A Probe Into The Buddhist Thoughts Found In The Dream Of Red Mansions

The Dream of Red Mansions is a Chinese classic that is a favourite among the common people and the learned, different people see from different standpoints; As the readers read this novel with different viewpoints, many differing opinions and viewpoints have thus surfaced.Cao Xue Qin was an author from the fedual period and his used the Jia family as a background to depict a fedual family's decline from riches to rags. Through the tragic love story of Lin Dai Yu and Xue Bao Chai, he explored the inter-human relationship and unrevealed the roots of society. He thus revealed fully the harsh, cruel and evilness of the fedual ruling classes. Such a society would surely end in tragedy. In addition, Cao also fused the different literary techniques and time frame depiction into one. The author has adequately depicted the protagonist Jia as one who follows Taoist and Buddhist thought, especially with regard to the Buddhist ideals of equality and universal salvation.In his life in the secular world, Jia is seen to be a spiritual person who understands the buddhist idea of impermanance and one who then forsakes the world to be a monk. From the time Jia came into being and till the later part where he became a monk, he was protected and guided by religious figures from both Buddhism and Taoism (Substring Religious person).This depicted religon as one that could preserve its original pureness while being amidst the deluded and defiled world. Perhaps the reader could find their own Buddha Nature from themselves through the Dream of Red Mansions, and to add colour to ones own life, and not be deluded in the tragedy of life.The Dream of Red Mansions has 120 chapters, the first 80 were written by Cao under the tile of "Tales of the Stone" while the last 40 chapters were thought to be a later addition by Cheng Wei Yuan and Gao E. While the additional chapters had some differences in style and thought, these were largely still true to Cao's original intent and enabled the entire storyline to be complete. From the first chapter, Cao seemed to be deliberating on the novel's title. Titles such as "Tales of the Stone","Memoirs of the Romantic Monk", "The Precious Record of the Wind and Moon", "The 12 Hairpins of Jinling" and "The Relationship of Gold and Jade". From AD 1784 onwards, the novel was formally known as "the Dream of Red Mansions " and it became the prevaling title for the novel. In conclusion, Cao's Dream of Red Mansions is a rich content, carefully planned and artistic piece of work which became a cultural treasure trove.