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 BEAUTIFUL
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 LOATHLY
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 HERODIAS
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 MAGDALEN
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 ORGELUSE
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 PRAKRITI
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 SIGUNE
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he
tale of the hermit St. Barlaam and his convert St. Josaphat is a curious link between
Christianity and Buddhism, since at least the beginning of the story is unmistakably an account
of the early life of the Buddha. The story is thought to have been
composed by John of Damascus in the 6th century AD. It also appears, in abridged form, in the
Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine. The attempted seduction of St. Josaphat by the
beautiful maiden seems to be a Christian reworking of part of the conflict between the future
Buddha and the dark lord, Mára. What does this have to do with
Richard Wagner?
, the reader might well ask. Wagner had a version of the story of Barlaam
and Josaphat, in one of the books that he left behind him when he had to leave Saxony in haste
in 1849. This was a German translation made by Rudolf von Ems about 1325.
he story of
Barlaam and Josaphat closely follows, with additions, the story of the youth of Gautama
Shakyamuni, the future Buddha. The details of his life-story are
slightly different, but in broad terms similar, in Indian, Ceylonese and Tibetan texts. The
main difference here is that, in a prologue to the story, an astrologer predicts that the
newly-born Josaphat, son of King Avennir, will be a follower of the Christian religion, which
at that time was being persecuted by Avennir. Obviously the events of the Buddhist scriptures
have been brought forward by about 900 years, so that in this version they take place after
Christian missionary activity has begun in India. The young prince is brought up in ignorance
of old age, sickness and death; but eventually finds out about their existence during
excursions from the palace. In the Buddhist versions, his father finds a wife for him at this
point, but the Christian version leaves the prince unmarried.
rince
Josaphat then meets the hermit Barlaam, a Christian missionary, who preaches in parables. The
young prince becomes a convert to Christianity. After unsuccessfully attempting to dislodge him
from the new faith by various stratagems, his father King Avennir receives a visit from the
sorcerer Theodas, who offers to help him. On the sorcerer's advice, the king replaces the
prince's male attendants with beautiful women (as Shakyamuni's father also does in the Buddhist
version). Theodas sends an evil spirit into Josaphat's heart to inflame him with lust. The
women flirt with Josaphat but fail to seduce him.
he king then
sends to Josaphat the orphan daughter of a king, a beautiful maiden. The young prince attempts
to convert her to his new religion, to which she responds that she will only convert if
Josaphat will marry her. Josaphat tells her that he has taken a vow of chastity. The nameless maiden tells him, if you want to save my
soul, grant me one little request: sleep with me tonight, just once is all I ask, and I promise
you I will become a Christian first thing tomorrow morning... just do as I ask this once and
you will win my salvation.
Josaphat prays and receives a vision of heaven. He rejects the
temptress, and is attacked by evil spirits. Josaphat destroys them by making the sign of the
cross.
o it seems
that the Buddha became a Christian saint, and even received a
feast-day, 27 November. The name Josaphat has been derived from Bodhisattva, one whose
being is illumination. It seems entirely possible that Wagner had this story in mind when he
made his first sketch for Parsifal. The sorcerer Theodas became Klingsor, Josaphat became the act 2 Parsifal and the beautiful maiden the act 2 Kundry. It could be argued that Wagner based his scene directly on a
Buddhist version of the story, perhaps never having read the Christian version. Two elements
weigh against this hypothesis. One is the common emphasis on chastity, typical of medieval Christian literature, but less
important in the Buddhist versions. The other is that Josaphat concludes the struggle with the
agents of Theodas by making the sign of the cross. It would have been typical of Wagner to go
beneath the surface of the sources he first encountered, and by 1865 he had almost certainly
read several versions of the life of the Buddha. In none of these,
however, does the Buddha make the sign of the cross!
fter the
apparently Buddhist detour of the second act of Parsifal, an act that might have been
based on the struggle between the future Buddha and the dark lord,
Mára, we suddenly encounter a Christian symbol. It seems so out
of place that most "modern" productions simply (but unwisely) ignore Wagner's stage directions
at the end of this act:
Er hat den Speer im Zeichen des Kreuzes geschwangen; wie durch ein Erdbeben versinkt das Schloss. Der Garten ist schnell zur Einöde verdorrt; verwelkte Blumen verstreuen sich auf dem Boden. Kundry ist schreiend zusammengesunken.
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