Author ORCID Identifier
DOI
10.3167/cs.2023.350207
Publisher Link
https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/critical-survey/35/2/cs350207.xml?isSearch=true
Library Link
https://unk.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UON_K/6cf510/cdi_gale_lrcgauss_A770445721
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 2023
Publication Title
Critical Survey
First Page
80
Last Page
91
Abstract
What can Buddhism offer contemporary religious understandings of King Lear? Shakespeare’s great wisdom play has been viewed, more often than not, as pessimistic, even nihilistic, in its tragic rendering of the human condition. A Buddhist perspective challenges the premises of such a bleak reading by offering profound insight into how suffering gives rise to compassion, empathy, and wisdom, rather than despair. Focusing particularly on the enigmatic spirituality and moral function of Edgar, this article illuminates his character through the revered teachings of a classic Indian text of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Shāntideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva. Edgar appears in the heroic light of a bodhisattva, an enlightened being who seeks to alleviate the suffering of others. His journey exemplifies the human potential for moral transformation, selflessness, and universal love in his responsiveness to the suffering of others who wander in a saṃsāric world of ignorance, attachment, and aversion.
Recommended Citation
Tassi, Marquerite, "The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Buddhist Understanding of King Lear" (2023). Publications: English. 2.
https://openspaces.unk.edu/eng-pubs/2
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