, the West is indebted to the East because the East has given them religion, the Puranas, images of brass and ornaments of ivory, manuscripts of palm leaves and inscriptions on copperplate. They also have been given a civilization and its wisdom and garlands of Jasmine flowers around their necks. Easterners are generous who is ignorant of taking.
c. How does the tourist interpret the gaze of the monks and nuns?
The tourist interprets the gaze of the monks and nuns as perception, pure and without contamination; sight that perceives everything in its true form. He tells his guide that it is called a samyak gaze.
d. Why do the tourists think Nepali people are wonderful and exceptional?
The tourists think Nepali people are wonderful and exceptional because Nepali people are so generous that who continues giving but ignorant of taking and innocent of the notion of ownership. The hospitality to the guests and the smile of innocent Nepali faces are really wonderful and exceptional.
e. What are the different kinds of communities in the Kathmandu valley and how do they co-exist with each other?
Aryans, non-Aryans, Hindus and Buddhists are living in peace and harmony in the Kathmandu Valley. According to the speaker, it was the soil that enables all these races to be flourished together.
f. What does the tourist feel about the temple of Adinath?
The tourist feels about the temple of Adinath as great and awesome. For him, it is the living example of Nepalese tolerance and coexistence. The temple stands up the hill in the middle of the village. In the temple courtyard there is a shrine of Shiva, several Buddha images and many prayer wheels, inscribed ‘Om mani padme hu’.
g. Why does the guide take the tourist to the remote village?
The guide takes the tourist to the remote village to allow him to watch fresh culture as the dust of the time has not yet covered the culture of the past. The tourist can see some birds drawn on old rock by a young village artist. He will take the tourist to a house where he will find the pulse of reality. He will know about the real lifestyle, hardships and challenges of village people.
h. What does the innocent village couple think of the doctor?
The innocent village couple thinks of the doctor as the one who has brought a life restoring remedy across the seven seas for their paralyzed son. Their faith on the doctor can be read in their eyes. There is intimacy, kindliness and gratitude in their eyes.
i. What are the differences between the paralyzed child and his sister?
The paralyzed child’s whole body is useless whereas his sister’s whole-body functions properly. His eyes are only living parts of his body. He can’t speak, move his hands, chew his food and even spit. But her sister crawls around, picks up everything she comes across and puts it into her mouth. She is not only physically but also mentally healthy.
j. Why does the guide show the instances of poverty to the tourist?
The guide shows the instances of poverty to the tourist to make him informed about the real condition of Nepalese farmers. The poor farmer’s family is the representatives of Nepalese farmers. His act of showing such instances allow the tourists to know about the hardships, poverty and challenges that Nepalese farmers are facing.
Reference to the context
a. Which narrative technique is used by the author to tell the story? How is this story different from other stories you have read?
The author has used stream of consciousness technique/style to tell the story. Stream of consciousness is a narrative technique that tries to capture a character’s thought process in a realistic way. It’s simply an interior monologue.
This story is different from the other stories we have read since this story contains unusual sentence structure, difficult words and complex grammar. The style is more personal, unique and seems like a continuous flow of thought process of the narrator. Other stories are plain, easy to understand with normal dramatic actions such as exposition, rising actions, climax, falling actions and resolution. This story lacks such common forms but has a realistic scene. The story telling technique is also unique: the first part is told from the perspective of the foreign tourist and the second is from the point of view of the native tourist guide. It simply records what the two characters think.
b. How is the author able to integrate two fragments of the narration into a unified whole?
The author integrates two fragments of the narration into a unified whole to expose to glorify natural beauty and age-old peacefulness of Nepal. He praises Nepalese culture, religious tolerance and co-existence from the perspective of the foreign tourist. Similarly, he presents hardships, poverty and challenges of village people from the perspective of the native tourist guide.
He has used stream of consciousness technique to admire natural beaty Nepal and etiquette of Nepalese society. The whole idea is presented through the monologues by the two major characters. The first fragment is composed of the knowledge and experience of the foreign tourist and the second one is the tourist guide’s attempt to inform the tourist about the reality of village life and the heritages that are still fresh in the countryside.
c. The author brings some historical and legendary references in the story. Collect these references and show their significance in the story.
The author has brought some historical and legendary references in the story. They are:
Legend of Manjushree
It is believed that Kathmandu valley, once, was full of water/ a lake with a lotus flower blooming on it. As the foreign tourist states, Manjushree struck with his sword at Chobhar to let the water flow. After draining the water out, Kathmandu valley became suitable for life. The author brings this legend to signify Nepalese belief system on their origin and settlement. The myth might have been created as per the geographical feature of Chobhar hill but it gives the sense of reality. The lake with lotus flower symbolizes purity, peace and magnificence of Nepalese history and culture.
Bhrikuti’s marriage with Songtsen Gampo
Bhrikuti was the princess of the Licchavi Kingdom, daughter of King Amshuverma. She was married to the emperor of Tibet Songtsen Gampo. She is supposed to have been married to the Tibetan King to improve diplomatic relation between Nepal and Tibet. The author brings this legendary and historical reference in the monologue of the foreign tourist to signify Nepalese generosity and contribution to neighboring countries for friendly relation. It indicates Nepalese diplomatic policy to build and sustain international relation.
Temple of Adinath
Adinath Temple is located at Chobhar Danda. Further up the hill, in the middle of the village, stands the temple of Adinath. In the temple courtyard there is shrine of Shiva, several Buddha images, many prayer wheels, inscribed ‘Om mani padme hu’. This historical reference has been brought to signify Nepalese tolerance and coexistence.
d. The author talks about the eyes in many places: the eyes of the shaven monks and nuns, eyes in the window and door panels, the eyes of the Himalayas, the eyes of the paralyzed boy, the eyes of the welcoming villagers and above all the half-closed eyes of the Buddha. Explain how all the instances of eyes contribute to the overall unity of the story.
The author talks about the eyes in many places: the eyes of the shaven monks and nuns called ‘samyak gaze’ which means perception, pure and without contamination. It refers to the sight that perceives everything in its pure form. The eyes in the window and door panels indicate Nepalese art and culture. The eyes of the Himalayas refer to natural beauty and the eyes of the paralyzed boy indicates poor people in need of support and the eyes of the welcoming villagers signifies Nepalese courtesy and etiquette to guests. Most importantly, he talks about the half-closed eyes of the Buddha to signify security, tolerance and peace.
All the instances of eyes contribute to the overall unity of the story in the sense that meanings associated to these eyes constitute beautiful picture of Nepalese culture, tolerance, coexistence and pulse of reality. The eyes of the paralyzed boy represent the real condition of villagers or innocent farmers. The author expresses his perspectives about Nepalese legend, art and culture, and harmonious relations among multi-racial and multi-cultural groups by taking the references of these eyes.
Summary
The Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun Summary
The story is written by Shankar Lamichhane. It deals with the monologues of two characters, a Nepali tourist guide and a foreign tourist. The story is different from conventional stories and instead of showing actions and events, the story records what the two characters think in a stream of consciousness technique.
As the tourist enters Nepal, he begins to feel the beauty of the geometric fields, earthen houses and peaceful atmosphere. He lives in plain beside the sea, so the hills and mountains of Nepal fascinate him. He feels that the half-closed eyes of the Buddha welcome him at the airport. The tourist says that the Nepalese have given the West, varieties of valuable things like the Puranas, the ivory-ornaments, manuscripts of palm leaves, inscriptions on copperplate, civilization and garlands of jasmine flowers around the necks. He knows many things about Nepal by reading in many volumes in the libraries of his country. He knows about the history of Kathmandu, that how Manjushree had struck his sword at Chovar. He knows about the Samyak gaze of the shaven-headed monks. He interprets the gaze of the monks and nuns as perception, pure and without contamination; sight that perceives everything in its true form.
The tourist is impressed with the artistic hands of the Nepalese sculptors and the religious tolerance. He is grateful for the Nepali and Newari food served to him, the hot mo-mos. He knows the stories narrated by an old grandfather to his grandson that tells how Bhrikuti took with her each and every Nepali item when king Amshuvarma sent her off to Tibet. He knows how different religious groups live here in harmony. He has come to Kathmandu to enjoy all these flavors with his own senses. The other reason, he says, for his visit is to see the warm smiles of Nepalese people. The smile is so familiar that he says, they seem to him that he is the farmer’s eldest son, coming home after a long day’s work in the fields and is content to see his father. For him, the Nepalese smile is the smile full of wisdom, the smile from the soul. He also says that Nepal is the land of the eyes. He likes the eyes of the carved antique windows, the eyes painted on the door panels, the eyes of the Himalayas and the stupas and the eyes of the people. So, for him, it is a land of eyes, a land guarded by the half-closed eyes of the Lord Buddha. These eyes have the power to rejuvenate Nepalese civilization. His appetite for eyes is still not satisfied. So, on the coming day, he wanted to go to a lonely place where there is a stupa with eyes, the clear eyes of the Buddha.
The second part of the story is the tourist guide’s monologue. He wants his guest to see some more things, probably the guest doesn’t know of his country. The guide talks of Chobhar hill, the place where the tourists come to see the cleft that was made by Manjushri's sword and the outflow of the Bagmati River. There is an old rock, where a young village artist has drawn pictures of birds and temples. Nearby, there is a temple of Adinath- the lord Shiva. There he could see several Buddha images, and prayer wheels inscribed Om mani padme hu.' This is the perfect example of religious tolerance and coexistence. The guide then takes to the tourist to show the reality of one of the Nepalese families. Unlike the family described by the tourist, the family, the guide is showing does not cook mo-mos in their hearth, nor do they discuss Bhrikui’s dowry. There is a child at that home, who is attacked by polio, the child's whole body had been useless; he could not speak, move his hands or chew his food, or even spit. His eyes were the only living parts of his body and it is only his eyes that indicate that he is actually alive. The guide here wants to show the tourist how his understanding is different from what he had read in libraries about Nepal. What he had told the day before to the guide was not the final truth. There are eyes full of pain as well in Nepal. The guide says that he doesn’t know whether the sick child’s eyes have the samyak gaze or not. But the child was a perfect example of Nepali having an extraordinary ability of endurance. The guide thus shows the tourist one more reality of Nepalese eyes. The guide had lied to the parents of the boy telling them that the tourist was a doctor. Due to the hope of treatment, there was an overflow of intimacy and gratitude in the eyes of the family members. The family considered the tourist as the elder brother who had brought a life-restoring remedy across the seven seas for his younger brother. The guide said that the smile shall remain on their faces as long as he was there and soon will vanishes when he returns home. The sister of the boy, on the other hand, was alright. She could move, could speak and do all those activities appropriate to her age. She could weep and laugh with people around her. She could do everything a normal person could physically and emotionally do. Observing his sister’s activities the brother speak his pains, dissatisfactions, sorrows, happiness and hopes only through his eyes.
This story has two main symbols. They are ‘half-closed eyes of Buddha’ and ‘the slowly sinking sun’. ‘Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha’ symbolizes peaceful environment of Nepal and peace-loving trait of Nepali people and ‘the slowly sinking sun’ symbolizes natural beauty in Nepal.
