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Class 12 English Short Story The Half Closed Eyes of the Buddha Complete Guide (NEB New Syllabus) | Notes, Exercise Solutions & Summary | Literature
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Welcome to your premier destination for the Class 12 English Short Story The Half Closed Eyes of the Buddha academic syllabus. This complete online textbook companion offers fully resolved answers to all end-of-chapter questions and literature context exercises.

Through this comprehensive resource on Class 12 English Short Story Half-closed Eyes Buddha, you will delve into profound literary themes regarding the contrast between Western tourism’s superficial view of the East, and the harsh, sympathetic realities of poverty and disease hidden behind Nepal’s cultural beauty.

To acquire more context on the cultural elements depicted in the story, you can explore the rich culture and traditions of Nepal online.

Access our general index for additional chapters here: Class 12 English Notes.

Class 12 English Short Story The Half Closed Eyes of the Buddha study notes

1. Class 12 English Short Story The Half Closed Eyes of the Buddha: Understanding the Text

Answer the following questions based on the short story.
a. How does the tourist describe his initial impression of the Kathmandu valley?
The tourist describes his initial impression of the Kathmandu valley through words of deep appreciation for its natural sceneries, picturesque landscape, the unique fragrance of the soil, and the traditional clay-made homes painted in red, yellow, and white. He feels the air filled with the serenity of the mountains and is utterly fascinated by the panoramic views of the valley.
b. According to the tourist, why is the West indebted to the East?
The tourist insists that the West is deeply indebted to the East because the East has profoundly influenced Western civilization through its ancient Puranas, brass figures, and exquisite ivory decorations. In addition, the sacred manuscripts on palm leaves, copperplate inscriptions, and intricate ornaments hold a unique spiritual value that continues to fascinate the West. The atmosphere of profound cultural and religious harmony is primarily what the West is indebted to the East for.
c. How does the tourist interpret the gaze of the monks and nuns?
The tourist interprets the deep gaze of the monks and nuns as ‘the samyak gaze’. They believe that the gaze of these monks possesses a holy, transcendent sight. They perceive it as an uncontaminated vision, completely free from all worldly impurities, greed, and superficial discriminations.
d. Why do the tourists think Nepali people are wonderful and exceptional?
The tourists think Nepali people are wonderful and exceptional primarily because of their highly co-existent lives and inherently peaceful nature despite their diverse backgrounds.
e. What are the different kinds of communities in the Kathmandu valley and how do they coexist with each other?
Aryans, non-Aryans, Hindus, and Buddhists are the various kinds of communities residing in the Kathmandu Valley. They beautifully co-exist with each other due to the profound effect of the Nepali soil and culture that naturally allows them to grow together, tolerating differences, and living together in deep harmony and peace.
f. What does the tourist feel about the temple of Adinath?
When she saw the Adinath temple from Chobhar hill, she feels it stands as the ultimate living example of Nepalese religious tolerance. Nepal uniquely stands out as a beacon of harmony specifically because of the peaceful coexistence and celebration of a wide variety of gods, religions, and ancient philosophies.
g. Why does the guide take the tourist to the remote village?
The guide takes the tourist to the remote village to expose the harsh, hidden reality of the people living beyond the picturesque tourist scenarios. He desperately wants her to see the intense poverty and the deeply sympathetic elements of this beautiful country—realities which are almost never talked about in travel novels or books, nor seen by other casual tourists, and neither captured by their expensive cameras.
h. What does the innocent village couple think of the doctor?
The innocent, desperate village couple accepts her as if she were an eldest son who has miraculously brought a life-restoring treatment from across the seven seas to save his dying brother.
i. What are the differences between the paralyzed child and his sister?
The profound differences between the paralyzed child and his sister as mentioned in the story are:

The paralyzed child (the boy) is severely sick, as his entire body is rendered useless; he cannot speak, he can’t move his hands, he can’t chew his food, or even spit. His body is entirely incapable of heeding commands from his brain. The only thing that indicates he is still alive is the movement and expression in his eyes.

Meanwhile, his sister is quite healthy and full of life, as her entire body functions properly. She crawls around actively, picking up everything she comes across and putting it into her mouth, playfully knocking over the beer, and overturning the cooking stone.
j. Why does the guide show the instances of poverty to the tourist?
The guide shows these tragic instances of poverty to the tourist to force her to feel how the so-called “bright faces” actually live in harsh reality. In the beginning, the tourist only sees the superficial bright aspects of the country—its cultural and religious diversity, natural beauty, the Himalayas, and the romanticized gaze of monks and nuns. Therefore, the guide shows her the actual pulse of reality to guide her through the poverty and sympathetic aspects hidden within a poor farmer’s house.

2. Class 12 English Short Story The Half Closed Eyes of the Buddha: Reference to the Context

a. Which narrative technique is used by the author to tell the story? How is this story different from other stories you have read?

The author uses the profound ‘stream of consciousness technique’ in this story. This story is significantly different from other conventional stories because of the appearance of double, contrasting views on the same setting, which effectively shows both the romanticized good and the harsh bad aspects of a culture.

Unlike many other stories where the author writes only about the events from a single, unified perspective, this story deals heavily with the internal monologues of two contrasting characters: a local tourist guide of the Kathmandu valley and a foreign tourist. In many conventional stories, a narrator simply shows the action and events through straightforward plot progression; here, the stream of awareness technique allows us to experience the psychological clash between romantic observation and stark reality.

b. How is the author able to integrate two fragments of the narration into a unified whole?

The author successfully integrates the two fragments of the narration into a unified whole by providing dual insights and examples of different eyes, views, and experiences, masterfully linking them to two vastly different aspects of existence.

The author highlights the painful reality of Nepalese (Eastern) poverty and its sympathetic aspects—realities which Westerners typically fail to see through their romanticized eyes, do not capture with their cameras, nor write about in their travel books. Tourists generally only see the surface beauty of the Himalayas and the lush green forests. They don’t understand or truly feel the inner reality of the Easterners, their suffocating pain in poverty, and lives spent in extreme lack. The author bridges these two fragments by using the tourist’s obsession with “beautiful eyes” to eventually force her to look into the agonizing eyes of a paralyzed boy, thus unifying the story through the motif of sight versus true understanding.

c. The author brings some historical and legendary references to the story. Collect these references and show their significance in the story.

In the story Class 12 English Short Story Half-closed Eyes Buddha, the author weaves in several historical and legendary references to deepen the cultural context. They are:

Manjushri and his deed: It is a legendary belief that Kathmandu was once a massive lake. Manjushri famously cut a gorge at a place called Chobhar Gorge, near Chobhar Ancient Hill Village, draining away the waters to establish a habitable land, forming the Kathmandu valley.
Cultural, tradition, and art crafts: It is mentioned in the story that Easterners had contributed many monumental things to Westerners: ancient Puranas, images of brass, ornaments of ivory, manuscripts on palm leaves, inscriptions on copperplate, and various musical instruments. The significance is that even if all history books were destroyed, these surviving artifacts would be enough to recreate the rich tradition, religion, and culture.
The gaze of monks and nuns: The story highlights the spiritual gaze of monks and nuns who received alms and spread the religious law in the nooks and fissures of Kasthamandap with ‘the samyak gaze’. This represents a sight that perceives everything in its absolute purest form.
Historical Relationship: The close, historical trading and cultural relationship between Nepal and Tibet during the era of the Licchavi dynasty is also mentioned to show deep historical roots.
Half-closed eyes of Buddha and the setting sun: The half-closed eyes of Buddha with the setting sun reflected within them symbolically represent the deep peacefulness, spiritual harmony, and complex reality of the country where immense suffering and divine peace coexist.
d. The author talks about the eyes in many places: the eyes of the shaven monks and nuns, eyes in the window and door panels, the eyes of the Himalayas, the eyes of the paralyzed boy, the eyes of the welcoming villagers and above all The Half Closed Eyes of the Buddha. Explain how all the instances of eyes contribute to the overall unity of the story.

The motif of “eyes” is the central unifying thread throughout the entire story. Different eyes are mentioned: the eyes of the shaven monks and nuns are compared with the ‘samyak gaze’—a sight that senses everything in the purest, uncontaminated form. The author mentions many other eyes: eyes carved into the window and wooden door panels, the symbolic eyes of the majestic Himalayas, the agonizing eyes of the paralyzed boy, the warm eyes of the welcoming villagers, and above all, the spiritual, half-closed eyes of the Buddha. Initially, these eyes collectively represent Nepal as a country that is incredibly rich in culture, religion, tradition, and diversity.

The half-closed eyes of Buddha represent Nepal as a peaceful country where people are supposed to feel deep peace and warmth. However, the author connects all these different types of eyes to create an overall unity of narrative contrast. The tourist uses her eyes to superficially consume the beauty of the wooden eyes and the monks’ eyes. To counter this, the guide forces her to use her eyes to look directly into the desperate eyes of the paralyzed boy. This forces a collision between the romanticized, spiritual “seeing” (the Buddha’s eyes) and the harsh, realistic “seeing” of human suffering. He insists that true vision requires seeing both the divine beauty and the harsh reality, ultimately unifying the story’s core message about true perception.

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