Buddha, Volume 1

By Osamu Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka's vaunted storytelling genius, consummate skill at visual expression, and warm humanity blossom fully in his eight-volume epic of Siddhartha's life and times. Tezuka evidences his profound grasp of the subject by contextualizing the Buddha's ideas; the emphasis is on movement, action, emotion, and conflict as the 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. Philosophical segments are threaded into interpersonal situations with ground-breaking visual dynamism by an artist who makes sure never to lose his readers' attention.

Tezuka himself was a humanist rather than a Buddhist, and his magnum opus is not an attempt at propaganda. Hermann Hesse's novel or Bertolucci's film is comparable in this regard; in fact, Tezuka's approach is slightly irreverent in that it incorporates something that Western commentators often eschew, namely, humor.

cover for Buddha, Volume 1
cover for Buddha, Volume 1

Volume info

Synopsis

Rating:
none
Pages:
52
Print Release:
May 2, 2006
Print Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9781932234565
E-Book Release:
Nov 1, 2017
EISBN:
9781945054969
Tags:
HistoricalBiographyReligion & Spirituality
Volume Info
Rating:
none
Pages:
52
Print Release:
May 2, 2006
Print Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9781932234565
E-Book Release:
Nov 1, 2017
EISBN:
9781945054969
Tags
HistoricalBiographyReligion & Spirituality
Select productTAXES DETERMINED AT CHECKOUT
Digital EditionPurchase to read this volume and all its chapters online.
FIND RETAILER
Next volume
Buddha, Volume 2
Buddha

Volume 2

Jul. 11, 2006 | 416 pages
DETAILS
DIGITAL EDITION
FIND RETAILER
DIGITAL EDITION
FIND RETAILER

Explore the full series