Season 2 ofRecord of Ragnarokended on an ominous notesurrounding the character of Buddha. He entered the scene quite smoothly and mysteriously to fight alongside the gods in this battle for humanity’s survival (or destruction). InRecord of Ragnarok, the god and humans have champions that fight each other one-on-one. The heavens believe that mankind has laid nothing but waste on planet Earth and deserves to be eradicated as a species.
However, Brunhilde, a Valkyrie that is half human and half divine, is vouching for mankind to live despite of a unanimous vote to destroy them. She proposed the invocation of Ragnarok, a series of battles of god versus man. If the gods win more fights, humanity becomes extinct. The humans have won two out of five battles so far, with Buddha up next. However, he throws a spanner in the works when he changes sides at the last minute to fight on behalf of humanity. This is a shocking decision, so why did he do it?
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Record of Ragnarok’s Buddha
In the anime, Buddha is a relaxed and cool younger man. Tall and muscular, he is dressed in stylish yet casual garb, with hair shaped like a crown, gold-framed glasses and a thin robe flowing around him. His personality is independent and confident. He knows the range of his powers and is convinced he is powerful enough to even beatZeusin a fight. Buddha does what he wants, when he wants. In fact, he states that “the only person who can push me around… in all… heaven… and Earth… is me.” This independent attitude has always remained with Buddha, even during his human days in Nepal as a prince.
Buddha’s Attitude Towards the Gods
Buddha does not take the gods seriously at all. The first real clue to Buddha’s nature and motives is his conversation with Loki during the Shiva versus Raiden bout, which invokes the presence of the Seven Gods of Fortune. Loki questions Buddha as to how the Valkyrie’s Volunds are able to work in this tournament, as he has never seen this practice up till now. According toLoki, this is the first time he has witnessed theValkyrielend their power in the form of a weapon to a human.
This was the only way humanity stood a chance at fighting the gods in the first place, and killed two of them in the process. Loki notes that Buddhism has a principle called “common destiny”, where two people forfeit their lives and put them on the same lotus, one’s full potential is realized. This concept is exacly what the Valkyrie do with the humans in each fight, they fuse their power. Loki connected the two ideas and asked if Buddha had anything to do with that. In other words, is he a traitor to the heavens.
Buddha Believes in Humanity
In response to Loki’s accusation, Buddha laughs. He didn’t even pay attention to Loki’s long ramble, asking him to cut to the point. Put plain and simple,Lokiasked if Buddha was betraying the gods to aid the humans. Buddha’s attitude was very nonchalant, answering Loki by saying “and what if I am”, to which Loki threatened to kill him. This did not phase Buddha at all. He believes in humanity just likeHerculesand Brunhilde, and that is why he is turning on the gods.
It is also worth mentioning that Buddha was originally a human. Born as Gautama Siddhartha, he grew up in the lap of luxury as the Prince of Lumbini inNepal. A fortune teller told his father, King Suddhodana, that his son will one day be a great leader and world ruler. He would be loved and respected, one of humanity’s greatest. When a distant relative of his, King Jataka of Malla, passed away, one of the last things he told Buddha was that his life was dictated by duty and never lived on his own terms. He never explored the world and learned its ways outside the confines of his duty, something that stuck with Buddha. Subsequently, he gave up his belongings and family to live in nature. His challenging attitude towards the gods existed even as a human, for he would strongly oppose religious practices that hurt humans in the name of god, such ashuman sacrifices. He stated that if the gods wish to impose harm on anyone, he will fight them.
This attitude remains prevalent today, for Buddha still vouches for humanity. His time on Earth may have influence over his decision, for he may feel sympathy toards what was once his own kind. He also hates the sacrificing of human life under godly instruction, therefore his conscience pulled him towards the human side. He knows the good mankind is capable of, and believes that man is worth saving.
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