Buddha: Devadatta (Volume III)

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In the third of the Buddha series, as Siddhartha embarks on his journey towards enlightenment, he encounters many influences; some forceful, like the monk Dhepa who believes that purity is only attained through ordeals of the flesh, and some inspirational, like the strange young acolyte, Assaji. Meanwhile, Devadatta, the young orphaned son of Bandaka, is forced along a cruel path. Choosing to reject humanity and compassion, Devadatta′s journey will mould him into Buddha′s greatest adversary. Originated in the 1970s, Buddha is Osamu Tezuka′s unparalleled rendition of the life and times of Prince Siddhartha. Tezuka′s storytelling genius and consummate skill at visual expression blossom fully as he contextualizes the Buddha′s ideas; with an emphasis on, action, emotion, humour and conflict as Prince Siddhartha runs away from home, travels across India and questions Hindu practices such as ascetic self-mutilation and caste oppression. Rather than recommend resignation and impassivity, Tezuka′s Buddha predicates enlightenment upon recognizing the interconnectedness of life, having compassion for the suffering, and ordering one′s life sensibly, his approach is slightly irreverent in that it incorporates something that Western commentators often eschew, namely, humour.