Many years ago I spent a little time in
So it is that I would like
to dedicate
this entire work
to
those countless hundreds – thousands – millions,
in the pain and brokenness of whose lives and hearts,
the light of the God “Who Is” shines forth;
and,
on
a more immediately personal level,
to dedicate this present volume
to
Father Ted Kennedy,
long, the voice of the prophet
raised in this land,
speaking for – caring for –
“the broken reeds” of our time –
and,
a true friend –
and
my brother
in life – in Christ.
- 1. King Mongkut’s name first entered the minds of popular western culture through the story of Anna and the King of Siam, later to become even more widely known through Yul Brynner’s role in the musical, The King and I. In the crass way we westerners often seem capable of acting when, uninvited, we presume to intrude into the sacred centre of another culture, or another person, this play, and the later musical, are not creations of which necessarily to be overly proud. Certainly, in our culture, they have been accepted as delightful entertainments; in Thai eyes, they merely debased the memory of a truly great king.
- 2. The truth of this story is vouched for by the Cultural Attaché of Thailand and Tourist Authority of Thailand. It is included here, both because it is a perfect parable with which to sum up the human condition, at the same time as it gives a wonderful insight into something which lies very close to the heart of Siddarth’s, the Lord Buddha’s teaching – as it does to that of Jesus, the Christ …
“broken bread … a broken body … a broken people.”