If Only I Had Listened with Different Ears: Three Buddhist Tales

by Jason Siff

These three tales belong to the same genre as Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. The first two tales revolve around the Buddha, while the third tale takes place a thousand years later, when the Bodhisattva Maitreya appears, but only to Asanga's eyes. If Only I Had Listened with Different Ears Three Buddhist King Bimbisara's Chronicler A novel about a young man sent by King Bimbisara to memorize the teachings of the Buddha, told thirty years later during the turbulent reign of King Ajatasattu. After the Parinibbana A short story about an old monk who is the last living person to have heard the Buddha teach and was present at the Buddha's parinibbana . Myth of Maitreya A novella about the Bodhisattva Maitreya visiting Asanga during his twelve years alone in the forest and the subsequent creation of a new Buddhist philosophy with the help of Asanga's brother, Vasubandhu.

188 pages, Paperback

Published September 22, 2021

Reviews

[daniel stuart johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat reading Jason Siff's work is. I am a huge fan of his nonfiction works about meditation itself, but here he gives us something rare and beautiful - Buddhist fiction. I'm an avid reader of nonfiction but as most of you out there will resonate, sometimes I need to take a break from nonfiction and engage my imagination more directly. This book is just what the doctor ordered. I get to still stay immersed in the dharma while going on a series of adventures in the times of and just after the Buddha. How refreshing to read dharma stories that don't have that slightly bitter taste of propaganda or didacticism woven in. Here we see imperfect characters trying their best in imperfect ways with earnestness and sincerity to grapple with what it is to be human through the lens of the dharma. Beautiful and poetic, yet simple and ambiguous, like reading the poetry of Ryokan.