Indian Epics Blog

       Writing: Pixabay Reading: I had plenty of time to do this week's reading, as it was only reading a story and not from the book. The story I read was about a crocodile that wanted to eat the monkey. However, the monkey was smart and tricked the crocodile by making the crocodile open his mouth. When crocodile's open their mouths, it makes their eyes shut,  so the monkey escaped from the crocodile! Once the crocodile realized he had been tricked, he told the monkey that he had the four virtues to escape his foes and that he would not try to eat him again. Best Writing: My best writing was actually an essay I did for English II (Yes, I am a senior just now taking my English...). I wrote about patriotism and whether or not it is actually beneficial to society, or if it just leads to harmful outcomes. Other Classes: Since I am moving this summer, I had to take a lot of classes this semester to make sure I can graduate on time and virtually. Thus, I am enrolled ...

            Self Critical: Pixabay I have always been a perfectionist which means I am very critical on myself whenever something is not exactly how I imagined. I was excited to read these articles because I figured that maybe I could find something helpful. How to Rewire a Self Critical Brain The post I read really emphasized how setbacks and failures do not mean everything and you are always worthy of love and happiness. Reality-based self-congratulation (REBS) is what the author calls a rebellion against your inner critic. REBS allows us to become more forgiving and encouraging friend to yourself. When you use REBS, the chaos of your challenging life may seem less chaotic by utilization of self-congratulation. Even just using five seconds to calm down and take a breather can help by a landslide. Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head Critical voices in our heads are a poison that leads to depression and inhibits one from pursuing goals.  Whil...

 Indra, The Thunder God Indra: Wikimedia Commons I found Indra really interesting because he is a God that is in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata. I honestly did not know anything about Indra. I think I will enjoy learning about his elephant, horse, and thunderbolt weapon. Indra is also in Buddhism under the name Shakra/Shakka. Overall, I find the topic of Gods very interesting. I think I would want to tell stories about his elephant, horse, and thunderbolt weapon. Surya, The Sun God I chose Surya because he has sons that are in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. I do not have any prior knowledge of Surya. One interesting thing I read about Surya was that he is usually shown with seven horses. These horses represent the seven days and seven colors. I believe reading more about Surya's importance in both books we will be reading will be fascinating. I believe stories about Surya's importance to astronomy would be a good topic. Hanuman For the first week's assignment, I did a sto...

                                                                  Estuarine Crocodile: Pixabay Once there was a tiny monkey and a ginormous crocodile that devoured all in his sight. This monkey would hop across lily pads on a river to reach an island that had the most delightful fruits. He would eat until he was full and then leap back across the lily pads at sunset. The crocodile knew this and desired to eat the little monkey. The monkey knew the crocodile desired him and always made sure to look for the crocodile's giant eyes before making his way across the river. The crocodile knew he must try and deceive the monkey, as he was too small and fast to catch. One day while the monkey was across the river the crocodile went underneath the lily pads so ...

                                                                              A crocodile: Pixnio At this point in time this is an encounter between the Buddha-as-monkey and the crocodile. Devadatta is planning on trying to murder him; however, the Master claims this is not the first time and tells a story of the past about a previous failed murder attempt. Here is the story: Bodhisatta came to life as a monkey and was big and strong. He could jump large distances and would do so onto a large rock that allowed him passage to an island that was fruitful. He would go eat many fruits to his filling and then return home. A pair of crocodiles saw Bodhisatta and the female mate longed for his heart to eat. Wanting to fulfill h...

                                                                  Page from a Dispersed Ramayana: Picryl After looking over the reading options for the Ramayana, I decided to go with the Narayan version. I chose this version mainly because I wanted to get the traditional story. I also already own the book, so why not use that version! However,  I do plan on utilizing other sources, such as the Tiny Tales, so that I can get multiple viewpoints on the stories.                Hanuman: MantraMaya I chose this comic story because I admired the title being about devotion and courage. When reading the overview of the story, I could see how devotion and courage were important to the plot. I also loved how the ...