the tragic murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne led young Bruce Wayne to study under different masters before finally claiming the mantle of the Batman and developing his own unique brand of justice.
What is not so commonly known is that Bruce’s origin story has some remarkable similarities to another legendary figure — the Buddha. While it might seem unlikely that a dark avenger like Batman could have anything in common with a spiritual teacher like the Buddha, the similarities in their stories have not gone unnoticed by Batman’s writers — or even Bruce Wayne himself.
The Legend of the Buddha
Historians and scholars believe that Buddha was likely born in the 6th century in the region known today as Nepal. Born Siddhartha Gautama (translated as “he who achieves his aim”), the future Buddha was a prince with a very wealthy father who ruled the Shakya clan. Although Siddhartha’s mother died seven days after his birth, his father decided to shelter his son from all human misery and suffering by raising him in a palace built just for the boy.
Not only was this palace extremely beautiful, Siddhartha’s father made sure that it was only populated by young and beautiful people, that any sick people were kept from Siddhartha’s sight, and that his son would never see any dead human or creature. Siddhartha was also never instructed in religion or human hardship, keeping him ignorant of old age, sickness, and even death. Siddhartha lived a life of luxury well into his adulthood, even marrying a princess and raising a son. However, upon reaching adulthood, he finally took a ride outside of his palace and came across an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. When his driver explained to him what all of these things were, Siddhartha was overcome by the experience and resolved to leave his palace and find a way to relieve humanity of this suffering.
His search led him to study under many teachers from different spiritual schools. A brilliant scholar, he learned quickly and meditated for long periods of time, hoping to find enlightenment. When this didn’t produce the results he wanted, he decided to endure great pain and suffering, fasting and even refusing water until his body became so skinny that he resembled a corpse.
Siddhartha finally achieved the insight he desired when a young girl offered him some rice. Suddenly realizing that living in extreme luxury and living in extreme poverty were both the wrong ways to achieve liberation, he ate the rice, recovered his health, and meditated for a long period of time before finally achieving the enlightenment that allowed him to become the Buddha. Now a spiritual teacher, Buddha encouraged his followers to follow “The Middle Way” which offered a more balanced path than one of overindulgence or extreme suffering. His teachings became known as the Dharma and he emphasized to his disciples that they should follow no leader but instead, “be your own light.”
Bruce Wayne and the Buddha
This story of the Buddha was told to a young, college-age Bruce Wayne in the novelization of Batman Begins (written by comic book legend Denny O’Neil). Although Bruce saw no real value in mythology at this point in his life, the story remained in his mind until he realized to his surprise that he related to Siddhartha Gautama. Like Siddhartha, Bruce was raised in luxury and while Wayne Manor wasn’t as insulated as Siddhartha’s palace, his early life was still one of wealthy indulgence.
Bruce received his first lesson in human suffering when his parents were gunned down by Joe Chill in Crime Alley. Suddenly painfully aware of the realities of death and trauma, Bruce dealt with these revelations by going on a pilgrimage of his own to help humanity relieve the kind of suffering he had experienced. Like Siddhartha, Bruce’s journey led him to study under many masters, who each had their own philosophies of dealing with anger, trauma, and injustice.
In the comics, Bruce studied under martial artists, manhunters, engineers, detectives, and even stage illusionists to acquire the skills he would one day use as Batman. He even studied at multiple universities, auditing several classes to gain various forms of knowledge he deemed useful. However, Bruce still had no idea how all of these lessons would come together to help him achieve his personal enlightenment. Indeed, in one comic book story, he actually tried to become an FBI agent, but quickly found the bureaucracy of the job kept him from achieving the type of justice that he wanted.
Instead of abandoning his quest, Bruce — like Siddhartha — only redoubled his efforts by going to even more insane extremes. Just as Siddhartha chose to learn about human suffering by intentionally starving and torturing himself, many of Bruce’s later lessons were similarly brutal, requiring him to escape from cages designed to kill him, risk hypothermia to learn proper body control, and survive multiple poisoning attempts to build up his immune system.
An Enlightened Batman
So what is Batman's grain of rice - his impetus to live differently? Some fans would claim it was the bat who broke through his window, bringing his mission its central totem, but even in the early days of his war, Batman was still living at one extreme - detached, violent, and obsessed. For this reason, it's not unreasonable to see Robin - and recent writers such as Tom King have certainly suggested that he's now someone for who that's possible.
While Batman and Buddha found very different paths, the fact is that Bruce Wayne did find his own inner Buddha-nature by becoming Batman. Bruce’s anger, skills, and wealth make him a dangerous man who could easily hurt both criminals and innocents if he overindulges in his dark crusade. At the same time, his childhood trauma and fear prevent him from finding fulfillment by just being a charitable philanthropist. Instead, by acknowledging both sides of his persona and constantly seeking a balance between them, Batman was able to use the lessons of the Buddha to become the best version of himself.
