Customer Reviews

Buddha, The Forest of Uruvela: Buddha, Vol. 5: Deer Park

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought this volume starts to bring focus to the characters more. I'm starting to see how things are working out, as opposed to just being introduced to characters and situations.

To be honest though, I have found myself a little hesitent over the potrayal of The Buddha. I know that it is my own idea of what he must have been like. Once I open to it, the idea of a more human Buddha than I imagine, is refreshing.

This series continues to hold my interest over the past few years as it has been released and I'm a little sad that there will have to be an end to it someday. Oh well, that's impermanence for ya.

side stories go on waaaaaay to long and in that time you see nor hear nothing of the buddha at all. then the other problem is, while i'm fine with adding things to the story and changing events, i'm annoyed at the author changing what an enlightened person is; he specifically says that enlightenment is the end of suffering, then after the buddha reaches enlightenment he directly tells a person that he is suffering! it makes no sense. kind of takes away from the great journey taken to get to his enlightenment in the first place! then when he tells the eight fold path, instead of "right mindfulness" he says "right prayer"! come on!!! really???

in fact it seems the author knows nothing of what buddhism is about other than some vague ideas about where the buddha lived and some key points in his life story. at one point he has the buddha say that he was given his enlightenment by brahman and that brahman is god. for those who don't know, brahman is a hindu god. the buddha in real life transcended religion entirely and said specifically that brahma (which would include "brahman") is mortal, and so are all the other hindu gods. he said that his enlightenment was "the deathless" and transcended everything, including god(s) and it certainly was something he found on his own, no help from god(s)! the author basically turned the buddha and his enlightenment into a hindu story as the type of enlightenment that unites one with god, and is given to one by god, is completely hindu by definition and is called "moksha". the key difference between hinduism and buddhism is that buddhist enlightenment is the ultimate and does not come from god(s) nor does it lead to them and hinduism is completely focused on god(s) and that is the definition of their version of enlightenment. why not just make a graphic novel about krishna if you want to write about hindu religious ideals instead of buddhist? krishna is a great character so that would be a more logical choice than butchering a character you know nothing about. i'm highly disappointed.

i'm not even sure how the author came to this conclusion. it's really baffling! there is no known school of buddhism that teaches that the buddha serves the hindu god brahman and that that's who he got his enlightenment from! it seems the author knows a little about hinduism and then read a synopsis of the buddha's life story, but not his teachings.

this is really something since there are a huge number of different schools of buddhism that teach a variety of different things. many are so different from each other that they are totally incompatible with each other, and still none of them have this hindu belief! fail osamu tezuka, fail. truly sad, this could have been great. even hindus don't try to say that the buddha served brahman! it's crazy!

other than that it's pretty good, that's why it gets two stars instead of one. he tells wonderful teaching stories to people that are well illustrated (although not at all buddhist teachings) and has a following of deers at one point which is both funny and endearing. watching him surrounded by adorable deers intently listening to him teaching the dharma is really cute. it's not all cute though, tatta and yatala are set to battle to the death, among other things...

to see for yourself the buddha's view on brahman (in pali spelled brahma) see the brahma-nimantanika sutta: the brahma invitation. majjhima nikaya number 49.

or the brahmajala sutta. digha nikaya number 1.

This volume of legendary Japanese cartoonist Osama Tezuka is a masterpiece, reaching peak drama; the parallel stories all converge fully in a dramatic encounter. His detailed black and white drawings are moving, vivid and cinematic. He narrates with great wisdom, depth and comedy.

This volume is the most exciting and fast-paced of them all so far. As Tezuka builds toward the climax of the story with his lesser story threads, he subtly explores Buddhist precepts. He tugs at our emotions; surely the cycle of violence can be stopped - or can it?

What is remarkable is he is able to do this while entertaining; as readers, we become spellbound by his picture-perfect drawings. Even if you are not a fan of Japanese manga or Buddhism try this one; Tezuka may win you over.

Tatta now finds himself charmed into becoming a guardsman for a king by Devadatta. He is very good at his job, and quickly moves up the ranks, and begins to see ways to seek his revenge on Kosalan. Meanwhile, having achieved enlightenment Siddhartha finds demons still tempt him, other monks test him, and finds disciples in deer.

This is one of the better books in the series. All of the stories work well together, and deliver a strong message of about the Buddha's teachings.

In the last chapter, war is starting to break out. Three of the main characters (Buddha, Tatta, and the Crystal Prince) encounter each other in the forest, setting up, and foreshadows, the next part of the story.

Another excellent book in the series. Neither I or my high school sons could put it down. Highly recommended!

This is a good book for young people that would like to understand more about Buddhism. This is in a comic book format, so kids will really like it. The drawing style is animee. It reads like a comic book. If you are a parent, you should know that there are a few curse words that some parents may find innappropriate and that there is blood in some of the pictures. But it is no different than any other comic book that way. This is a very good book and I recomend it! In this particular book, Buddha gets older and starts to be in the part of his life when he dictates his teachings to deer. This is important because he considers all being deserve compassion, not just humans. If this is your first time with this series, definitely start w/ book #1 first. The series starts when he is a baby and continues throug his enlightenment. So you should read them in order. It is very good for kids to know different religions just so they know about them.

Some adults I know really like this book too. I loaned it to one of my teachers.

I wanted to give this book 4 and 1/2 stars, but I liked it a little more so I chose 5. The reason I chose 5 is because it has lots of action and it is very exciting.

I am completely disappointed and appalled by someone selling a stolen library book, and now it belongs to me. NOT at all what I expected to receive in the mail, and if it was not an outside seller i would have returned this book in a heart beat!!!!
If the seller reads this and would like to give me my money back, pay for the return shipping and take back this book, it would at least show some decency!