Buddha, Volume 2: The Four Encounters

OsamuTezuka’svauntedstorytellinggenius,consummateskillatvisualexpression,andwarmhumanityblossomfullyinhiseight-volumeepicofSiddhartha’slifeandtimes.TezukaevidenceshisprofoundgraspofthesubjectbycontextualizingtheBuddha’sideas;theemphasisisonmovement,action,emotion,andconflictastheprinceSiddhartharunsawayfromhome,travelsacrossIndia,andquestionsHindupracticessuchasasceticself-mutilationandcasteoppression.Ratherthanrecommendresignationandimpassivity,Tezuka’sBuddhapredicatesenlightenmentuponrecognizingtheinterconnectednessoflife,havingcompassionforthesuffering,andorderingone’slifesensibly.Philosophicalsegmentsarethreadedintointerpersonalsituationswithground-breakingvisualdynamismbyanartistwhomakessurenevertolosehisreaders’attention.TezukahimselfwasahumanistratherthanaBuddhist,andhismagnumopusisnotanattemptatpropaganda.HermannHesse’snovelorBertolucci’sfilmiscomparableinthisregard;infact,Tezuka’sapproachisslightlyirreverentinthatitincorporatessomethingthatWesterncommentatorsofteneschew,namely,humor.