“The Spider’s Thread” it is a very imaginative story, the one that
tells about lies, about evil, about crime and all sort of misdeeds. The problems
overcome the villain. The story is very spiritual, it goes around Buddhist’s
philosophy – the religion which is very versatile, sensual and difficult to reach
due to broadness of human mind (the mind closes itself and protects itself
against irrationality, abstract forms, the dream forms of being, the existentialism.
The reason of it sake forbids for total unification; yet, not everyone resists).
The coexistence of Paradise and Hell in Buddhist
religions is parallel.
“…Then the lord Buddha
paused, and
through a clear patch of water between
those lotus flowers that covered the surface
of the pond, he looked at the scene
below. At the bottom of the lotus pond in
water could be seen, as though in a
peep-show, such sights as the River of
Death and the Mountain of Needles
The story begins with a description of an innocent walk of the Lord
Buddha, he is walking within Paradise, the lotus pond stands for tranquility, order
and peace – the balance that cannot be ruined or distracted, the lotus blossoms
are crystal white with beautiful fragrance, they put mind at ease. The down is coming. At the
bottom of the pond the Buddha sees Hell – the water shows its devilish shape,
evil character, something indestructible, something always omnipresent and real
as much as Paradise. There is something more than Hell – there is also a man –
Kandata.
“…the lord Buddha
noticed a man named Kandata, writhing
in the midst of other sinners. This man
Kandata had been a great thief, and had
done many wicked deeds on earth, killing
men and burning houses…”
Kandata is a sinner, a criminal, a devil who deserves condemning,
however, he is “fortunate” – Buddha sees he is not as bad as all signs say,
namely, there’s one good deed he did, something that rescues him. He didn't step on a small spider while he was walking through the woods.
“…He lifted his foot, and was about to crush it 10
death, when he suddenly changed his mind.
“Eo,” he said to himself, “I must ‘not.
Even a little creature such as this has life,
and to kill it without cause would be a
great pity.” And so he spared the life of
the spider…”
Lord Buddha recalls that hint of goodness – he knows that once one
finds himself in Hell there’s no return and hope for redemption, Lord Buddha wants
to save the man from Hell. He found one way to help him;
“…The lord Buddha picked up the
spider gently, and then began to let it
down between the pearl-white flowers,
straight towards Hell far beneath.
Meanwhile, Kandata, with other sinners,
was struggling to keep afloat in the Lake
of
Blood, which was in the lowest depths of
Hell. All was darkness, except for an occasional,
ghostly glimmer of half-light
coming from the fearful Mountain of
Needles. The quiet was like that of a graveyard,
and the only sound that could be
heard was the faint sighing of the sinners…”
Kandata sees nothing but darkness, hears nothing, he is surrounded by
a total silence, he felt as if he had been in the abyss … nothing is present but the sinners, deeper He is in Hell, more drastic tortures he feels, unable
to utter any sound except the weak whisper, sigh. Luckily for Kandata, the situation changes,
one day he sees a spider web which comes lower and lower to his reach, it is
silver, it is shining, it is a hope for way out. The hope – it is what keeps him
alive, endurance to tortures, he dreams of getting out, of reaching Paradise , of a different life.
“…But it so happened that Kandata, in the
midst of his suffering, raised his head and
looked towards the sky above the lake. And
he saw, descending gradually towards him
in a straight, shimmering line, as thou!h
fearful of being seen by man’s eyes, the
silvery thread of the spider. It seemed 10
come from far, far above, through the
silent darkness. Kandata clapped his hands
for joy…”
He was able to grab the thread, he knows he is skillful and can climb
up, he also knows that the distance between Hell, the vacuum space and Paradise
is enormous, it seems to be beyond anyone’s expectation to be done
successfully, even though he tries, he climbs up, gradually upper and upper,
but, after some time he sees that even he is not fit enough to complete the difficult
journey, against all odds he continues. He hangs on a thread and sees the Hell
below, he hates it, this terrible place finally seems to be away, he laughs –
his devilish laughter echoes. His happiness doesn't last long, first he felt
and later he noticed the shapes of bodies of other sinners who alike him started
climbing up through the thread, Kandata is selfish, he knows how fragile the
thread is and realizes that it might not withstand the weight of all of them. If
the thread breaks – everyone will fall down into Hell again with no hope to get
out.
“…so Kandata with a loud voice began
to scream at his fellow-sinners. “Listen to
me, you sinners! This spider’s thread is
.
mine! Who said you could come up after
me? Get off! Get off!...”
His screams don’t help, eventually, the thread breaks apart and Kandata falls down, he is lost, he is doomed forever. It is a punishment!
“…Lake
of Blood
There was probably much pity in the
lord Buddha’s heart for Kandata, who was
sent back to Hell for his heartlessness…”
The novel represents the genre of “I novel”- the author wanted to entertain the
reader, he wrote it to a general audience, for everyone, the novel is light yet
it has got a message, it has got a purpose, it describes the dark human nature,
the human demeanor which has to be eliminated, gotten rid of, there is no room for
such a person, it simply has to be extinguished. The novel is a parable. It might
be interpreted in various ways. The problems of existentialism, eternal suffering
and eternal Paradise salvation is widely discussed.
Various aspects of religion must be
taken into consideration as well.
Komentarze
Prześlij komentarz