Humanities desk
< January 6	<< Dec \| January \| Feb >>	January 8 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Humanities Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

January 7

The Buddha leaving his wife and children

Has the Buddha ever been criticized by anyone for essentially leaving his wife and child for the most of their lives? Aza24 (talk) 04:50, 7 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

In some traditions Gautama's alleged son Rāhula was born only six years after the prince's disappearance. In the early texts, such as those of the Pāli canon, the wife and son are not mentioned at all; the departing prince is described as leaving sobbing parents behind. (In these accounts, his mother is still alive.^[1]) To consider the later narrative as presenting a faithful account of historical events, one has to be a true believer. In view of the status in Buddhism of not only the Buddha, but also Yaśodharā and Rāhula, criticism from true believers is hardly to be expected. It is also somewhat implausible to criticize someone for actions ascribed to them in a fictional narrative. --Lambiam 10:32, 7 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure how reliable, but see also this. Alansplodge (talk) 11:25, 7 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe she was glad to have him out of the house for a while. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:35, 7 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Who made my jug?

I have a Toby jug of David Lloyd George, identical to this one in the IWM. I would like to know by whom it was made. The only marking is 459 on the base, and this is part of the moulding, not painted or transferred on. Thanks, DuncanHill (talk) 21:33, 7 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Well, have you asked the IWM about it? --184.144.97.125 (talk) 05:17, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Presumably if they knew, they would have put it on their web page. Nothing on Google except the IWM example, as far as I can tell. Alansplodge (talk) 11:24, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I found this page, which has a picture of it alongside similar portrayals of Ramsay MacDonald and Stanley Baldwin. That led me to this, mentioning "452" on the base of the MacDonald jug (strongly suggestive that they were from the same maker), and then this whcih says (of the MacDonald) "The jug dates from the 1920's and was in a small series of 5 prime ministers ,the others being Asquith, Lloyd George, Bonar Law, and Stanley Baldwin. The jugs do not carry a manufacturer's mark but they were manufactured in Czechoslovakia". DuncanHill (talk) 11:38, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Another bash at Google found David Lloyd George Toby Jug by Royal Staffordshire Pottery from the Parliamentary Art Collection. So either one of the sources is wrong, or the Czech jug is a straight copy of the Royal Staffordshire Pottery one. Alansplodge (talk) 14:55, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm, I suspect the Parliamentary Art Collection is wrong. There is a Royal Staffordshire Lloyd George, see here, one of a set of Allied leaders. I would expect Royal Staffordshire to be marked. DuncanHill (talk) 15:06, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Czech mate! Alansplodge (talk) 09:54, 9 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]