Author Description

The 14th century Javanese epic poem, Sutasoma, relates the life of a prince, born an incarnation of the Jina-Buddha Wairocana. It follows his spiritual journey to enlightenment and his temporal journey through marriage, kingship and eventual victory over the mighty, world-threatening demon, Porusada. Kate O Brien s new translation delivers to the reader a highly approachable and lively rendition of this Buddhist epic, comparable in both complexity and scale to that of the Ramayana, yet significantly less known or understood.