Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma

author, poet, teacher, and performer

In Service of the Unseen: A Kural Conversation with Michael Meade

Singing One’s Own Song in the World

With storyteller, author, and scholar of mythology Michael Meade, I was delighted to speak about being known well, dying before you die, and the presence of the divine as reflected in THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural.

Here are a few highlights and where in the video you can find them:

  • Being well known versus being known well 3:58
  • Bringing the gift of one’s soul into the world 7:04
  • The earth as the source of generosity and blessing 8:45
  • Funeral as a central community ritual 13:00
  • Glory as a person’s song in the world 19:56

Michael Meade is a renowned storyteller, author, and scholar of mythology, anthropology, and psychology. He combines hypnotic storytelling, street-savvy perceptiveness, and spellbinding interpretations of ancient myths with a deep knowledge of cross-cultural rituals. He has an unusual ability to distill and synthesize these disciplines, tapping into ancestral sources of wisdom and connecting them to the stories we are living today.

He is the author of “Awakening the Soul,” “The Genius Myth,” “Fate and Destiny: The Two Agreements of The Soul,” “Why the World Doesn’t End,” “The Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of the Soul;” editor, with James Hillman and Robert Bly, of “Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart”; and the creator of the Living Myth Podcast.

https://www.mosaicvoices.org/

Here are the key verses we talked about, in both English and Tamil:

236
If you appear appear with renown—better not to appear
Than to appear without it

தோன்றிற் புகழொடு தோன்றுக அஃதிலார்
தோன்றலின் தோன்றாமை நன்று

239
Even the blameless abundance of earth dwindles
Beneath bodies without name

வசையிலா வண்பயன் குன்றும் இசையிலா
யாக்கை பொறுத்த நிலம்

235
Gain in loss—life in death—the discerning alone
Attain them

நத்தம்போற் கேடும் உளதாகும் சாக்காடும்
வித்தகர்க் கல்லால் அரிது

231
Give freely and gain glory—nothing else
Gains a life more

ஈதல் இசைபட வாழ்தல் அதுவல்ல
தூதியம் இல்லை உயிர்க்கு

From chapter 24, “Renown.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

Kural 872: The Kural on the Power of Words

A verse on how the pen is indeed mightier than the sword—or a bow and arrow.

872
Oppose those who plow with bows—not those
Who plow with words

வில்லேர் உழவர் பகைகொளினும் கொள்ளற்க
சொல்லேர் உழவர் பகை

From chapter 88, “Knowing an Enemy.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

Sweeter Than Ambrosia: A Kural Conversation with Ian Boyden

Learning to Mirror Delight

With artist, translator, and writer Ian Boyden, I was delighted to speak about children, the birthplace of empathy, and the joys of sulking and reunion as reflected in THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural.

Here are a few highlights and where in the video you can find them:

  • Material, ambrosia, and delight 4:50
  • Mirror neurons and the birthplace of empathy 14:18
  • Our capacity to listen and the Bodhisattva of Compassion 27:43
  • Waiting like a crane 35:48
  • Sulking and bliss 55:40

Ian Boyden is a visual artist, translator, and writer. Consistent across his productions are an intense interest in material relevance, place-based thought, and ecology, with a deep awareness of East Asian aesthetics. His work is interdisciplinary, and collaborations have involved a variety of scientists, poets, composers, and other visual artists. He has worked with two Chinese dissident writers and artists, Tsering Woeser and Ai Weiwei. In 2016, Boyden curated the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Fault Line, which led to his most recent book “A Forest of Names.” Boyden was awarded a 2019 NEA Literature Translation Fellowship to translate a manuscript of Woeser’s poetry.

Here are the key verses we talked about, in both English and Tamil:

64
Sweeter than ambrosia by far—the food the tiny hands
Of one’s children have scattered

அமிழ்தினும் ஆற்ற இனிதேதம் மக்கள்
சிறுகை அளாவிய கூழ்

66
Those who don’t hear the babble of their children
Call the flute and the lyre sweet

குழலினி தியாழினி தென்பதம் மக்கள்
மழலைச்சொற் கேளா தவர்

490
Wait like the crane that waits—and strike like the crane
When right

கொக்கொக்க கூம்பும் பருவத்து மற்றதன்
குத்தொக்க சீர்த்த இடத்து

1330
Sulking in love is joy—and joining
Again—joy of joys

ஊடுதல் காமத்திற் கின்பம் அதற்கின்பம்
கூடி முயங்கப் பெறின்

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

Thunder & Sweetness

I was honored to offer a talk in English and Tamil as the chief guest for the 2021 Awards Ceremony of the Tamil Literary Garden online on June 11, 2022.

Turn on subtitles for English translations of the Tamil sections.

You can also watch the complete Awards Ceremony here:

I invite you to learn more about my translation of the Kural as well as my translation of Avvaiyar, being issued in a second edition in 2022 by Red Hen Press.

Kural 90: The Kural on Hospitality

A verse on hospitality and delicacy.

90
Anicham flowers wilt when smelt—a guest wilts
When a face turns sour

மோப்பக் குழையும் அனிச்சம் முகந்திரிந்து
நோக்கக் குழையும் விருந்து

From chapter 9, “Hospitality.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

Kural 1027: The Kural on Family and Strength

A verse on ability and responsibility.

1027
Like the strong-hearted in battle—those able in family
Bear the weight

அமரகத்து வன்கண்ணர் போலத் தமரகத்தும்
ஆற்றுவார் மேற்றே பொறை

From chapter 103, “Serving Family.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

Kural 489: The Kural on Taking Action in Time

A verse on timing, opportunity, and acting without waiting.

489
When the rare moment arrives do what is rare
Without waiting

எய்தற் கரிய தியைந்தக்கால் அந்நிலையே
செய்தற் கரிய செயல்

From chapter 49, “Knowing Time.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

TALLER THAN A MOUNTAIN | A 7-week live course on the Kural | Free intro April 24  LEARN MORE
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