#Great Roc

[journeytothewestresearch]

Buddhist Deities Exiled From the Western Heaven

My new article examines the reasons why three Buddhist deities from Ming-Qing vernacular Chinese literature are exiled from the Western Heaven.

Master Golden Cicada (Jinchan zi, 金蟬子) (a.k.a. Tripitaka, Tang Sanzang, 唐三藏) from Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) - a Buddha disciple who is caught sleeping during the Tathagata's sermon.

Miao Jixiang (妙吉祥) from Journey to the South (Nanyouji, 南遊記, c. 1570s-1580s) - A Buddha disciple who kills a belligerent sage on the grounds of the Thunderclap Monastery.

 Great Peng, the Golden-Winged King of Illumination (Dapeng jinchi mingwang, 大鵬金翅明王) from The Complete Vernacular Biography of Yue Fei (Shuo Yue quanzhuan, 說岳全傳, 1684) - An avian dharma protector who kills a stellar-spirit for farting during the Tathagata's lecture.

The article analyzes them together and notes parallels, even with concepts from Greek philosophy.

The motif might serve as a good idea for writers wanting to create an OC with an interesting backstory. I have, for example, previously used it to suggest a fictional origin for Sun Wukong as a hot-tempered Bodhisattva (see the 06-16-23 update here).

[sparring-spirals]

how better to describe my love for the Mighty Nein than "one of my favorite episodes was the one where they needed to stealthily climb up/get down a fucking huge tree only for it to get Very Loud And Chaotic Very Fast Due To Competitive Tendencies And Poor Decisions".

Except that describes TWO completely separate episodes (and trees), one involving romantic shenanigans, a baby roc getting hit on the head with a staff, and a shitty leaf costume, and the other involving a good ole footrace and also a bullet to the ass. No, no enemies had a gun.

[swirley1618]

The Great Collection of Roller Derby Posters / part 1

[ivettel]

Sebastian Vettel in the 2023 Race of Champions intro

[smallest-of-the-kids]

[azreonn]

Creatuanary 13 - 19

I'm SO BEHIND that I figured better half done and uploaded than nothing at all. I just want to get back on track at this point...

[bgmoth]

idk there's something really off-putting to me when actors lean into a ship a bit too performatively

[ardl0]

kyle gann hyperchromatica goes hard, def see how folks thought it was synths. those artifacts from close tones sound real similar to lightly varying the tuning w/ like w/e the ableton plugin is

[congolese-kitty]

i don't wanna hear any complaints about female rappers 'always speaking about one topic' if you make no effort to listen to Sampa The Great, Sa-Roc, or OSHUN. You can always find what you seek but you're so determined to shut down and categorize black women before giving them a chance you're missing out on great music. And remember ALL these women that express the different aspects of life and sexuality and sensuality through their own personal lens of their world deserve respect. Rappers focused on consciousness are not better than those that speak on their experiences. "You know better so you did better, I'm a real bitch and my pussy wetter." holds just as much signification to me as 'strictly spiritual' music. Everything black women do is otherworldly and something to listen to and acknowledge

[journeytothewestresearch]

Peng Doesn't Like Farts

Fans of Lego Monkie Kid, as many of you may already know, Peng is based on an ancient monster king appearing in chapters 74 to 77 of  Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592). In the end of his arc, he is trapped above the Buddha's throne and submits to Buddhism. But you may not know that this very same character appears in a later novel, The Complete Vernacular Biography of Yue Fei (Shuo Yue quanzhuan, 說岳全傳, 1684 CE; a.k.a. The Story of Yue Fei). Peng is exiled from paradise for ... and I'm not joking ... killing a stellar spirit for farting during the Buddha's sermon.

Chapter one of Yue Fei's biography reads:

Let’s talk about the Buddha Tathagata at the Great Thunderclap Monastery in the Western Paradise. One day, he sat on a nine-level lotus throne, and the Four Great Bodhisattvas, the Eight Great Vajra Warriors, the five hundred Arhats, the three thousand Heavenly Kings, nuns and monks, male and female attendants, all of the heavenly sages who protect the Dharma, gathered to listen to his lecture on the Lotus Sutra. His words were like flowers and precious jewels raining from the heavens. But, at that time, a star-spirit, the Maiden Earth Bat, who had been listening to the lecture from beneath the lotus throne, couldn’t bear it any longer and unexpectedly let out a stinky fart. The Buddha was a great, merciful lord, so he didn’t mind even the slightest bit. But don’t sympathize with the Dharma protector above his head, the “Great Peng, the Golden-Winged King of Illumination,” whose eyes shone with golden light and whose back was a scene of auspiciousness. He became angry when he saw the nasty, filthy Maiden Earth Bat, and so he unfurled both his wings and dropped down to kill the spirit by pecking her on the head. The light-point of her soul shot out of the Great Thunderclap Monastery and went to the Lands of the East (China) in the world below to find a mother and reincarnate. She was reborn as a daughter of the Wang clan. She would later marry the Song Prime minister Qin Hui (1091-1155) and come to cruelly kill the righteous (i.e. Yue Fei) as a means to get revenge against today’s enemy. We will talk about this later. Let’s return to the Buddha, who saw what happened with his all-seeing eyes and exclaimed, “Good! Good! It turns out that this is an episode of karma (cause and effect).” Then he called the Great Peng bird to come closer and shouted, “You evil creature! You already took refuge in my teachings. How can you not follow the five precepts by daring to commit such a horrible crime? I don’t need you here; you will descend to the mortal world to pay off your (karmic) debt and wait until you have fulfilled your work. Once that is completed, only then will I allow you to return to the mountain to achieve the right fruit (Buddhist merit).” The Great Peng complied with the decree, flying out of the Great Thunderclap Monastery directly to the Lands of the East to be reincarnated. We will stop here (translation by me). ��說西方極樂世界大雷音寺我佛如來，一日端坐九品蓮臺，旁列著四大菩薩、八大金剛、五百羅漢、三千偈諦、比丘尼、比丘僧、優婆夷、優婆塞，共諸天護法聖眾，齊聽講說妙法真經。正說得天花亂墜、寶雨繽紛之際，不期有一位星官，乃是女土蝠，偶在蓮臺之下聽講，一時忍不住，撒出一個臭屁來。我佛原是個大慈大悲之主，毫不在意。不道惱了佛頂上頭一位護法神祗，名為大鵬金翅明王，眼射金光，背呈祥瑞，見那女土蝠污穢不潔，不覺大怒，展開雙翅落下來，望著女土蝠頭上，這一嘴就啄死了。那女土蝠一點靈光射出雷音寺，徑往東土認母投胎，在下界王門為女，後來嫁與秦檜為妻，殘害忠良，以報今日之讎。此是後話，按下不提。 且說佛爺將慧眼一觀，口稱：「善哉，善哉！原來有此一段因果。」即喚大鵬鳥近前，喝道：「你這孽畜！既歸我教，怎不皈依五戒，輒敢如此行兇？我這裡用你不著，今將你降落紅塵，償還冤債，直待功成行滿，方許你歸山，再成正果。」大鵬鳥遵了法旨，飛出雷音寺，徑來東土投胎不表。

[skythealmighty]

a fairy story is a story told without a focus on morals, character, or without any "point" to it being told.

honestly, i dunno why my brain told me to draw this, but im very proud of the symbolicness!

[orcelito]

Still absolutely obsessed with this song

[cherrynika]

just realising stuff

[your-local-nukehorse]

Haha you fools, I’m not just Helluva Boss trash, I appreciate other good and charming TV shows too! F’real tho I’ve had this image in my head for awhile after seeing The Owl House and Hilda and only now have had enough free time to draw it for myself properly. Magical action girls with clever pet-friends and flying birb friends are just a really good combo.

[jamesisasimp]

Stop, because I didn’t even like the movie, but this scene is doing something unholy to me 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

THE WALK

The lighting. The strut. The lil head tilt. Yes. You are so valid for this babe ♡

Furthermore, I raise you these walks:

[spawnofvulcan-knits]

Way to go The Great Courses… that’s not Taiwan, that’s Hainan.