#Akasagarbha

[blueevander]

Blue skin i have fascinating with this whether that's fictional character or a deity or divine being. Specifically like Vishnu and one of he's avatar Krishna from hinduism, buddha aksobhya, buddha samantabhadra one of he's form vajradhara, buddha bhaisajyaguru, bodhisattva vajrapani, bodhisattva akashagarbha, bodhisattva tara in her blue form that's from religion now let's start with fictional character Mystique, raze darkholme, copycat my favorite shapeshifter who have blue skin whether that's light blue or dark blue

[qb-sketch]

Remade Delancey +Solius ref because apparently I don’t have enough of them. Solius is there cuz it’s not often the two are separated.

Something something Artfight

Rambling thing

I mean… While his song will always will be Long Live the New Fresh, a secondary could be Akasagarbha by wa. vs ETIA or 盟月 by D-D-Dice. The former generally fits him as character, while the latter is sorta in line with JSaB… with the “video game” feel.

[mahayanapilgrim]

Wisdom of the Hour of Death

Dying & the Bardos In The Words of the Buddha

The Noble Mahayana Sütra: The Wisdom of the Hour of Death

In the language of India: Aryatyaya jana nama mahayana

sûtra

In the language of Tibet: 'Phags pa 'da' ka ye shes zhes bya ba the pa chen po'i mdo

In the language of English: The Noble Mahayâna Sütra The Wisdom of the Hour of Death

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus I have heard at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in the palace of the king of gods in Akanistha and teaching the Dharma to the entire retinue when the bodhisattva mahâsattva Akasagarbha prostrated to the Blessed One and asked him the following question,

"O Blessed One, how should a bodhisattva view the mind at the moment of death?"

The Blessed One replied,

"Akasagarbha, at the time of death, the bodhisattva should cultivate the wisdom of the hour of death. As for wisdom of the hour of death, you should cultivate the perception of insubstantiality since all phenomena are naturally pure. You should cultivate the perception of great compassion since all phenomena are contained within bodhicitta. You should cultivate the perception referencelessness since all phenomena are naturally luminous. You should cultivate the perception of utter non-attachment since all things are impermanent. You should cultivate the perception of not searching for buddhahood elsewhere since the mind is wisdom when realized."

The Blessed One then spoke in verse:

Since all things are by nature pure

Cultivate the perception of insubstantiality.

Since they are possessed of bodhicitta

Cultivate the perception of great compassion.

Since all phenomena are by nature luminous

Cultivate the perception of referencelessness.

Since all things are impermanent

Cultivate the perception of non-attachment.

The mind is what causes wisdom's arising And so, look not for buddhahood elsewhere!

As the Blessed One spoke thus, Akäsagarbha and the entire gathering all rejoiced with delight and praised what the Blessed One had taught.

This completes the noble Mahayâna sutra, The Wisdom of the Hour of Death.

[37q]

another question, which might sound whimsical, and apologies for that: can tara, avalokiteshvara, manjushri, akasagarbha, kshitigarbha, cundi and other bodhisattvas come to the aid of non-buddhists? are their mantras useful only for those initiated in the buddhist tradition?

good question! depends on how you wanna connect. most dharma resources preface their practice with the kind of commitment required: some require taking basic or extended vows, some require oral transmission, some require a mentor to do it with. but if it doesn't say anything its fine.

like, for example, tara has tantric forms and she has non tantric forms for which there is an attributed tantric practice. you will not trip and fall into these practices 😁 you wont find any ol person practicing kurukulle tantra, but thats because you literally wont find that info anywhere! the stuff thats available is the stuff that helps, i would never encourage someone to dive deeper into less accessible stuff because of greater material needs.

um i wouldnt say theyre only useful to practitioners but i would say that merely saying the words om mani padme hum out loud is a fair bit different than chanting a mantra with the intent to relieve your and everyone else's suffering. the fruits come from what you sow, so it would only realistically be gatekept behind basic sangha initiation if you need more teachings to understand what youre reaping ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

its actually funny that you asked like that. i rec you read a little bit more about bodhicitta and the accrual of merit. ooh actually read about amitabha, his merit is bonkers.

so, trying to articulate something a lil complex here, when you chant a mantra of a certain bodhisattva youre doing a number of things. youre kinda asking for help, but your suffering is never isolated so generating or transferring merit for you has to involve merit for everyone. the help comes only when you want it for everyone else, too, lol. youre kinda evoking an independent entity, technically, but theyre actually just symbolic stylizations of the trikaya, merely forming the flavor and shape of their relief. and you're technically evoking the trikaya as an independent entity, but actually the trikaya is in all of us and only through that reconciliation can we relieve ourselves. and ultimately youre asking for help, but is material betterment the same as liberating assistance? do you know what a nudge towards liberation looks like? do you even know where it would come from?

[mercypeacehappy]

허공장보살 만트라, AKASAGARBHA BODHISATTVA MANTRA

[panicinthestudio]

Standing Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara), 9th century

Heian period, Japan

Wood, pigments, carved eyes

Height: 153.5 cm

Important Cultural Property

Since the Asuka period (592–710), various Buddhist statues were created and worshipped in Japan. Statues of Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara), particularly those of the Eleven-headed Kannon (Ekadasamukha Avalokiteśvara) were the most popular since he was believed to relieve sufferings such as diseases and disasters. In every region and time, there are many known statues of Kannon Bosatsu and eleven-headed Kannon, and they became popular objects of worship. This image is said to have been the main image of Kanno-ji temple. The temple was founded by Ichien (803–67), a priest of Daian-ji temple in Nara, on the western bank of the Kamo river in Kyoto in the Jogan era (859–77). During the late Heian period, many aristocracies visited Kanno-ji temple to worship this image. Around its topknot, there are traces of diminutive faces attached. This indicates that the statue was originally an eleven-headed Kannon. When Kanno-ji temple was destroyed by a fire in 1531, this image was relocated to Seiwa-in temple. In the early modern times, the statue again began to attract worshippers as one of the thirty-three Kannon in Kyoto. This statue has features typical of the single block works of the early Heian period. A single block of Japanese nutmeg (kaya nucifera) is used for the entire body, from the top of the head to the foot tenons. The statue is solid without interior hollowing. Although the statue now stands with the tenons attached to the pedestal, the statue and the pedestal were originally carved from the same piece of wood. The statue has a thick lower body with long legs. Gently twisting his waist, Avalokiteśvara steps slightly forward with his right leg. The sash and skirt-like garment have rolling-wave drapery pleats comprising of large, round wave-like curves and small ridged curves carved in an alternating pattern. These waves have a simple and organized design. The tight and elastic body resembles those of the seated Nyoirin-kannon (Cintāmanicakra) in Kanshin-ji temple in Ōsaka and the seated statues of Godai-kokuzo-bosatsu (Akasagarbha) in Jingo-ji temple in Kyoto, both produced during the Jōwa era (834–48). However, the fine-featured face and sophisticated rolling-wave drapery pleats imply that this statue was produced during the late 9th century. This is a masterpiece of the early Heian period, when Buddhist sculpture arts reached its climax. Collection of the Kyushu National Museum

[crazyfox-archives]

Sculptures of the five emanations of Kokuzō Bodhisattva (虚空蔵菩薩) dating to the early to mid-9th century within the pagoda on the grounds of Jingoji Temple (神護寺) up on Mount Takao (高雄山) in far northwest Kyoto

Image from a site announcing the October 2021 showing of these icons otherwise usually closed to the public (see source)

[tempenensis]

A brief look into the Hand seals (印) of Domain Expansions

The hand seal used by Domain expansion users is shirushi (印) or mudra of various bodhisattvas. In normal practice, these seals are performed while chanting the mantra for respective Bodhisattva.

1. Jougo, Domain: Coffin of Iron Mountain (蓋棺鉄囲山 / gaikan tecchizen); seal is associated with Daikokuten.

Also known as Mahakala, or "the Great Black one", or "the Great Time", Daikokuten is originated from Shiva in Hinduism, who plays role as the destroyer of all things as per his connection to "time" (kala), whose aspects later adopted by Buddhism. In Japan, Daikokuten is one of the seven lucky gods (七福神 / shichifukujin) associated with food and wealth.

2. Gojou Satoru, Domain: Unlimited Void (無量空処 / muryoukuusho); seal is associated with Taishakuten or Sakra

Sakra means "powerful" or "mighty", and is originated from Indra. Taishakuten is often depicted as a pair with Brahma (or Bonten) as the greatest protector deities (dharmapala) of Buddhism. As Indra governs other devas in heaven, Taishakuten is also depicted to govern other 32 gods in heaven and served by the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王 / shitennou).

3. Ryoumen Sukuna, Domain: Malevolent Shrine (伏魔御厨子 / fukuma mizushi); seal is associated with Enmaten or Yama

Enmaten is more famously known as King of Hell, he is a deity who governs fate, death, and underworld. He passes judgements to soul of people who had died, to send them to the appropriate afterworld. He is often depicted to have fierce expression. He is also the protector deity of south direction.

4. Mahito; Domain: Self-Embodiment of Perfection (自閉円頓裹 / jihei endonka); seals are associated with Kokuuzou bosatsu or Akasagharba and Gigeiten

Kokuuzou bosatsu (虚空蔵菩薩) is known as one of the eight great bodhisattvas, whose wisdom is said to be as vast as the space, hence his association with the space element (虚空 ; kokuu, lit. "empty space"). He is worshipped for wisdom, knowledge, and memory.

On the other hand, Gigeiten is a celestial maiden who governs over entertainment and good fortune. She is said to have been born from the hair of Maheshavara, thus she possesses good looks. She is also a master of various art forms.

5. Fushiguro Megumi, Domain: Chimera Shadow Garden (嵌合暗翳庭 / kangou'an eitei), seal is associated with Bhaisajyaguru or Yakushi Nyorai

Also called as Medicine Buddha, Yakushi Nyorai is known for his twelve vows to attain enlightenment. He aspired to heal people's illnesses, cure diseases, and erase the sufferings of sentient beings. The twelve Heavenly Generals (十二神将 / juuni shinshou) are his followers, originated as yakshas who were converted by his teachings. Hence Makora, or Mahoraga as one of Fushiguro's shikigami.

6. Okkotsu Yuuta, Domain: unknown, seal is associated with Dakini

Dakini is a type of female demon or yakshini. The portrayal of Dakinis vary among beliefs, ranging from flesh-eating female demons, similar to Kali in Hinduism, to goddess associated with constituents of human body. In Japan, the Dakini later were coalesced into a single deity called Dakiniten, who later syncretized with deity Inari, goddess of agriculture, represented by a celestial maiden riding white fox.

7. Ishigoori Ryu, Domain: unknown, seal is associated with Kujaku Myo-ou or Mahamayuri

Mahamayuri is a female bodhisattva, whose name means "Great Peacock". She is depicted to have three faces and four arms. Because peacock eats poisonous snakes such as cobra and other pests, Mahamayuri became known to be able to protect her followers from pain and disasters. She is also believed to be able to protect people from poisoning, either physically or spiritually.

8. Uro Takako, domain: unknown, seal is associated with Kundali

Also known as Amritankundali, he is a wrathful protector deity regarded as the manifestation Ratnasambhava, who was focused on equality, to destroy greed and pride. He is also said to be manifestation of Akasagarbha. In addition the nectar of immortality is believed to be originated from him.

9. Hakari Kinji, Domain: Idle Death Gambler (坐殺博徒 / zasatsu bakuto), seal is associated with Benzaiten or Saraswati

Benzaiten as one of the seven lucky gods (七福神 / shichifukujin) is worshipped for monetary fortune. She is often depicted playing biwa as goddess of music. Saraswati is also regarded as goddess of river, hence she becomes known as goddess of "all things flow"; water, time, music, eloquence, fortune, and knowledge. Another version of Benzaiten depicted her as a protector deity having eight hands holding weapons; a bow (弓 / yumi), arrow (箭 / sen), sword (刀 / katana), ax (斧 / ono), spear (三股戟 / sankogeki), long pestle (独鈷杵 / tokkosho), iron wheel (輪 / rin), and rope (羂索 / kenjaku).

Other known domain expansion but unknown hand seal

10. Hanami, domain: unknown, seal is unknown

11. Dagon, domain: Horizon of Captivating Skandha (蕩蘊平線 / tau'un heisen). Seal has "golden pouch" (宝袋 / houtai) motif, which symbolizes wealth.

12. Higuruma Hiromi, domain: Deadly Sentencing (誅伏賜死 / chuubuku shishi), seal is unknown.

誅伏 (chuubuku) means to be sentenced for one's crime or sin, while 自裁 (shishi) means to be ordered to suicide. So his domain means sentenced suicide due for one's sin.

[familyagrestefanblog]

Miraculous Shanghai theories and analysis

All those leaks and informations we got for the Shanghai special caught my interest BIG TIME and I wanted to post my theories and thoughts before it airs.

Just as a warning, I wrote all of this yesterday before the new promo poster got released this morning but fortunately it's doesn't disprove anything I'm about to say.

So let's go!

Let's start with my tamest theory of this post to clear the track for the batshit craziness that gonna follow: The Peacock miraculous will be involved in the Shanghai special as well.

This doesn't necessarily mean that we will see Mayura but at the very least the Peacock miraculous will be brought up.

I'm certain of this because of two things:

1. The specials logo

It's nothing wild. The yin-yang is obviously Ladybug and Chat Noir and when we cross out the other rainbow colors of the Renling promo pic we are left with two colors: Hawkmoths purple and Mayuras blue.

And 2. In a trailer we saw Gabriel in an old ruin which definitely could be the Guardian temple before Ladybug restores it in "Feast" (the special takes place somewhere in between s2 and s3 so that checks out).

Maybe he goes back to where they found their two miraculous and the Grimoire and then checks out the ruins (cuz honestly why not?) or maybe he is on his way to the creepy underground place. We will see.

Okay but now, let's start with the good stuff! :D

I'm putting it under "continue reading" because it's quite alot and it gets... specific lol

Let's continue with the Renlings and the fact that this time around we are not going to get a new Miracle Box but they are all combined into ONE Miraculous.

That may sounds incredibly overpowered and out of nowhere without context but I think I might now what we are looking at.

The Renlings were called the Kwamis "cousins" so we have to go back to the Chinese Zodiac our Miracle box is based on, because it isn't only made of 12 animals. Cause our 12 animals are also segmented under 8 guardians of the zodiac. And how many Renlings to we get? 8.

Four of these Zodiac guardians are assigned to 2 animals and the other four guard one.

They are segmented as the following:

Thousand Hands Guan Yin - Rat

Akasagarbha Bodhisattva - Ox & Tiger

Manjusri Bodhisattva- Rabbit

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva- Dragon & Snake

Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva- Horse

Vairochana Buddha - Goat & Monkey

Acalanatha - Rooster

Amitabha Buddha - Dog & pig

But let me get back to this later.

Unfortunately I legitimately can not explain why these particular animals were chosen to represent the guardians. All I can say is that my initial thought still holds up and the monkey, bear, tiger, dragon, mantis, snake, horse and hawk (look im calling it a hawk in this post idk) are all martial art styles. But they neither belong to one group nor is one of the groups complete.

Maybe I just missed something here (which is definitely possible) but I just can't find the reason for these animals for the guardians. Beside the Dragon as most important one of course, but that's a given.

Anyway, let's continue. A detail that can support my zodiac guardian theory is that while we can only see two animal circles in the promo pic entirely, one of the two has ONE DOT in its picture and the other one has TWO.

Signifying for how many Kwamis the one guardian is assigned to? Possibly.

The dragon in the middle is shown with 8 dots all together, that means is it fair to say that the dragon functions as the main guardian that combines them all. That explains why our new girl for the special has a 8-in-1 Miraculous, why her eyes change for each Renling and why she is trained so professionally.

We don't know yet why the Renlings are all put into one Miraculous, since they work differently from the Kwamis, but I have this thought that the Renlings (in their ONE necklace) were created because of what happened to the guardian temple almost 200 years ago.

Countless Miracle Boxes were lost that day and Fu's Box with the Ladybug and Cat were thought so as well. Possibly the Renlings were an attempt to recreate the powers of at the very least the lost zodiac Kwamis. The Dragon was made into the main guardian and is supposed to step in place for the LB and Cat as we can see on its different color coding echoing the yin-yang, but It obviously didn't work and the Renlings neither possess the same powers or can they be put in separate Miraculous nor is the Dragon a healthy replacement for the yin-yang.

But is was a desperate attempt in a situation that was believed to be lost and I find that thought exciting!

(Btw i have a similar theory for the Superheros from the New York special but that's a theory for another day)

Where to continue, where to continue?

Alright let's stay with the 8 Dragon dots because THOSE caught my interest in more than one way.

As I already said, I think the 4 white dots and 4 block ones stand for the 2 types of zodiac guardians, but now let's take a look at the animal circles surrounding the dragon.

We can see the Bear, the Hawk and a bit of another one between the Bear and Chat Noir in addition to the Dragon. These four circles have animal pictures that are completely colored in (just like the dragon brighter dots)

And now look closely at the animal circles around Chats head. Those are not colored in! Just like the other four Dragon dots. So isn't in interesting that they had our two leads basically hide those four particular animal circles? Almost as if there is a reason for this, huh?

And you know, I looked further and maybe I found something here. And for this let's take another look at the Renlings, shall we?

Four of these Renlings have something in common with our two main characters, can you guess what?

I'll give a hint: The eyes.

I compared all the promo picks we got from the Renlings and noticed that:

1. The snake and the horse have blue eyes like Marinette

2. The monkey has green eyes like Adrien

And 3. The Mantis is the only Renling with special eyes like Chat

The other 4 Renlings have brown eyes in different shades.

But this on it own isn't too exciting. So what if some Renlings share the same eyes as our leads? Well, would you believe it? When I filled in the placements of the other animals circles, through a shot we got in the leaks, I noticed that those 4 Renlings that shear their eyes with Marinette and Adrien are ALSO the 4 animal circles our leads just so happen to hide from us.

How interesting

But that not all I got. Not even CLOSE, I'm just getting started here!

Because not only do Marinettes Snake & Horse and Adriens Monkey & Mantis stand out here, oh no, it gets BETTER!

Now let's take the two promo pics from the Renlings we got where they are finished and colorized.

Did you know that both times they are put in the same formation, just with slightly swapped placement among the Renlings?

And once again here one could say "So what? They were lazy while designing the pics, that's it" but NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH hear me out!

Not only are the Renlings put both times into the same formation, the way they switched their placements isn't random at all:

1. Marinettes Snake and Horse stay both times on exactly the same spot.

2. The tiger and the bear switch places

3. So do the dragon and monkey

4. And the mantis and hawk.

The way the Renlings are shown to us on the promo pics is anything BUT random and that is something that will always get me interested! :D

But you know what? I'm still not done yet. Let's continue with this creepy ass stone door we see Gabriel at

Because as I mentioned, while Marinettes Snake and Horse stay unchanged in their formations, Adriens Monkey and Mantis not only do change places but they aren't paired with another either. So does that mean that Adriens guardian Renlings are just inconsistent? No, not at all. They just have a different meaning and place then Marinettes.

First of all: the Renlings special hair is bright green, just like the color of the tiger (a CAT) on the rainbow scale we got and Adriens/Chats + Monkey & Mantis eyes. And second: in the other promo pic the Renlings have a pink background, just like the rainbow scale color or the Mantis!

Coincidence? I don't care anymore, next point! :D

Because not only THAT but when we take a closer look at the creepy stone door we can make out the placement of every guardian animal as well. And MY, is this fascinating:

As the colors make it clear when you compare these guardian animal door placements to the rainbow scale from the promo pic, here Adriens Monkey & Mantis are in the right places but Marinettes animals are a bit off.

In fact. Everything about the placements of the animals (besides Adriens) are just a bit off.

- Marinettes animals and the bear are almost in the right place just mirror-reversed.

- The Tiger and the Hawk are one place too left.

- And the Dragon shouldn't be in the middle, it should take the place between Adriens animals but it was forced out of position to replace the yin-yang.

But taking the dragon out broke the balance of the animal circle. Everything here is slightly off by one point and that is much more significant than you would initially think. Because when you now turn the whole circle one quarter to the left (there is a reason for it, trust me) and put the dragon back in place then you will get a good part of the picture I've been looking for a long while.

What I'm showing you here are the 4 Chinese creatures of the cardinal directions and they are basically what I would expect to be on the upper layer of a Chinese Miracle box (I'll get to this on another day). And as you can see here, we are basically almost there aren't we?

The tiger of the West and Dragon of the east are in place and while the creature of the North is normally the turtle it is always accompanied by a snake, which is now on the upper place.

"but what about the bear? And a snake is NOT a turtle!" I'm getting to it, my goodness :/

Regarding the bear one thing needs to be said: it is definitely true, the bear is in the wrong place. I don't even know why there is a bear in this formation in the first place and it stuck out to me since day one. The creature of the south is a bird, the HAWK should be here.

But there is a difference between "this thing is in the wrong place and completely random wtf??" and "This thing is in the wrong place but I can see a pattern continuing from other formations that are off as well".

The bear is not only here, it's also:

- alongside the tiger (who is btw suspicious af as well) covering the center points from the Renlings formation that should belong to Adriens animals.

- is with Marinettes animals the only other one that is basically on it right place on the creepy stone door, just mirror-reversed.

-is the new "peak" of the zodiac guardian animal circles because moving the dragon out to the middle left the other ones off-balance and now its kinda tilted to the left. But when we look at the creepy door with not corrected animal placements we see that this was indeed the hawks place. And remember as well, the bear and the hawk are the only two animal circles we see in the promo pic besides the dragon

Meaning in short: That damn bear stole the hawks place and I need it to stop.

Which brings me to the turtle and a whole new can of worms (miraculous should pay me for this omfg...).

Because what if I tell you that the snake, who is normally just accompanying the turtle, being the creature of the north here instead of the turtle is not only "okay enough" it is actually the needed puzzle piece to connect this zodiac Renlings circle with the Chinese Miracle box in the design master Fu had it?

Let me explain

Do you remember when I started talking about the Renlings I said I would come back to the way the rl zodiac guardians are paired with the zodiac animals "later"? Well, later is NOW, because there is one more way those 8 dots from that damn dragon caught my interest and it also explains why I just turned the guardian stone circle one quarter to the left.

Because believe and behold, this is not the only place where things are "slightly off".

A while I started taking closer looks and research on the original miracle box design and the Kwami spirit circle we saw in "Sandboy".

I will try to not go into unnecessary details with this now because all of that needs its own post. I'm already going off the hooks with this one. But just like here I noticed with these two things rather quickly that "things are slightly off, but in a suspiciously systematic way".

Going straight ahead to the example I'm talking about, the order the 12 zodiac animals follow on the side of the box is straight up upside-down. The first zodiac animal is the rat (or mouse) and the last one the pig and YET in the box the rat is right at the bottom and the pig on the top.

This upside down arrangement of the animals results in the wrong animals being the 4 who have a guardian assigned for themselves

The four single miraculous in between the 4 directions are obviously the ones I'm talking about. Here they are Tiger, Snake, Pig, Monkey (I hope you are making a connection here) but that's wrong, as are the other 4x2 ones.

BUT

When we now flip it upside down again, having the rat start on the pigs place and the pig end on the rats, then things suddenly are correct.

Here the rl guardian pairings again:

Thousand Hands Guan Yin - Rat

Akasagarbha Bodhisattva - Ox & Tiger

Manjusri Bodhisattva- Rabbit

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva- Dragon & Snake

Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva- Horse

Vairochana Buddha - Goat & Monkey

Acalanatha - Rooster

Amitabha Buddha - Dog & pig

As you can see, now it's correct.

You may wonder what this has to do with the Dragon dots, so lets look at the Kwami spirit circle next.

I've been analyzing and taking this thing apart now for MONTHS now. And while I'm certainly having a blast, the fact that I now officially have an entire FOLDER at home dedicated to this thing alone is quite...

Bruh...

But thankfully we will really only need the basics for this theory here.

Through zooming in and watching the "Sandboy" Kwami spirit World scenes over and over again I was able to figure out the placement of each Kwami.

When you now follow the moons in the middle towards the Kwamis you will notice that only the moon at the top alignes with one and that's DUUSU. The other 4 miss the Kwamis just by a bit.

But remember what I said the entire time. Everything is just slightly off by ONE little factor but when we "fixed" that factor for the stone wall there was still something left that didn't fit. That's because not only are the Shanghai zodiac guardians structures off, it was built on top of a structure that is ALREADY slightly off by another factor!

Something is fundamentally WRONG with Kwami balance in the current ml universe and what I think happened to throw everything off is NOOROO.

Keeping this point short for everybodys sanity, in the french version of "Sandboy" we find out that Nooroo is having his 3500 cycle birthday and him being the Kwami which gets its birthday pointed out is no coincidence. (Guys please just go with me here, I really dont have the strenght to elaborate on this now as well)

So when Nooroo is the factor that brought imbalance to the Kwami system then how does the spirit circle look like WITHOUT Nooroo?

Now THIS is more like it!

Without Nooroo the size of the circle changes slightly all around and now the other 4 moons align with the Dragon, rat, chicken and horse.

And believe it or not, but take a guess what it looks like when we now highlight these 4 Kwamis in the arrangement of the 12 zodiac Kwamis both upside down and correct?

It's the 2 types of Dragon dots.

And let's take this further. When the 12 Zodiac Kwamis are upside down then so is obviously the entire upper layer of the Miracle box as well, which explains why, although the 5 Miraculous places around the yin-yang are based on the 5 chinese elements, the way they are arranged here is once again upside down.

Meaning the yin-yang is upside down as well, but not only that. I always found it weird that the yin-yang here is placed SIDEWAYS when this is not exactly the normal way of showing it.

So when we now turn the yin-yang a quarter to the left and take the 5 Miraculous surrounding it along, we might be closer to the puzzles solution. Because when we now take Nooroo out (as he wouldn't be there when things had gone right) then Fu's miracle box should have looked like this:

Notice 2 things here in particular:

1. Now the Turtle is at the top, which completes the connection between the Renlings Snake and the Kwamis Turtle to create the only creature of the 4 directions that is portrayed with one accompanied: the Turtle of the North.

And while I'm already at it, this is also the reason why Fu's/Ninos Miraculous is the only one that doesn't fit the hero color scheme when activated.

The Turtle of the North is colored BLACK and sometimes with additional white, just like the activated Miraculous.

And 2. Now after being mirror reversed and turned one quarter to the left the Ladybugs and Cats yin-yang isn't sideways anymore and looks EXACTLY like the yin-yang used in the Shanghai promo pictures. Almost like this is the way it is supposed to be or something.

Alright. Ive told you ALOT now but this is precisely the reason why I wanted to post this before the special airs. I'm definitely not entirely right with all of this, there is alot I haven't figured out about these things yet or simply haven't seen yet. What I just showed to you is not anywhere close to done so some questions are still left open.

I wanted to make another point about how the zodiac monkey, mantis and horse are the only 3 Renlings that do not have any symbol on their bodies and how this could connect to the object Hawkmoth has in that one leak

But even i think this is going to far now and I should wait until I watched the special xD

But my point in all of this (and everything I haven't even touched upon here but will in the future) is that everything in s1-s3 was influenced by this fundamental off-balance of the Kwami system that I think was caused with Nooroos creation. Which is very fitting for the Kwami of our main villain I may say. And the fact that these 4 miraculous are also somehow linked to the peacock out of all miraculous gives us an explanation for its villainous usage as well.

I think the Shanghai special will start the exploration of what happened by at least laying down and introducing the most important aspects of this particular topic.

To say that I am TRILLED for this special is quite the understatement and I'm gonna have a BLAST analysing the hell out of its lore!

So I guess there is only one thing left for me to say:

Yo

Miraculous crew

[classic-asian-art]

Kokuzo Bosatsu (Akasagarbha) von Unbekannt Unbekannt Webtechnik

[vajranam]

108 names of Avalokiteshvara

108 names of Avalokiteshvara for Love, Kindness, and Compassion

Avalokiteshvara is said to embody love, kindness, and compassion for all beings.

It is believed that Avalokiteshvara as vowing to never rest until he had freed all sentient beings from samsara.

Mantra of Avalokiteshvara

“Om Mani Padme Hum”

108 Manifestation of Avalokiteshvara

Mojaghanjabala Lokeshvara

Pupala Lokeshvara

Unnauti Lokeshvara

Vrsnacana Lokeshvara

Brahmadanda Lokeshvara

Acata Lokeshvara

Mahavajrasattva Lokeshvara

Visvahana Lokeshvara

Sakyabuddha Lokeshvara

Santasi Lokeshvara

Yamadanda Lokeshvara

Vajrosnisa Lokeshvara

Vajrahuntika Lokeshvara

Jnanadhatu Lokeshvara

Karandavyuha Lokeshvara

Sarvanivaranaviskambhi Lokeshvara

Sarvasokatamonirghata Lokeshvara

Pratibhanakakuta Lokeshvara

Amrtaprabha Lokeshvara

Jaliniprabha Lokeshvara

Candraprabha Lokeshvara

Avalokita Lokeshvara

Vajragarbha Lokeshvara

Sagaramati Lokeshvara

Ratnapani Lokeshvara

Gaganaganja Lokeshvara

Akasagarbha Lokeshvara

Ksitigarbha Lokeshvara

Aksayamati Lokeshvara

Srstikanta Lokeshvara

Samantabhadra Lokeshvara

Mahasahastabhuja Lokeshvara

Maharatnakirti Lokeshvara

Mahasankhanatha Lokeshvara

Mahasahasrasuryya Lokeshvara

Maharatnakula Lokeshvara

Mahapatala Lokeshvara

Mahamanjudatta Lokeshvara

Mahacandrabimba Lokeshvara

Mahasuryyabimba Lokeshvara

Maha-Abhayaphalada Lokeshvara

Maha-Abhayakari Lokeshvara

Mahamanjubhuta Lokeshvara

Mahavisvasuddha Lokeshvara

Mahavajradhatu Lokeshvara

Mahavajradhrk Lokeshvara

Mahavajrapani Lokeshvara

Mahavajranatha Lokeshvara

Amoghapasa Lokeshvara

Devadevata Lokeshvara

PindapatraLokeshvara

Sarthavaha Lokeshvara

Ratnadala Lokeshvara

VisnupSni Lokeshvara

Kamalacandra Lokeshvara

Vajrakhanda Lokeshvara

Acalaketu Lokeshvara

Sirisara Lokeshvara

Dharmacakra Lokeshvara

Harivahana Lokeshvara

Sarasiri Lokeshvara

Harihara Lokeshvara

Simhanada Lokeshvara

Visvavajra Lokeshvara

Amitabha Lokeshvara

Vrjrasattvadhatu Lokeshvara

VisvabhutaLokeshvara

Dharmadhatu Lokeshvara

Vajradhatu Lokeshvara

Sakyabuddha Lokeshvara

Cittadhatu Lokeshvara

Cintamani Lokeshvara

Santamati Lokeshvara

Manjunatha Lokeshvara

isnucakra Lokeshvara

Krtanjali Lokeshvara

Visnukanta Lokeshvara

VajrasrstaLokeshvara

Sankhanatha Lokeshvara

Vidyapati Lokeshvara

Padmapani Lokeshvara

Vajrapani Lokeshvara

Mahasthamaprapta Lokeshvara

Vajranatha Lokeshvara

Srimadaryavalokiteshvara

Nityanatha Lokeshvara

Sukhavati Lokeshvara

Vajradharma Lotkesvara

Vasyadhikara Lokeshvara

Khasarpana Lokeshvara

Simhanatha Lokeshvara

Trailokyasandarsana Lokeshvara

Raktaryavalokitesvara

Nilakantha Lokeshvara

Sugati-Sandarsana Lokeshvara

Mayajalakrama Krodha Lokeshvara

Preta-Santarpita Lokeshvara

Jatamukuta Lokeshvara

Varadayaka Lokeshvara

Kamandalu Lokeshvara

Manipadma Lokeshvara

Pitapatta Lokeshvara

Anandadi Lokeshvara

Sadaksari Lokeshvara

Mayajalakrama Lokeshvara

Harihariharivahana Lokeshvara

Halahala Lokeshvara

Hayagriva Lokeshvara

[chireikiden]

The Gensokyo of Humans is dope, but there's a issue i have with it...just how in the world has this Buddhist themed Manga gone on for so long without an *single* Byakuren appearance? You would think the unofficial Bodhisattva would've come out already to showcase how she differs from the normal villagers Buddhism.

On a jokey level, definitely agree. There’s plenty of characters who could have had appearances, but haven’t. I’m willing to take that as a conscious decision, though: lots of Touhou manga can easily feel like vehicles for a bunch of cameos (not that I have a problem with that), and them popping up even briefly could be sort of distracting from what is clearly supposed to be a serious story focused on a small cast of humans.

Although, this whole chapter gets another layer of charm somehow when you realize that oh yeah, this does take place in Gensokyo. Kokuuzou might be a decently big name to just show up like that (Akasagarbha for any of you more familiar with the original names), but they live next door to an avatar of Bishamonten, Omoikane sells them cold medicine (even if they don’t know it), and last weekend they went to an event on the mountain where the Moriya god yelled at them with a megaphone. Maybe it isn’t so weird that they’d just take it at face value.

I like to imagine how Byakuren reacted the next day when she inevitably heard that Kokuuzou casually manifested in town, though.

[flamesofthebodhisattva]

108 names of Avalokiteshvara

108 names of Avalokiteshvara for Love, Kindness, and Compassion

Avalokiteshvara is said to embody love, kindness, and compassion for all beings.

It is believed that Avalokiteshvara as vowing to never rest until he had freed all sentient beings from samsara.

Mantra of Avalokiteshvara

“Om Mani Padme Hum”

108 Manifestation of Avalokiteshvara

Mojaghanjabala Lokeshvara

Pupala Lokeshvara

Unnauti Lokeshvara

Vrsnacana Lokeshvara

Brahmadanda Lokeshvara

Acata Lokeshvara

Mahavajrasattva Lokeshvara

Visvahana Lokeshvara

Sakyabuddha Lokeshvara

Santasi Lokeshvara

Yamadanda Lokeshvara

Vajrosnisa Lokeshvara

Vajrahuntika Lokeshvara

Jnanadhatu Lokeshvara

Karandavyuha Lokeshvara

Sarvanivaranaviskambhi Lokeshvara

Sarvasokatamonirghata Lokeshvara

Pratibhanakakuta Lokeshvara

Amrtaprabha Lokeshvara

Jaliniprabha Lokeshvara

Candraprabha Lokeshvara

Avalokita Lokeshvara

Vajragarbha Lokeshvara

Sagaramati Lokeshvara

Ratnapani Lokeshvara

Gaganaganja Lokeshvara

Akasagarbha Lokeshvara

Ksitigarbha Lokeshvara

Aksayamati Lokeshvara

Srstikanta Lokeshvara

Samantabhadra Lokeshvara

Mahasahastabhuja Lokeshvara

Maharatnakirti Lokeshvara

Mahasankhanatha Lokeshvara

Mahasahasrasuryya Lokeshvara

Maharatnakula Lokeshvara

Mahapatala Lokeshvara

Mahamanjudatta Lokeshvara

Mahacandrabimba Lokeshvara

Mahasuryyabimba Lokeshvara

Maha-Abhayaphalada Lokeshvara

Maha-Abhayakari Lokeshvara

Mahamanjubhuta Lokeshvara

Mahavisvasuddha Lokeshvara

Mahavajradhatu Lokeshvara

Mahavajradhrk Lokeshvara

Mahavajrapani Lokeshvara

Mahavajranatha Lokeshvara

Amoghapasa Lokeshvara

Devadevata Lokeshvara

PindapatraLokeshvara

Sarthavaha Lokeshvara

Ratnadala Lokeshvara

VisnupSni Lokeshvara

Kamalacandra Lokeshvara

Vajrakhanda Lokeshvara

Acalaketu Lokeshvara

Sirisara Lokeshvara

Dharmacakra Lokeshvara

Harivahana Lokeshvara

Sarasiri Lokeshvara

Harihara Lokeshvara

Simhanada Lokeshvara

Visvavajra Lokeshvara

Amitabha Lokeshvara

Vrjrasattvadhatu Lokeshvara

VisvabhutaLokeshvara

Dharmadhatu Lokeshvara

Vajradhatu Lokeshvara

Sakyabuddha Lokeshvara

Cittadhatu Lokeshvara

Cintamani Lokeshvara

Santamati Lokeshvara

Manjunatha Lokeshvara

isnucakra Lokeshvara

Krtanjali Lokeshvara

Visnukanta Lokeshvara

VajrasrstaLokeshvara

Sankhanatha Lokeshvara

Vidyapati Lokeshvara

Padmapani Lokeshvara

Vajrapani Lokeshvara

Mahasthamaprapta Lokeshvara

Vajranatha Lokeshvara

Srimadaryavalokiteshvara

Nityanatha Lokeshvara

Sukhavati Lokeshvara

Vajradharma Lotkesvara

Vasyadhikara Lokeshvara

Khasarpana Lokeshvara

Simhanatha Lokeshvara

Trailokyasandarsana Lokeshvara

Raktaryavalokitesvara

Nilakantha Lokeshvara

Sugati-Sandarsana Lokeshvara

Mayajalakrama Krodha Lokeshvara

Preta-Santarpita Lokeshvara

Jatamukuta Lokeshvara

Varadayaka Lokeshvara

Kamandalu Lokeshvara

Manipadma Lokeshvara

Pitapatta Lokeshvara

Anandadi Lokeshvara

Sadaksari Lokeshvara

Mayajalakrama Lokeshvara

Harihariharivahana Lokeshvara

Halahala Lokeshvara

Hayagriva Lokeshvara

[dry-valleys]

“I never understood the frequency...”

On my birthday, as I’m older than I care to admit, I’d like to hedge my bets by invoking Akasagarbha, patron deity of those born in the years of the Ox and Tiger.

This is one of the many treasures to be found at Buddha Tooth Temple (please see here my photo essay on a visit in December 2018) in Singapore, where my brother used to live.

Although I have not got any widsom, this is probably my own failt rather than due to his lack of vigilance!

[lotussed]

Kokuzo Bosatsu (Akasagarbha), detail