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maximiliusguy · 10 months ago

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NON-SELF STATE'S IMAGERY 🕉

I put all of these images together to visually convey & explain the symbolism behind KRILLIN'S NON-SELF STATE.

(link to my in-depth essay here).

I did the research so you don't have to! But, feel free to do your own research as well. 👍

NON-SELF STATE'S AURA

The aura of NSS has visual similarities to both god ki & Ultra Instinct. NSS is a similar power like UI, but on a lower level. It's obviously different from normal mortal ki, and it's definitely not the same as the "ki barrier aura" that Goku & Vegeta used in EP 98. Visually, NSS clearly DOES NOT look like the barrier aura nor function the same way. Saying it does is either being intellectually dishonest or ignorant.

NSS PATH 🕉

Duḥkha - Krillin's suffering, depression, fear & extreme PTSD.

Eightfold Path/Seven Factors of Awakening - Krillin faces all the trauma at once & has no choice but to overcome his trauma.

Dhyāna & Samādhi - Krillin's deep meditation.

Upekṣā - Krillin achieves equanimity.

Unlocked 7th Chakra/Sahasrāra - Krillin gains spiritual understanding.

Nirvāṇa/Buddhahood - Krillin's Non-Self State.

Buddhism attempts to face the suffering and understand the bondage of suffering with the anattā (non-self) approach or strategy. Accepting the objective reality is the starting point for the practice of the Eightfold Path (the path to nirvāṇa).

The birds🕊🕊, water💧, Super Shenron🐉, & the Paradise Herb 🌿 all represent Krillin's achievement of peace & enlightenment.

WATER SYMBOLISM💧

Water symbolizes rebirth and purity in many religions. In Buddhism, water symbolizes calmness, serenity, clarity, and cleansing of the body, spirit, & mind. Krillin's energy was spiritually reborn after he cleared his mind & gained equanimity.

The puddle that Krillin stepped in reflected how Krillin doesn't have inner peace. Inside the puddle shows the previous 2 days that attributed more to his self-doubt. At this moment, his internal conflict triggered everything in the forest.

Krillin falling into a river conveys how Krillin was "submerged" in his sufferings. That river then leads to a small waterfall & Krillin ends up in the lowest point of the Forest of Terror (metaphorically, Krillin's lowest point). Soon, Krillin physically rises out of the water, then he spiritually rises above the trauma that clouded his mind. Krillin had truly "risen above himself." This reflects how a lotus flower rising up from murky waters has spiritual significance.

SUPER SHENRON 🐉🐍

Majority of the fandom thought Super Shenron appearing was random and/or stupid. But, a little bit of research reveals how inspired it was to display a golden dragon.

This scene also displays Krillin's improved mental state. Super Shenron [one of the most powerful entities in the Multiverse] had captured Goku; Krillin's best friend who always saved him. What did Krillin do? Krillin courageously faced Super Shenron & saved his best friend! This revealed that Krillin overcame his own limits, both mentally & physically.

An extra factoid is that during the Universe 6 vs Universe 7 arc, there was a smaller Super Shenron in the core of the giant Super Shenron. This is similar to Anavatapta having a small golden dragon riding on a larger golden dragon.

DBS EP 12 also had dragon symbolism to illustrate that Goku achieved a godly level of power, conveying that he was now in the realm of the gods. Beerus had a purple dragon & SSG Goku had a red dragon.

LOTUS FLOWER SYMBOLISM

CLOSED LOTUS FLOWER:

The enclosed island of the Forest of Terror resembles a closed lotus bud above the water. In Buddhism, the newly dead are said to be inside a lotus flower bud and the bud opens once the person inside has achieved nirvāṇa. In like manner, Krillin was able to leave the death-like state of the Forest of Terror after he awakened to nirvāṇa/enlightenment.

The Forest of Terror took inspiration from the Bodhi tree (tree of enlightenment) the tree that Buddha found enlightenment under. This is shown by the way the branches of the trees in the Forest of Terror cover everything & the fact that Krillin attained enlightenment in this forest. In a way, the Forest of Terror soon became a Forest of Enlightenment for Krillin.

LOTUS FLOWER COLORS:

The Paradise Herb has colors of all the chakras (also, every chakra is represented by a different lotus flower that has a varying number of petals).

The 7th chakra 🕉 has a connection to rainbows. We see that the Paradise Herb has rainbow colors. 🌿🌈

RISING UP LIKE A LOTUS FLOWER:

Krillin spiritually rising & physically rising out of the water mimics the lotus flower rising out of the water (literally & symbolically).

SYMBOLS OF ENLIGHTENMENT:

Both the Paradise Herb & the Lotus Flower are used as symbols of enlightenment. Lotus flowers appeared after Buddha gained enlightenment & the Paradise Herbs appeared after Krillin gained enlightenment.

Lotus flower signifies spiritual change. They are closed under the moon & open under the sun. There are 3 moons in the Forest of Terror & Krillin is only able to leave the forest after his spiritual change. The moons aren't seen anymore & the forest opens.

EXTENDED LIFESPAN:

The lotus flowers can survive for 1,000 years or longer & can even be revived. Enlightened ones are also said to be able to live for 1,000 years or become immortal. Similarly, the blessed Paradise Herb greatly increases the lifespan. Roshi says he feels like he can live for 1,000 more years after eating the Paradise Herb. After becoming enlightened, Krillin can now potentially live for thousands of years.

AURA CLAD FISTS:

The Palm Chakras are represented by Krillin's Aura Clad Fists.

HEALING:

Herbs are used for natural healing & the lotus flower stands for escape from spiritual/emotional pain. The Paradise Herb🌿 is good for the spirit and health.

CHAKRA/RAINBOW COLORS 🌈

The 7th charka has a connection to rainbows. The Paradise Herb, the rocks, trees, dirt, clouds, many things inside the Forest of Terror have rainbow tints and hues to them.

The Sahasrāra represents a divine connection & higher state of conciousness. Its quote is "I understand." Right before Krillin spiritually transforms with Non-Self State, he says "I understand."

The Sahasrāra chakra's colours are violet & white. Krillin gains a godly white aura after achieving Nirvāṇa. The violet butterfly at the end of EP 75 was used to forshadow Krillin's eventual awakening.

During the ToP, there are chakra colors in the sky of the World of Void when Goku awakened to Ultra Instinct. This was done in a similar way how there are chakra colors in the Forest of Terror when Krillin awakened to Non-Self State. Both foreshadowed spiritual awakenings. (Chakra colors were also present in Whis' Staff to convey that Goku & Vegeta tapped into godly power.)

To further illustrate the Sahasrāra chakra, the Forest of Terror had a violet colored aura when Krillin goes into Non-Self State a second time. In a similar way, the World of Void became a violet color when Goku used Mastered Ultra Instinct.

SPIRITUAL CHANGE/TRANSFORMATION

The moon symbolism references the lotus flower, both signifying spiritual change. The lotus flower is closed under the moon & rises up when the moon is gone. When Krillin spiritually transformed to NSS, the moons weren't shown again. 🌕🌕🌕

Since Baba is a witch, the 3 moons may also be a nod towards the "Triple Moon Goddess." It consists of 1 full moon & 2 cresent moons on the side. - [🌒🌕🌘] Perhaps a double reference? 🤔

ULTRA INSTINCT (UI) & NON-SELF STATE (NSS)

The Buddhist concept of equanimity is upekṣā, and it matches up with Merus' explanation of how Ultra Instinct is attained. Both Goku & Krillin's forms were achieved in similar ways.

Non-Self State & Ultra Instinct are not exactly the same thing, but as I said in my essay, the two spiritual transformations are very similar & depict a high godly power. (Merged Zamasu also has power depicting spiritual enlightenment.)

Ultra Instinct could be referred to as "Mastery of Movement" & Non-Self State could be referred to as "Mastery of Mind."

Obviously, Goku's spiritual transformation is at a higher level than Krillin's spiritual transformation. Krillin has recently stepped into the realm of the gods & just got a taste of god ki. He doesn't have a godly teacher either, so he still has a long way to go. This is similar to how SSG opened Goku to a new realm of power and made him capable of more than he thought. However, unlike Krillin, Goku later recieved godly training.

WAYS GOD KI HAS BEEN ATTAINED

The past gods of Earth prior to the nameless Namekian (Kami) & Dende were Earthlings that were granted godly energy. Meaning Krillin isn't the first Earthling to use god ki (but none are known to use god ki to the extent that Krillin has). Earthlings are fully capable of having god ki. God ki IS NOT Saiyan exclusive. As a matter of fact, more Earthlings have used god ki than Saiyans have. There's something for ya to think about.💭

Earthlings have always had spiritual understanding. They don't naturally have as high of a physical limit like other aliens nor do they have a the natural ability to use ki without training like some aliens, but Earthlings do have spiritual understanding & high spiritual capability that helps them cultivate their energy faster than other races. Earthlings make up for their lack of natural strength with skill & Earthlings also have great spiritual understanding of energy. They were one of the few races who learned how to sense energy, knew how to lower/raise their energy, (Goku & Vegeta learned from Earthlings) & increase their power without transforming. Earth has multiple gods that Earthlings can learn from. Specially selected Earthlings have been given the position of god & have been bestowed godly energy many times before.

Since Earthlings have so much spiritual understanding & connection to the gods, god ki could be the true power of Earthlings. After all, Krillin did attain god ki on his own through enlightenment. (The only other race shown to be very spiritual are Namekians, who have a connection to dragon gods. Saiyans aren't very spiritual and only have the god ritual.)

This further cements Toriyama's statements that Krillin holds the title of "The Strongest Earthling!" ✌🌰✌

Also... "Demigod Krillin??" 🤔

NON-SELF STATE [⠿] - AVATAR STATE [⬇] PARALLEL

AFTERWORD 📝

The Earthlings (and non-Saiyan characters) have much more to offer than most of the DB fandom think. This is partially the reason I put this post together. Earth has tons of interesting mystical lore & Earthlings have always had a connection to the gods. That fact is hardly mentioned by most of the fandom as majority choose to overlook it. This fandom as a whole focuses too much on Saiyans and easily miss things that are right in front of them.

For some reason, majority of the DB fandom hate the Earthlings despite they themselves being "Earthlings." But, that's a completely different topic for another time...

Hopefully, this helped y'all better understand Krillin's new power-up!

(If you don't believe any of my research, then I implore you to fact-check me before you dismiss my research just because you dislike Krillin. Otherwise, you're being immature.)

(And no, those episodes ARE NOT non-canon filler. Go learn what filler actually means.)

I also wanted to give a shoutout to the awesome artist that goes by GT's ScrapBook on Twitter, GT's Lab on Tumblr & GT18 on Deviantart. She understood that there was Buddhist symbolism for Krillin's power-up & drew this amazing fanart of Krillin back in 2017! 🔥

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