#buddha and the robber

[artsculturevienna]

Maximilian REINITZ (1872-1935) “Buddha und der Räuber” - “Buddha and the Robber” (1922) Öl auf Leinwand / Oil on canvas Privatsammlung Salzburg / Private collection, Salzburg Ausstellung / Exhibition HAGENBUND - Von der gemäßigten zur radikalen Moderne HAGENBUND - From moderate to radical Modernism LEOPOLD MUSEUM Wien / Vienna - 2022/23

[mitskicodedwukong]

💥 PIGSY, QI XIAOTIAN, REDSON, SIX-EARED MACAQUE, & SUN WUKONG WITH AN EXPLOSIVELY-POWERED CHILD 💥

» the family jewels (marina) « 0:50 ─〇───── 3:58

╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝🍑╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗ AUTHOR'S NOTE ╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗🍑╔⏤⏤⏤╝ ➤ This is reposted from my old account, @nothyenlowz :3 ➤ This is a scenario. ➤ This is platonic/familial. ➤ For this scenario, MK will be aged up to 23! ➤ TRIGGER WARNINGS include profanity, hurt/comfort, implied child neglect, homelessness, attempted robbery, break-in, animal attacks, violence, biting, blood, injury, PTSD(?)/trauma flashbacks, and past near-death experience. ➤ Word count: 4,233 words

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

❝ Welcome to the family jewels; coal to diamonds, sold to fools .❞

╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗ PIGSY 🐖 ╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝

➤ You were a frequent at the shop. Pigsy immediately took notice of how you were alone each time you visited, how you were dirty, how you ate like it was your last meal, etc.

➤ It was easy for him to put 2 and 2 together. So, each time you visited, he gave you anything you wanted, and even went out of his way buy you gifts (toys, clothes, books, etc.). Tang even stopped being a freeloader for a while to ensure Pigsy could afford it.

➤ Somewhere along the line, Pigsy managed to adopt you! Now you were always at the shop, or at least not anywhere without him and Tang. No longer did he have to worry about you!

➤ ...or so he thought. One day, a robber busted into the shop demanding Pigsy hand over the money. Of course, the pig demon wasn't surprised; it wasn't the first time this has happened, but it was the first time he'd been threatened with a butter knife.

➤ Anyway, that's to say Pigsy knew there wasn't any real danger proposed by this rude stranger. But you, well, you were so young, and Buddha knew what you'd been through—how were you supposed to know the difference between genuine danger and a mild inconvenience?

➤ Just as Pigsy was about to give the guy the typical "bugger off or I'm gonna toss you out and report you", you raced out from behind the counter and slammed your fist into his stomach, sending him crashing against one of the (thankfully) empty booths.

➤ Pigsy was stunned for a minute, watching customers race out to avoid being caught in the crossfire. His eyes landed on you, still approaching the downed robber, and honed in on the electric green glow encasing your hands and eyes, snapping around your body like emerald lightning.

➤ He managed to shake himself from his stupor before you reached the crumpled man and stepped between you two, kneeling in front of you with gentle words and a soft voice, trying to coax you out of your explosive state.

➤ "Hey, hey, kiddo. We're alright. He's not gonna hurt you. You can calm down now."

➤ Exhaustion from the exertion your body experienced seemed to finally catch up to you, the green snaking around your body before disappearing. You collapsed forward, curling into Pigsy's arms and beginning to cry softly.

➤ "Bàba," you sniffled, trembling.

➤ Pigsy hushed you, holding you close as the guy limped out of the restaurant.

➤ "It's okay, kiddo, I'm not angry. Let it all out."

➤ He had quite the research assignment for Tang later.

╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗ QI XIAOTIAN ✨ ╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝

➤ MK met you after defeating Lady Bone Demon. You were the unfortunate host she used, and you needed a lot of help afterwards. You were fragile in a number of ways; sickly, physically fatigued, afraid of your own shadow and plagued by nightmares. MK understood all of that, and so you two became close, helping each other recover bit by bit.

➤ It was a day where you were hanging out with everyone at Flower Fruit Mountain, including Wukong. One of the cheeky monkeys had snagged your phone, so you chased after them to retrieve it. Unbeknowst to you, Wukong had followed after you to make sure his subject didn't give you a hard time.

➤ You managed to catch up to the monkey, but not before they squirreled away into a tree. So you were left at the bottom, hands on your hips as you attempted to negotiate with the little cream-furred simian.

➤ What came next happened fast: another monkey dropped from the foliage cover of the tree, beginning to tussle with the other. It flung the electronic in the scuffle and you stumbled forward in a venture to catch it, and then you caught sight of the monkey king's hand outstretched towards you.

➤ "So, your plan is to fist fight a child?"

➤ "Have you forgotten? Destroy me and you destroy the host!"

➤ "Have you become so desperate to end that you would sacrifice this blameless, innocent child?"

➤ "I told you—"

➤ "y o u s h o u l d h a v e s t a y e d b u r i e d . "

➤ "NO!" you shrieked, crossing your arms over your face as you braced for the hit that should have taken your life months ago.

➤ Sobs wracked your body as you crumbled to the floor despite remaining untouched. A cold, incessant chill pressed in on on you and you hated it, you hated it so much. All you could think of was her; the stink of old bones, the constant ache of ice, the cracking of your very body as that wretched demoness used you as a vehicle for her wicked deeds...

➤ and how willing the legendary Monkey King, the greatest hero of all time, had been to kill you, if it'd meant she would have died too.

➤ You continued to sink further into your memories, hands clawing at your scalp in a vain attempt to pull yourself out of it. The cold got worse, making each breath grate your throat on the way in; your tears froze to your face and your body weakened more and more until you collapsed in a heap, praying under your breath that someone would save you.

➤ "Hey!"

➤ The voice reverberated around your head, your thoughts moving sluggishly as you attempted to place a name to the familiar cadence. The cold went away ever-so-slightly as you calmed, focusing on the voice.

➤ "M...MK?"

➤ A sharp, cracking noise came from your left, followed by the last hints of a green flame. You blinked wildly out of a newly formed hole, light pouring into whatever dark place you'd gotten stuck in. Warm air scented with sweet fruits and flowers billowed into your face and you breathed it in deeply, feeling your body begin to relax.

➤ Hands temporarily filled the hole, blocking the heat and making you frown, but they ripped away more and more of your enclosure until MK's face comes into view, strained with worry and fear. As soon as his eyes met yours they softened, the successor leaning forward and gently pulling you up and towards him.

➤ You allowed him to do so, limbs shaking as you stepped out of the ice ball you'd been trapped in—wait. Ice ball? When... how did that get there? It was the middle of summer on Flower Fruit Mountain! There shouldn't have been any snow, much less ice!

➤ You looked around wildly, eyes taking in your surroundings: most of the scene is the same plentiful forest, but there's about a fifteen foot radius surrounding the shattered ice ball that's marred with gnarly spikes, curled like claws. You see Mei and Tang exacting magic on the ice to melt it, trying to free—oh god. Wukong lies pressed flat to the ground, ice digging into his clothes and, more frighteningly, his throat.

➤ Did... did you do that?

➤ You started sobbing immediately, clinging to MK. You grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, feeling the fabric tear under your desperate grip, but you couldn't will yourself to let go.

➤ "Hey," MK cooed, sitting on the ground and holding you close. "It's okay. You're safe."

➤ "S-She's still here! She's still in me! MK, please, please, we have to get her out b-before she gets too strong a-and Monkey King has to...has to—"

➤ "She's not," MK reassured you softly, gently rocking you as you waded through your panic. "It's just the after effects. You're still you. You're safe."

➤ "I'm safe," you choked out, pressing hard into MK's warm, solid body.

➤ The gang'll have to do some research on just how much power you retained from the Lady Bone Demon's possession, but they'll wait until you've had proper time to process.

➤ For now, they'll just make sure you remember you're safe.

╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗ REDSON 🔥 ╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝

➤ After the defeat of the Lady Bone Demon, the demon bull family welcomed a new member: you.

➤ Redson was immediately enamored with you. After only days of existing, you had your elder brother wrapped around each one of your tiny fingers. He was a dutiful sibling, working late into the night to craft you new toys, weapons, vehicles (the latter two he was forbade to give to you until you were at least eight)—anything you could desire.

➤ They discovered early that you had wind magic similar to your mother, with the added gift of blessing any item with your powers. This eventually earned you the title Prince/ss Strong Wind and brought your family great pride. And while it wasn't fun to chase around flying cups or run from enchanted bull clones, at least you weren't a Redson level catastrophe!

➤ That was before the... hm, accident, though.

➤ It wasn't your fault! You'd been practically attached to Redson's hip since you learned to walk (and he to your's for even longer), what were you supposed to do when you heard him shrieking "dragon horse girl" at the top of his lungs?!

➤ (Nevermind the fact you knew how dramatic your brother was... unfortunately for your parents [and anyone else who got involved with your family], you'd adapted his theatrics.)

➤ So you, upon hearing your beloved brother's scream, raced out of your mother's very important etiquette lesson and to your brother's room, damn-near ripping the door of its hinges when you busted in. You were so trained on the fact there was a stranger in Redson's room that you didn't even spare him a glance, missing the giant grin on his face (one that quickly morphs into "oh shit", mind you).

➤ The stranger—or the dragon horse girl, you presumed—gave you a big, lop-sided smile, acting as if she hadn't just broke into the Demon Bull family's keep!

➤ "OHHHH, you must be Redson's new nibby! I'm—"

➤ You didn't give her the chance to go a second further. Whipping winds travelled down your shoulder to your wrist, and when you outstretched your hand, a powerful gust struck the dragon horse girl right in the chest and forced her into the wall, cracking it.

➤ She peeled herself from the wall with a groan, wincing as she looked at you. You're quite the sight, raging winds strengthening around you, steam surely billowing from your ears and nostrils, teeth bared threateningly as you stalked closer.

➤ For a second, she looked afraid, and you internally rejoice at that. Yes. Yes! You've done it; you've protected your brother, your family, and your reputation as the baddest demons in this sorry city!

➤ But just as you were about to send the dragon horse girl through a few walls (and hopefully out of your house), Redson slid in front of her, halting your attack.

➤ "You have to calm down!" he yelled over the wind, bracing his arms over his face and creating a small shield.

➤ Your brows furrowed upon hearing your brother speak. It was hard to understand what he said between the wind and the adrenaline, but you managed to grasp on to the words just enough that the air relaxed ever-so-slightly.

➤ "But I...I'm protecting you! I'm protecting the family!" you replied back, the harsh gusts making you stumble to the side a bit.

➤ "Yes, you're doing so well!" Redson praised you, an ecstatic expression on his face. Then his eyes flicker behind him and you can just barely make out a scowl on the dragon girl's face, making him clear his throat. "However, this is no stranger. This is my... friend. She just has no manners."

➤ "HEY!"

➤ "Your friend?" you echoed, and the wind finally relented. When it disappeared, a fair amount of your energy went with it. Redson hurried forward to stabilize you, one hand holding your shoulder and the other holding your hand.

➤ "There you go," Redson said softly, guiding your breathing. "There you go. Breathe. Relax. Let it go."

➤ "I'm sorry," you mumbled, bone-tired now that your attack was over. "I didn't—I was worried, I thought you were...in trouble."

➤ Redson hummed, walking you to his bed and sitting you down. "I understand. I'm sorry I worried you."

➤ Eventually, the dragon horse girl wandered closer, rubbing the back of the neck sheepishly. "Yeah... I'm sorry, too. I'm used to just Redboy being here so I, uh... don't bother knocking," she says with a small smile.

➤ Redson gave her a side-eyed expression and a raised eyebrow, then huffed and focused back on you.

➤ "Would you like to spend the day with us? Mei and I are making gauntlets to help her with her powers, so you two can get acquainted and make sure we're playing nice."

➤ You smiled, comforted by your brother's sweetness. "That'd be nice."

➤ Mei will definitely bully him for being so soft later, but for now (and, let's be honest, forever), all he cared about was that smile on your face.

╔⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤╝╚⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤╗ SIX-EARED MACAQUE 🔮 ╚⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤╗╔⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤╝

➤ Macaque was no stranger to life on the streets, well-aware of the lack of food and water, shelter, good clothes, and protection. He was familiar with just how dehumanizing it could be to live in Megapolis' alleys, scrounging from dumpsters and snoozing in dilapidated buildings until having to move to avoid being found by less-than-forgiving company.

➤ Maybe that's why, when he found you in the alley behind his dojo trying to cram yourself beneath a dumpster to hide from a hailstorm, he invited you in.

➤ And maybe MK's rubbed off on him more than he expected, because after he let you in, he never made you leave.

➤ Eventually, you two went from co-existing to something more... familial. It was sort of like you'd been there the whole time with the way Macaque's routine came to revolve around you.

➤ Anyway. That's to say you were very grateful the demon gave you a home that stormy night.

➤ Maybe a little too grateful.

➤ Early on, Macaque noticed your determination to "pay him back" for his kindness. It was a silly concept to him, something he paid little mind to. But when he started to realize just how dedicated you were, he tried valiantly to convince you it wasn't necessary.

➤ You didn't relent, and for several weeks, you bent over backwards to try to make things even between the two of you.

➤ And then, just when you were coming to terms with never being able to repay him, a big bad wolf wandered by.

➤ You were asleep when you awoke to shattering glass, the sharp sound making you bolt straight-up. Your heart pounded in your ears as you kept listening, and you contemplated calling for Macaque, but the man had six ears. He could hear your heart, and surely its rabbit-like rhythm would have been enough to draw him to you if the broken glass didn't.

➤ Something was wrong.

➤ You slipped out of bed as quietly as you could manage, tiptoeing out of your room and to the top of the stairs. You listened intently, hoping for a clue on what to do.

➤ With every second that passed, you felt sillier. Maybe you imagined it. Maybe you had a nightmare and it scared you so bad you woke up. Maybe you were still dreaming.

➤ But then you heard a screech unmistakably belonging to Macaque, succeeded by crashing, and you couldn't stop yourself from racing down the stairs, your thudding footsteps nothing in comparison to the thud thud thud of your hammering heartbeat.

➤ As you turned the corner, you found the broken window, glass scattered all over the dojo floor; and across from it, Macaque pinned beneath a behemoth of a wolf demon.

➤ You didn't even think, your body naturally moving towards the intruder, your teeth bared. You barely noticed your body shifting, fangs and nails sharpening like thorns and a tail sprouting from your back.

➤ You landed on their back and, purely on instinct, sunk your teeth into the back of their neck, tightening your grip on them when they shrieked and reared back, allowing Macaque to scramble away. The monkey demon watched in shock as you remained latched to the intruder's neck despite their wails and attempts to tug you off, blood dripping down their body and on to the dojo floor.

➤ Unfortunately, Macaque remained in his shocked state until the wolf demon managed to grab you by the hair and rip you off of them, making you cry out as you dangled from their hand. You heard the shadow caster snarl, your only warning before the intruder was dragged helplessly into a shadow portal by angry clones, one of them snagging you before he disappeared completely.

➤ "..id, hey, kid, kid!" You blinked as you found yourself in Macaque's arms, the monkey's expression sharp with pain and worry. "Hey, are you with me, kid?"

➤ "I...I'm... I don't know what... I was... who..." you babbled uselessly, your voice beginning to descend into sobs as the pain set in. Aside from your body just aching, your head felt hot, a little wet, and that scared you—but not as much as the sticky, iron taste coating your mouth, staining your chin and your hands when you tried to wipe it away.

➤ "Fuck, kid," Macaque hissed under his breath, a gentle hand pressing against your head. "Why would you do that?"

➤ "I-I have to protect you," you stuttered, whimpering as a wave of pain rippled through your head.

➤ "Protect—" he cut himself off, his expression firm and his lips pressed into a thin line. His head tilted away from you, a long exhale huffed out through his nose as his eyes slipped shut. When he spoke again, it was softer. "You're an idiot, and we're going to have a very, very serious conversation about this "I owe you" bullshit later, but for now we're going to go patch you up, okay?"

➤ You don't answer, too busy trying to fight off tears. But then Macaque presses a soft kiss to your temple as he gathers you in his arms and stands, whispering, "You were very brave. I'm proud of you, kid."

➤ Maybe taking care of each other was just part of having a home.

╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗ SUN WUKONG 🍑 ╚⏤⏤⏤⏤╗╔⏤⏤⏤⏤╝

➤ Wukong... didn't really know how he met you.

➤ You just kinda... showed up. No, literally. He was taking a walk along the beach one day and you were just there—some random little seemingly human baby crying on sand, waves lapping at your chunky legs.

➤ Wukong knew next to nothing about human babies, but he knew humans in general, and unlike his pre-Journey self, he actually liked them. So he picked you up, cradled you in his arms as best as someone with no knowledge of how to hold babies could, and sought out the mothers of the troop.

➤ Despite knowing he wasn't really qualified for the job, he grew attached to you very quickly. And you seemed to do the same, if your wails were anything to go off of when he tried to hand you to some of the other, more experienced parents. So Wukong, for all intents and purposes, became your father, giving you a liege of aunties and uncle s and cousins ready to fight for you at the drop of a pin.

➤ It was... hard. Oh, wow, it was hard. You seemed to be an especially picky baby, which made caring for you even more difficult considering all your guardians were monkeys who barely ever interacted with humans. Wukong found himself frequently visiting the growing village across the sea, keeping himself updated on appliances and foods in human homes.

➤ As you grew older, he discovered you especially liked fish, which meant he had to learn how to fish (it was very, very embarrassing in the beginning). But it was ultimately a win, your fussiness practically nonexistant as long as you got something seafood related during the day.

➤ Foolishly, Wukong thought this would be the end of his parental struggles.

➤ It was one of many days where you picked fruit with the troop, but the first in weeks where you'd gotten to check out the west side of the island. Previously, hunters had moved in and he wanted to make absolutely sure they left before allowing you or the monkeys near that side of the mountain. That time seemed to have come, the scent of humans faint on the breeze.

➤ So finally, after hundreds of agonizing hours, you got to harvest the westside fruit with your family! Some of the adolescent monkeys aided you and the adults in filling the baskets while the infants played, with a few hanging on to you and napping. It was going wonderfully.

➤ Until it wasn't.

➤ All you heard was a shrill warning bark before one of the monkeys screamed. You whipped around, horror gripping you as your eyes locked on to a hunting dog latching its jaws around the arm of one of the elder monkeys, forcing them to the ground.

➤ "NO!" You shrieked, dropping your basket as you raced towards the dog. You tried valiantly to rip it off, but you were quickly seized from behind and pulled backwards.

➤ "Stop! Let me go! BÀBÀ!" You screamed, fighting and kicking as hard as you could to break free. It was a fruitless venture, and you felt yourself slow to a stop in shock as hunters poured from the woods, escorted by hunting dogs who kept the monkeys from running away.

➤ Seeing this did nothing short of destroying you, and you felt something... swimming beneath your skin. It grew hotter and hotter, your breath coming out in ragged ivory puffs like... steam? It was strange, to you, to the troop, to the hunters, and everyone stopped, watching you with bated breath.

➤ "Let them go," you hissed, straining with effort as the heat increased. "and get off my mountain."

➤ The hunter holding you laughed, condescending and wicked. "Your mountain?"

➤ "Mine," you wheezed. "And I'll not have you beasts terrorizing my family any longer."

➤ "Wha—" the hunter had no time to finish as your body dramatically morphed, your human features forgotten as your body stretched and winded upwards, covered in scales and fur, your hands replaced by talons and your legs replaced with hooves. In your full, cool-toned glory you were a small, scrappy thing by dragon standards, but you were still frightfully sized compared to the foolish humans that invaded your home.

➤ With a roar, the heat coursing through your body built in the back of your throat and shot out in way of boiling water, making the victims who didn't duck in time howl in agony. Hunters dropped their weapons, screaming indistinct orders as they ran, dogs in tow, and you gave chase for a bit, literally snapping at the heels of the few slowpokes in the back.

➤ When they were out of sight, you stomped back to the troop, softening your footsteps when you saw them. You quickly realized speaking was hard in this form, so you laid down, hoping you hadn't scared your family.

➤ And slowly, surely, they crept towards you, running their hands over your scales. Some of them crawled on top of you, exploring your new form, while the others held your face, stroking you comfortingly. A few vanished into the forest, presumably to fetch Wukong.

➤ "We thank you, Prince/ss," cooed the monkeys.

➤ "Yes, you've vanquished the hunters, Prince/ss! Our King will be proud of you."

➤ Finally, Wukong appeared, rushing in on his somersault cloud with a few monkeys hanging on to his clothes. You nearly cried upon seeing your father—or you would have, if you could.

➤ "Oh, pit seed!" Wukong cried, the other monkeys making room for you as he knelt before you and held your head. "The monkeys—they told me that the hunters didn't leave. I'm so sorry, pit seed, I swore they'd left, I should have been more careful, more thorough—"

➤ A rumble cut through you, a desperate attempt to speak to your father. In quick succession, another rumble of frustration escaped you, boiling water beginning to drip from your jaws.

➤ Please please PLEASE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO TALK TO YOU, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CHANGE BACK, I DON'T—

➤ "I understand you, pit seed, don't worry," Wukong soothed, brushing the water away from your scales without so much as flinching. "You have to relax. Think of your human form. What it looks like, how it feels. Imagine changing back. Go on, that's it. You're doing so well, pit seed."

➤ Before you knew it, you'd shifted back, on your knees with your head in Wukong's hands. You met his eyes and your lip quivered, and the Monkey King pulled you into a tight hug once he saw it.

➤ "I-I'm sorry, Bàba, I didn't know what to do a-and Tāo got hurt and—" You tapered off into sobbing, burying your face in your father's neck. He hushed you affectionately, rubbing your back and gently rocking you.

➤ "I'm so tired," you whimper.

➤ Wukong laughed gently. "I bet, pit seed. Go on and sleep. Bàba will handle it from here."

➤ And sleep you do, comforted by the closeness of your troop and familiar presence of your father.

➤ Wukong lifted you carefully, cradling you to his chest as he approached his cloud. He turned to two of the larger monkeys in the group, the two straightening as their king addressed them. "Put Tāo up here so I can see to him," he said softly. "and make sure everyone steers clear of the westside again. I'll make sure the problem is properly dealt with this time."

➤ The hunters wouldn't get off with a warning this time.

❝ I can't keep my cool, I can't keep my cool . . .❞

[ryin-silverfish]

Heart and Mind: An Analysis of Tripitaka

I've been wanting to write this since…since I came across some good ol' Tripitaka discourse in the LMK fandom ages ago. Couldn't remember the specifics, but as y'all probably know, it falls under the "Is him an abusive master" and people's strongly worded retort to that question.

On one hand, I dislike the "abusive" take because so often, it is an excuse to reduce a character to an 2D caricature for cheap angst purposes, and both JTTW and its historical context deserve more nuances than that.

On the other hand, I don't agree with some of the defenses either——that Tripitaka is Kind and Wise and The Virtuous Monk, Actually, and people who said otherwise just had their views colored by adaptations, or were ignorant westerners misreading the book.

Because trust me, Chinese readers absolutely have gripes with Tripitaka too, and sass him mercilessly.

We may have a better idea of the historical context, namely, the common usage and acceptance of corporal punishments, but quite a few of us don't think he's a good Buddhist either.

Instead, I'd like to focus on his allegorical role, and how it ultimately forms the basis for my interpretation of his character.

It is commonly acknowledged that each pilgrim represent an aspect of the enlightenment seeker: Monkey is the Mind, Dragon Horse the Will, Pigsy the Desire, Sandy the Determination/Ideation.

Tripitaka is either the enlightenment seeker as a human, or the Heart, the Compassion.

But how can someone represent Compassion when his behaviors don't look all that compassionate, when he seems to care more about what a good Buddhist looks like on paper than in spirit?

How can a compassionate man punish his disciple with a migraine spell and disown him twice, be okay with some violence but not others?

Well, to answer that question, I feel like you have to look at Tripitaka in conjunction with SWK, and what the monkey represents. He is literally the Mind Monkey, the boundless potential of human intellect, and that, by itself, is neutral.

In the word of one of the best poems in JTTW:

"He could be good; he could be bad; present good and evil he could do at will. He'd be an immortal, a Buddha, if he's good; wickedness would cloak him with hair and horn."

To put it simply, SWK is one's wits, one's problem-solving skills, the ability to discern good and evil on a cognitive level.

Whenever Tripitaka, the Compassion, is deceived, it falls to the Mind to see the opponents as they are, and take action to protect the human from harm.

But just as blind compassion without judgement can be exploited by evil, the reverse is true for a mind without compassion, driven solely by their own ambition and whims and practical knowledge.

The Mind knows that robbery is a crime, so these robbers deserve death, but has no idea how disturbing it is for a regular guy to witness six people being brutally murdered in front of him.

The Mind knows that abandoning your wife and family to become a bandit is shameful and unfilial, but cannot comprehend why the bandit's father may not want his son killed for these offenses.

The Mind knows right and wrong, but has trouble seeing the human behind those acts, and why one should care in the first place.

And to see what the Mind looks like without any of Compassion's restraint, one needs to look no further than SWK's "Second Mind", the Six-eared Macaque.

Just like how "Heart" sounds like a lame power for a character, Compassion isn't flashy, nor as useful in a strictly ultilitarian sense. In fact, having compassion makes you vulnerable. It hurts. And unscrupulous people will absolutely use it against you.

So why hold onto your weakness and wallow in it? The world doesn't need another sanctimonious wuss, it needs strong, clever people making hard sacrifices, ruthless, logical decisions! Tough up! Stop caring, and you'll never be hurt again!

Much like a certain crowd who think basic human decency is somehow political propaganda, perhaps, when SEM struck Tripitaka, he was trying to do the same thing.

Kill the embodiment of compassion, the sniveling, useless, fragile human that keeps holding SWK back. Replace him as the true Mind, the one strong enough to break all bonds and seize glory with his own two hands.

But without compassion, without humanity, one is no longer a whole person, and cannot reach enlightenment. In fact, just like how Buddha would only give the True Scripture to Tripitaka, if you are not brave enough to make yourself vulnerable, to suffer and feel other's suffering, you will never transcend it.

At best, you can have some pale imitations of the parts you have willingly shut out from yourself.

And that's what SEM does. He thought he could do it on his own, singlehandedly replace SWK and reap the benefits of enlightenment, but he is no Monkey Awakened to Emptiness.

He is just empty; cut off desires because it is base, cut off determined ideation because it is foolish, cut off compassion because it is weak, cut off the altruism and curiosity and creativity from the mind, and you are left with a grand total of NOTHING.

A shadow of a self, desperately clinging onto external validation and stolen stories, reading the pilgrim's travel paperwork out loud as if that would actually make the journey his.

Tripitaka needs to trust SWK and learn from him, because compassion, much like good intention, doesn't solve problems on its own, and mercy is not the same as enabling harm.

SWK needs his master's guidance, because even at his most selfish and impulsive, he cares, and only by extending that care to others and accepting the vulnerability that comes with it can he truly mature and become awakened to the ultimate truth.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

One last bit of ramble: I feel like there is something to be said about Tripitaka's tendency to trust Pigsy, and how the pursuit of enlightenment is often derailed by worldly desires.

Unlike the demons they encountered, however, Pigsy is not the personification of mental obstacles that must be destroyed, because you cannot destroy bodily needs, nor the very human tendencies to slack off and avoid trouble.

You should stop listening to its advice, sure. Poke fun at it, absolutely. But what Pigsy represents is part of the human condition, just like every other pilgrim, and also something one must make peace with.

[dual-domination]

"Zhao-chu, what do we have so far?" Lin Jing entered the small office unannounced, carrying a few file folders in his arms. If he entered the man's home like this, wouldn't he do so in what assumed was 'his private office' in the still-under-construction office of the unofficially functioning Department? Zhao Yunlan spun around in the swivel chair to face the monk, "What ‘Zhao-chu’?! I'm not officially the Chief yet! Because if I were, you wouldn't see your salary just for barging into my office without knocking!" "Buddha of patience, grant me some. I have the key to your apartment, what are you complaining about? Did Lao Chu return any information?" “So far, the citizens of the village have not been willing to speak to him to provide even the slightest assistance, even though they are terrified by what happened there,” Zhao Yunlan sighed and took the folders Lin Jing had brought, beginning to flip through the files. “The only thing he managed to do was confirm what we already suspected, that the team killed in that place was related to Wu Sanxing…” That name made Lin Jing understand why Zhao Yunlan was in a worse mood than usual regarding this case. “Oh… So… huh… are we in need of the expertise of some grave robber?” They didn’t bring it up to other people, but they didn’t forget it either. Zhao Yunlan clicked his tongue and took out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. “I know where you’re going…” “I’m going to call Shifu. I wouldn’t doubt if one day he confessed that he sent me to work with you just so he could have some fun…” “Ridiculous,” Zhao Yunlan exhaled the first puff of smoke from the cigarette between his lips. “I wouldn’t doubt it either.”

Behold the chaos of this chapter and a certain someone showing up. @tazzy-ace and I have the pleasure to present you [redacted].

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Chapter 14 Recap: Mind monkey returns to the Right; the Six Robbers vanish from sight.

Though both Tripitaka and Boqin are driven to fear by the voice, the assembled houseboys state confidently that it “must be the old ape in that stone box beneath the mountain who is shouting.” Boqin agrees, and then explains to a perplexed Tang Sanzang that though the mountain is currently known as the “Mountain of Two Frontiers,” it was once known as the “Mountain of Five Phases.” Boqin states that he had further heard from his elders that the mountain had long ago “fell from Heaven with a divine monkey clamped beneath it,” and that this monkey had “lasted from that time until now, surviving both cold and hunger.” Boqin then suggests that they go see what the monkey is shouting about, and Tripitaka reluctantly agrees.

The two and the horse don’t have to travel long before they encounter a stone box that does indeed contain a sentient monkey currently covered in dirt and greenery. Said monkey greets Tang Sanzang as “master,” and states that he’ll protect the monk on the way to the Westward Heaven. He then asks Tripitaka if he is indeed the scripture pilgrim and, having that confirmed, reveals himself to be “the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven…who greatly disturbed the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago.” He also claims that he is now sworn to protect the scripture pilgrim, and that he is willing to become Tang Sanzang’s disciple.

Tripitaka is delighted at this turn of events, but isn’t sure how he can free the monkey from the stone box. The Great Sage tells Tang Sanzang that it’s an easy task, and that all he has to do is remove a tag with golden letters on the top of the mountain. Boqin and Tripitaka make their way up together, and upon seeing the seal Xuanzang prays to the Buddha to only let the monk remove the seal if the monkey’s speaking the truth. He then removes the tag easily, and it blows away, with the prison guard of the Great Sage also letting Tripitaka know that the seal is being returned to the Buddha.

After going back to Sun Wukong and letting the monkey know that his imprisonment is over, the delighted simian tells Tripitaka that he should “walk away from here so that I can come out.” The group of humans then retreat some five or six miles, but Sun Wukong yells at them to go further. Finally, after they had left the mountain entirely, “at once came a crash so loud that it was as if the mountain was cracking and the earth splitting wide open.” The next second a completely naked Great Sage is bowing in front of Tang Sanzang, thanking Boqin for “shaving the grass from my face,” and goes off to get the luggage in order. We’re also informed that Sun Wukong’s time as the BanHorsePlague gave him such authority over all equines that “the horses of this world inevitably would fear him when they saw him.” The monkey also informs the monk that he already has a religious name in “Sun Wukong,” and Tripitaka gives him the nickname “Pilgrim Sun.”

Boqin, now seeing Tang Sanzang is protected by “an excellent disciple,” makes his leave. The “stark naked” monkey and the monk continue on the journey west, Sun Wukong carrying the luggage, Tripitaka on his horse. They are soon menaced by a tiger which Pilgrim Sun takes on with delight, pulling out his as-you-will cudgel from his ear and giving big cat such a ferocious blow that he “caused its brain to burst out like ten thousand red petals of peach blossoms, and the teeth to fly out like so many pieces of white jade.” Tang Sanzang immediately falls off his horse in fear at this display of strength, noting that it had taken Boqin all day to defeat a tiger whereas Sun Wukong had reduced the tiger “to pulp with one blow of his rod.” An unperturbed Pilgrim Sun asks Tripitaka to sit down for awhile, and proceeds to make himself a loincloth from the tiger’s skin.

As they continue their travels, Tang Sanzang asks Sun Wukong a litany of questions about his cudgel and about his abilities, which the monkey is only too eager to boast of. Tripitaka is “more relieved than ever” upon hearing that his new disciple and his new guardian possesses “boundless ways of transformation” and ways to protect him, and the two continue travelling and chatting until sunset.

They find shelter for the night after some difficulty, with an elderly man who opened a door they knocked on being left “panic-stricken by the hideous appearance of Pilgrim,” but who is soon mollified upon seeing “the handsome features of Tripitaka.” Monk and disciple are soon invited in, and Sun Wukong relates how he had seen the old man when he was a child collecting vegetables and firewood. The old man, for his own part, recounts how his great-grandfather had told him about how when “this mountain dropped from the sky, it had a divine ape clamped underneath it.” Tripitaka and the old man also discover that they are from the same clan as they both have the secular family name “Chen.” Sun Wukong then asks “Old Chen” for some boiled water so that he and his new shifu can clean themselves; old monkey in particular hadn’t taken a bath “for five hundred years.” Pilgrim Sun further requests a needle and some thread from Old Chen after the bath, which he uses to properly stitch his tiger skin. Wearing that and one of Tripitaka’s shirts which the monk had left out specifically for the monkey, Sun Wukong “paraded in front of his master,” and Tang Sanzang compliments him, saying that his disciple now truly looks like a pilgrim.

Pilgrim Sun and Tripitaka are back on the road the next morning, continuing the journey west. Soon enough the seasons change, and early winter is upon them. It is then that master and disciple are suddenly accosted by six bandits, who demand that they leave their horse and bag behind. Tang Sanzang is terrified enough to fall from his horse. Sun Wukong, however, calls this robbery a trifling matter, and that the bandits are “just some people coming to give us clothes and a travel allowance.” The monkey then nonchalantly lets the bandits hack away at him about eighty times before deciding that “it’s about time for old Monkey to take out his needle for a little entertainment.” He then proceeds to “beat every one of them to death, stripped them of their clothes, and seized their valuables.” He brings these spoils back to Tang Sanzang, smiling broadly.

Tripitaka, for his own part, is horrified by his disciple’s actions and soundly reprimands him. Confused, Sun Wukong notes that if he hadn’t killed the bandits, “they would have killed you!” Tang Sanzang, however, is adamant that “As a priest, I would rather die than practice violence.” Pilgrim Sun then states that “when I, old Monkey, was king on the Flower-Fruit Mountain five hundred years ago, I killed I don’t know how many people. I would not have been a Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, if I had lived by what you are saying.” Tang Sanzang retorts that “It’s precisely because you had neither scruples nor self-control…that you had to undergo this ordeal of five hundred years,” and that because even after entering the fold of Buddhism the monkey insisted “on practicing violence and indulge in the taking of life as before, you are not worthy to be a monk, nor can you got to the Western Heaven. You’re wicked! You’re just too wicked!”

This monkey, so the story next informs us, “had never in all his life been able to tolerate scolding.” And so he flies off, leaving Tripitaka to “set off sadly to the West.” The lonesome monk doesn’t travel long before he meets an old woman holding “a silk garment and a cap with a floral design.” He tells her about his mission and about Sun Wukong’s spat at her questioning, and she gives him the garment and cap, claiming that they used to belong to her son who “had been a monk for only three days when unfortunately he died.” She also gives Tang Sanzang a spell called “True Words for Controlling the Mind, or the Tight-Fillet Spell.” She tells the monk that when Pilgrim Sun returns he must give the monkey the garment and the cap, and then recite the spell silently “if he again refuses to obey…He will not dare do violence or leave your again.” Tripitaka thanks the old woman, who transforms into a shaft of golden light and vanishes towards the east. It is then Tang Sanzang realizes that he was speaking with the Bohisattva Guanyin.”

Sun Wukong, for his own part, heads straight to the Water Crystal Palace of the Dragon King of the Eastern ocean. The two kings start chatting, with Pilgrim Sun telling the dragon about his refusal to listen to the monk and his desire to go back to his mountain, having only stopped by the palace “to come visit you and ask for a cup of tea.” While the Dragon King indulges the monkey, he soon tells him that if he is “unwilling to exercise diligence or to accept instruction, you will remain a bogus immortal after all.” Sun Wukong does soon agree to go back, even running into Bodhisattva Guanyin on his way. Once he reunites with Tang Sanzang, Pilgrim Sun moves to get his shifu food from a bag, and sees the silk shirt and flower cap. Tripitaka tells the monkey that he may wear the fine garments if they fit. An eager Sun Wukong tries them on, and no sooner had he put on the cap than Tang Sanzang started reciting the Tight-Fillet Spell.

The monk “went through the recitation several times without ceasing, and the pain was so intense that Pilgrim was rolling on the ground, his hands gripping the flower cap.” When he touches his head again, Sun Wukong finds that “it was tightly bound by a thin metal band; it could be neither pulled off nor ripped apart, for it had, as it were, taken root on his head.” It can’t even be removed with the as-you-will cudgel. And Tripitaka doesn’t give Pilgrim much time to try, and this time goes through the recitation of the spell until it was “so painful that [Sun Wukong] did cartwheels and somersaults. His face and even his ears turned red, his eyes bulged, and his body grew weak.” The monkey promises to obey the monk if only he stops the recitation. Yet right afterwards he tries to kill Tang Sanzang, and after he’s brough to heel a second time expresses a wish to beat the Bodhisattva Guanyin up. Yet soon after, “Pilgrim gave up all thoughts of disobedience or rebellion.” Whether he will keep with this new mentality is a question that will have to be left for the next chapter.

[cinamun]

sliding back in say i'm going to be a grave robber and send a wcif for sh*t we both probably don't remember at this point but uh. Mr. Buddha-esque wall feature in this post. i feel like i'd remember if he was base game and afaik he is not, so if you still have the link to him it would be much appreciated, rip

LOL! Oh man, do you remember what happened all over that sushi approximately 37 seconds after these pics were taken? THEY ARE WILD!!!! Anyway....

That wall feature thing came with the lot. Sometimes I download lots just for one specific moment and then delete them. Turns out I kept the tray files and cc from this one!

I've uploaded it so you can dig through if you'd like since it appears to have disappeared from the builder's Patreon page.

Bloop! <-

[pandorasboxofhorrors]

2023-#3: The Rise of the Catman

You probably have not seen him or heard about him, but one day, he may cross your path. And he is not a black cat that brings you bad luck! He is something of a real superhero…but on the small scale, a potential urban legend, but certainly not known like Burlap Man (see 2023-#2: The Thing in the Fog). I first encountered the Catman in the winter of 2022-2023. The Catman mainly operates on the Chicago public transportation train lines in the fall and winter. He can be described as wearing: leopard print shoes, black Puma pants, a full length, fuzzy, leopard, print coat, leopard print gloves, super thick framed black sunglasses that looks like a robber's mask, and to top it all off - a hat with highly pronounced cat ears. When he wears his Covid mask, it is quite a sight. I started encountering this unusual individual on the north end of the Red and Purple Line trains. Usually, Catman sits there quietly reading some device that resembles Mr. Whoopi’s 3-D BB from the Tennessee Tuxedo cartoon. It is probably an iPad, which he is glued to. He has the calm, detached demeanor of Felix the Cat. However, I have seen disturbances on the train in which the Catman goes into full feline action. I eventually spoke with this Catman on a few train rides and got his story…

First thing I was curious about is why the outfit? He told me that he was tending to a very sick cat for a prolonged period of time. As the cat became sicker, new methods were tried to keep the cat content. One of those methods turned out to be clothes selection which eventually led to the development of his outfit. The cat picked it. That explains the outfit, but doesn’t explain the superhero-like behavior. Some degree of malfeasance is expected on public transportation trains, but during the pandemic crime went crazy on them. The Catman explained that on multiple train rides during the pandemic, he encountered some pretty crazy situations… Elderly women angrily yelling and berating homeless people who get on the train shivering with a blanket around them…creepy huge men wandering on trains like zombies that do not realize they are no longer in prison…one example after another of aggression, as respect, privacy and other values are replaced by the need to be outspoken and rude…and then he had an experience that was the last straw that broke the camel’s backside.

The Catman explained one day he was riding the train and saw an old man being strangely attacked. It was 7am on a mostly empty Purple line train. The old man was a Cubs fan, well into his 80s, wearing all sorts of baseball accoutrements. He had a Cubs hat, a flag, a bag, and all kinds of stuff with their insignia. He was smiling, basking in baseball Heaven, very much looking like the elderly waiter from Twin Peaks. As he sat there alone, he projected some sort of Buddha-like inner peace and joy.

The ancient Cubs fan was then approached by a group of maids traveling from work, all wearing purple. These maids were rather too merry, loud, unruly - and also quite large. The slimmest of the three maids was well over 225 pounds. They began taunting the elderly Cubs fan - who became agitated. The taunting continued and the agitation continued, and then the strange attack began. The three large purple maids lined up and turned their backs towards the Cubs fan. They then began loudly screaming, laughing, and most importantly - aggressively twerking at him. To be clear, twerking is defined as, “sexually suggestive dancing characterized by rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the buttocks especially while squatting.” They began to slowly step backwards toward him, twerking, laughing and shouting - with their massive mounds menacing the man.

Their twerkings became closer and closer to the aged man, and their very large buttocks appeared as vast purple waves that would soon flood over the poor passenger. The old Cubs fan appeared to be in mortal danger of those bad bouncing buttocks, those approaching awful aggressive asses, those bobbing backsides of beastliness, those diabolically dancing derrières of doom! The Catman considered intervening in this dangerous touch and go situation, but that would mean coming between the man and those threatening twerking buttocks. But the the mad maids were only three feet away from the frightened fan; the space was too narrow. This presented a threat not unlike that of churning Charybdis and Scylla, where all would soon be crushed by the rocks at sea!

The twisted twerkers were now within two feet of the shocked man and getting closer. The old Cubs fan sported a facial expression of extreme horror, like this was his worst nightmare. The loud and unruly maids sang, stomped their feet, and laughed as they surrounded him with a solid wall of twerking terror! The old man rapidly and repeatedly pressed the emergency security buzzer for the train conductor, and the maids were almost on him. Catman said, “I couldn’t see his face anymore, just their killer keisters, like he was sucked in and away, like in a Robert Crumb comic.”

The train pulled into the next station, the twerkers raced off the train, and the train conductor was running to the train car. The Catman was left wondering how he could have intervened, to have protected the man from those fearsome fat flying fannies. He said there were too many other similar occurrences on the trains that drove him to become the Catman. The Catman had enough of this chaos, so he changed his outfit and picked up a keychain device that makes multiple types of cat sounds. Now he easily diffuses bad situations just with his outfit, making hisses and cat sounds only when necessary.

So the next time you ride the train in Chicago in cold weather, and you see a human Felix the Cat lurking about, it is probably the Catman.

[rollsoffthetongue]

FAT LOT OF GOOD

Idiomatic Meaning: No use or no help at all; not at all good.

Literal Meaning: If said with no irony it means a large quantity of goodness.

Usage: Informal spoken and written general British and American English. Always used ironically, to mean the opposite of what is said. Also requires a certain ironic tone of voice.

Origin:  Mid-19th - Century, British English – The expression uses “fat” in the ironic sense. It first appeared in print in a book about investment advice in the 1830’s.The word connotes abundance. Earlier “fat lot” may have been used without irony meaning a large amount. However, an ironic use of words such as “fat” and “much” go all the way back to Shakespeare.

Why is this funny?  In the photo, we see the great “Laughing Buddha” of Thailand. He represents a seriously overweight person. Simply put, he is fat. As the dialog states he was/is supposed to show people how to relieve their suffering. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of suffering in the world. He does represent a great deal of goodness; however, suffering has not been eradicated. He is a fat lot of good, but a “fat lot of good” it has done to eliminate suffering.

Sample Sentence: All the money the bank robbers stole was in marked bills and easy to trace, so a “fat lot of good” the robbery did them.

[mahayanapilgrim]

DOMBI HERUKA

Dombi Heruka, lived late of the eighth century to the ninth century, is one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas in India. He is also a holder of the Hevajra Tantra.

In the country of Magadha, there was a man of royal birth who had attained siddhi from Hevajra. He had been initiated by the guru Virupa, one of the 84 mahasiddhas in India and source the Sakya school, and having been granted the instructions, he experienced their meaning. Though he regarded his subjects as a father thinks of his only son, the people did not know that their king had entered the door of the Dharma. But he was kindly by nature, so all the people unanimously affirmed: “This king is indeed a pious man.”

One day the king said to his minister: “The people are suffering in our country. Thieves and robbers are destroying property, and because of the people’s little merit, there are increasing numbers of poor and indiginous. To deliver the land from fear and poverty hang a great bell on the trunk of a tree. If anyone witnesses a crime or sees poverty let him strike this bell.” The minister did as he was told and fear and poverty were bought to an end in Magadha.

A while later a group of low caste singers came to the capital offering to sing and dance for the king. One of the singers had a 12 year old daughter who was very attractive. She had a lovely face and a good complexion; furthermore she was unsullied by worldly thoughts and had all the qualities of a padmini. So the King said to the low caste singer, “Would you give your daughter to me?”

To this the singer replied, “Your majesty is a king of Magadha, you rule 800,000 cities. Because of your royal wealth you do not have to work for a living. We are of low caste, denigrated and shunned by other classes of people. It is not fitting for you to make such a request.”

The King made his request again, but in a more forceful way; he took the girl after giving her father a sum equal to her value from the treasury. For 12 years the people did not know that she was the King’s tantric consort, but eventually it was discovered. Soon it became known to everyone throughout Magadha, the king consorts with a low-caste woman.

So the king abdicated in favour of his son and with his low-caste consort went into the jungle. There in an idyllic hermitage in solitude they continued practicing their tantric yoga for twelve years.

Meanwhile the kingdom was misgoverned. The quality of life diminished as virtue ebbed to a low level. A council agreed to request the old king to return to govern, and a delegation was sent into the jungle to find him.

The king, in union with his consort, came riding out of the jungle on the back of a pregnant tigress, brandishing a deadly snake as a whip. After the people had overcome their fear and astonishment they begged him to take up the reigns of government again.

“I have lost my own caste status by consorting with an outcast woman,” the king told them. “It is not proper for me to resume my original position. However, since death ends all distinctions, burn us. In our rebirth we will have been absolved.”

A great pyre of cow-head sandalwood was constructed, and after the king and his consort had mounted it, it was ignited. The huge pyre burned for seven days, and when it was cool enough to approach, the people caught sight of the two of them shimmering, as if covered in dew drops, in the spontaneously arisen illusory form of the Buddha-deity Hevajra in union with his consort, in the heart of a fully-blown lotus.

Stepping out of the fire the king addressed the ministers and all of his people of the four castes. “If you emulate me, I shall stay to govern you. If you will not help yourselves, I shall not remain to govern you.”

“Political power is of little benefit and the retribution is great. Those who wield authority can do little good, and more often than not the damage that flows from their actions leads to misery for all in the long run. My kingdom is the kingdom of truth!”

He spoke, and in that instant of immortality he arrived in the Dakini’s Paradise, where he remains for the sake of perfect awareness and pure delight.

[tcclsblog]

The benefits of Ksitigarbha Practice

Myth: Ksitigarbha practice is only beneficial for the deceased.Fact: Lord Ksitigarbha is a great savior and protector who liberates all sentient beings (including humans). Reciting the Ksitigarbha Sutra can help us create immeasurable benefits for the great cause of and until the ultimate enlightenment.

Twenty-eight Benefits of Reciting Ksitigarbha Sutra: Here is an excerpt from Chapter 13 (Last Chapter) of Ksitigarbha Sutra, expounded by Lord Shakyamuni stating: “In future life, any virtuous man or woman who sees picture and statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and listen to this sutra, up to reciting, using incense and flowers, food and drink, clothing, precious things to give and offer, to praise, to behold and bow, then this person will receive the twenty-eight benefits.” The twenty-eight benefits are as follow: 1. The Gods and the Dragons often protect and support. 2. The fruition of good causes will increase continuously, day by day. 3. Gather the causes to achieve enlightenment. 4. Forever will not degenerate in Bodhisattva Vows. 5. Food, drink and clothing are plentiful. 6. Diseases and illness will not befall 7. Avoid fire and water calamities 8. Will not suffer from thieves and robbers 9. Be respected and well-received by others upon being seeing 10. Gods and spirits will not cause harm, but will instead protect and support one's Dharma cultivation. 11. Females will be reborn as a male in the next life 12. Have nice and beautiful body and appearance 13. Will become daughter of the kings, ministers in the next life 14. Create great cause to be reborn in the heavens 15. Or become Kings and Rulers 16. Have bright wisdom and have clear understanding of previous lives 17. Have all wishes fulfilled 18. Relatives are peaceful and happy 19. Cease occurrence of tragic, disasters and unfavorable deaths. 20. Karma that leads to unfavorable rebirths in the three lower realms are eradicated 21. No obstacles to whichever heaven or pure land one wishes to go. 22. Have peaceful and serene dreams at night 23. Deceased relatives who have sinned will be liberated from sufferings 24. Continue the accumulation of virtuous and merits from previous lives and get rebirth in fortunate realms 25. Praised by the sages 26. Intelligent and wise nature 27. Rich in kindness and compassion 28. Ultimately, become the Buddha

[theconstellationofstars]

musical horizons #1 - the dreaming by kate bush

My goal in 2025 is to listen to an album each week and deep dive into them because I want to expand my music taste. I want to find new artists, hidden (and not so hidden) gems of artists I like and find new favorite songs with depth. I call that little series of mine "musical horizons". I will drop my ratings and track by track thoughts on this blog, whenever I listen to new album. The ratings are my personal opinion at this point in time, after listening to each song a couple of times, reading up on them, letting them sink in for a second. Lets go with the first of album...

Hounds of Love by Kate Bush is in my top 5 favorite albums of all time, yet I must admit I haven't fully listened to any other albums of her. I want to make the start now with her fourth album "The Dreaming".

1. Sat in Your Lap

A song about seeking all knowledge the world has to offer, preferably without having to do anything for it. This song has some sick and addictive drums and vocals! I feel the song captures the modern spirit perfectly, while all the knowledge is out there to learn, people tend to get lazier actually seeking out wisdom, which is also due to the overwhelming amount of having everything available at all time. "I want the answers quickly, but I don't have no energy." Kate has been clearly so ahead of her time. Hands down an 8 out of 10 song for me, I see this song clearly in my daily rotation but I believe there will be even better gems on this record.

2. There Goes a Tenner

This song takes us on the adventure of being part in a robbery. Thematically and sonically a sharp line after the introduction of the album. "I go in, the crime begins." Kates inspiration came from robberies shown in movies, the robbers usually act all calm and collected, while she thinks this must be far away from the actual thoughts running through their minds. As I do enjoy the layered vocals, the whispers and spoken parts of this song, I couldn't full get into the song. I think it might grow on me along the way. Unfortunately it just can't hold up to the strong beginning of the album. As of now, I'll rate it 5 out of 10.

3. Pull Out the Pin

Kate Bush took her inspiration for this one from a documentary of the war in Vietnam. The cameramen went to the front lines in Vietnam, filming their point of view. He learned about the tradition, that the soldiers wore a silver Buddha around their necks and popped it into their mouths before they got into the fights. Kate paints a clear picture of how this war way portrayed in the film, extending the narrative with layered male vocals by David Gilmore (Pink Floyd). And god, did they send shivers down my spine with their joint vocals on the outro. Kate screaming a repeated "I love live" while David sings a harmonies on top. I rate this song a strong 9 out of 10.

4. Suspended in Gaffa

With the goofy sounding beginning of the song, she once again draws a break between the song before and the one now. Kate herself describes the song as "reasonably autobiographical". In themes of the song, it is in a way similar to the opening track. Kate sings about being given the glimpse of something pure, something special, something dearly wanted and not receiving it until you work hard towards reaching it. "She don't stand the chance of getting anywhere at all." The production on this song is interesting, as the verses, the talk of wanting are fast and jumpy, while the refrain, the realization of not having, is much slower, almost as someone is pulling the thing of desire away. The song has so many interesting layers to it, it gets 8 out of 10 points from me!

5. Leave It Open

Halftime. This song is a burst of emotions, overflowing, bubbling. At first I was straddled by the processed, edited vocals, yet that is the exact thing that captures the feeling Kate wants to get across. The production is extreme on this one, not just the vocals, but also the reversed outro. Embrace your weirdness, your layers, don't let a narrow mind keep you away from greatness. This song is a lot production wise but in such a brilliant way, only Kate could bring across. 8 out of 10.

6. The Dreaming

I am always most excited for title tracks of albums, they usually tie together what the album is actually about. A theme I would've not guessed. Kate talks about the colonization and cultural erasure of Australian Aborigines. The inspiration of the title came from the time, they call "Dreamtime", when animals and humans take the same form. It is also called The Dreaming. There is not much to say, except that Kate perfectly captures the injustice of being robbed of your lands, your culture in the most respectful and eye opening way. Still I would give it a 7 out of 10 mainly because of the repetitiveness of it. It tells the story amazingly but probably wouldn't be a song, I'd listen to often!

7. Night of the Swallow

With Irish influences we're dipping into the next musical journey, covering the themes of escapism, rebellion, the desire of freedom. It's between the want of controlling someone and their wish to do what they want, their wish to be free. Between her angst ("I won't let you do it" and his dreams of being free ("Let me, let me go!") This hits all the right strings for me, the drama, the terror, the lightness, the fight, wanting to be free and trapped inside a love, that won't let you spread your wings. 9 out of 10.

8. All the Love

Oh, let me tell you, tears where flooding during this one. I let Kate explain this one, because I can't find better words. "I wanted to write about feeling alone, and how having to hide emotions away or being too scared to show love can lead to being lonely as well. There are just some times when you can’t cope and you just don’t feel you can talk to anyone. I go and find a bathroom, a toilet or an empty room just to sit and let it out and try to put it all together in my mind. Then I go back and face it all again." I always love the deep cuts most, this became my favorite song of the album upon the first listen. 10 out of 10.

9. Houdini

During his life, the well known escape artist Harry Houdini, was a spirited debunker of spiritualist frauds during his lifetime. His wife and he had a special code, in case one of them died and the other tried to contact the spirit through a medium. After his death, his wife Bess tried desperately to get in contact with him, even after claims that there was contact with him, no medium ever mentioned the special code, showing the clear fraud. Kate took this strange, wonderful, emotional story of these two souls as inspiration for the song. It is beautiful, sad, but also a love story for the movies. The secret code being spoken at the very end of the song. 10 out of 10.

10. Get Out of My House

Last track. And they do say best comes last for a reason. In this last song Kate explores the theme of emotional protection, building up walls around oneself, a "house". The house being a metaphor for your body, your mind, your emotions. A place you can never escape from, things and thoughts coming towards you, that you can't shut out. Even if you try to lock your emotions away, they'll sweep over you like a wave and break every wall you have build. This song is a strong and remarkable ending for the album. Also a 10 out of 10 for me.

Conclusion

It took me nearly three hours to get through this album, because I read up so many things about each song to form my thoughts. Kate Bushs songs can be good for a casual listener but once you go into the depth of them there is no turning back. This journey was one hell of ride and so through and through enjoyable. As I already liked the beginning of the album, the last three songs took me completely out. All The Love stays the standout for me, as I immediately and deeply related to it. The album is a wild mix of themes and sounds, nothing else expected by Kate. The amount of thought that go into each song is what surprised me the most. As I have not read interviews or deep analysis of her songs before, it is clear to me now as of why she was and still is such an icon in music, for the people who get it. I am glad I started the journey of new music with her and this album in particular. In a review I read that the songs of The Dreaming are like a bunch of mini-movies and I couldn't describe it better. I would give the album 8 out of 10 overall score.

Shoutout to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia for being such a great source of getting quick information about each song, finding interviews and interesting articels!

Lets see whats coming up next week!

[lilgreeneyes71]

There are over 4200 religions in this world but there is only one way to get into heaven and avoid going to hell

Muhammad said: I don't know the right direction (Quaran 72:21)

Muhammad also stated he didn't know what would happen to him or his followers when they die ( Quran 46:9).

On his death bed

Buddha said: He was still searching for truth

Confucius never claimed to be a the way However, the Confucian

concept of dao was different from the Daoist understanding of dao,which is the Way of Nature as a whole:

Jesus said: John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

Jesus is the only way

John 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Choose this day whom you will serve

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Choose heaven over hell

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[lifechanyuan]

The Ancestor of Buddha’s Revelation

Xuefeng

Nov. 10, 2018

Supreme Ancestor of Buddha, I have been self-improving and self-refining for more than 20 years, but I have not obtained anything. Where is the fairness of Tao?

How do you self-refine and how do you self-improve?

My self-refinement is mainly to enlighten my mind and transform my consciousness, to calm my mind, stop my desire, manage my mind, have a mind of integrity, keep an open mind, have a sedated mind, maintain a pure mind, and to do what I want to do to have a peaceful mind. At the same time, I apply unconventional thinking, gradually separate from the consciousness of animals and humans, and establish the consciousness of a Celestial Being and Buddha. My self-improvement is mainly selfless dedication and unconditional giving. Meanwhile, I try my best to pay off my debts and finish all my secular ties.

What do you want? Why are you questioning the justice of Tao?

As a person, I need a gracious life; as an enlightened one, I need to have supernatural powers. However, after improving myself for more than 20 years, I have lost my house, car, money, and haven’t got any power, status, fame or fortune and I have no magic power at all. People around me live better than me. They are all laughing at me. So, I am more and more confused. If the result of selfless dedication and unconditional giving is that I do not live as well as others, Ancestor of Buddha, could you tell me if I have taken the wrong path?

You didn't go wrong on the path of self-improvement and self-refinement, but there is something wrong with the direction and goal of your enlightenment, and your understanding is not thorough.

Ancestor of Buddha, please give me some guidance.

For more than 20 years, you have been almost free from illness and have not encountered any disasters. Do you know how many people have been struggling with illness and have died in disasters in the past 20 years? About 800 million people are suffering from illness, and about 600 million people die abnormally. Don't you think that your safety for more than 20 years is the result of self-improvement and self-refinement?

For more than 20 years, you have hardly suffered from insomnia, and you have slept soundly. There are not many annoying things that disturb your mind, and you are not worried about thieves and robbers stealing from you and robbing you. What a blessing. Don’t you think it is the result of self-improvement and self-refinement?

For more than 20 years, you have known and made many pure confidants. Not only do they cause no troubles and pains to you, but happily accompany you on your life journey. You realize that they will provide you with useful help unconditionally whenever you need them. Isn't this the result of your self-improvement and self-refinement?

For more than 20 years, through continuous selfless dedication, you have gradually repaid the debts you owed for many generations. You have gradually finished your secular ties and have been close to heaven. Your future is becoming gradually clear and bright, away from hell, and you are gradually getting rid of the program of reincarnation. Isn't this the fruitful result of your persistent self-improvement and self-refinement?

What you get is not only the above, but there are also many more things that I do not need to describe in detail here. When you open your Buddha’s eye, you will know everything.

You must know that avoiding illness and disaster is equal to gaining; achieving a balanced life and happiness is equal to gaining; paying off your debts and ending secular ties is even more gaining; and being close to heaven is a blessing over a blessing. Do you still doubt the justice of Tao? Are you still confused?

I am grateful for your teaching, but I still feel that the result of more than 20 years of self-improvement and self-refinement is emptiness. Compared with the wealthy people around me, I still feel that I have made no practical achievements and I am not confident enough to continue on this road in the future.

I understand your feelings, there are countless temptations in life in this world and you have not yet stepped out of the temptation maze. Go and learn from nature! I hide all secrets and mysteries in the principles and laws of all things and phenomena. If you observe and think carefully, it is not difficult to gain true knowledge. For example, observing a fruit tree, from the spring budding and growth to the flowering and fruiting to the final maturity, it needs a process. The time for real maturity is very short, and the time for gestation is very long. Your two decades of self-improvement and self-refinement belongs to the gestation period, do you understand? Observe how the ewe gives birth to a lamb. The lamb stays in the womb of the ewe before it is born, growing and developing. As long as it has not yet been born, it will always be in the same environment, without seeing the future, without seeing the world outside the womb. Once it is born, it is equivalent to being reborn and fulfilled. The period of fulfillment is very short, but the gestation period is very long. Your twenty years of self-improvement and self-refinement is equivalent to the developing and growing of a lamb in the womb of the ewe. As long as you do not get out of the womb, it is natural and understandable to be confused, but irritability is not necessary. You must be convinced that one day you will get out of the womb and enter the world of nature, and you must believe in the power and rules of these procedures.

I am grateful for your teaching and guidance. I understand and my heart is bright now. I will continue to develop and grow in this big womb of the world and strive to be born in the heavenly world one day.

[ryin-silverfish]

Chapter 14: The Mind Monkey Cometh!

-This chapter begins with a poem by Zhang Boduan, a Daoist master of the Quanzhen Sect whose theory of internal alchemy heavily inspired that of JTTW's, and would appear later in the book as an immortal guest star.

"The dharmakaya has no shape or form…"

-Hmm, what is a dharmakaya? The Yu translation doesn't have a footnote for that, so here's my brief explanation: in Mahayana Buddhist beliefs, there's the idea of the Trikaya, the Three Bodies of the Buddha——three facets of existence for an enlightened being.

-Dharmakaya, "Body of the Law"(法身), is the bits of pure existence and universal Buddha-nature in all living things that is immutable and eternal.

-Sambhogakaya, "Body of Benefits"(报身), is the miraculous body a practitioner attains after countless trials and cultivation that receives all the good karma they have accumulated over the years.

-Nirmanakaya, "Manifested Body/Body of Transformation"(应身), is the physical form a Buddha/Bodhisattva takes in order to assist and educate the masses, and can be anything, from a holy statue to a person to a plate of food.

(Very unserious analogy: if Buddhahood is water, dharma-kaya is like H2O molecules, sambhoga-kaya is like the ocean, and nirmana-kaya is the convenient cup of drink nearby that can quench your thirst.)

-Boqin mentioned that SWK was trapped under the mountain during the time of Wang Mang's usurpation(9-23 CE), between Western and Eastern Han dynasty. Which, if we are to be chronologically accurate, would be 600-something years before Tripataka's pilgrimage instead of 500.

-The 100 years off may post a problem to people who wanna calculate SWK's birth year and age for fun; I, however, am more interested in the fact that he was either born in the Spring-Autumn or Warring States period, and the earlier option would make him a contemporary of Confucius(551-479 BCE).

-Just imagine him going "Confucius? Really tall guy, lotta students, wandered from state to state lookin' for work? Yep, I think I ran into an old man like that while seeking immortality!"

-Allegorically, the Six Robbers represent the six senses, something the footnote has pointed out. However, I feel like this warrants a more in-depth explanation.

-The Yogacara School——not the Ming administrative division, but the tradition of Buddhist thought the historical Xuanzang followed, has a theory of consciousness that divides the mind into eight layers. The first five layers are the five senses, and the inputs they receive are sent to the sixth layer of Thought for processing.

(Reference to these six also appears in the Heart Sutra: "None is shown by eye, ear, nose, tongue, body nor mind"——无眼耳鼻舌身意)

-Beneath the sixth layer is the seventh layer, Manas, which sends the processed information to the eighth layer, and is the layer responsible for the illusion of selfhood + all the woes that stem from said illusion. The final layer, Alaya-vijnana, is the consciousness that stores all information in the universe, and contains the bits of inherent Buddha-nature obscured by regular human cognition.

-The historical Xuanzang had a poem that referred to Alaya as the "Master/Head of Household", and the Yogacara theory of consciousness was also taken up by later Daoist thinkers, who believed that Alaya was the same as the internal alchemy concept of "Spiritual Mind"(元神).

-That's why SWK refers to himself as the Six Robbers' proper master, the True Mind who is supposed to dominate these senses. However, my personal reading of the allegory is that he isn't the True Mind yet, and his killing of the Six Robbers is akin to someone who uses extreme means to free themself from worldly distractions.

-Like, sensory pleasures and experiences can be very distracting and serve as a serious obstacle to getting things done, but you don't free yourself from those distractions by blinding your eyes and cutting out your tongue and engaging in self-imposed sensory deprivation.

-Thus, Tripataka's chastisement isn't just about SWK committing multiple homicides and violating Buddhist laws. The way I see it, it's also a subtle way of telling you that the mastery of heart and mind cannot be forced, and a truly powerful practitioner is one who can triumph over the distractions of the senses without cutting themself off from the world.

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

[chouhdrayjiten]

5 Best Places to Visit in Dehradun in December

Dehradun is the capital of Uttarakhand. During the time of winter this place turned into a heaven. It is an ideal destination if you are planning a trip with your family this winter. There are so many places in Dehradun that can make you go crazy. If you are visiting with your family, Hire Tempo Traveller in Dehradun is an ideal choice to pick. Although, there are cab and other options are available as well. Here are the 5 place to visit this December in Dehradun.

Robber’s Cave

Robber’s Cave is a natural cave formation. It is surrounded by hills and an ideal spot to spend time with your family. The cold stream running through the cave is a must-try experience.

Sahastradhara

Sahastra means thousand and dhara means fold spring, Sahastradhara means Thousand Fold Spring. The water of this fall is rich in sulphur. It is best to visit this place in December.

Tapkeshwar Temple

Tapkeshwar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This ancient temple is located in the dense forest. During the time of summer its surroundings becomes heaven.

Mindrolling Monastery

Mindrolling Monastery is one of the largest Monastery in India. This monastery is dedicated to Buddha. Its surrounding is calm and peaceful. It is also an ideal choice to meditate and spend peaceful weekends.

Malsi Deer Park

Malsi Deer Park is a perfect choice to visit with your family. You will get to see animals like deer and peacocks.

[shinykittenland]

Best Tourist Places in Dehradun

Robber's Cave: Robber's Cave is a well liked destination where visitors can stroll through a tight canyon with a running stream. The enchanting vanishing of water at the end increases its appeal.

Sahastradhara: It is known for its sulfur rich waters and beautiful waterfalls, Sahastradhara is a peaceful spot perfect for relaxation. The healing qualities of the water attract many visitors.

Forest Research Institute (FRI): This grand colonial building, surrounded by lush green lawns, is a hub of botanical knowledge. The institute's museum has a deep dive into the region's diverse flora.

Mindrolling Monastery: One of the largest Buddhist centers in India, the monastery is adorned with stupas, a large Buddha statue and peaceful gardens. It is a great place to learn about Tibetan culture and meditate.

Tapkeshwar Temple: It is dedicated to Lord Shiva, this temple is set inside a cave beside a river. The continuous water droplets falling on the Shiva Lingam create a serene and spiritual atmosphere.

To have a beautiful journey, think about hiring a car on rent in Dehradun to visit these lovely places at your own speed. Renting a car allows you to explore every location at your own pace, with the flexibility to come and go as you please.