Avatar Aang Monomyth Analysis

Avatar Aang: The Peaceful Hero and the Monomyth “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other” (Mother Teresa). Indeed, as human beings, we all share some common needs and wants. A majority of people would agree that we want to live in peaceful world. However, is it possible? Peace is almost impossible because people are greedy and always fight for power. We can see these themes throughout the anime, Avatar: The Last Airbender. The Fire Nation led by Sozin, who is thirsty for power. He wants the power that comes with conquering the world. So, he starts a war against three other nations, Air, Water, and Earth. The war goes on for about 100 years. According to Joseph Campbell’s theory of the Monomyth, also
Aang is considered a peaceful hero because he follows the Buddha's teaching. Buddhism originated in India, and is based off the teachings of the "Enlightened One," the Buddha, who was born in Nepal as Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Leela George). The four central beliefs containing the essence of Buddhist teaching are: The truth of suffering Dukkha, The truth of the origin of Dukkha, the truth of the cessation of Dukkha, and The truth of the path of liberation from Dukkha (Andre Ferdinand Herold). Ron Epstein states that “Buddha taught that peaceful minds lead to peaceful speech and peaceful actions. If the minds of living beings are at peace, the world will be at peace” (Ron Epstein). So like the major religions around the world, at its core, Buddhism is a religion of peace. Air Nomads, including Aang in a way seem to have some parallels with Buddhist tradition and
Aang chooses not to take revenge against the Firelord for killing the monks and instead rejects his own vengeful desires to kill the villain. Since Aang loses his chance to gain the control of the Avatar state, he asks the Lion Turtle to help him so he could help the people. Through Aang’s belief of nonviolence, Aang said that he can take one's life to save other’s life. Then, the Lion Turtle help Aang became the Avatar without the seven chakras. The Lion Turtle also tells Aang to wait on top of a hill, where the Firelord comes to find him; it is one of the last fight before the show end. Aang uses the energybending to take away the Firelord’s firebending. This way the Firelord becomes harmless to others and Aang does not have to kill anyone. Through his belief and practice of nonviolence, Aang forgives the Firelord; however, this does not mean that Aang approves the Fire Lord’s raging