The Influence of Buddhist philosophy in The Prince Without Sorrow – GUEST POST by Maithree Wijesekara (THE PRINCE WITHOUT SORROW)
Welcome to the Ran empire.
Where winged serpents fly through the skies.
Giant leopards prowl the earth.
And witches burn blue as they die.
A prince born into violence.
Prince Ashoka is considered an outcast for opposing his father Emperor Adil Maurya’s brutal destruction of the Mayakari witches.
A witch seeking revenge.
Shakti vows retribution for the murder of her aunt and annihilation of her village at the hands of the emperor, even though she is bound by the Mayakari’s pacifist code.
A curse that will change the world.
In her anger Shakti casts a violent curse, the consequences of which will leave both her and Ashoka grappling for power. Do they take it for themselves and risk becoming what they most hate? Or do they risk losing power completely as the world around them is destroyed?
Drawing on inspiration from the Mauryan Empire of Ancient India, debut author Maithree Wijesekara plunges readers into the first amazing book of the Obsidian Throne trilogy.
The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara is published by HarperVoyager on the 27th March. You can order your copy HERE
The Influence of Buddhist philosophy in The Prince Without Sorrow
by Maithree Wijesekara
The Prince Without Sorrow is loosely inspired by Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Dynasty of Ancient India. He is a notable figure in Buddhist history, known for his shift from brutality to nonviolence. Because he’s associated with Buddhist history, it made sense for me to infuse the story with aspects of Buddhist philosophy. I’m no expert, and most of this will sound rather depressing, but bear with me. It’s interesting stuff.
The main way I incorporated Buddhist philosophy into the story was through the mayakari. The witches’ abilities are dangerous. It makes them powerful. However, because I’m a villain, I made the choice to limit their powers, and have this limitation exist of their own volition. Imagine being able to curse the living and raise the dead, only to purposefully reject using such power because of the hurt it could cause others. This was where the code of nonviolence came in. In a way, the mayakari resemble ascetics because they follow a specific code: do not curse, do not manipulate, do not harm, do not kill. This code is a tiny nod to the five Buddhist precepts that aim to reduce suffering (both to oneself than others). I’d argue that some aspects of the five precepts are way harder to follow – e.g.: if I need to tell a lie, best believe I’ll do it if necessary – but I digress.
Other than the mayakari code, there are a few more Buddhist concepts in The Prince Without Sorrow. The most common one that’s referenced is karma. Karma, in a nutshell, means doing, or action. Vipāka is the maturation/’ripening’ of karma or, as I like to call it – the consequences of your actions. Most Buddhists believe that the actions you take in this life will affect the next. For example, accrue enough negative karma, and in your next life, you might not be reborn as a human. Instead, you might be born as a slug that someone immediately steps on and pulverises. However, this is not to say that if you do negative deeds, that’s all you’re destined to do. Individuals always have the freedom to choose otherwise. Karma is intentional action.
Suffering is prevalent throughout the story as well, and is indiscriminate in who it affects, be it human, witch or spirit. In Buddhism, the main goal is to be free of suffering. To do this, you must break free of the endless cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). When you break this cycle, you’re free. You’ve attained nirvana, and you will no longer be subjected the rebirth. This is supposed to be a good thing because if you don’t exist, you don’t suffer.
At one point, Shakti remarks that ‘attachment is the root of all suffering’. This is a pretty fundamental aphorism in Buddhist philosophy. Any attachment, be it mental or physical, positive or negative, can cause suffering. Say I saved up and bought a fancy YSL bag. Yay – temporary happiness! After the purchase, that exhilaration slowly goes away. Maybe, you want another bag and grumble about saving up for another one. Maybe, you’re annoyed because someone else you know bought a better and more expensive bag. Either way, you’ve become fixated (read: attached) again. Though Ashoka and Shakti’s don’t deal with designer bags, their attachments – which are mostly emotional – also make them suffer.
As for the endless cycle, I took a more figurative approach. Ashoka and Shakti attempt to break free of the convictions and beliefs that bind them. Arguably, they do break a cycle, but are they truly free? Or have they simply entered a new cycle that runs ad infinitum? You might have to read book two to find out.
The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara is published by HarperVoyager on the 27th March. You can order your copy HERE
Maithree Wijesekara is an Australian-Sri Lankan writer based in Melbourne. Graduating with a Master’s degree in Dentistry, she splits her time between telling people to please brush their teeth, and writing stories inspired by the fantastical and the real world. When she isn’t writing, you can find her attempting to finish her never-ending TBR pile and ingesting unhealthy amounts of coffee. If given the chance, she will slip in a mention of her dearly departed Labrador during conversation. You can find her on Instagram @maithree_wijesekara.
