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AMAR CHITRA KATHA - BUDDHIST TALES
This Amar Chitra Katha is a compilation of three titles related to Buddhism. One narrates the tale of Gautama Buddha, one of the most exceptional of free thinkers and religious leaders. Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha, and was surrounded by beauty, luxury and happiness. Years later, restless in his gilded cocoon, Siddhartha set out to explore his kingdom and was greatly moved by the state of human suffering. One day, he renounced the world and began a life of severe asceticism to seek an answer to life and sorrow, to seek the ultimate truth. His search led him to enlightenment that liberated and illuminated him as he pondered under a Bodhi tree. He became the Buddha at the age of 35. He returned to preach what he had learnt and experienced, and did it with compassion for his fellow beings.
Another story in this volume is Angulimala, from the Buddhist text Paramatthadipani of Dhammapala. This famous story of the saint and the sinner tells of the angst of the murderous dacoit Angulimala as opposed to the meditative calm of Lord Buddha, and the subsequent spiritual emancipation of Angulimala. The third story in this volume comprises of two tales, Amrapali and Upagupta. The dancer Amrapali's conversion to Buddha's sangha is told in the Maha-Parinibbana Sutta and in Malasarvastivadas. The garden that Amrapali gave up to Lord Buddha was still in existence when Fa-Hien visited it during the Gupta age. Upagupta was a disciple of Buddha. For him, ahimsa (non-violence) did not merely mean desisting from violence, but also indulging in positive acts and showing compassion. When the much-admired Vasavadatta was shunned by society and had nowhere to go, Upagupta took her to his hermitage. While adapting this story, we have omitted a few gruesome details.
Paperback: 94 full colour pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 7 x 9.5
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