falsebrightness

[falsebrightness]

Haha, no need to apologize!  A lot of the concepts you explained were concepts I also learned in lecture -- but I wonder if you saw the additional post I made regarding further concepts.  For the sake of not repeating myself because of how long that second post is, I’ll leave you with a link.

Link can be found : [ here ]

Now:

“A chariot exists on the basis of the aggregation of parts, even so the concept of being exists when the five aggregates are available.”

I actually have that quote withing my lecture notes, however, the version I have is as follows:

“A chariot is neither asserted to be other than its parts nor non-other; it is not asserted to possess them.  It is not within its parts, and its parts are not with in it.”

It’s the same concept you were talking about: dependent arising.  I find that the best way to explain this concept, along with the concept of “emptiness” is through the essay written by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen/Chan Buddhist monk:

"Interbeing" is a word that is not in the dictionary yet, but if we combine the prefix "inter" with the verb "to be", we have a new verb, inter-be. Without a cloud, we cannot have paper, so we can say that the cloud and the sheet of paper inter-are.

If we look into this sheet of paper even more deeply, we can see the sunshine in it. If the sunshine is not there, the forest cannot grow. In fact nothing can grow. Even we cannot grow without sunshine. And so, we know that the sunshine is also in this sheet of paper. The paper and the sunshine inter-are. And if we continue to look we can see the logger who cut the tree and brought it to the mill to be transformed into paper. And we see the wheat. We know that the logger cannot exist without his daily bread, and therefore the wheat that became his bread is also in this sheet of paper. And the logger's father and mother are in it too. When we look in this way we see that without all of these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist.

I find it to be quite a beautiful essay, of which I’ve maybe thrown in about half of.  If you want to read the full essay, it’s titled “The World in a Piece of Paper” or “Clouds in Each Page.”

Ukoku is a nihilist.

Agreed, aha.  In fact, the first impression I made on my professor was “emptiness taken to a nihilistic extreme.”  During our first meeting, I talked about Saiyuki and the concepts of Buddhism that were incorporated into the plot and the characters and most of our discussion was centered around Ukoku -- mainly because my professor got this twinkle in his eye and stated, “Ohhhhh. . .  The author is using a nihilistic belief of Buddhism and contrasting it with the other beliefs found within.  This is a ‘false interpretation’ character.”

Following this meeting, on the next lecture day he focused on “nihilism” and “The Middle Way” but that’s beside the point.

The point is I do talk about how I believe Ukoku understands the teachings of “nothingness” but chooses to interpret them his own way because I believe he “desires nothing.”  And that is a basis on which a person should not be admitted into the monastic order to begin with according to the traditional interviews conducted on young men looking to enter a monastery.  And that is all in the link above.

Month of Saiyuki?

I love this thread! First of all “Emptiness” is the english transaltion of sanskrit word “Sunyata” which derives from adjective sunya= zero,nothing. Sunya comes from the root svi,meaning “hollow”,plus -ta “-ness”,therefore “hollow,hollowness”. A common alternative term is “voidness”. It is interestng to note that this is ultimately derived from the proto-indo european root k̑eu- which means “to swell” and also “to grow”: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/ielex/X/P0954.html

Keep reading

[falsebrightness]

Actually, I was talking about the more philosophical reasoning as to why Ukoku had no chakra on his forehead.  Manga canon aside, I believe there’s a tad more to it than that, especially if you dig into the roots of Buddhism and follow its many transformations as it spread throughout continental Asia and Southeast Asia.

For starters, not everyone was allowed to practice the ascetic lifestyle of Buddhism.  Even the historical Buddha himself was said to have opposed the creation of a nun’s order for Buddhism; it was only at the behest of his closest disciple and aunt that he finally relented and welcomed women.  Though, he also famously stated that, “Thus, my teachings shall remain in the world 500 years less.”

Right.  I was going to save this for another day, but I might as well dig it up for the really putting into words what I was thinking.

There was quite a rigorous interviewing process to ascertain whether a person was fit to become a monk or a nun or not.  The most obvious of qualifications were:

- that you were not an animal (yes, this was actually a qualification)

- that you were bound by no debts (because you needed to give up your previous lifestyle and what is a monastery to do if your debtors come knocking on their door?)

- that you were not an only child (because who was supposed to take care of your parents in their old age?  If you had siblings, it was fine for you to dump all responsibilities to take care of your parents onto them, apparently)

Now, here is what I thought was interesting.  You were not allowed to take up the Buddhist monk lifestyle if:

- you had too many attachments.  Of course this is a given, but it’s the separate-but-still-connected qualification that comes with this that has my attention.

- you cannot fully embrace the dharma if you have too little attachments.

But wait.  Isn’t that the point of becoming a monk?  Denounce the world and shave your head, spend hours and hours meditating?  Wear only garb fit for a corpse as a reminder that the body is impermanent?

Yes and no.  Yes.  Almost all of the teachings found within the different sutras advocate a renunciation of this life for the sake of achieving salvation.  Whether you achieve that salvation because you placed your “refuge” in the Bodhisattvas, your inner self to become an “arhat,” or just “in the Buddha” (as is the most basic of basic proclamations of Buddhism) the point is you accept that this life is impermanent and are seeking to break the cycle and reach “nirvana” -- which is a state of non-existence.

No, because if you have too little attachment then the teachings that focus on becoming unattached have no meaning for you.  And if there is no meaning in the teaching which you strive to meditate upon, then what may I ask is the point?

Now.  Where does Ukoku fit into all of this?  Ukoku is that last kind of person who is “not qualified” to be a monk in most orders.  Tell me, what does Ukoku desire?  Koumyou, himself, posited that Ukoku was, “Once again, unable to die” when he killed Goudai and became a Sanzo houshi.  Perhaps I’m going out on a limb, but perhaps Ukoku wished to die at some point in the past.  He wished to stop his own existence through death, and yet he simply cannot die.  So then what does he desire?  How about “nothing”?

Ukoku embodies “nothing”, Ukoku desires “nothing.”  Ukoku, out of all of the characters presented to us thus far (excluding Koumyou, because I feel he also understood what he was preaching, and what he was preaching was basically “I have nothing to preach” which is a common attitude among the hermit Buddhists who live in the mountainous regions of China) exhibits the deepest understanding of core concepts found in some schools of Buddhism -- particularly the Heart Sutra which I strongly believe he is based off of, or at least Minekura took points from in designing Ukoku and his Muten Sutra.

Additionally, “enlightenment” is a fickle thing to try and peg.  It could mean that they suddenly have all the knowledge in the knowledge in the world.  It could mean they have made a profound discovery about themself.  Who knows?  Ukoku, I believe, is well on his way to achieving his own “enlightenment” -- and I’ve already stated my case for why I believe this train of thought.

Now, “killing is forbidden in Buddhism.”  But you cannot deny that, if it is a “compassionate killing,” it is more tolerable.  Kunga Sangbo Rinpoche, a Buddhist monk from Tibet, posed this scenario, “There is an evil man who, with one action, can cause the deaths of millions of innocent people.  Suppose there is a Bodhisattva who is present, and fears the consequence of such action.  If the man were allowed to follow through and kill these people, countless lives will have been sent to the Lower Worlds and their sufferings will be prolonged.  Thus, to save the evil man from his own crime and, thus, save the lives of the innocent, the Bodhisattva kills the man and incurs massive bad karma upon his being.”  However, the Bodhisattva is just doing his duty as a “being who prolonged their own ‘enlightenment’ for the sake of assisting humans escape their suffering.”  Bodhisattvas such as Avalokitesvara (Guanyin/Kanzeon Bosastsu), Manjusri, and most famously Kshitigharba have all allegedly made vows stating that they will not erase themselves from existence until every other living being on earth has done so first.  Only then will they “close the gate behind them” and the world can be considered “saved.”

Finally, the different schools of Buddhism.  I am aware of this.  In fact, I sat in my professor’s office for hours at a time comparing notes with him.  My professor studied in Tibet and Mongolia, thus he was more versed in those styles of Buddhism.  My background sees to it that I’m more versed in Chinese Buddhism, so I see exactly the point you are making.  Trust me.

However, do not forget that there are even smaller branches of Buddhism than just “Tibet” Buddhism and “Chinese” Buddhism.  The biggest factions of Buddhism that exist are Mahayana (the Greater Vehicle), Theravada (the Tradition of the Elders), and Vajrayana (otherwise known as “Tibetan” Buddhism, or at least the most famous aspect of it).  Saiyuki is based off the great novel of China, “Journey to the West,” and China is famous for having subscribed to Mahayana Buddhism since its introduction.  Thus, one can say that Saiyuki has its roots in Mahayana Buddhism.  However, the Tibetan practices of Buddhism haven’t really been shown until RELOAD BLAST -- which you’ve already pointed out.

Other notable Chinese schools of Buddhism include:

- Chan Buddhism (known as Zen Buddhism in Japan)

- Tientai, or the Lotus School (focused primarily on the Lotus Sutra)

- Huayan, or Flower Garland School (focused primarily on the Flower Garland Sutra)

- Pure Land Sect -- arguably one of the most famous schools of Buddhism alongside Chan/Zen due to the idea of being “saved” by Amitbha Buddha and being reborn in the “Western Pure Land” 

Month of Saiyuki?

[falsebrightness]

Month of Saiyuki?

I keep seeing this Month of Saiyuki meme going around, and I keep wondering if I should participate.  While I think on that for a bit, I thought it would be interesting to share a few things I found/speculated based on a Buddhism class I took during Winter Quarter.  Most of it is based around Ukoku, the Muten Sutra, and the Heart Sutra.

So, a few months ago a friend of mine (thosesilentrainydays) had posted a screen cap of a conversation we were having through email.  The screen cap isn’t there anymore, so I’ll reupload it right here, since I’m going to be talking about this conversation and the points I discovered after just one day of class.  Do ignore the highlighting; I was having some trouble finding the exact message in our string of responses, aha.  Also, do excuse the general lack of professionalism; I’m sure you can tell that I was super excited to get out what I wanted to get out immediately.  And I was very excited with what I had just learned that day.

Ahem.  So.  I’ll do a bit of explaining now.

The Heart Sutra.  As I mentioned, it’s a very important sutra within Buddhism.  All of Buddhism?  Perhaps more so some branches than others; before I forget, I need to make a disclaimer.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PURE AND ABSOLUTE BLANKET STATEMENT THAT CAN BE MADE FOR BUDDHISM.  There are many different branches, many different beliefs, many different teachings within Buddhism that to make one statement that embodies the “core values” of “all of Buddhism” makes no sense whatsoever.  Additionally, though I do study Buddhism among other topics, my knowledge is in no way complete.  I’m still learning, and everything I’m about to write is just my speculation based on how I understood what was taught to me.

Now, the Heart Sutra and my speculation on its relation to Ukoku.  As I said before, the Heart Sutra places a heavy emphasis on “emptiness” -- emptiness of self, emptiness of form, heck even emptiness of teaching if you want to go that far.

Here, have a read of an excerpt of the translation of the Heart Sutra I was given by my professor:

“ [ ... ]

Listen Sariputra, the Body itself is Emptiness and Emptiness itself is this Body.  This Body is not other than Emptiness, and Emptiness is not other than this Body.  This is true of Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations, and Consciousness.

Listen, Sariputra, all phenomena bear the mark of Emptiness; their true nature is the nature of no Birth no Death, no Being no Non-being, no Defilement no Purity, no Increasing no Decreasing.

This is why in Emptiness, Body, Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations and Consciousness are not separate self entities.

[ ... ]

Whoever can see this no longer needs anything to attain.

[ ... ]

Therefore Sariputra, is should be known that the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore is a Great Mantra, the most illuminating mantra, the highest mantra, a mantra beyond compare, the True Wisdom that has the power to put an end to all kinds of suffering.  Therefore let us proclaim a mantra to praise the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore.”

Apologies as I had to shorten it for the sake of not simply copying it down and losing what I had in mind to type, but hopefully you get the gist of it.

So, this is getting rather long-winded.  Where was I going with this again?  Emptiness is the realization that the “self” is non-existent.  Everything about you -- everything you know about yourself, everything you think you know about yourself -- is an illusion.  “The Body itself is Emptiness”; the body itself is an illusion for it is non-permanent.  “Emptiness itself is this Body”; emptiness dwells in this body if you truly understand that you, yourself, are an illusion.

That sounds quite familiar, yes?

I once speculated that the Muten Sutra was based off of the Heart Sutra with this fixation on “emptiness”.  More than that, Ukoku is basically repeating the Heart Sutra during his fight with Sanzo before the rest of the ikkou showed up.

Okay.  I think I’ve rambled aimlessly for too long.  I also feel like I’ve talked in circles -- but maybe that’s because I’m not quite sure how to say what I want to say.  My brain’s a bit of a frazzled mess.

[ /sigh ]

I also wanted to talk about my musings on why Ukoku has no chakra, thus making him a “heretical” priest but that’s going to have to wait another day.

I welcome debates, comments, and questions concerning what I have just written.  Maybe that’ll help me figure out what direction I was trying to go in with my thoughts.

[falsebrightness]

Chia couldn't help the smile as Rain basically threatened their mutual acquaintance without his being present.  There was always something amusing about the way the other woman colored her threats and showed off her brand of protectiveness over people she felt important enough to protect in the first place.

Was she, perhaps, fluffing her own ego when she admitted that she absolutely loved thinking herself important enough to Rain to warrant such consideration?  Maybe, maybe not.  Chia wouldn't deny that simply knowing Rain made it so that things were very much interesting.  And that was why she was among her favorite people.

"I say that it's just you, Papa," she answered, smiling at the other woman brightly, "Papa may not think she's the best papa for our baby, but Mama knows better.  Mama wouldn't go to anyone else for help for something like this, after all.  So yes, Papa is the only serious choice Mama has right now."

She paused, to reach up and tap Rain's cheek (really, she would have loved to tap Rain's forehead or something, but the major height difference between the two of them saw to it that that wouldn't happen unless the other were sitting down or something.

"Besides, Rain is my favorite person.  That alone is reason enough for me to be biased toward you."

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

"Why yes; I did say Xianglian."

Chia paused to let that information hang in the air, for no real reason really.

"Though, I'm afraid that I'll have to say that I don't remember going to bed with him either.  Unless he did so without my knowledge; to which I'd say I thought he respected my space more than that."  And she concluded that with a sigh.

She then shook her head, and continued, "At any rate, whether Xianglian is, in fact, 'prettier' than Rain or not I would much prefer Papa Rain over Papa Xianglian.  It sounds cuter, don't you think ~ ?"

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

"Ouch, papa, that hurts.  Why can't you just take a moment to revel in the fact that I'm carrying a baby and you're going to be a papa?"

Chia gave a sigh, a shrug, and shook her head.  Well, Rain did have something of a point there.  Perhaps she should give some consideration to the fact that the biological father of said child was still unknown.  Though, Chia was just set on giving Rain that honor.  Whether it made sense or not.  Because why not?

"Hmmm. . .let me think. . ."

"Well.  If we're talking about whether I met anyone I could have possibly wanted to sleep with, I should say I don't think so?  Other than you and Li -- oh, and Xianglian -- I haven't spent that much time with anyone else."

A pause.  Hmm. . .now there's a thought.  But first --

"But you, know, the child still needs a name."

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

Chia opened her mouth to answer, but then closer it and placed her index finger against her lips in thought.  A hum escaped her as she seriously considered Rain's question.

"Did Zan do it?"

"That's actually a very good question. . .but. . .  I don't think he has a physical body anymore. . .?  Unless he isn't telling me something. . ."

She trailed off in though, wondering if she was missing a key piece of information there -- but then something else occurred to her.  Something that probably should be a little bit lower on her list of priorities, you know considering that she has no real clue who the father is.

"Does that mean our child is going to be a hanyou then, Rain?  Oh, how adorable ~  I'll make sure to style their hair after Papa Rain's ~"

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

"Hmmm. . .that's not quite what I'm saying, Rain."

She moved to take Rain's hand, and press it against her stomach.

"There, did you feel it?  It's warm inside, I should think ~  I can't really say I know who it was because. . .well, I can't remember ever having bedded down with anyone recently.  Unless something happened without my knowledge -- ah, to which I would say wow that kind of sucks."

Chia gave a pause to grin up at Rain, and added, "Of course, papa is free to kick as many asses as she wishes -- but mama needs a helping hand.  And I don't trust Li's ass enough for it ~"

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

"Oh, that's right, isn't it?  Even if Rain's the papa, Rain's still Rain.  Hmmmm. . ."

A pause to tap her cheek a few times, feigning deep thought.

"I don't think that changes much though ~  Because it sure as hell wasn't Li -- I know that much, thank you very much ~ "

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

"Well, yes.  Of course I know what you mean.  This is Li we're talking about."

"If you were a god, that's news to me.  I'll keep that in mind ~  Just accept that this child is a result of our love, okay ~ ?  Because the only child I want to bear is Rain's, ehe ~  Rain would be the best papa for our baby ~"

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

"Let's be serious for a minute here, Rain.  Missing one gun or not, it's the accuracy of the shot that matters.  Li's basically a one-man army.  Hmmmm. . .don't tell him I said that."

"Anyway, Papa, are you going to lend me a hand or not?  You have two perfectly good ones ~"

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

"Oya, oya ~  Where do you think you're going, Papa?  Someone should take responsibility ~  I wonder what the name should be ~"

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

“…How—? …”

Nope, not today.

[falsebrightness]

thosesilentrainydays:

"I cannot stand this anymore!" / "D-don’t approach me." / "It hurts so much."

"Th-Then. . .let me. . ."

Her voice died in her throat, taking with it every other word she wanted to say.  Nothing was worse than dealing with the consequences of becoming attached to another, living being. Nothing was worse than being reminded of being alive. . .of having others to care for. . .  Nothing was worse, to her, than caring.  Because it meant that you had someone you invested time in.  Time, and effort. . .and energy. . .and. . .emotions. .

"Please, Rain.  Why won't you. . .why can't you just. . .  Don't you. . trust me?  I thought I was. . ."

Maybe you were wrong, Chia-ming.

The thought rang loudly in her mind, cause a pang of heavy, stabbing pain to erupt in her chest. Wrong.  Yes. . .yes of course she was wrong. What was she thinking?  Someone like her--a walking corpse among the land of the living. She didn't belong here--to this world. To any of these people. Who did she think she was, going off and thinking she could forge a connection of any kind to anyone?  Maybe. . .maybe Rain was on to something. . .but still. . .but still. . .

Chia didn't realize that she had been slowly, tentatively, approaching the other woman with outstretched arms until she felt her arms getting tired.  What was she. . .what, exactly, did she think she was doing?  Slowly, those same arms were turned inward and she wrapped them around herself, slowly sinking to her knees.

"Can you just. . .let me stay here. . .with you, Rain?  Please?"

That was all she was asking.  That was all she could.

[falsebrightness]

Ｖａｇｒａｎｔ  ＡＩ  Ｄｅｔｅｃｔｅｄ：

Macha, T̻̫͕̫͎͕̻̒͐ͮ͑ͬ̕h̯͔̤͉͋̏ͫ̌ͅē̷̜͔̦͑͛ͮ ͈͙̮T̜ͬ̑̄ḛ̶̍̉̀͛̑m͚̠̔p̨͇͓̝̮̺̮ͦ͛͋̉̇ͯ̏t̛̙̭̖̤̫̜̜ͫͪ̐ͬ̓̉r̲̪̪̼̒e̬ͪ̓̈͂͌ͧs̖̥̤̤̫̃ͬͩ͒̽̋s̡̠̦̫̼͆̓͒̌̑̚̚

Independent .hack//SIGN Roleplay/Ask Blog

About 7 years experience of roleplaying (mostly on Gaia; recently through emails; new to tumblr)

Paragraph / Multi-Paragraph / One-Liners — okay ~

AU + OC friendly

Romance, Friendship, Crack — okay ~

Shipping really isn’t the main focus of this blog

Let’s have some fun ~

[ home ]  [ ask ]  [ rules ]

[falsebrightness]

YOU CAN TELL A LOT ABOUT SOMEONE BY THE TYPE OF MUSIC THEY LISTEN TO

HIT SHUFFLE ON YOUR IPOD, PHONE, ITUNES, MEDIA PLAYER ETC AND WRITE DOWN THE FIRST 20 SONGS. THEN PASS THIS ON TO 10 PEOPLE.

ONE RULE: NO SKIPPING 

TAGGED BY: thosesilentrainydays

Hellfire – Tony Jay (Judge Frollo from Disney’s "The Hunchback of Notre Dame")

Darkness – HetaOni OST

My Immortal – Evanescence

Nakama Tachi (Friends) – FAIRY TAIL ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK VOL. 1

Phenomenon – Thousand Foot Krutch

warp -- .hack//EXTRA SOUNDTRACKS

The Reluctant Heroes (Piano Version) – Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan Soundtrack)

Invincible – Two Steps From Hell

Mosh – Eminem

Desire – Do As Infinity (INUYASHA AHA)

Spotlight – Jennifer Hudson

Heat-Haze Days/Kagerou Days (cover) – Chorus of 50

Inner Universe – Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex Soundtrack

Pure Imagination (Cover) – Maroon 5

Bear the Cross – HetaOni OST

Holding Out for  a Hero – Bonnie Tyler

FAIRY TAIL Main Theme (slow version) – FAIRY TAIL ORIGINAL SOUNTRACK VOL. 1

STARDUST – LUNAFLY

Elements – Lindsey Stirling

Tarzan – Wonder Boyz

TAGGING: IDK MAN.  I'M NOT ALL THAT ACTIVE ON THIS BLOG.  UGH.  I TAG YOU.  IF YOU SEE THIS, YOU'RE TAGGED.  THERE.

[falsebrightness]

How adorable, really.  Chia couldn’t help but feel thoroughly pleased with herself for deciding that the man was cute, and all the more amused by his reaction.

"Oya, oya ~  I’m sure you have something in mind ~  After all, you’re the one who’s turning red ~”

Teasing him could prove to be incredibly fun, or just plain crue—  No, no.  Just fun.  Adorably fun.

"You’re cute, but I bet you’d be even cuter moaning my name and begging me for ‘it’."

"…………………………….."

"W—WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU GOING ON ABOUT?!"

[falsebrightness]

(( I might as well put it here because I'm already on this tab, haha ~  See, I think it's because someone else is asking the question.  It frees up my brain to think spontaneously and come up with an honest answer that sometimes I don't even see coming.  It also helps that you're evil and I'm evil and you just bring out the evil that's lying underneath all of my thoughts of academics a majority of the time ~  There you go; that's my take on it ~ ))

falsebrightness liked your post:I don’t get how I can say or do one small thing…

[ I see you liking this post and am still confused sometimes. Because it happens a lot. xD I can just lightly stoke the flames and cause a huge fire. ]