The Forest of Thieves and the Magic Garden: An Anthology of Medieval Jain Stories

By Phyllis Granoff

Book Overview

The stories collected in this volume reflect the rich tradition of medieval Jain storytelling between the seventh and fifteenth centuries, from simple folk tales and lives of famous monks to sophisticated narratives of rebirth. They describe they ways in which a path to peace and bliss can be found, either by renouncing the world or by following Jain ethics of non-violence, honesty, moderation and fidelity. Here are stories depicting the painful consequences when a loved one chooses life as a monk, the triumph of Jain women who win over their husbands to their religion, or the rewards of a simple act of piety. The volume ends with an account of vice and virtue, which depict the thieving and destructive passions lurking in the forest of life, ready to rob the unsuspecting traveller of reason and virtue.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014045523X
• ISBN13: 9780140455236
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 373 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Jainism-Why salvation is through monkery.

I have now finished this book. The stories are very interesting-a fascinating introduction into Jainism and life in medieval India. The stories give insight into Jainism and perhaps Dharma based religions generally. The view held by the anonymous authors of these stories: That the world is a sad miserable place, and that becoming an ascetic monk or nun we will escape the cycle of rebirth and reincarnation, is needless to say a stupid one. This gives many of the stories a sad ending, which the author thought was happy, far too many stories end with "and then they became disgusted with the world and the husband became a monk and the wife became a nun. Then they fasted themselves to death, isn't this wonderful!" Jainism is one of those religions that have become highly overreated in the todays' secular western world, probably because of Jainism's emphasis on non-violence. Hopefully by reading these stories, spiritually empty western readers shall realise that just because a religion is not violent does not make it moral. For indeed many of these stories are highly mysoginistic and encourage men to abandon their wives and chilren in the pursuit of salvation, with the chief villians being wives who resist their husbands desire to join monasteries. I highly recommend this book to everyone.