#buddhisim

[wanderinggabe]

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. ~ Dalai Lama . . . . . . . . . . . . #iger #igerph #igermanila #igerphilippines #osaka #japan2022 #japan #autumn #autumn2022 #travel #travelphoto #travelphotography #solotravel #hiroshima #itsukushima #miyajima #toriigate #templegate #buddhisim #buddhisttemple #daishoin #iphonephoto #iphonephotography #iphone12promax #iphone12 (at Daishō-In (大聖院) Miyajima (宮島)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnJP04HJPV5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[vajracrafts2021]

Shakyamuni Buddha Statue in Cushion, 11"

[misshunnybee]

Every year my sanity plays the dangerous cat and mouse game of “should i convert to_____” and this year its a tie between islam and going back to buddhist

[royakahoshiart]

okay fine. I need people to know this.

I feel like most tbhk fans are Christian from America and Europe. So they probably don't really think about the religion in tbhk but it actually has such a big role.

I'll get straight to the point, all of tbhk (or at least main charactes and the plot) is revolved around the worship of Kami ( 神 ) gods, spirits and supernaturals alike.

ThE most obvious ones are the seven mysteries themselves, yako in a kitsune (litterally fox) a fox spirit/yokai whom like to pull pranks of humans either by shaoeshifiting, seducing or even killing at points, this can be seen in yako's sort of cocky personality. Yako is more specifically an Inari statue of an Inari temple for the goddess of agriculture, they say it protects crops and foxes.

Tsuchigomori is a tsuchigomo (literally earth spider) it's a giant spider who can be at least as tall as 10 meters. In one story, minamoto no yorimitsu (or raiko) killed one and had found multiple skulls inside, obviusly implying that the creature eats humans.

Hakubo is an Oni, a general word for demonic creatures in Japanese, thought I can't pin point which exact one. Another story involving yorimitsu is the drunken demon, when hakubo was found by the exorcist he said to have given the biggest Oni poisoned sake, as the real story says that three old men gave yorimitsu and his men sake that revealed the oni's real appearance but didn't hurt humans because he prayed at 3 nearby shinto shrines, and later slashed his neck like in the original text.

Hanako is straightforward but it is different in almost all prefectures of japan.

The gist of it is that hanako was a little girl who died either by herself of by her classmates in the girls bathroom around 5-10 years old. She can grant your wish but is you make her angry she'll curse you with a painful and slow death that'll happen very soon. One prefecture even says that she died in the nuclear blast during the last years of ww2.

Im not sure where nº3, nº1 and nº4 come from.

Now Onto the more subtle details, you might ask "hold up Roy, but Japanese buddhisim is very in touch with supernaturals aswell, how do you know if it's japanese buddhisim or shinto?"

Well let's talk about the minamotos. As you might've read, yorimitsu killed many yokais, so he would be called an exorcist where now are kou and teru, the staff kou has is real and is in some temples, teru's bracelet wards off evil spirits in shinto (rather not talk about the Buddhist thoughts on it....) .well teru's blade is obviously not real as a sword like that would've been impractical.

The temple where Teru and Akane go during the severance is a shinto shrine, we can see this from the Torii gates and the architecture as well. The workers at the temple are also not bald therefore they aren't Buddhist monks. It was also very customary to serve tea to the visitors. On the front gate of the shrine there at this 'weird Rope' with papers attached on it, it's on most temples and its a direct reference to a story involving amaterasu , the sun goddess, wich i wont get into.

The train to the farshore is actually a story itself and the place being full of water isn't just an artistic choice but it rapresents the river to the farshore.

Haha wow this is all to conviniet, yeah I believe in shinto bye I'm writing this in the fucking school bathrooms. Need to start school soon bye.

[quitealotofsodapop]

I'm discovering a lot about Chinese mythology, mainly that the difference between a celestial or god and a demon really just amounts to if they have heaven's approval or not.

Basically yeah.

Its why Princess Iron Fan is techinically considered both a Celestial and a Demoness/Rakshasa. She became the latter when she abandoned/got kicked out of Heaven. And the Monkey King is techincally considered a "Celestial animal" due to him being their ally despite his confusing origins.

Obtaining "Godhood" is a lot more complicated. Sun Wukong is *techincally* a god, but not to the extent of say Erlang or Nezha. It's heavily based upon belief and what mortals believe you to be.

A similar example I can think of is my own country's (Ireland) mythology. The squad of the Tuatha Dé Danann are "Gods" but they're not "GODS" - thats saved for deities like Samhain or the Morrigan. The Tuatha are more akin to a superhero league who are also kings. The "true" Gods are things that cant be changed, destroyed, or created easily; like the arrival of winter or death. A Tuatha can be overthrown, the Morrigan can not.

Similarly in Chinese Mythology (most of which is a conglomerate of multiple folk religions plus Daoism, Buddhisim, and Hinduism), beings such as the Jade Emperor or Nezha are Gods in the way that they interact with humanity and the forces of nature, but you also have the big names of the Three Pure Ones which are more revered with respect. And lets not get into the complications that is a god/celestial or mortal becoming Bodhisattva - that basically means that they've reached enlightenment but decided to stay on earth to help.

[liberty-or-death]

Wei Wuxian's Name - The Meaning of Wuxian

C Fans think this is likely the poem behind his name. And after analysing this poem, I think this is also the inspiration behind his character. OMG MXTX YOU’RE A GENIUS 😍.

Before I start, please inform me if you want to use this meta. This analysis is solely mine in every shape and form. There is only 1 Chinese interpretation online and it’s done with Baidu’s MTL. And if I do allow you to use it, PLEASE link it back to me because there’s a very high chance that I will refine this. This is the only translation/meta that I’m particular about so please respect my wishes. 🙏

The term “Wuxian” comes from the Ming Dynasty poem “Living Alone 闲居” by the poet Xiu Ben 徐贲. Sadly, there isn’t much information about the context so I’ve tried to interpret this to the best that I can. There are so many aspects in mdzs/cql that are reflected in his poem.

谢事返丘壑，退耕理田园。

To retire to the hills, to return to farming and prepare the land.

谢事 - To retire and get rid of mundane things, or to die

丘壑 - Hills and ravines. A secluded place in the mountains. A metaphor for somewhere far away.

退耕 - To resign from government service and to return to farming OR to convert land that was used for farming back to other use.

兹心获遂初，稍得洒中悁。

His compassionate heart has attained his wish, and slowly loses itself to anxiety in wine.

兹心 - I think this is related to 慈悲心 which refers to the concept of Compassion in Mahayana Buddhisim. 慈 refers to giving others happiness.

遂初 - This means attained his wish. OR to leave a government post and return to seclusion

悁 - This refers to anger, anxiety and melancholy.

(T/N: 获 and 得 both means to gain, so the poet is emphasising what he has gained)

振策升崇巘，扬舲溯长川。

Whipping the horse (or urging) to ascend the lofty mountain, sailing against the river that never ends

振策 - This term also means to urge or to push someone forward

长川 - It either describes a river OR something that’s never ending.

(T/N: some websites use the word 巘 (mountain), but others use 褵 (a marriage veil). I don’t have enough info, so I’ve gone with the mountain translation.)

惊湍信汨汨，清溜自涓涓。

The water gurgles flows steadily and swiftly, the crystal clear water from the small stream trickled slowly naturally.

(T/N: 汨汨 and 涓涓 are both sounds of the water flowing. 汨汨 refers to gurgling, 涓涓 flows slowly)

新兰艳迟日，密竹曳丛烟。

The new orchid blooms in spring, the dense growth of bamboo gather as they sway like the mist.

迟日 - this could mean late, or spring

烟 - This likely refers to 烟云 (literally translated to mist and cloud), but it also refers to a hermit deep within a faraway mountain.

东馆朝燕坐，西林暮独还。

To meditate in the morning the temple in Chang an, to return from the temple alone at dusk

东馆 - This either refers to the Eastern Temple, or a temple nearby Chang an. The dictionary says it’s 豫中 ‘Yuzhong Temple’ (term was used specifically the Han Dynasty), but I can’t find which temple it is specifically. LOL

西林 - This term does refer to the Xilin temple on Mount Lu. But subsequently it was referred to temples in general. As this a more modern poetry (aka Ming Dynasty), I’ve opted to use ‘temple’ instead.

(T/N: there’s a dawn to dusk imagery in this line, from 朝 (morning) to 暮 (dusk))

朋旧固云旷，山水聊夤缘。

Old friends are resolute and vast as the clouds, and to sit beneath the mountain and rivers to chat about establishing connections.

云 - The imagery of ancient clouds in ancient poetry is uh, not exactly regarded as a good thing. It’s usually related to sadness, or something that’s fickle (ie. a cloud is fickle, it changes shape whenever it wants to, sometimes you see it, and sometimes you don’t.

夤缘 - this means to climb up, establish connections and building relationships)

(T/N: This whole line is interesting and filled with contradictions. 固 refers to something resolute, but 云旷 means vast as the clouds. Of which, clouds symbolise something that’s anything but resolute. And in the second part, 聊 usually refers to a causal chat or even gossip, but 夤缘 refers to using connections to climb higher.)

居喧暂云遣，习静久乃便。

the noise at where I'm at at has stopped for now, dissipating like the wind. And so, the quiet life has persisted for long time.

居 - there are various meanings to this. The most common meaning is to stay/current location so I’ve gone with that

便乃 - this means “hence” or “so”

已幸驻灵药，复能讽瑶编。

It’s already lucky that the magical drug has rooted itself here, and I can memorise the precious books repeatedly

驻 - This is a very interesting word because it’s usually used to mean to garrison or to come to a standstill. It isn’t usually

复 - Repeatedly

讽 - This word usually means to or to mock. But I think it’s used as 讽书 in this case, which is to memorise.

既无羡鱼志，外物非所迁。Even if there isn’t any wishful thinking, the things outside are inhospitable and ever changing

无 - This means no.

羡鱼 - Wishful thinking. This is where Wei Wuxian’s name comes from (MXTX uses 无羡 instead of 羡鱼). This term comes from the idiom “临渊羡鱼，不如退而结网” which literally means, “instead of standing by the water to dream about catching fish, you should go home to make a net to actually catch a fish.” (ie. instead of being envious about another person’s achievements, we should put in the effort) So yes, Wei Wuxian does mean “do not (无) think wishfully and covert over the achievement of others” (羡)

非所 - Inhospitable, where someone cannot live normally

迁 - this means ever changing.

MY ANALYSIS

SO I HAVE SO MUCH FEELS. I believe that MXTX based some parts of Wei Wuxian’s behaviour according to this poem. Allow me to do a line by line analysis.

1st line: “To retire to the hills, to return to farming and prepare the land” - is this why our boy has such a fascination with retiring from his “post” and returning to the simple life? It’s interesting that the terms in this poem repeatedly emphasises on ‘retiring from government.” You could say that wwx’s life, starting from the time that he was a Jiang Clan disciple, and to being a soldier was a form of a post. So the author sets up the stage of what he thinks to “retire” is. And the “hills and the mountains” suggest a secluded far away. IDK about you but it screamed Cloud Recesses to me.

2nd line: “His compassionate heart has attained his wish,” - AGAIN I could scream about this. I feel that Wei Wuxian does embody the concept of “慈悲” in the simple sense of the word. “慈” as in compassionate. He brings joy to people around him and cares for others around him. 悲 as in sadness; he feels the suffering around him and hence he tries to deliver people from it. This is obviously demonstrated when he tries to save the Wen Clan. This line also emphasises that retiring away from all things political is what he wants. And the second part “slowly loses itself to anxiety in wine”, sadly he does this ever so frequently in the novel and almost amplified in CQL.

Line 3 and 4: “Whipping the horse (a metaphor for quickly, almost urgently) to ascend the lofty mountain, sailing against the river that never ends” “The water gurgles flows steadily and swiftly, the crystal clear water from the small stream trickled slowly naturally.” - in Line 3, the first part “ascending the lofty mountain, almost urgently so” reminds me of how he attained his ghost cultivation so quickly over a span of 3 months. And “sailing against the river that never ends” sounds very much like how he was always moving against the criticism of the masses in his first and second life. The lines about the water gurgling and trickling feels that the tide was always against him, be it swiftly or in small trickles.”

Line 5: “The new orchid blooms in spring, the dense growth of bamboo gather as they sway in the mist.” - the imagery of the orchid sounds a shoutout to Jinling. And the dense bamboo dusting in the mist reminds me of the parts where they were in the cold pond. I’m not sure if the CQL directors were equally inspired by this. (I can’t remember if there were bamboos in Cloud Recesses novel wise. 😂😂)

Line 6: “To meditate in the morning the temple in Chang an, to return from the temple alone at dusk” - HMM I don’t have a clear inspiration for this line unfortunately. But it could be a reference to the days spend in Cloud Recesses. The Lan 蓝 was a Buddhism references so it totally fit the bill. (I’ve mentioned it before in Taming Wangxian but if you can’t remember it, well that’s okay, I am to bring it back here eventually)

Line 7: “Old friends are resolute and vast as the clouds, and to sit beneath the mountain and rivers to chat about establishing connections.” - again the comparison of friends with clouds. It does suggest that he has a lot of friends; friends who are as fickle as clouds who aren’t there when the time calls for it. And as for the ones who are “resolute”… well we know who they are. And as for “establishing connections”, this is a common theme in the novel. It actually reminded me of JGY, who was essentially trying to curry favour to promote himself politically.

Line 8-9: “the noise at where I am at has stopped for now, dissipating like the wind. And so, the quiet life has persisted for long time.” “It’s already lucky that the magical drug has rooted itself here, and I can memorise the precious books repeatedly” lmao does the magic drug refer to the incense burner haha 😂😂 the vibe of the last two lines remind me of the end of the novel, whereby the “noise” of society has faded and he’s back to the quiet life. And as for the books that he can read, I’m guessing that’s probably referring to the Lan Family’s library

Line 10: “Even if there isn’t any wishful thinking, the things outside are inhospitable and ever changing” this is WWX and the moral of the story I guess?

(There were about 60 different references and I'm too lazy to link them all lol. They were mostly dictionary links or other poems that used the words in a similar manner. If you want a reference for a particular phrase, please let me know. XD)

In case you missed it, I’ve also analysed Wei Ying previously.

Additional Meta

More MDZS Meta

Meaning of Wei Ying

[hiimerick]

so i decided to give you all the things releated to religions of rasvin

here you go

atheists are called the yahtu the clowns and goats are mostly yahtuist

Arkhel is based on lucifer but LaVeyan satanism is his belife

SHE or rather Celestia is also satanistic but its Theistic Satanism

the plants are polytheistic but they are lead by Thelia the mother of harvest or for our world Gaia from greek mythology

lost souls belive in mother of all which isn't made from other religions

The cult of the watcher(Ericks cult) is the same as buddhisim

the ants belive thier queen is at the same level as gods and therefore should be treated as one

rats and kobolts belive in the red moon which is like the christian god

the pirates like plants are polytheistic but they are led by Pitonia which is the goddes of water and Lugian the god of beaches but in our world they are Psamathe the goddes of beaches and her father Nereus god of the sea from greek mythology

[bdarfler]

I’m a sucker for business / buddhism crossover content. Some choice quotes: - “We Are Not Emotions–We Have Emotions“ - “External Factors Do Not Cause Our Emotions“ - “Emotions Can’t Be Controlled, But They Can Be Regulated”

[atsushi-takeda]

Horses of No.70 Motoyama-ji Temple, Kagawa

香川・70番本山寺の馬

[paparazzolove]

symbolisms from bhuddhisim

[vajracrafts2021]

Buddha Statue

[avo-gsy]

12/ 11 / 2020

Dear Diary, Today I did my own fortune of my Past, Present, and Future with Arcana Tarot cards. I asked myself am I happy? I asked myself again if I'm doing fine whatever it's wrong or right. I'm sharing my life from whatever happens. I have no intention of what others' thoughts, opinions, nor they caught my attention, but I will keep their words in back of my mind. This is just a reminder before I grow old with many possiblities and impossibilities.

I'm always scared from these outcomes. This isn't my first time.

From my first, I was a buddhisim child with these fortune. I saw the cards that I thought it was poker games. It's not. They are Tarot cards. I never knew what they are till that dream I had with the Devil himself. I remember I was in a dry desert without any beings roam around. Till the Devil locked in my sight. I took self defense with my rainbow aura soul. The Devil wants me to call him Satan. I cannot say any further because I promise him to not talk about our converstation. So, I can only say what he puts me a curse which he considers a gift before I wake up from my dream.

Anyway, I came down to Arcana Tarot Cards because I get the feeling I can regain my energy on my sights.

I again doing my fortune because those idiots came back whatever the hell they're doing. Because they have to "Stay home" which is my place from the mesage of Covid-19.

I have to use my energy to connect with the Arcanas. I cannot turn any cards around. There are upright and reverse. Very important what I'm assign to. So, I was pretty worn out. I'm also surprise from these. The Emperor and Empress??!!!! They were reaching to me.

PAST: Emperor

The Emperor rules over his world with an iron fist, allowing nothing to escape his grasp.

Be careful not to hold too tightly to your empire. Plants only grow when given room to flourish.

Okay. this was my money problem. Glad, I'm done with that. I get the feeling I put my trust to my fellow associates how they can things done at work. For family, I bet I know who they are. I will never given for their pity.

Present: Emperess

The Empress embraces her inner beauty and kind nature, allowing it to flourish in the world around her.

Now is the time to nurture your relationships, carefully cultivating your connection to others.

Well, I'm still not going to hang out with those bitches in my house. I'm still ignoring them till they die. Yes, I'm heartless cold person which from somebody didn't owe me back my $200 after 3 years. I'm not greedy. That's their responsiblity with a promise.

At work, I will continue helpping others to communicate with others. And also keeping in mind if they ever backstab me. They're messing with the wrong chick.

Past: Queen of Pentacles

The Queen of Pentacles is the backbone of the household, steady and reliable in all things.

Keep being the rock, even in turbulent times. The world needs more nurturing spirits within it.

This is my reasoning why I need to stay being stubborn all the time. I will not be taken advantage of. I don't give a damn they are my family. I will symphasize with everyone if I'm ever being invovled in that any situations.

[cursedmotleycrueimages]

Clarification for my last ask, the only thing being defended by method acting is the buddhisim post

Yeah but that's still bad, he's just a fucking degenerate fullstop

[diaryofanangryasianguy]

Hello! a lot of khmer and vietnamese people used to worship hindu gods but now a lot of them practice buddhisim do you think it would be wrong if i wanted to worship hindu gods since i wasnt born into it? i thought it might be ok since my culture used to practice it but then again that was a long time ago.

Hello!

If you convert to Hinduism, then that should be okay?? You don’t have to be born into a religion to convert and then practice it. I’m sure there are “closed” religions out there but I don’t think Hinduism is one of them.

Update: another anon responded.

Angry Asian Guy

[liberty-or-death]

Shura Field, Red Lotus Waterside Pavilion - 2HA Chapter 8

但是红莲水榭是什么地方？是楚晚宁那孙子的居所，人称红莲地狱的修罗场。 But just what kind of place was the Red Lotus Pavilion? It was the residence of that bastard, Chu Wanning, the accursed den that everyone called Red Lotus Hell. - 2HA Translation Chapter 8: This Venerable One Gets Punished

Wow I was working on another meta, when I read this. AND LO AND BEHOLD MAJOR ERRORS LOL. (what's new lmao)

I just had to critique this translation because it’s just not accurate lol.   To be exact it should be “It is the residence of that bastard (那孙子 - a Beijing slang fyi) Chu Wanning, otherwise known as the Shura Field of the Red Lotus Hell”.  There’s no mention of it being an accursed den.  IMHO, the official translation does erase a whole meta without bothering to explain it, so I can't say I’m terribly impressed lol. 

So what exactly is a “Shura Field”?

Firstly, Shura, sometimes known as Asura, is a titan/demigod in Buddhism/Hinduism. The “Shura Fields” refers to the battlefield where the Emperor Shitian and Asura fought in Buddhist scriptures.  So this term refers to a bloody battlefield.  There’s also a second, more modern meaning, which refers to the complexity of interpersonal relationships (often used in a romantic sense in romantic novels or office politics lmao). It isn’t wrong to describe their romance as a “Shura Field”.  If anyone’s interested, there’s a whole thread on Reddit discussing how commonly used this phrase is. 

I do wonder if Meatbun used this term deliberately as a form of foreshadowing lol. Ranwan's romance IS a whole ass “Shura Field”.

They are depicted like this in ancient sculptures.

There are several reason why it’s wrong to term an Asura as a devil

Firstly, when translating a devil from CN>ENG, conventionally it would refer to the term 魔 Mo (ie. the same Mo in MDZS).  This term takes its roots from Mara, which is a different entity altogether. 

It does change the vibe of the sentence.  In the CN novel context, Asura’s usually refer to something akin to God of War as opposed to being entirely demonic and evil.  They’re more Ares than Hades to put it this way.   So the line isn't saying that Chu Wanning is evil per se.

It’s also disrespectful given that Buddhisim and Hinduism are active religions in Asia Pacific.  Hinduism is the largest religion in Asia FYI.  Rude af to change the terminology of other religions. 

It does have a pre-existing English term.  Use it lmao.  Even MTL gets it right.

There’s also an interesting meta around “Red Lotus Hell”.  In Buddhism, the Red Lotus Hell is described as one of the “Eight Cold Hells.” It was said that those who were born into this hell are severely cold, their bodies turn red and their skin is frozen and cracked.  (This does sound a little like Chu Wanning lmao). The idea of the Red Lotus Hell/Flame was also described in one of the scriptures of the Yehuo Sect “火焰化红莲，天罪自消衍 The flames turns into a red lotus, and the sins of Heaven fade on their own.”  The flames refer to the “fire of trouble” and the lotus “a comfortable state of mind”.  Hence, it means through (Buddhism) practice, karma can be eliminated, troubles can be relieved, and a state of freedom can be achieved.  

The beautiful flower looks like this.

I’m not a Buddhist expert so correct me if I’m wrong lol.  Anyway, if you combine the mental image of the Red Lotus Hall with that of Shura’s Field, you’d understand the vibe that Meatbun was going for.

On another note, 水榭 is quite specific to a type of Pavililon. It's not just any Pavillion, it's a pavillion that's beside a waterbody. There is another type of pavillion that's based on land, so if you want to be specific, this is how it probably looks like.

Additional links

More 2HA meta

[miguelitorojo-blog]

No truer words written... Drama does not just walk into your life. Either you create it, fight it, or associate with it. #drama #stayoutofyourhead #stayoutofdrama #serenity #sobriety #onedayatatime #lifeonlifesterms #dontacceptdrama #dontcreatedrama #darma #buddhisim #buddha #findpeace