© 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo: A Manifesto of Buddhism

Reena Nagpal

Ishfaq Ahmad Tramboo Lovely Professional University Phagwara Punjab

Abstract Through the critical study of George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo, this paper aims to present the Buddhist aspects in the novel. These aspects are represented through the characters of the book. In the story, nearly all the characters develop from the state of transition to the state of awareness. In the beginning, each character carries characteristics of a general human being. As the novel progresses, with the experiences they get during their lifetime, they get themselves aware of all the truths about their existence. They enter the intermediate states as given in The Tibetan Book of the Dead and get through these states while becoming aware of moving on to the next step of existence.

Introduction George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo provides several perspectives that comprise of various historical entities. Lincoln in the Bardo took place in February 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln's son Willie Lincoln died of Typhoid at the age of 11. The death of Lincoln's beloved son is the central plot of the book. Although it is a postmodernist novel, it presents a world of limbo. George Saunders makes this historical event a kind of Bardo. Ron Charles describes this novel as:

"An extended national ghost story, an erratically funny and piteous seance of grief. The Lincoln of the title is our 16th president; the Bardo is probably less familiar. That Tibetan concept refers to an intermediate plane between our world and the next, a kind of Buddhist limbo experienced just after death".

The word 'Bardo' in the title of the novel Lincoln in the Bardo has been taken from The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo thos grol chem mo, pronounced Bardo thodol). The Tibetan word 'Bardo' means "the interim period between birth and death. The term refers to both to the postmortem state of transition and to the subtle entity that abides in that state." (Buswell, 377)

Aspects of Buddhism in Lincoln in the Bardo In The Tibetan Book of the Dead, there is a description of six intermediate states in the life of a human being. These are as follows:

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© 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) Alas, now as the intermediate state of living arises before me, Renouncing laziness, for which there is no time in this life, I must enter the undistracted path of study, reflection, and meditation. (Coleman, 32) Lincoln experienced this state at the time when his son Willie was ill. At the same time, Lincoln and his wife were to attend the reception of politicians held at the white house. Both the parents fretted over their boy's illness, but Lincoln managed himself to come out of this distraction and engaged himself in the reception party. He took his duty before his family. Alas, now as the intermediate state of dreams arises before me, Renouncing the corpse-like, insensitive sleep of delusion, I must enter, free from distracting memories, the state of the abiding nature of reality. (Coleman, 32)

Alas, now as the intermediate state of meditative concentration arises before me, Renouncing the mass of distractions and confusions, I must undistractedly enter a state, which is devoid of subjective apprehension, and free from the (two) extremes. And attain stability in the stages of generation and perfection. I must not fall under the sway of bewildering mental afflictions. (Coleman, 33)

After Willie's death, Abraham Lincoln came back to the cemetery to see Willie's dead body, Lincoln sat down on a patch of grass outside the grave, and he meditated upon the state of reality. He returned to the mausoleum again to have the final stance at his son. When he came back, Willie enters his body. This is how he realized the pain of losing his child. Besides this, he feels the pain he has inflicted on a large number of people due to the Civil war. When Willie leaves his body, Lincoln feels a sudden release. When the Bardo-dwellers come together inside Lincoln's body, both Lincoln and the Bardo-dwellers feels the impression of togetherness. After getting this impression, Lincoln strives to bring the nation together during the Civil war. George Saunders shows that the states of transition and impermanence are part of human life. Through his character development from the transition to permanence and enlightenment, he suggests that people should appreciate life by accepting it as a gift and enjoy themselves. All were in sorrow or had been, or soon would be. It was the nature of things (Saunders, 452)

We were low, lost, an object of ridicule, had almost nothing left, were falling must take some action to halt our fall, and restore ourselves to ourselves.

Must win, must win the thing. (Saunders, 457)

There is a description of the next three states which are experienced by Willie Lincoln:

Alas, now as the intermediate state of the time of death arises before me,

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© 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) Renouncing (all) attachment, yearning, and subjective apprehension in every respect, I must undistractedly enter the path, on which the oral teachings are clearly understood. And eject my own awareness into the uncreated expanse of space. (Coleman, 33)

Willie Lincoln experienced this state at the time of death. At first, he enters Bardo, and when Vollman and Bevins convinced him to move on from the Bardo, he was ready to move on. But when Willie saw Abraham Lincoln walking towards him, Willie stopped himself from moving on. Like the other Bardo dwellers, he felt the same as if he is not dead. As he entered his father's body, he realized the truth of his death.

Alas, now as the intermediate state of reality arises before me, Renouncing the merest sense of awe, terror, or fear, I must recognize all that arises to be awareness, manifesting naturally of itself. Knowing (such sounds, lights, and rays) to be visionary phenomena of the intermediate state, (Coleman, 33)

After realizing the truth of his death, Willie tried to make the other spirits understand about death. He accepted the fact that he must move on. As soon as he convinces other Bardo dwellers to move on, they started succumbing to the "matterlightblooming phenomenon" (Saunders, 413), and Willie did the same.

Alas, now as the intermediate state of rebirth arises before me, I must, with one-pointed intention, concentrate my mind, And resolutely connect with the residential potency of my virtuous past actions. (Coleman, 33)

In the end, Willie came to realize his real fate.

I am Willie I am Willie I am even yet Am not Willie Not Willie but somehow Less More All is Allowed now All is allowed me now All is allowed light light light me now Getting up out of bed. As I (who was of Willie but is no longer (merely) of Willie) return To such beauty. (Willie Lincoln, 447-448)

"The Bardo is something other than death; it is an intermediate state. In Buddhist cosmology, it is most commonly understood as the period of transmigration, between death and new life, when the consciousness is waiting on the platform for the proverbial next train." (Louise McCune)

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© 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) George Saunders describes that after death, there comes "the bone-chilling fire sound" of the "matterlightblooming phenomenon" (Saunders, 413) in which the deceased has to enter. The dead who resist the "matterlightblooming phenomenon" hangs around in limbo. Saunders has used the term Bardo for this state. The narrative spans from Willie Lincoln's arrival in the Bardo to shortly after he passes on to the next stage of the afterlife.

Characters in Lincoln in the Bardo: from transition to enlightenment According to Buddhism, nothing is fixed and permanent in life. Life is transitory; it changes at every step of life. George Saunders depicted the same through his characters in the novel. Every character, including Abraham Lincoln and Willie Lincoln, lives in the state of transition and impermanence until the end of the novel. Abraham Lincoln accepts Willie as if he is present permanently in his life instead of "just a passing temporary energy burst" (Saunders, 364). Throughout the novel, Abraham Lincoln represents himself as a mortal being like any other person. At the end of the story, the narrative takes a different turn. Lincoln's grief turns into an optimistic stance. He overcomes his pain and turns into a more influential person. He realized that it was fruitless to mourn over his son's death, and he learned to have control over him. Besides this overcoming grief of the enormous loss, he moves on towards his life and responsibilities. He realized that there was no use to visit Willie's coffin at Georgetown Cemetery regularly. He also realized that Willie "was no more here than anyone else, that is. There was nothing special, anymore, about this place" (Saunders, 451). The conflict of grief and expectations afflicted Willie and the other spirits who are stuck in the Bardo, which is a transitional state between birth and rebirth. The spirits remain stuck in the Bardo until they get enlightened and become aware of their fate and pass on to the next phase of their afterlife. (Saunders, 455)

The same feeling of continuity and development of wisdom is reflected in Willie's character. After his death, Willie reaches in the Bardo, and doesn't want to come out of that state. After coming back to Abraham Lincoln's body, he gets enlightened and passes on to the final stage of his afterlife. When Willie realized his existence in Bardo, he alerts all other spirits about the truth of their life. After getting inspiration from Willie, the characters, Reverend Everly Thomas, Roger Bevins III, and Hans Vollman move on from the Bardo in a "blinding blast of matterlightblooming phenomenon". (Saunders, 443)

Conclusion

In the novel, Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders states that human beings are full of contradictions. As a coin has two sides, there are both positive and negative aspects of a human being. The same is the case with Abraham Lincoln, and Saunders has presented them in two ways. At first, he ridicules the actions and behavior of President Abraham Lincoln when he was in pain for Willie. The second is through the vices, which Saunders explored through Lincoln's emotional weakness over Willie's death. In the beginning, he did not accept the truth of his son's death and insisted that Willie was here, "just as he was" during the lifetime and that he has "found him again" (Saunders, 74). He was unable to recognize the death of his son and this is how he kept his mind "freshly

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© 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) inclined towards sorrow" (Saunders, 452). When he accepted that Willie was dead, he moves on and takes America towards triumph in the Civil War. Saunders shows the confusion of the characters in these words: "on the day of the beam, Polk had been President. Still, now, I knew (with a dazzling clarity) that Polk had been succeeded by Taylor…" (Saunders, 260)

Works Cited

 Buswell, Robert E Jr. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Macmillan Reference (USA), 2004. eBook Collection.  Charles, Ron. "Lincoln in the Bardo arises from a tragic footnote in American history." Book Review, Washingtonpost.com, February 6, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/lincoln- in-the-bardo-a-long-awaited-novel-by-george-saunders/2017/02/06/473568b4-e98f-11e6-b82f- 687d6e6a3e7c_story.html  Coleman, Graham, and Thupten Jinpa. The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The Orient Foundation (UK), 2005. eBook Collection.  Fletcher Mannette, Jenny. "A clash of paradigms: is American literature still postmodern?." (2019).  Hadaway, Thaddaeus. ""The inverse praise of good things": dignified optimism in the satire of George Saunders." (2019).  Kunzru, Hari. "Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders review–an extraordinary story of the afterlife [Electronic Resource]." The Guardian 8 (2017).  McCune, Louise. "In the Between: Lincoln in the Bardo." Book Review, The Millions, February 13, 2017. https://themillions.com/2017/02/in-the-between-lincoln-in-the-bardo.html  Saunders, George. Lincoln in the Bardo. Random House New York, 2017. eBook Collection.

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