Myths & Samsara

004 | A Conversation on Masks, Playing God, and Striving for Enlightenment

This conversation dives into material in the novel I'm drafting. We talk about Yaksha masks and their significance in a real-life context.

D.M. De Alwis

08 May 2025 — 2 min read

004 | A Conversation on Masks, Playing God, and Striving for Enlightenment

What’s with the masks? In this episode, we discuss their deeper meaning—how they’re used across cultures to signal fear, power, and identity and how that symbolism carries into the story. In the world of the book, masks aren’t just props. They mark social roles, spiritual status, and lineage, shaping how characters are seen and how they see themselves.

We also explore the larger structure behind the story: rebirth, karma, and the slow progression of characters over time. Their choices matter across lifetimes. Patterns repeat. Some characters rise, some fall, but all of them change.

There’s a thread about meditation too—not the modern kind, but what happens when you live without distraction. That quiet shapes the characters’ mental and emotional development, grounding their arcs across generations.

This episode is for anyone into layered character work, mythology that builds over time, and stories that aren’t afraid to go deep.

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In Sri Lanka, there's an association between Yaksha masks and demon possession or rather, exorcism. Imagine a feudal kingdom and the wearing of masks as a symbol of status or vocation.

I enjoyed this conversation with Lisa G. As usual, the questions she asked made me think and gave me a deeper understanding of the world in which we live and how I write the characters within it.

How far do I play god?

Developing characters means continuously upping the stakes. The story takes place before the time of the Buddha. As a result, we are in an era that lacks compassion, lacks the Dhamma (greater teachings), and is fairly chaotic. As a result, no one reaches enlightenment. Instead, all are caught to the cycle of karma and samsara.

I don't actually give away any plot spoilers. To understand the character arcs, one must read the book.

There can only be one.

I mention on the podcast that 'there can only be one'. What I refer to there is that there can only be one teaching Buddha for a given era. There can be hundreds of silent Buddhas who reach enlightenment and evaporate to Nibbana.