Jesus and the Eightfold Path

by Lavie Tidhar

This serial novella answers one simple question – what if the three wise men from the New Testament were the same three companions of the Buddha in the Chinese classic A Journey to the West?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Lavie Tidhar was raised on a kibbutz in Israel. He has travelled extensively since he was a teenager, living in South Africa, the UK, Laos, and the small island nation of Vanuatu.

Tidhar began publishing with a poetry collection in Hebrew in 1998, but soon moved to fiction, becoming a prolific author of short stories early in the 21st century.

Temporal Spiders, Spatial Webs won the 2003 Clarke-Bradbury competition, sponsored by the European Space Agency, while The Night Train (2010) was a Sturgeon Award finalist.

Linked story collection HebrewPunk (2007) contains stories of Jewish pulp fantasy.

He co-wrote dark fantasy novel The Tel Aviv Dossier (2009) with Nir Yaniv. The Bookman Histories series, combining literary and historical characters with steampunk elements, includes The Bookman (2010), Camera Obscura (2011), and The Great Game (2012).

Standalone novel Osama (2011) combines pulp adventure with a sophisticated look at the impact of terrorism. It won the 2012 World Fantasy Award, and was a finalist for the Campbell Memorial Award, British Science Fiction Award, and a Kitschie.

His latest novels are Martian Sands and The Violent Century.

Much of Tidhar’s best work is done at novella length, including An Occupation of Angels (2005), Cloud Permutations (2010), British Fantasy Award winner Gorel and the Pot-Bellied God (2011), and Jesus & the Eightfold Path (2011).

Tidhar advocates bringing international SF to a wider audience, and has edited The Apex Book of World SF (2009) and The Apex Book of World SF 2 (2012).

He is also editor-in-chief of the World SF Blog , and in 2011 was a finalist for a World Fantasy Award for his work there.

He also edited A Dick and Jane Primer for Adults (2008); wrote Michael Marshall Smith: The Annotated Bibliography (2004); wrote weird picture book Going to The Moon (2012, with artist Paul McCaffery); and scripted one-shot comic Adolf Hitler’s I Dream of Ants! (2012, with artist Neil Struthers).

Tidhar lives with his wife in London.

Reviews

[Justina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monkey Magic

I read this in the run up to Christmas and it will now be my seasonal story henceforth. Delightful. A vast improvement on previous versions. Follow the eightfold path.

[Wendy S. Delmater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look and see with your own eyes.

If you hesitate,

you miss the mark forever.

What happens when Lavie Tidhar, an Israeli and Jewish author, visits the story of Jesus with Zen koans and a Kung-fu movie sensibility? What happens is a romp.

Another reviewer called this book, Kick-A** for the Lord, and I’d have to agree. Jesus and the Eightfold path is a mash-up of the story of Christ and martial arts movies. The Monkey King becomes one of the Three Wise Men. Each chapter starts with a familiar Biblical quote from the Christmas and Easter stories, and sort of goes downhill from there – but in a good way. It is fitting that the cover looks like a seventies Kung Fu movie poster, and it all leads up to The Big Fight Scene where the Chosen One throws the money changers out of the Jewish temple. Everything after that is simply the denouement.

Add a star if you’re a fan of martial arts movies, and add another one (believe it or not) if you’re a Christian. As Gardner Dozois remarked, it’s great fun.

[Robbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as part of a Story Bundle but pretty much ignored it until I decided that I wanted something short that would likely make me laugh and this fit the bill nicely. It's a fun mashup of the Journey West and the Book of Matthew written by someone who is neither Buddhist nor Christian. Even though it's funny, it seems to be coming from a perspective of respect for both traditions. The basic idea is that Jesus was a reincarnation of Tang Sanzang, the master of the Tripitaka, so Tang's companions from the Journey West were bound to serve Jesus in the way that they had Tang. The whole thing works surprisingly well.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This feels like it comes from the pen of James Morrow: a mash-up of genre conventions (in this case, biblical narrative and kung-fu movie) in the service of illuminating some big spiritual questions. Many have speculated on the similarities of the teachings of Jesus and the Buddha; imagine the explanation being that the former was a reincarnation of the latter, and that He spent His life under the guidance of spirit guides from the East who supported his journey to enlightenment with a healthy dose of shaolin martial arts. It works!

[Timothy Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever mashup of the stories of Jesus and Journey to the West.

As someone brought up on both I found it hugely enjoyable and respectful of traditions at the same time. Worth a read

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was glorious blasphemy, a religious melange with a dash of Shaolin ballet. Jesus as Tripitaka, as warrior monk, as the Hebrew Fist. It was such fun, and full of such irreverent erudition, it makes me wish for further adventures.

[Jericho Eames · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's just a parody that made for a really fast read. Nothing spectacular especially when I read this right after I finished a really good novel. If you've ever wondered what it would be like if Jesus was part buddha instead, give this one a read.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a smart little satire of religious syncretism, recasting characters from Journey to the West as the wise men who visited Bethlehem a little over 2000 years ago. Fun for what it was.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is a Jesus I can believe in! A pretty brilliant satire where the king of kings knows kung fu. I really hope the author makes more of them.