#and i am also a guy who happened to get hyperfixated on a silly slug game

[sevenrs]

iterators are the equivalent of bodhisattvas-- beings who are aware of karma, the cycles, etc. but forgo ascension (nirvana) to help others achieve enlightenment

i think this comparison is way more on the nose then the journey to the west but the buddhist inspirations in this game run so deep and it’s fascinating to me

anyways, pebbles calls himself “god-like”, which i do not believe was said out of some ego trip or self confidence boost. it’s true in a sense, he has a greater understanding of enlightenment, something a divine being might have, but he isn’t a full on god. bodhisattvas are not gods.

bodhisattvas instead represent an ideal path for humanity to follow, and assist people on their own journey to enlightenment before achieving nirvana themselves

iterators are different-- more as a stand-in for the ancients. the iterators themselves are not the ideal, but the ancients who created them are. so the ancients have set themselves up as the “ideal” but instead of doing anything themselves, they leave behind other beings as their proxies to deliver their will

which of course is frustrating to some of the iterators

this also raises questions in rain world over if this is the right thing to do. forcing your will upon nature, but that’s a topic for another ramble post

so like

we're all aware that the religion practiced in rain world by the ancients (iterators, and some of the slugcats by extension) is heavily inspired by buddism-- karma, reincarnation, ascension that leads to enlightenment where the need for the life/death cycle is past you now because you no longer feel suffering

five pebbles tells survivor and monk to go west.

west.

like in journey to the west? the great classical chinese novel, an allegorical journey about human perseverance?

in a game that is so incredibly difficult that beating it would require persistence?

was this intentional? did videocult know this? why haven't i seen anyone talk about this before?

im losing my mind right now