I just think they're neat
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Any advice for handling race in reincarnation situations?
@swamp-spirit asked:
I'm writing a story that includes characters being reincarnated with completely different appearances. It's a fantasy world, and most of the characters are being reborn in the same region, but I still want a range of skin tones and features in the main cast (this is a comic). I have weird feelings about a character being 'reborn' with notably lighter or darker skin, but it also feels implausible and lazy for people to Just Happen to have a similar appearance when the theology of the story doesn't support it. Characters being reborn, and taking out things specific to real life groups, what are the major things you'd want an author to read up on or take into account? (Note: there is not a 'white' looking ethnic group in this story)
I don’t think it’s a problem as long as the skin tones don’t have any correlation to the circumstances that they’re reincarnated into.
- SK
It’s an interesting question, because in most religions where reincarnation/ transmigration of the soul is a feature of “what happens after death”, remembering one’s past life is not really part of the package deal. From what you’ve written, it’s not clear to me where the “memory” of these characters’ lives are held. Is there a 3rd person omniscient narrator telling the audience who each person is in their next life or do the characters themselves retain memory of past lives?
Assuming this is your typical reincarnation scenario where characters retain no memory of previous lives, it doesn’t much matter. The next life is the next life. Who a person was in their previous life and that identity, in theory, means nothing to them. This also means whatever personality, values, experiences and so on they had in their previous life no longer has meaning. They are, in effect, another person. However, you say you feel awkward about the above which makes me wonder if characters are remembering past lives, in which case…
If you study pretty much any major Asian religion where reincarnation is a part of the belief system, having no memory of the previous life is par for the course. In present-day religions like Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism, only “special” (I’m using the term very casually here) entities like bodhisattvas, guru, arihant, buddhas, etc. usually get to keep their memories, while the rest of us (literal) mere mortals are supposed to lose our memories between lives as a part of Samsara. In Hinduism, even the gods often forget their previous lives, unless their reincarnation had a targeted purpose (Like being born to defeat an evil entity).
For most people, it is only through prayer, devotion, meditation and accumulated virtuous/ good/ compassionate deeds that humans are thought to deepen their understanding of the nature of the universe, and thus have the capacity to remember past lives (I’m, again, paraphrasing very loosely here from several years worth of university history+religion courses).
This is why the isekai genre in Japan is largely regarded as a “cheat”/ parody genre of fantasy. The protagonist, according to common Japanese cultural beliefs, which are quite heavily grounded in Buddhism, is definitively “cheating.” Not to get too ironically biblical, the character’s success often comes from the forbidden knowledge borne of their previous life.
Thus, there are two ways I look at your characters’ predicaments:
It’s not technically reincarnation - not by the way most major world religions define reincarnation, anyway. You have people who died now inhabiting other bodies, but that’s not the same as the transmigration of the soul. Also, you want to delve into the weirdness (and maybe heaviness) of “Wow, I went to sleep with one face and woke up with another.” There are certainly stories about people who have had dramatic cosmetic plastic surgery, weight loss surgery, HRT, etc. and then experienced the difference in the “before” versus “after” of how their altered physical appearance makes them feel, as well as how other people treat them. Even if the community your characters are born into now differs from their previous community (Which I guess would make this more a “I traveled between dimensions, and my appearance altered in the process” sci-fi adjacent affair), their new life will still have social environments with differing attitudes towards human physical appearance that will affect your characters’ emotional states.
Isekai it up and play with the ridiculous contradiction of having past lives and differing memories of one’s appearance. Isekai manga, manhwa and webtoons all make use of this trope heavily, especially with protagonists who experience a “glow-up” (Ex. Going from a Plain Jane OL to beautiful fantasy heroine) or, by contrast, protagonists who end up in very different forms from their original lives (Tensura, I’m a Spider, So What?). I’d be creative and go even more granular. Being able to tan after a lifetime of getting sunburns or no longer needing glasses might be nice, but what if the new body lacks the enzymes to process dairy or alcohol? What about dealing with differences in hair texture? Skincare routines? What about living life as a very tall person after being quite short or vice versa? What if you bumped into an acquaintance from your previous life, and one of you clearly got a more “coveted” reincarnation? See how far of an extreme you can take this idea until it feels too uncomfortable or ridiculous.
Marika.
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On Geto and 'femininity'
Okay so I saw bunch of discussions and discourse over Geto being presented as 'feminine' and female-coded and there are people who use that to headcanon a variety of things for Geto as a character.
I think Geto has been assigned a lot of tropes in-story that are associated with female characters. Some of it in good ways.....others in bad ways. But I will say, I don't think Geto on his own represents any kind of female struggle but is rather a gateway to explore and use tropes that are generally assigned to female characters.
The predominant tropes I think Geto fits are the Disposable Woman and the I Can Change My Beloved trope.
The first one is really obvious. The Disposable Woman exists to give a male character an emotional motive to go forward with a goal and the character serves no other greater purpose than that (I'll get back to the last part later). Hidden Inventory is a Gojo backstory, Geto's fall is a part of explaining Gojo's future entrapment and his motivation for becoming a teacher. We see Geto's downward spiral but at the end of the day this is primarily about Gojo.
more under the cut
Geto also literally gets used as an accessory for Gojo's character motivation by Kenjaku. It is blatantly stated in-text the only reason Geto's body is around again is to fuck with Gojo.
The second trope, is also pretty on the nose. The Hidden Inventory arc starts with Geto talking about how Gojo should protect the weak, he's always telling Gojo to do this or do that, speak more politely, don't look down on others, take care of yourself, let me help you, etc. And it works! He does change his 'beloved'.
But it's not just this.
In terms of character design, Geto is meant to be a pretty boy. He's more popular than Gojo, his attractiveness is what gets Manami and Larue interested in his ideology, his beauty and charm convinces even skeptics and it's to the point Gege constantly points it out in-text. His design also somewhat reflects that in a twisted way. His long hair, earrings and robes are actually supposed to be a false imitation of Buddha but they also serve to make him more stereotypically feminine.
He's also associated with the figure of a 'mother' through Nanako and Mimiko. In the anime, the scene where he's getting his hair combed is done so....delicately. You get lingering shots of his hair, his eyes, his hands and the way he sits. An untouchable, loving dream. Gojo also remembers him in this untouchable manner. Then there's the obvious, the worm inventory curse calling Geto mom and asking for a hug.
There's this amazing thread on twitter that goes into a lot of detail about how Geto's design and motives take a lot of inspiration from Kannon, who is the bodhisattva of compassion and mercy and is most often depicted as a woman.
And.....okay this third one is an exploitative, sensitiv trope but it exists nonetheless and can be applied to Geto. I don't know the exact name for it, but a lot of female characters get put through torturous, traumatic situations to fuel the male characters' anger. This violence is portrayed in a very indulgent manner, where the point of showing or depicting the assault/violence is not to show the extent of evil but to revel and take enjoyment in the suffering.
Kenjaku taking over Geto's body falls into that. It's not as gross and demeaning as it is with female characters(the aforementioned violence is prominently shown through sexual assault and taking away bodily autonomy), but Kenjaku openly flaunts his possession.
He rips off Geto's head, plays with his skull, uses all the skills and connections that come with his body in a flippant manner. It's clear he takes some kinda pleasure in possessing Geto's body(the way he's posing in the volume 16 cover is a pretty good example of that). NanaMimi point out how horrific it is when arguing with the cult family. Gojo's need to give Geto a proper burial and his horrified reaction also emphasizes this. Geto's possession and the hijacking of his body is violent and invasive.
Kenjaku's possessions are associated with assault and targeted violence against women. He experimented on a woman for the Death Paintings, he took over Yuji's mom and used her body, assaulting both Yuji's mom and his dad(yes yes it's possible he knew but still, the consent isn't there and as many jokes as the fandom makes about back shots or whatever, this is still sexual assault). Kenjaku specifically is a villain who exploits bodies and Geto is one of them.
This specific kind of deprivation of physical autonomy is experienced primarily by female characters.
So put that all together and you get what many assign as femininity or female-coding.
The problem is, Geto is given all the decidely BAD tropes associated with female characters. If Geto's character was a woman in JJK, I'd be appalled because this is just, so misogynistic to assign to a female character.
But this repulsion doesn't happen because of one very important thing; Geto's still written as a man and therefore has all the default privileges that come with it. Both in-story through character motivation and through Gege as a writer. Remember how I said the Disposable Woman serves no other purpose but to be the man's motive? Well this is where Geto diverges. Geto's given the trope but he is written with the defaults and privileges of a man.
We HAVE multiple other Disposable Women tropes in JJK! Tsumiki, Rika, Yuji's mom and most importantly, Megumi's mom.
MEGUMI'S MOM DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A NAME! Literally everyone calls her 'Mamaguro'. We know jack shit about her other than she was pretty, Toji loved her and she fixed Toji or something. There is all the chances in the world to give all of these characters more back story and motives but none of them get that. Hell, even alive female characters don't get nearly the same amount of exploration(Shoko was right there with Gojo and Geto but the focus on her is so little).
Geto got a whole five-episode arc half dedicated to him. There's also his attitude which is decidedly coming from an entitled place. He's absolutely sure of his strength, he doesn't even examine who or how he's assigning 'weakness'.
The women in JJK are a lot more 'selfish', and it's best explained by Nobara. There's only so much you can give of yourself, only so many people that you can let in because if you do more, you're dead. Itadori doesn't fully get this kinda thinking, he's trying to save and love everybody under the sun because he thinks he can afford to do that. Shoko also keeps a distance from Gojo and Geto. Women can't affor to overextend themselves and do whatever the fuck they want only because they have power because they're navigating the oppressiveness of the jujutsu society along with regular old patriarchy.
The women of JJK know that the patriarchal nature of the system is also responsible for how corrupt everything is. But Geto doesn't. He doesn't examine the system of jujutsu sorcerers in a nuanced manner and skips right to the curses.
Geto's femininity comes from a lot of tropes assigned to women but there isn't anything crucially feminine about any of the tropes. they're all overdone and often offensive, reductive stereotypes. But they're only reductive when employed with women because female characters who go through experiences like assault or parenthood are never given the time to be explored well.
For female characters, assault is considered a characteristic rather than a plot event that deeply affects them. On top of that, female characters are never anything beyond their traumas and the motives the provide for male characters.
Geto gets to skip all the bad parts and actually gets characterization, personal motives and is deeply flawed while being treated kindly by the writer. Which is why the things he does go through doesn't come off as offensive and ill thought-out. I think it's also why people assign him femininity and consider him to represent a female experience. Because he's the one character who is used to explore frequently awful female-assigned tropes in a somewhat respectful manner.
Again, the tropes do not define actual femininity. Being feminine or masculine is on a spectrum that is largely undefined and unclear. Geto's assignations are all happening in terms of fiction and in fiction, these tropes and appearances are assigned to the idea of a 'female' character.
Anyways that's my two cents, bye bye.
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JTTWR Story Idea Directory
I was influenced by @digitalagepulao's recent post to list my own collection of story ideas.
These are set in the Buddo-Daoist disc world system of the original novel.
1) The Origin of Sun Wukong
This provides three fictional origins for the Monkey King based on my past research. He is ...
The spiritual offspring of supreme ape immortals who have served as teachers of countless mortal and divine beings, the later including the Buddha and Master Subodhi. The couple rebels against the heavenly hierarchy for failing to keep an ancient promise.
The offspring of an ancient evil who intentionally bred him to destroy the gods.
A former hot-tempered, Vajra warrior-like Bodhisattva who is exiled from paradise for killing a being who seemingly offended the Buddha. He is punished to ten lifetimes as a figure of great strength who is continually bested and forced by circumstances to protect something or someone weaker than him.
Each origin has pros and cons.
2) Immortal Warriors and Shaolin Monks
Master Subodhi's mountain is the training ground for an immortal monastic army similar to Shaolin. Monkey gains combat experience as a monk soldier.
3) The REAL Reason Subodhi Expels Sun Wukong
Sun's much, much older spiritual brothers and sisters attack him out of jealousy for quickly climbing the ranks of the immortal monastic army. Forced to defend his position, Monkey's anger drives him to take on a monstrous, 100,000-foot-tall cosmic form to defeat his opponents. Subodhi fears Sun's limitless potential and great anger will lead him down the path of villainy, so he uses the pine tree incident as an excuse to expel him.
4) The Reason for Sun Wukong's Rebellion
Subodhi warns Monkey to protect himself when mastering the "Multitude of Terrestrial Killers" (i.e. the 72 changes) because said deities are considered baleful stellar gods who bring bad luck and disease. But the Terrestrial Killers exploit a chink in his spiritual armor and feed him small suggestions that have compounding effects on his personality, making him increasingly egotistical and combative. This eventually leads to his rebellion against heaven.
These are set on our Earth.
1) Sun Wukong vs Heracles/Hercules
Heracles, the Buddha's protector, is called in place of Erlang to end Monkey's rebellion. After the latter attains Buddhahood at the end of the journey, the Tathagata asks the son of Zeus to escort Sun through the Greek world system.
See the 07-08-22 update (refer also to section 3 for background info):
2) A Realistic Retelling of Journey to the West
The story follows the itinerary of the historical monk Xuanzang, and the various episodes from the original novel take place both on the way to and coming back from India. The disciples are acquired during the initial journey; however, their order is reversed—Sha, Zhu, and then Sun.
The past punishments of the disciples are still the same. But Monkey's history is changed because Taoism didn't exist in ancient India. Instead of becoming an immortal, he is a Hindo-Buddhist rishi who rebels against heaven.
See updates here and here.
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The Great Invocation
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ* return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men –
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
*Many religions believe in a World Teacher, a “Coming One”, knowing him under such names as the Lord Maitreya, the Imam Mahdi, the Kalki Avatar and the Bodhisattva. These terms are sometimes used in versions of the Great Invocation for people of specific faiths.
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shén shòu神兽, mythological animals in chinese culture for references and inspiration part Ⅰ: nine offsprings of loong🐲🐉
In addition to the well-known Loong🐉 (dragon but not western dragon)and the Fenghuang(Phoenix), there are countless other divine beasts(or beasts of spiritualization) in Chinese mythology, their system is huge and complex, from various ancient texts and folklore, such as "Loong gives birth to nine offsprings 龙生九子", meaning the nine descendants of Loong and they are born from the mating of Loong and other divine beasts, with different forms, and their images can often be seen in Chinese folk culture.
1. 囚牛[qiú niú]
Qiuniu, the eldest offspring of the dragon, is said to have loved music all his life.
Legend has it that qiuniu was the most docile of all the dragon's sons, and that it was not a killer or a fighter, but rather a musician. It had a head like a dragon and a body like a snake, and its hearing was so good that it could distinguish the sounds and the pitch of everything. It often crouches on ancient Chinese stringed instruments to enjoy the music of the plucked strings, which is why its statue was carved on them. ↓
2. 睚眦[yá zì]
Yazi, the second offspring, has the head of a dragon and the body of a jackal, is fierce, courageous, bloodthirsty and murderous, and always has a sword in its mouth and a furious stare, often engraved on the handle of a sword as a symbol of guardianship and strength. The original meaning of yazi is to stare in anger, a symbol of blood and vengeance, and so yazi became the embodiment of the destruction of all evil. ↓
3. 嘲风[cháo fēng]
Chaofeng is the third in line and enjoys adventure and views from high places.
In Chinese folklore, chaofeng symbolises good fortune, beauty and majesty, and also serves to deter demons, remove calamities and ward off evil spirits. It adds a layer of mystery to a towering hall and can act as a deterrent to evil and avoid disaster. ↓
4. 蒲牢[pú láo]
Pulao loves sound and a good roar, and is often carved on the great bells of Chinese temples. Legend has it that the pulao lived by the sea and was terrified of whales. When the whale attacked, he was so frightened that he roared loudly.
In response to its 'fondness for roaring', the pulao was cast on the bell of the temple and the wooden pestle used to strike the bell was carved in the shape of the whale. When the bell is struck, the whale strikes the pulao one after the other, so that the sound of the bell can be heard from very far. ↓
5. 狻猊 [suān ní]
Resembling a lion, suanni is a quiet and immobile creature that sits well and loves fireworks, and is often used to decorate the foot of incense burners.
There are three broad uses for the suanni. One is as a mount for a Buddha or Bodhisattva, a guardian animal. Legend has it that the suanni liked to sit quiet for long time, so when the Buddha saw that it had patience, he took it as a mount. Secondly, the suanni was regarded as a auspicious beast to ward off evil and was introduced into people's practical lives, and was gradually used extensively in architectural decoration, folklore festivals and bronze mirror decoration. Thirdly, it was used to ward off evil spirits, to guard tombs, and to guard palace gates and mansions. In view of the supreme power of the Buddhist kung fu 'lion's roar', suanni stone sculptures were used in the Sui and Tang dynasties to guard tombs to ward off evil spirits or to symbolise authority. ↓
6. 赑屃[bì xì]
Bixi is one of the nine sons of the dragon in ancient Han mythology, also known as baxia霸下 and ranked sixth. It has a tortoise-like appearance and likes to carry heavy loads on its back, often carrying stone monuments for years.
Bixi is often used as a base for stone monuments, and is of great cultural importance. Its symbolism is based on 'longevity and good fortune' and has connotations of status, totem worship and witchcraft. ↓
7. 狴犴bì àn, also known as Charter, is loong's seventh offspring. It looks like a tiger, very powerful, and enjoy living a litigious life. The tiger head decoration on the prison door is Bian.
Ancient scripture《龙经》notes: "Bian likes to argue, and it has a name called charter." It is said that Bian is not only loyal to justice, but also able to distinguish right from wrong and judge justly. In addition to its majestic appearance, bian is not only decorated on the prison door, but also lying on both sides of the ancient government hall. Whenever the magistrate sits in the hall, Bian’s image is on the top of the title board and the silence board. Bian looks around fiercely to maintain the solemn integrity of the court.
Bian is both the symbol of prison and the patron saint of ordinary people. In 上虞区上浦镇冯浦村, shaoxing, zhejiang province, there are the cultural custom of 'Bian Loong dance狴犴龙舞', which had local characteristics and are deeply welcomed by the local people. ↓
8. 负屃[fù xì ]
The fuxi is the eighth offspring born to the dragon in ancient Chinese mythology. Its body resembles that of a dragon and it has a gentle disposition, preferring to coil around the head of a stone monument. It is a lover of literature and calligraphy and likes to coil around the tops of stone monuments with beautiful inscriptions. It is usually seen together with the bixi, which carries the monument, and the fuxi coils around the top of the monument. ↓
9. 螭吻 or 鸱吻 [chī wěn]
It is generally considered to be the ninth offspring of the dragon. It likes to swallow things and is said to be able to devour everything, as seen on the head of the beast on the roof of a Chinese palace. Chiwen likes to look around and is carved to look like it is swallowing the roof with its mouth open, and often has a sword stuck in its back.
Legend has it that chiwen can spout waves and send down heavy rain, ward off fires and drive away spirits and demons. So Chinese folk asked it to watch over the horizontal ridges of houses. It likes to climb high and look down, so it is regarded as an ornament in folklore to pray for rain and to ward off fire. Chiwen is the child of a dragon and a fish, so its head is a dragon's head but its body is in the shape of a fish. ↓
summary and some related patterns↓
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Art by Not A Starchild
LOVE MEN AND WOMEN, NEITHER WOMAN NOR MAN
(Tiếng Việt ở dưới)
In folk culture, it was believed that true men had 7 spirits and true women had 9. This concept also appeared in the Mother Goddess Worship (or Đạo Mẫu), the indigenous religion of Kinh ethnic Vietnamese. During Đạo Mẫu’s mediumship ritual, mediums would often cross-dress with colorful costumes: men wore feminine dresses, and women wore masculine robes. Based on the belief system, these mediums always had spiritual roots with one deity, therefore they would perform mediumship with that divinity’s clothing; oftentimes, male mediums had roots with goddesses, and female mediums had roots with gods. According to an old medium Lưu Ngọc Đức, a medium with elements of both genders would be better in conveying the characteristics of the divine: thus explaining the existence of 8-spirit people, who existed in-between the gender binary.
Within this belief, men with 8 spirits were given one more soul compared to the norm, and women with 8 spirits were omitted one soul from the norm; thus, they were viewed as feminine men and masculine women. Most 8-spirit people who practiced Đạo Mẫu were homosexual, or simply loved people of the same sex or gender. Once becoming mediums, these people were highly respected within the community, seen as closer to the gods and could perform better mediumship. This idea continued to this day.
Mediums weren’t the only ones who transcended gender binary; gods were as well. Deities within the Mother Goddess Worship could transform into men or women at will (this originated from Buddhism, whose pantheon was also filled with gender bending beings). In modern terminology, they were genderfluid. Since the holies could be either men or women, a person with both masculine and feminine characteristics would be considered more suitable for the mediumship ritual.
Excerpt from the Council of Four Palaces prayer:
“The forest lush of reverent mountains and rivers, the sea dense and outstanding of streams and hills. The heroic spirit is bright with immeasurable transformations, either from swimming in the jaded void, or arriving at the Tower of Immortals, or to go and back from chaos or order at heaven and earth, or march toward the Isle of Immortals unhindered from the world. Whether they be in the form of man or woman, whether they commit disaster or evil, one must pray to them for successful passage, for they will respond to immediate requests.”
Excerpt from the Mountains Village prayer:
“Only wish: To be holy and godly, to be man and woman. Bright light descends on the fated altar to prove virtuous merits.”
Excerpt from the Holy Council prayer request:
“Mahāsthāmaprāpta bodhisattva, with golden lotus and golden flag, with golden visage and golden body, as holy and godly, as man and woman, whose beautified disciples repaired Mount Pǔtuó, who is morally supreme, who will become Buddha.”
==================
ÁI NAM ÁI NỮ, VI NỮ VI NAM
Trong dân gian vẫn truyền lại rằng đàn ông có 7 vía, đàn bà có 9 vía. Quan niệm này cũng xuất hiện trong Đạo Mẫu 道母, tín ngưỡng bản địa của dân tộc Kinh. Trong nghi thức lên đồng của Đạo Mẫu, các thanh đồng thường sẽ đảo trang với các y phục sặc sỡ màu sắc: trai mặc đồ nữ, gái mặc đồ nam. Theo tín ngưỡng, các thanh đồng đều có căn với một vị thiêng, nên sẽ lên đồng với trang phục của vị ấy; nhiều lúc, các cậu đồng có căn nữ thần, và các cô đồng có căn nam thần. Theo cụ đồng Lưu Ngọc Đức 劉玉德, để việc lên đồng tốt hơn, một thanh đồng nên có yếu tố của nam lẫn nữ, như thế mới hoàn toàn truyền tải được tính cách của các đấng linh: vì thế mà có người 8 vía, được xem là tồn tại giữa nam và nữ.
Dường như là quy luật thêm trừ, đàn ông 8 vía là những người được tạo hoá ban tặng thêm cho một vía nữa so với chuẩn mực, còn đàn bà 8 vía thì bị lược đi một vía; vì vậy, có thể nói rằng họ là những đàn ông nữ tính và đàn bà nam tính, khi số vía của họ đứng giữa số vía của nam và nữ. Đa phần các người 8 vía trong Đạo Mẫu đều là đồng tính, hoặc đơn giản là yêu người cùng giới. Những vị này khi trở thành thanh đồng đều được người trong đạo hết sức tôn trọng, được xem là gần với các thánh thần hơn, vì thế mà lên đồng và hầu đồng tốt hơn.
Không chỉ các thanh đồng có thể vượt khỏi hệ nhị phân giới, mà thậm chí các vị thánh thần cũng thế. Thần linh trong Đạo Mẫu đều vi nam vi nữ (có gốc từ đạo Phật, một tôn giáo với rất nhiều thánh linh không tuân theo luật giới tính của con người), tức có thể hoá nữ hoặc nam. Theo thuật ngữ hiện đại, họ là linh hoạt giới. Vì các vị thánh đều vi nữ vi nam, nên một người với tính chất của nam lẫn nữ sẽ được xem là phù hợp với nghi thức hầu bóng hơn.
Trích khoa cúng Tứ phủ hội đồng 科供四府會同:
“Lâm trung uất uất thúc nhiên sơn thuỷ chi dung, hải thượng sâm sâm trác nhĩ yên hà chi cảnh, anh linh bất muội biến hoá nan lường, hoặc du Bích Lạc chi trung, hoặc nghệ Bồng Đài chi nội, hoặc hồi lãng uyển tự thăng giáng ư càn khôn, hoặc vãng Bồng Lai nhậm tung hoành ư thế giới, vi nam vi nữ, tác nghiệt tác yêu, đảo dĩ toại thông, cầu chi tất ứng.”
(林中鬱鬱蹴然山水之容,海上森森卓爾煙霞之景,英靈不昧變化難量,或游碧落之中,或詣蓬臺之内,或回浪踠序升降於乾坤,或往蓬萊任縱橫於世界,為男為女,作孽作妖,禱���遂通,求之必應。)
Trích khoa cúng Sơn Trang 科供山莊:
“Duy nguyện: Nãi thánh nãi thần, vi nam vi nữ. Quang giáng đàn duyên chứng minh công đức.”
(惟願:乃聖乃神,為男為女。光降壇緣證明功德。)
Trích thỉnh thánh hội đồng khoa 請聖會同科:
“Quan âm thế chí, kim liên kim xí, kim tướng kim thân, vi thánh vi thần, vi nam vi nữ, trang hoàng đệ tử, tu phổ đà sơn, đạo đức chí tôn, hoá vi thành Phật.”
(觀音勢至,金蓮金幟,金相金身,為聖為神,為男為女,粧煌弟子,修普陀山,道德至尊,化為成佛。)
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Tham khảo:
hoangtrongmuon.blogtiengviet.net/2008/09/27/a_ann_aang_8_vasa
researchgate.net/publication/335060264_Social_effects_of_Dao_Mau
youtube.com/watch?v=nk9wSZsHBwA
youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=c2N_aoRZxqs&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=HOAILUONGNGUYEN
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*Ái nam ái nữ: một từ vựng lỗi thời để chỉ song tính luyến ái hoặc liên giới tính, nhưng vốn cũng chỉ mọi người trong cộng đồng LGBT+ như đồng tính luyến ái và người chuyển giới
*Song tính luyến ái (bisexuality): mối quan hệ hay chỉ sự hấp dẫn tình cảm hoặc tình dục của một người với hai giới tính, nam và nữ, hoặc là nhiều hơn một phái tính hay giới tính
*Liên giới tính (intersex): những người khi sinh ra có cấu trúc sinh dục không giống với những suy nghĩ thông thường về nam và nữ, khi các đặc điểm giới tính sinh học của họ không điển hình là nam hay nữ
*Người chuyển giới (transgender): một người nhận thức bản thân thuộc về một giới tính mà giới tính đó không đồng nhất với đặc điểm giới tính của cơ thể khi sinh ra
*Đồng tính luyến ái (homosexuality): những người có sự hấp dẫn tình yêu, tình dục với những người cùng giới tính với nhau trong hoàn cảnh nào đó hoặc một cách lâu dài
*Hệ nhị phân giới (gender binary): sự phân loại giới thành hai thái cực đối lập nhau, hoặc là nam, hoặc là nữ, thường theo hệ thống xã hội hoặc theo từng vùng văn hoá
*Linh hoạt giới (genderfluid): những người có giới linh hoạt và thay đổi thay vì chỉ gắn với một giới cả đời; tuỳ từng người có chu kì thay đổi giới, có người sẽ có giới của mình luân chuyển theo ngày, tháng, hay thậm cả năm mới thay đổi
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Tbh there's something about the way Ichigo, Kisuke, and Sōsuke are all reflecting off of each other in canon
Like this is sooooo influenced by my random uraichizen thoughts but
Like, considering Kisuke's Bodhisattva allegory with Guanyin/Kannon and his knowledge of the world, the idea that he preserves the status quo of the worlds by not actively doing anything in comparison to Sōsuke (from what we can see). He is a Bodhisattva in this sense. He's seen the truth, he teaches others the truth or hints at it because true Enlightenment can only be with the self. But.
Then there's the actual consequence of SS and what shinigami have to do to maintain the balance. Kisuke opposes Sōsuke and his views not because he believes it's right, but because he believes that the destruction of the worlds is not acceptable. It's a necessary evil.
Sōsuke has an ego with him wanting to become God, but there's also something almost tragic about his arc with reframing it from his perspective of Soul Society.
Soul Society is not a good place. Honestly horrible to live in. Especially when we find out that they sacrifice souls to hollows and vice versa in the name of balance.
Tbh, I ended up asking myself, from this viewpoint, is the Soul Society really worth protecting? Because it's goal is not about protecting people, but protecting the balance. Can the shinigami claim ignorance? Should they even be allowed to when they are complicit in destruction of lives? What would 'life' actually be considered in this universe? Do hollows deserve life as humans do? Except the SS ultimately sees both as a means to an end, hollows are just more of an obstacle.
Effwctively, shinigami are content sleeping on a bed of ground bones. I can see Sōsuke thinking this from a biased perspective.
But he's also not some savior either. He's arrogant and has a callousness to him that conflicts with this more sympathetic view of him.
His anger at Kisuke for knowing the truth of the world and not trying to change it seems genuine. There's an air of hypocrisy to his character I can't shake and it makes me wanna know more about why. Like the question of the greater evil vs the lesser evil.
Except Ichigo. He steps forward, finally knowing himself in full, to defeat Sōsuke, to defeat Yhwach, yet I can't help but feel like he's still so ignorant of the world he lives in. If he learned about their horrors, could he truly stand by in shadows waiting as Kisuke does, or would he become like another Sōsuke, for whatever reason. Or would he become a different path?
Sōsuke is also related to illusion and water, a reflection. We never see his bankai and I would even go so far as to think that he own powers don't work as they do in canon. There's still too many unknowns about him for me to be confident in them. But Ichigo’s own insights about Sōsuke's loneliness is just... it's so tempting to build off of that.
Because those feelings are likely a reflection of Ichigo from when he was a young age and his own confusing powers may have brought only more loneliness instead of understanding or connection.
I can't help but think that Kisuke represents Stagnation and Sōsuke represents Progess. Except poth come with an unsavory taste in the mouth. Kisuke waits, likely works towards a goal, bit it's far too slow for the people that have already suffered because of the world. Sōsuke steps forward, also hiding until he's sure of his strike, and he probably would have won if not for Ichigo. What is Ichigo then?
The only part of the Soul King that's named is his heart, which can bring about miracles, things unexplained due to emotions and desires. It acts similar to the Hōgyoku. Ichigo speculates that Sōsuke may have actually wanted to lose to him and that's... also a lot of implication about Sōsuke's character. There's also the idea that Sōsuke may have built Ichigo up. To what? Defeat him? Stand by his side? To make him less lonely? Or are these Ichigo’s unreliable feelings, are they simply Ichigo’s own reflected onto Sōsuke?
Both of Kisuke and Sōsuke's plans and views come with a price. And Ichigo remains ignorant, but he stills fights for everyone to not pay that price, even his enemies.
In a way, it's like Sōsuke decided to pay a huge price upfront to pay back later, Kisuke is frugal and making sure to balance everything while moving forward but that means people can't attain true wealth within their lifetime. Yhwach decided to destroy the concept itself despite that it means everyone will then have to pay that price.
Ichigo, is just, bursting through all of that. But he's also only one person. And idk, that feels important to how change must be made collectively when it's about a whole society. All Ichigo does is step forward, with other people, like the beginning of a wave.
Like, this is the end of the post but SŌSUKE AND KANAME??????? That alone needs a whole thesis and how it informs both of their characters since the only person Sōsuke actually trusts out of everyone is Kaname
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destruction as a means for healing
there's very interesting parallels between watatsumi island and scaramouche.
there's so much i need to explain regarding lore and buddhism to understand how I'm almost giving up, but i really like the idea overall, so we persevere.
buddhism is divided into three branches. mahayana is the one that spread to japan and syncretized with shinto
inazuma's narratives take inspiration from japanese mahayana buddhism (obviously), especially for characters like ei and to a lesser degree kazuha
watatsumi was inspired on ryukyu kingdom (i wanna complain about this in detail but not today) who had their own religion, most closely related to shinto. they did receive foreign influence, but the pattern im tracing is only in terms of the themes, not implying buddhism is directly tied to its culture
the goal of buddhism is basically to meditate ur way out of the cycle of reincarnation. the world is illusory and ur trapped in it because u cling to ur suffering (im simplifying it), so ur supposed to follow the doctrines and practices in order to integrate them to ur life in a way that it becomes natural.
things like ei quelling her desires or being against visions or becoming disossiated from her sense of self are all nods to these buddhist principles. so is kazuha choosing to let go of his pain and burdens (material and emotional attachments) in order to live with inner peace.
on the other hand, we have watatsumi and scaramouche who do anything but. their lives are defined by the sins of their pasts and the resentment they carry with them.
watatsumi descend from enkanomiya, and i need to point out this pattern:
they were abandoned by a god (the primordial one)
then they were granted divine knowledge (from istaroth)
they used this knowledge to create technology (aberaku built the artificial sun, helios)
they turned this technology into a divine object of worship (the political class convinced their people helios was a real god and began the corrupt ruling of the sun children)
they suffered until another god helped them out of compassion (orobashi agreed to be their god and took them to the surface)
now read those again with scaramouche in mind.
it is curious then, that their paths would cross during the inazuma chapter via the distribution of delusions. (convenient sidenote, the concept of delusion is the source of evil in buddhism)
watatsumi feels a lot of resentment against narukami for killing their god. so much so, that they were willing to use delusions which drained their life force in order to defeat them, and even after the war is over there are some resistance soldiers who wont let go of their resentment.
the delusions here are a key element, since they were literally made with the remains of their god. and scaramouche was the one tasked with distributing the delusions. the allegory is so in ur face its kinda hysterical.
now heres where it gets fun: the remains of orobashi are the source of the problems scaramouche faced in the past. tatarasuna was built to smelt swords with jade steel, which is made from crystal marrow extracted from orobashi's skeleton. and the illness that takes the life of the little child later is caused by the tatarigami, the surviving resentment of orobashi.
(COME ON)
these two narratives are so so closely tied its impossible for it not to be intentional. and u might ask ok but whats the point then, and to that i can offer:
mahayana buddhism was made as an alternative to theravada buddhism, and then vajrayana buddhism was created from mahayana buddhism. the differences dont matter much for the context of this post, in simple words vajrayana focuses on tantric practices and rituals. in mahayana u cultivate ur path out of suffering with meditation, and in vajrayana u add tantras and rituals to that meditation.
its probably not as simple as this, but mahayana sort of centers the worship on compassionate bodhisattvas (deities who have delayed their enlightment to help humans), and even though they all have the same symbols, there might be a bit more emphasis on wrathful bodhisattvas in vajrayana buddhism. overall these deities are idealized symbols, ur not meant to be them, they are symbolizing a virtue (i assume??).
whats important is a branch of vajrayana did make it into japan, becoming shingon buddhism, which centered its worship around one key wrathful bodhisattva: acala, also known as fudou in japanese. this is basically a symbol of enlightment through destruction. he's a deity that destroys ur pain and suffering, ur obstacles for enlightment. obviously its symbolic, but the feeling and vibes it invokes are quite different from the compassionate symbols of mahayana.
there is one ritual for fudou where things are offered to fire, so its basically purification through burning, through destruction and renewal of the self.
aka:
scara/wanderer's design is based off a shugendo monk, a super syncretic religion made of everything that reached japan. but, they have special worship for fudou and the fire ritual.
scara literally faces his suffering and sins (as in, the accumulation of karma in buddhist concepts) in the form of shouki no kami, and he fucking obliterates it just as he gains his vision. this is healing through destruction, at its least symbolic form, reaching enlightment not through meditation and not through "peaceful" methods of quelling emotions, but through goddamn rightful rage. (i am screaming this into the void it makes me nuts)
in a less literal (and exciting) way, kokomi also finds a way to redirect the resentment of the watatsumi soldiers into a path of self advancement. she doesnt punish them for their desire to take this resentment into action against the shogunate, instead she lets them form a special division where they will train not for revenge, but for the protection of their people. the rage is not quelled, the violence is not stopped, just redirected into actions for collective and personal well being. which is what ur supposed to do in buddhism, as far as i understood (the concept of chanda, and all that)
anyway, yeah, healing through violence. i love scaramouche
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Do you think that if Wukong had not killed the Six-Eared Macaque, the Six-Eared Macaque could possibly have been punished and then tried to be redeemed? I feel that since Heavenly monkeys are one of a kind, it might be one of the reasons why Buddha reacted the way he does after Wukong killed him. It's the way he reacts that makes me wonder what Six-Eared Macaque's fate would have been if it weren't for Wukong killing him.
Although I know that metaphorically, Wukong had to kill the evil part of himself.
That is just it! In the story, metaphorically yeah, Wukong has to kill him. I've talked about this before but Wukong facing off the Six Ears is legit him looking at the worst parts of himself, seeing the murder, the rage, the lack of empathy, everything, and telling himself that he is better than that. The whole ID versus Ego kind of battle of the mind of which one is going to win out and whether Wukong is able to control his murderous thoughts or let them win. But also Wukong looks at the worst side of himself and knows that not only can he overcome it but that he can become a better person. Knowing you are able for great good but also great evil and the need to keep yourself in check else you start going down a dark path. Wukong faces the reality that he is capable of horrid atrocities and needs to hold himself accountable and understand the consequences of his actions.
Wukong had to face his worst inner traits and say "I'm better than that" and he IS! Wukong looks at himself the selfishness, the ruthlessness, the lack of empathy and he hates that about himself but the only way to change it is to confront it head-on and personally stop it. He always trying to do better and that is why it is symbolized in a fight to the death.
But hypothetically, if the Six Ears was NOT a metaphor for facing your inner demons... I think he could be redeemed.
Because Wukong was redeemed as well.
The thing about Xiyouji is that it shows that no one is past the point of recognizing that you need to change and while isn't easy, anyone can self-reflect. Anyone can reach that point of knowing they can change and anyone can be a Buddha... even a monkey.
So with that being my belief of what the story is about I think that perhaps Six Ears could have turned that new leaf as well if given the right teacher and the right motivation. I don't think that Buddha had plans for the Six Ears because he would also know that Wukong would kill him. Even when you know something is going to happen you can still be saddened that it does happen, and I think that is why Buddha expressed his disappointment at Six Ear's death even if it was inevitable.
I don't think the Six Ears was even meant to be redeemed but rather that his needed death was still upsetting to the Buddha considering that Buddhas should not kill.
We see other demons on the journey being taken in as well like the Black Wind Demon, Red Boy, and the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord. These demons were taken in by heaven and given positions to work under them so this wouldn't be out of the ordinary if given the right circumstances. Two of these demons were redeemed by Guanyin herself and she used the fillets to motivate and highlight their need for self-control. Perhaps If Guanyin didn't use the Prohibitive or the Golden fillets beforehand then it could have been used to monitor the Six Ears.
JTTR did suggest a secret fourth headband Strength for AU ideas so that would be a fantastic suggestion here I would say. He would be either under a buddha or bodhisattva if this was the case (most likely Guanyin since she would have the headband) and he would have to start his own path of self-reflection if he is to even reach enlightenment. Considering he is similar to Wukong then perhaps he would first have to go through a similar punishment under a mountain would be fair but if we compare him to the other demons that were redeemed on the journey it would also be understandable if that was skipped as well.
But those are my thoughts if this was the case as it could be a fun idea!
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Macaque was impersonating Red Boy all those years ago, resulting in him getting forced into becoming Guayin's disciple.
The palace of Lion Camel Ridge was usually quiet at night. At this time, the trio of kings would be off in their rooms, doing their own things until sleep or morning came. It was a routine that had been set for over five hundred years.
Tonight, however, was different.
Another array arranged itself around the screaming babe, dulling down the flames but not the heat. Azure Lion was the only one brave enough to stand close to Demon Bull Prince Red Son, studying the half-blood. He tsked. "He barely resembles him. Are you sure the rumors of Jade aren't true?"
"I did the tests, just to be sure," Yellowtusk said, huddling away from the baby with scrolls. Ever since the child had arrived to the mountain, his screams and cries hadn't died down, and neither had the Samadhi fir. "He is the son of Bull and Princess Iron Fan."
A growl leaked from Azure. It was still a twist of the knife, Bull's abandonment of their crusade, in the news of Sun Wukong's return to the world. The plan to kidnap Bull's child was a hasty one, but one that would work out.
He was sure of it.
Wings flapping alerted the two kings to the arrival of the third.
"Macaque has been captured," Peng reported, their wings shrinking down. "They got to the ceremony site and realized their mistake there. He is now in the custody of Bodhisattva Guanyin, supposedly to atone."
"There is little we can do for him right now," Azure huffed. A thought sparked to life. "Has he told where the child is?"
"No," Peng rolled their eyes and stepped closer to Red Boy, who's wails had died down. Now he just looked grumpy. "One good thing about that simian, he can keep his mouth shut. Although that might just be because Wukong was there."
A flick of his tail was Azure's only reaction to the name long cast in evil at Camel Ridge. "We have our weapon then," he said, gesturing to Yellowtusk. The ball of arrays lowered with Red Boy, sinking into Azure's hands, allowing him and the grumpy toddler to eye each other. "Since Bull has become soft, we will raise this child into his full potential and then claim victory for ourselves."
At the news, Red Boy sneezed out a mixture of blood and flame.
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Just a question. I want to make a fic about the first Jedi and his disciples before Disney gets the drop on me. I'm only familar with disney canon. What miracles are associated with the buddha and the bodhissatva and what way can I characterize the philosophy of the force in buddhist terms?
The basic idea was that the first Jedi is basically a wandering Gautama Buddha and his disciples were basically the Eight Bodhisattva. Manjushri is known for his kindness and wisdom. Guanyin is kind and compassionate. Vajrapani is strength and protection incarnate. Maitreya is prophesized to bring balance to the force. Ksitigarbha swore to save everyone in the galaxy no matter how evil and no matter what it costs her and I don't really know much about the rest. Might even toss some characters like Sun Wukong and other buddhist associated characters.
The intent is to make the first jedi a real larger than life figure. God's amongst mortals who would make any other force user look like a joke. Yet also make them suprisingly human in that the first jedi just wants to help people and comfort them and doesn't want to use such powers in the first place for violence.
I also want to play around with the first sith and portray them as Eldritch abominations and monsters who feed of the weak and oppressed. Maybe they would be the Mara analogue in this telling.
Oh, this is intriguing! I love this concept!
Buddhism and Miracles
The Buddhist view on miracles, wonders, magic, superhuman powers is a quite complex one. There is a threefold distinction of Buddhism: the Buddhist science of the mind, Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist religion. The miracles of Gautama Buddha are belonging to the realm of Buddhist religion: it is proposed that through mental training one can achieve miraculous powers, as the basis of "miracles" is perfect control over one's own mind, like goldsmiths making the gold pure and workable, so they can use it to create wonderous things. The Buddha was reportedly manifested the ability to walk on water, to read other people's minds, to fly through air, to heal the wounded with his will, or growing a tree full of flowers and jewels out of his toothpick, calming down a raging elephant that attacked the village he visited, and so on. However, such miracles are all subordinate to the one true, genuinely miraculous power that one must strive for: the ability to guide people according to their mental development, for their own good, using suitable methods to fit these people.
It must be noted that in Buddhist mythology, miraculous powers are regarded as potential off-shoots of practice. Through mental training, one can develop the capacity to concentrate the power of the mind. But it's crucial to understand that in Buddhist thought, these abilities aren't dependent on the cultivation of wisdom and compassion: in stories, it's not just possible, but actually quite common for someone to gain such powers without any significant, or even meaningful spiritual and psychological progress. For this reason, the Buddhist view on these miraculous powers - should they exist at all - is that if you have them, that's a sign that you're making progress, but you mustn't brag about or reveal them, unless it's absolutely necessary. And unless you're fully awakened, these supernormal powers have a way of engendering supernormal defilements. The Buddha, like most most spiritual or religious teachers of the East, warned against those individuals who display miracles to attract people to their traditions, because there is a good chance that they're tricksters led by greed, or that their holiness is on shaky grounds.
The wholesome and unwholesome use of miracles
There is a story about the fifteen days of the miracles demonstrated by the Buddha, all performed in response to the relentless claims of six ascetics who claimed, the teachings of the Buddha are invalid, as they possess mystic powers far grater than him. The Buddha outdid every single miracles the ascetics were able to produce. Since such display of special powers was done in order to arouse or strengthen faith - which is, in Buddhism, refers to trust or confidence in the Buddha's path of practice and one's own potential for enlightenment - the performance of the fifteen miracles was a wholesome act. And likewise, there's the story of Khema: she was a young, extraordinarily beautiful queen, who was clinging on physical beauty. When she met the Buddha, he was able to read her mind, and he manifested a time-lapse of a young and even more beautiful woman, aging it to middle age, old age, very old age, then to dust. As a result, Khema realized the true, impermanent nature of the object of her attachment. This is another example for the wholesome use of miracles.
In Star Wars, this can be likened to Master Yoda using the Force in Episode V to rise Luke Skywalker's x-wing out of the swamp: this "miracle" was demonstrated to arouse trust and confidence in Jedi teachings and in his apprentice's own potential to become a Jedi. You can see that Jedi Knights are demonstrating their abilities only "for knowledge and defense" as Yoda said.
When it comes to unwholesome uses of miracles, we have the story of Pindola Bharadwaja, who was one of the Buddha's first disciples. It's said that one day, a wealthy merchant, who didn't believe in the existence of the extraordinary powers of holy men, challenged them: he suspended a beautiful and expensive sandalwood alms bowl from the top of a really high bamboo pole, and said, the master who can get it down, can keep it. Pindola Bharadwaja, who progressed very fast in his mental training, and attained several miraculous powers as a result, stepped forward. He rose into the air easily and took the bowl. The people were in awe, but their excitement alerted the Buddha who arrived to the scene. He broke the bowl into pieces and said, he is very displeased by the public display of such miracles, likening it to prostitution that is done for the sake of cheap delights.
That's because this miracle wasn't performed to benefit others, it didn't arouse trust or confidence in the Buddhist path and in one's own potential for enlightenment. It was done to impress and to show off, thus, it was distasteful. In Star Wars, this can be compared to Anakin Skywalker using the Force in Episode II to fly a fruit through air in order to impress Padmé - he even admits, "If Master Obi-Wan caught me doing this, he'd be very grumpy."
Bodhisattvas
Bodhisattva can mean anyone who vows to become enlightened in order to relieve the suffering of all beings, but there are also celestial Bodhisattvas, who are realized beings, inspired by the wish to attain complete enlightenment, and have vowed to be reborn in the world to help all living beings. They're deity-like beings, however, it should be noted that these Bodhisattvas are representing our potentials.
Guanyin - or Avalokitesvara or Chenrezig - is enlightened compassion, Vajrapani is the powerful energy of enlightenment that can be utilized to do many good things, Manjushri is the enlightened wisdom. I think the most important ability that these Bodhisattvas are said to possess, is that they're able manifest themselves in hundreds or even thousands of bodies simultaneously.
In this essay of mine, I examined Jedi teachings and how the Force works - these are, on the fundamental level, identical to Buddhist philosophy. I hope it will help:
Māra and the Dark Side of the Force
In Buddhism, although Māra is depicted as a god or demon, he is an aspect of the mind and the heart: the inner experience of all forms of attachment, greed, hatred, and delusion, everything that interferes with and puts to an end our spiritual practice. His "armies" are sensual desire, discontent, hunger and thirst, craving, laziness, fear, indecisive wavering (doubt), restlessness, longing for the transitory things in life (gain, praise, honor, and fame), and praising oneself and belittling others. His three "daughters" are thirst, delight and desire.
When Māra is discussed as an external being, he is said to reside in the highest heavenly realms of cyclic existence, thus, he enjoys long life, power, privileges and pleasures. But it must be noted that he is, like any other being, subjected to Karma, birth and death, and there are stories that gave a closure to him as an external entity: he ends up being a Buddhist himself. So, if you wish to draw an analogy with Māra in a complex and intriguing story you draw up, I suggest to use the Son as his Star Wars counterpart. He embodies the dark side of the Force, but he is also the mosaic of the light side and the dark side just like all living beings in George Lucas' Star Wars universe.
The story of Devadatta as a potential inspiration
If you would like to use Buddhist stories as inspiration for the Sith, I recommend you the story of Devadatta, the Buddha's enemy. In the Theravada tradition, Devadatta, who was one of the disciples of the Buddha, attained several miraculous powers through mental training, but no wisdom and compassion. His miracles convinced a crown prince, Ajatasattu, that he is a great teacher. But Devadatta became obsessed with his own skills and sought fame and power, declaring, he should be the one who leads the Order of Buddhists and not the Buddha. Even though his miraculous powers began to fade as his mind became clouded by such afflictions, he started to preach his own teachings, claiming, they're from the Buddha himself.
The Buddha warned him that he is on the path of self-destruction but Devadatta was relentless. Long story short, he was so consumed by greed that he eventually convinced prince Ajatasattu to kill his father, the king, and usurp the throne, while he assassinates the Buddha. As an attempt, he unleashed a raging elephant, but it was calmed by the loving-kindness of the Buddha, and his other attempts failed as well. Although Ajatasattu took the throne, the public was so resented of Devadatta that he was forced to withdraw his support. After this, he tried to cause a schism in the Order, but his followers were won over by the Buddha. Devadatta eventually died of sickness, his bad mental state supposedly ate into his physical health, however, in his final moments, he realized his mistakes.
The story of Devadatta, in my opinion, is an ideal inspiration for the first Sith, if we go with the notion that the Sith were Force-sensitives who left the Jedi Order. This is in Disney canon, I think. If we go with the fact that according to George Lucas, the Sith ruled the known universe before they destroyed themselves, we have a more complex situation, because that would imply that the first Jedi started out as a Sith apprentice or a Sith Lord, like Gautama Buddha started out as a prince living in luxury, and not a great spiritual teacher, or that the Sith were able to gain control over the galaxy, like Darth Sidious did, with the difference that there wasn't an Emperor, but many warring Sith Lords who all sought to rule the whole galaxy.
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A thought: Your portrayal of eldritch!Fierce Deity seems closer to actual Fierce Deities in Buddhism than how Fierce is usually portrayed by fans. They're not evil or malicious, just very scary-looking and... intense? They are incarnations of a Bodhisattva's wrath, they destroys obstacles to our enlightenment and protect us from evil entities.
By teaching Wild to control himself, Fierce is destroying an obstacle (Wild's malice-tainted aura), which enlightens the Chain to Wild's humanity. His *aura* may be evil, but Wild himself is a lonely, terrified kid who wants friends but doesn't get how to socialize with people
YES YES YES YES!!! OMG YES!!
Ok so I read something about that ages ago and haven't found it again, but it was a big influence on how I view Fierce Deity! Also, it's nice to have a different portrayal from everyone else.
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[ big ol ramble about saint , artisaint, and how i view rain world]
any other saint lovers who find them to be a genuinely endearing character ?.. actually starting to get saddened by how many people view them as entirely evil.. ;^; rain world is very interpretive and you're allowed to see any of the characters in any way you'd like, but i also don't like people making them so one dimensional, i personally think when it comes to rain world characters its especially hard to classify them as good or evil, as they are complex and have their own motives and reasoning
i wanted to share my thoughts on saint and also a explanation on why i ship artisaint, to maybe explain why i feel closely to saint and to that ship in general. this is one big ramble basically!!! and i'd like to discuss with anyone else who also likes rw. (also keep in mind i refer to saint by she/they/xe, and arti by she/it)
to me i find saint to be loving of all creatures and the world they reside in and believes it is her duty to ascend things so that they can break free of the cycle and be at rest. she is vegetarian meaning she doesn't want to bring pain to any of the creatures residing, starts at lust karma as well which can be taken many ways but i view it as love, and i think her mission of ascending isn't something she does because she is cold or uncaring, or even because she wants to do it -- she feels it's her duty to put the world at rest and end this long overdue cycle. the reality of this is, the cycle will go on forever and there's nothing she can do to end it, even if she believes its right. i also have Buddhist beliefs and this effects the way i theorize on saint and view her, there is a common theory she represents something called 'bodhisattva' which is said to be a being capable of reaching nirvana (ascension) but prolongs their suffering to help others in reaching nirvana. to me, that is not uncaring, it's incredibly selfless, although at times misguided. i ship artificer and saint together because i believe in some way they could help each other accept their position in the cycle. both are uncapable of ascending, and trapped by their desires, in arti's case she is unable to reach past violence karma for her anger and grief, saint is unable to ascend due to what she believes is her duty, and together i believe they'd find peace and acceptance, saint could teach arti love and peace, arti could keep saint company and prevent her from pursuing an impossible goal -- etc etc. i have always tried to be comfortable with my mortality, to not chase the end, but to accept that the end will come and that time will go on. i believe these ideas can coexist in saints campaign, and that all of downpour's campaigns explain these ideas differently. rain world is an extremely interesting and comforting game to me for my beliefs, and i know many don't share those beliefs, but i implore others to maybe look past what is front and center and maybe think more deeply on what things could mean, i don't think there can be one clear explanation for much of the things in rain world and thats a beautiful thing because we can all view them differently based on how they help us and relate to our ideologies, that's my big ramble, sorry if it doesnt make much sense ^.^;
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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).
且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。
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The Great Invocation
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ* return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men –
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
*Many religions believe in a World Teacher, a “Coming One”, knowing him under such names as the Lord Maitreya, the Imam Mahdi, the Kalki Avatar and the Bodhisattva. These terms are sometimes used in versions of the Great Invocation for people of specific faiths.
Art-Talon Abraxas
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