The Great Departure

The "Great Departure" is a well-known episode from the Buddha's life story. It narrates the pivotal encounters, known as the "four passing sights," that precipitated the young Siddhartha's renunciation of the seeming pleasures of this world in pursuit of liberation. It is a dramatic episode since, when he leaves the palace, he also must leave behind his wife Yashodhara and newborn child Rahula. The heroic moment of his renunciation is signified by the cutting of his hair and removal of his royal ornaments--an image recognizable in murals of the Buddha's life on the walls of monasteries. Symbolically, monks and nuns reenact this gesture when they shave their heads to become novices.  This telling of the "Great Departure" comes from a comic book version of this Buddha's life story, produced in Delhi.