Response to Eliot Video

by Alexandra Bindon

     The movie said that there were 3 main strands (or themes) within "The Wasteland": fertility myths, Christ and the resurrection, and the Buddhist notion of reincarnation.  It is the last notion that I wish to discuss.  The idea of reincarnation is really part of the Hindu tradition, out of which Buddhism later came.  The video described the presence of reincarnation as the desire to not be reborn again and wish to reach nirvana, which conflicts with the urge to go on living.  The last part is important because in Hindu and Buddhist ideas of the afterlife, there is no identity.  In Hinduism, you become one with ultimate reality, relinquishing yourself forever, and in Buddhism, the idea is extinguishment, "no self."  For Buddhists, the first of the Four Noble Truths is that "all life is suffering."  This comes across extremely well in "The Wasteland," as every character/persona appears to be suffering and views others who suffer.  The idea of reincarnation and cyclical time comes across well in Eliot's bringing the past to the present, his use of quotations, allusions, stories, and histories throughout human time and making them present and relevant.  An example of this notion of cycles would be his lists of cities: "Falling towers / Jerusalem Athens Alexandria / Vienna London / Unreal" (374-378).  

     To a Buddhist, the notion that we cannot end the cycle of rebirth, cannot end the suffering would produce great despair.  That despair seems similar to Tiresias--who can be seen as outside of time, outside of this cycle--as he watches human history repeat itself.  After so long, he "percieved the scene, and foretold the rest" (229) since he has "foresuffered all / Enacted on this divan or bed" (244-245).  Tiresias's condition, for we talked in class about him perhaps being the "hero" of this poem, relates to the notion of reincarnation as he cannot escape the pain of living due to his former urge to never stop living. 

     Interestingly, Buddha taught that "all suffering is caused by desire," specifically the desire for personal fulfillment, and that desire can cease by means of the 8-fold path.  Not to go too deep, but the idea of desire causing suffering is important in "The Wasteland" since personal desires, and even the clash of differing personal desires between characters, causes much of the characters' suffering.  Possibly, it can also relate to why the relationships and communications fail.

     The notion of nirvana is, as I have said, also present in Hinduism, which relates to the last line of the poem, "Shantih  shantih  shantih," meaning "the peace which passeth understanding."  This line, as the ending of a sacred Hindu text, an Upanishad, makes me wonder if it possibly refers to nirvana since Hindus would describe becoming one with Brahma (ultimate reality) as being the ultimate peace.  In this case, Eliot could be using this as a wish for himself and the personas present thoughout this poem.

 ((Sorry, I just had a World Religions class last semester and these views fascinate me.))

Sarah Rinko:

    (From one English/religion major to another, I agree that it is all very interesting!) I wanted to seize on this idea you mentioned: "you become one with ultimate reality, relinquishing yourself forever, and in Buddhism, the idea is extinguishment, 'no self.'" It made me think of Eliot's depiction of all the commuters on London Bridge, the ghosts of Unreal City. The image brought to mind by this section is a moving mass of many indistinct spirits all moving together in the same direction-- a homogenous crowd. Isn't this like the "no self" you mentioned? But it is not a good image, not an idea of fulfillment. Eliot paints a picture of despair and monotony: an empty, colorless, and dying civilization. Is Eliot condemning social conformity? It fits with the modernist command against blindly imitating tradition (and thus forsaking a unique voice and style). But this can't be the entire crux of Eliot's purpose. After all, "The Wasteland" doesn't seem to look fondly on individualism either. After all, in A Game of Chess we see the dangers of personal isolation and the problems of being caught up in one's own self, unable to communicate with others. The poem itself reveals how fragmented society is. As you said, clashing personal desires cause suffering. Perhaps Eliot shoots for an unattainable (or perhaps lost) middleground? One that does not value individual above all else, but does not blindly follow either? Just some thoughts.

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