#but thus far rebirth has taken a different route

[silvergreenseraphim]

Rage, hostility (FF7 OG)

Madness, malice (Advent Children)

Hatred, rejection (Advent Children/Crisis Core)

Pain, betrayal (FF7 Rebirth)

[quinintheclouds]

YES YES YES YES YES

Spoilers for RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 6

THAT WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN I HAD EVEN LET MYSELF HOPE FOR

It really looks like this is the Volume the writers realized how many answers we’ve needed for years and years, and is answering them now. I wish it’d come sooner, of course, but since they can’t go back and fix the pacing or writing, I’m really impressed and optimistic about how Volume 8 is going!

BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY

I would like to GUSH about how they handled the Oscar and Ozpin scenes. We have needed, nay, BEGGED for this sort of development, and it’s finally here. There’s too much I want to rave about so bullet point time! 

[Note: I love the farmboy so this wound up longer than expected -- have a read more for your scrolling convenience -- TL;DR at the end]

We got confirmation that Ozpin has been pleading with Oscar to let him take over so he can burden the pain and torture instead. Oscar is the one refusing, choosing to take it himself because he knows Salem and Hazel will be much harsher on Oz. I thought that was the case, but I’m so glad they addressed it because otherwise we’d be wondering why Oz hasn’t offered. It does make me wonder, is Oz still able to take control without asking? Oscar was able to fight it in vol 6, and he’s come a long way.

Hazel is holding back -- at least, Oscar says he can tell that he is. This would keep in line with the battle at Haven, when Hazel was suspiciously playing defense and stalling by letting Ozpin monologue, then letting Oscar give a little protagonist speech... I mean, it sure doesn’t LOOK like he’s holding back. Look at this kid:

moving on before I cry,

Ozpin suggests he take over and try to escape.

Oscar says no, he has a better idea. “This is our chance.”

Oz: “Hm. Maybe you’ve taken one too many hits.” I like this for two reasons: one, because it gives us a taste of the ol’ lighthearted Ozpin humor we’ve missed since he’s been gone, and two, because it shows that he and Oscar think differently. They have different thought processes, ideas, etc. Oz didn’t immediately know what Oscar was planning.

Oscar explains that Salem can’t take on everyone at once, and thus has been sending people to infiltrate all of remnant first, to attack from within. 

I LOVE that they had Oscar come up with this, because it is so in line with his character development in Volume 7. Not to mention how in volume 6 he was the one to figure out how to defeat Cordovin’s mecha. It’s cool to see him as a strategist, because while he’s a sweet kid from the middle of nowhere, he’s proven to be really smart and quick.

Plus, this gives him agency. People wanted Ozpin to return and save Oscar, but this is so, so much better. Oscar’s idea, Oscar’s choice, and Oz gets right on board. They’re agreeing to work together, despite their unresolved conflict. “Ozma learned the importance of living with the souls with which he’d been paired.”

AND THEN, A MOMENT I CANNOT THANK RT ENOUGH FOR:

The captions don’t show it, but Oscar AND Ozpin said this in unison. Now, this and the few seconds that follow were a rollercoaster of emotions. Let’s break it down:

When they said this together, I was positively GIDDY with excitement: they’re leaning into the “like-minded souls” thing and calling attention to the situation! Surely this must be a sign that Oscar and Ozpin will indeed both exist when their souls are one, as they are both equally parts of the combination of lives that is Ozma. Well, maybe not equally (yet?). 

Then, my elation was replaced with dread. What if this was actually an indication of them “merging” in the way some of the FNDM interpret it will go, rather than how I think it does? Or what if that’s not what RT is doing, but what if the FNDM takes it as a sign Ozpin is taking over?? I can’t last the whole break without knowing!

AND THEN!!! Ugh, this made me so relieved. Ozpin says, in a slightly amused tone of voice with a trace of a laugh, “We certainly are similar, you and I.” YESSSSS more references to them being like-minded souls!! But still having differences!! 

“Maybe we have been presented with an opportunity.” I’m really glad they went the route where Oscar is changing Ozpin’s mind on things. Oz no longer thinks he knows best, and is allowing Oscar to come into his own. Now he’s seeing how far Oscar’s come and the person he is.

Related note: The commentary for the vol 7 finale said that it was Oscar’s speeches to Ironwood about fear and trust that made Oz realize he’s been keeping secrets and hiding out of fear, and inspired him to come back. This is so promising for Oscar’s character going forward.

[Side note: Would love more info on what Oscar meant in volume 7 when he said “these memories... you’re back, aren’t you?” because? Is he just referring to the scenes with things like how he talked about Atlas’ history as if he were there, or does he have access to Oz’s memories now? 2 chapters ago we saw that he doesn’t yet know the location of the Beacon Relic. So unless he was lying really well, he doesn’t have ALL the memories yet. So which ones does he have? RT EXPLAIN]

Next,

I would like to call attention to the fact that Oscar smiled here. After Ozpin said they were similar, I was worried Oscar would react the way he has in the past: sad and conflicted about his identity, worried he’s becoming less of himself. But no. Like we saw in Volume 7, THIS is who Oscar Pine is. His development was his own, and we get to see that when Ozpin returned because Oscar had made him rethink his choices. Oscar Pine is more himself now than he’s been at any other point in the series. 

It’s really brilliant how the writers have used these last 2 volumes to show that Penny, the robot, is one of the most human characters on the show; and Oscar, the boy cursed to death and rebirth with a soul that was not his own, is one of the most individualistic ones. It’s just really cool how they’re playing with our expectations of the characters. (They’re doing great with Salem, too!)

[Side note: Penny’s soul/aura was given to her by Pietro, and they still have distinct personalities and identities. It’s possible that’s a parallel to Oscar’s situation, but I do feel the merge’s completion will result in one remaining soul/identity - just not a “taking over” situation]

Okay, that’s the last of that rollercoaster I mentioned. 

Time to get on a new one!

At long last, this episode finally gave us something we haven’t had since chapter 4 of volume SIX*:

*(I am not counting the one second of "Oscar." *glowy eyes* *Oscar blinks and is back in control* in the vol 7 finale)

OZPIN IS BACK!!!!

First, HELL YES I WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN!!!

Second, wow, they can change really quickly now. At first it took effort and was super visible, then just shook Oscar up a bit with the glowy eyes, and now it seems almost effortless, seamless. The eyes glow and the transition is smooth. I like it.

We didn’t get to hear Oscar’s thoughts after Oz said “Oscar, please,” begging him again to let him take control. So we don’t know whether Oscar allowed it out of pain, exhaustion, their plan, or a decision to trust Oz and work together here. Alternatively, Ozpin may have simply taken over of his own accord. I wish the writers would give us more insight to Oscar’s thoughts, because those scenes already have him talking inside/to his own head, so leaving some of his thoughts out can seem intentional and open-ended, which could mean more dragging out answers, but I think this was fine. Not the worst case of this by far lol

WHEN! HE! SPOKE!

I was hoping for this with all my heart. Over the course of volume 7 in particular, we saw Oscar’s voice, mannerisms, and speech patters start to resemble Ozpin’s. However, he still sounds and feels like Oscar. Going back to Volume 5, heck, even Volume 6 (which is when we last saw Ozpin in control), the voice of Ozpin speaking through Oscar is similar, but distinctly different from how Oscar’s speaking now. So I’ve been theorizing and hoping, and it CAME TRUE! Ozpin sounds more like Oscar now, while still managing to clearly be Ozpin.

Right from the first “Hello,” it was noticeable. It sounded almost like Oscar. I know it’s the same voice actor when one of them is in control (same body, same vocal cords), but that just makes it even more impressive. This is the first time we’ve heard Ozpin’s voice speaking through Oscar since QRWBY yelled at him in the snow in vol 6. And I was NOT disappointed.

“Why do you follow her?” I’ll keep saying it, but he sounds so much like Oscar confronting Ironwood. 

“I know how you see me. But her? Look at what she does, how is she the answer, why not stop her??” This gives me serious deja vu to Oscar’s speech towards Hazel in the Battle of Haven (and his speech towards Ironwood in v7′s finale). That speech had given Hazel pause then, and this one does as well, now. Ozpin sounds angrier, though, more aware of just how far gone these people are, but knowing they can change.

Hazel calls Ozpin out for the same thing the FNDM has been, and honestly, it’s been a long time coming. Hazel’s motivations are extremely misguided, Oscar was right to stand up for Oz/Gretchen at Haven, and the show really needed to reinforce the Ozpin-isn’t-bad-actually thing. Now it’s all out in the open. But it’s Ozpin’s response to this that elevated this scene even more:

That’s it. Ozma has spent countless lives fighting a war that may be impossible to win. But if no one tries, no one will survive. The gods will destroy all of Remnant. Still, every single lifetime, he chooses to try. Like Oscar said in volume 5 (about Hazel’s sister but writing-wise also kinda about Pyrrha), “She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself. So do I.” Like-minded souls.

AND THIS!!! Good gods I’m glad he said this. The show went way too long before anyone even questioned the “You can’t” answer from Jinn. Nora mentioned it in passing earlier, which I liked a lot (though this really should’ve been discussed in volume 6, but better late than never). But here? We see that Oz never gave up, never planned on losing, not sending people to a battle he “knows they can’t win.” While Salem is immortal, she is not infallible. Not even the gods were. Salem can be fought. Even Hazel has a moment of hesitation, perhaps even realization, before Salem enters.

Salem manipulates Cinder, offering her the maiden powers she wants so badly, and Ozpin interjects. “You’ll only be helping her bring about the end, for all of you!”

I just wanted to show these shots because again, just as we’ve seen Oscar’s mannerisms become increasingly similar to Ozpin’s, now that he’s back, we get to see the other way around. Look at the surprise and fear on his face. Look at how he widens his eyes and raises his eyebrows instead of narrowing/furrowing them now. Listen to the sounds he makes when tortured or thrown about. Listen to the desperation and earnest passion held in his pleas. He’s no longer hiding -- he’s being honest with the people who scare him most, and truly trying to help them see the light. 

[Side note: Cinder is not showing remorse in this scene, but I wonder how she’d react to Oscar, not Ozpin, being tortured. In the same episode, we have Cinder being tortured with a shock collar, AND we have Oscar decide to try to appeal to the humanity left in these villains. Last time we saw Oscar, Salem was torturing him with intense, almost electric magic. She might not care, but I wonder...]

ANYWAY I’m done for now. Have a TL;DR that wound up being long too

TL;DR: 

Basically, I’m super happy with the writers for the detail put into these scenes: 

they confirmed Oz has been begging to take over and bear the torture instead

had Oscar come up with an idea himself instead of getting rescued or immediately escaping

had Oscar view his dire situation as an opportunity, reminding us of his optimism and capabilities as a strategist

had Ozpin not know what Oscar’s plan was before he explained it (this might change as the souls become one, but it at least shows they think differently)

Oscar’s plan to appeal to the villains’ humanity and infiltrate Salem’s forces from within lining up with his volume 7 character development

had Oz trust Oscar and put his faith in him, which is progress for Oz

Oz and Oscar speaking in unison and agreeing to work together

Ozpin’s comment about them being similar, not the same

had Ozpin take control to speak to Hazel

Ozpin’s speech to Hazel and Cinder as parallels to Oscar’s speeches to Hazel and Ironwood, which CRWBY said were the reason Oz realized his secrecy is out of fear of trust, and Oscar’s points are what inspired him to come back.

Ozpin sounding and acting more like Oscar just like we’ve seen happen the other way around (though with Oscar, he’s holding true to his own ideas/morals, with Oz meeting him there)

established hope for some of our villains to defect, setting it in motion.

[godkilller]

@magical-girl-coral​​

Can you see an au where Gin reads Orihime like a book when she gets kidnapped by Aizen and understand why she's really there(mostly because he is in a similar situation), convince her to team up with him and take Aizen down together? Maybe Gin still loses his arm but in a less painful way.

          out of character.  HELLO AGAIN ! Thanks for the ask ! I myself have been guilty of daydreaming all possibilities in terms of what Gin could have done differently, so I’ve certainly thought about this one in particular before. It’s cute, it’s entertaining, it gives Orihime a chance to shine in an otherwise dropped plotline in which she takes away the Hogyoku using her unique powers of rejecting space and time. It’s all really cool ! But I’ve also come to a conclusion...

          As fun as that sounds, it’s sadly a tad bit unrealistic to both Gin’s character as well as Orihime’s in that point in canon. She has no reason to trust Gin, SHE MET HIM ONLY BRIEFLY DURING RUKIA’S RESCUE and he was, not surprisingly, absolutely awful and terrifying. Why would Orihime, at canon’s face-value, trust that Gin isn’t simply pulling her leg and making her admit that she has a churning plot to try and negate Aizen’s Hogyoku whilst captured? In her eyes, she’s surrounded by enemies, and the last person I reckon she’d feel safe confessing treason to would be Aizen’s right hand man.

          And Gin has no reason to seek a human teenager out in attempt to take Aizen down alongside her; one, he’s not big on involving others in general, he’s a lone wolf type and he’s been validated for decades via Shinji being taken out, Urahara being exiled, that anyone who takes a shot at Aizen with the power of friendship / connections to others, open weaknesses, etc. would simply become manipulated and thus disposed of in various creative ways. Gin involving a girl he hardly knows goes against his strict trust issues, too. Not only that, but that would endanger Orihime instantly by bringing her into a scheme that has been a century in the making up against the most powerful Shinigami yet, whilst she is also a prisoner of war and going through self-doubt, trauma, and life or death scenarios as is. I DON’T SEE GIN EVER WILLINGLY APPROACHING SOMEONE ELSE TO HAVE THEM TEAM UP WITH HIM IN GENERAL.

          Yeah, it’s frustrating for us to look back on Gin’s choices, his secrecy, the whole grand thing, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that THERE’S A REASON GIN NEVER TOLD ANYONE, never sought any help.

          Aizen kept track of all loose ends. It took Gin meticulously unraveling and obscuring his connections to Rangiku for Aizen to still be, at least somewhat, confused when Gin reported that he had killed her, and had no feelings for her. AIZEN ISN’T DUMB, and the quote “I knew this (that you wanted me dead), but I brought you with me regardless” -- Aizen may not have known Gin’s reasonings, his desires, his heart, but HE KNEW ENOUGH TO BE CAUTIOUS, having never shown Gin his blade within arm’s reach when alone with him because that would be all it’d take for Gin to backstab him. There’s an unspoken threat, as shown with the multiple times Hitsugaya made his move at Aizen only to put Hinamori into harms way, or directly into his blade’s path, via Aizen’s manipulation of the playing board -- that Aizen has no issue playing dirty, jabbing at weaknesses with the courtesy of Kyoka Suigetsu’s warping ways. If Orihime’s ready to take down Aizen and Gin decides to make his move with her there, who’s to say Shinso’s stabbing Aizen and not Orihime, then? It’s tricky. HE NEEDS TO BE ALONE.

          Not to mention the extremely unfortunate fact: If Orihime confessed she wishes to negate the Hogyoku, GIN WOULDN’T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN. He is selfishly and self-destructively hellbent on returning Rangiku’s stolen soul piece to her, and destroying the Hogyoku goes against that wish, even if in hindsight it makes the most sense for him to take that route for a better chance at successfully killing Aizen. It’s even hard for me to justify whether or not Orihime was even present to HEAL GIN FROM DYING in Karakura Town, as she wasn’t there yet and had no reason to B-line for anywhere other than where Ichigo was.

          THAT AAALLLLLLLLLLLLL BEING SAID....

          I fucking love the idea of Gin and Orihime bonding, since it’s shown that Rangiku and Orihime got along great and it’s a very maternal (but in a ‘cool mom’ way) friendship between the two, IT’S NOT TOO FAR OFF TO ASSUME, IN BETTER SETTINGS, GIN WOULD ALSO GET ALONG WELL WITH HER. Gin and Rangiku share a lot of the same likes and dislikes, and actually a lot personality-wise, too, when one half of the coin isn’t committing war crimes and dying. It’s safe to say that outside of the conflicts and betrayal, perhaps, they could have made some form of makeshift family. At least, that’s what I like to tell myself when I’m in a more fluffy hurt/comfort mood with Gin’s canon divergent routes.

          Canon-wise, it’s hard to say, it feels inevitable that Gin couldn’t succeed because so much of his character’s flaws rested in the belief that he HAD to do this all in the first place, alone, suicidal in nature, and the only way for him to learn and grow and develop past that would be to fail AND live. That’s why my Redemption Verse exists, to explore his rebirthing and the various connections made thereafter. I CAN CERTAINLY SEE GIN AND ORIHIME MEETING AGAIN AFTER THE WAR, but there would be no talk of conflicts or schemes between them. The priority here would be APOLOGIZING FOR THE HARM SHE WENT THROUGH, regardless of how indirect of a part he had in it, because Gin, if anything, does not enjoy seeing girls cry due to Aizen’s manipulative ways.

          From there, they can absolutely team-up for badass moments. I like the idea of Gin visiting the human world and crashing at Orihime’s because Rangiku’s insisted they pop by for a movie night, and things of that nature. I LIKE INCLUDING ORIHIME IN THESE HAPPIER MOMENTS BECAUSE SHE’S JUST A KID, AND GIN DOESN’T WANT TO DRAG HER INTO ANYTHING AWFUL. Orihime’ll have to be the one to be like ‘we’re doing this’ and Gin’ll go along for the ride.

          Things are lighter and more possible once the whole Aizen ship has sailed and sank.

[tirsaroundtheworld]

South Vietnam

A 6 hour bus ride took us from Phnom Penh across the border into Vietnam and to Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City. Fully prepared with 90 day visa in our passports, we were ready to start our adventures in this interesting country! # Being Vietnam's largest city, Ho Chi Minh City is buzzing with energy. Culture is mixed with commerce, locals are mixed with tourists and there is no empty square meter of asphalt to be found between the millions of scooters driving around the city. We entered the country of conical hats, fine cuisine, haggling and honking with a bang! # In HCMC we learnt about the French and the American war in the War Remnants Museum. We probably used up a large part of our just bought mobile internet to do some more research about the motives, parties and events of the turmoil history of Vietnam, as we found the museum to be too little informative. What we read was firmly supported by the museum's intense collection of photographs from all the fighting, suffering, poisoning and destroying that has taken place though, and quite graphically too. # We treated ourselves to a night out in the Saigon Opera House, where we watched the so called "ÀÔ Show". During the show dance was combined with acrobatics, bamboo cirque and live music by folk instruments to portray Vietnam's contrasting portrait of peaceful country life versus the noisy and vibrant urbanization. The inspiring creativity in both movements and use of decor, the amusing touch of humor and the wonderful atmosphere of the Saigon Opera House completed the show and made it a perfect night. 🙌 # While exploring the different districts of the city, we were also exploring the different motorbikes that were on the market. After a viWe ew tryouts we found ourselves a nice, all black Honda Win - or at least the Honda Win model, as you can never be sure of authenticity in the crazy motorbike-market of travelers in Vietnam. But, authentic or not, it runs fine and there is a scooter shop around each corner where everything can be fixed or replaced. We had our motor upgraded with stronger suspensions and side racks for our bags, so that we would both fit on it. After some puzzling and positioning with the luggage, our adventure on the road began! # After the first 180km on the road towards the North, which took us about 6 hours, we arrived in La Gi. We stayed for the night in this very non-touristic town, before we continued our way to Mui Ne. In this little fishers village nothing much happens, but many many tourists are attracted by its beaches that perfectly lend itself for tanning, sipping on cocktails and doing all kinds of water sports - including kiteboarding. Finally Lodewijk got his day on the board! 🌊 # Still warmed up by the tropical Mui Ne heat, we continued our journey to the North. This time we drove rather inland and started our ascend, slowly but steadily on our impressively resistant 110 cc motorbike, until we reached the city of Dalat. Located at a hight of 1500 meters and surrounded by mountains covered in pine forests, the temperatures were 3 times lower than at the coast: we were freezing our very lightly dressed butts off!! Such a different climate! Dalat experiences 4 seasons in a day; mornings are like spring, turning into summer by midday, cooling down to autumn in the afternoon and feeling like winter (by Vietnamese standards that is 😂) by nightfall. # One place we particularly enjoyed in Dalat was one we almost skipped due to the busy coming and going of tourist buses but then blew our minds: the Crazy House (yep, that is its actual name). In a regular street and hidden behind a vegetation-covered wall, you would not expect to find this eccentric pair of buildings with melting walls, fluid organic shapes, twisted forms, nature inspired bridges and amazing views over Dalat that makes you feel like a Disney princess or hobbit. Crazy House truly does live up to its name! # The beautiful sight of Dalat on the Lang Biang plateau with its different layers we best enjoyed during a cable car ride to a mountain peak 6 kilometers from the centre. At the end of the ride we found peaceful temple ground and the beautiful Tuyen Lam lake, all surrounded by pine forest and fresh air. Quite a different side of Vietnam! # What comes up, must come down and so the route from Dalat to Nha Trang back at the coast was an easy one. And the most beautiful one thus far. Wow, such amazing views you get when descending in the mountains in combination with the mysterious clouds dripping over de peaks; it was breathtaking! 🙌 # As beautiful and scenic the ride was, as regular and taken over by Russians was Nha Trang. Though being Vietnam's most popular beach city, we weren't very impressed. We had some great Vietnamese food, strolled along the modern boulevard and visited the touristy Cham towers, but we couldn't grasp its charms. The fact that the germs got me wanting to lay in bed and cry most of the time could be influencing this feeling. 🙃 # All the way through Vietnam runs the so called Reunification express, a historic train journey connecting Saigon in the South with Hanoi in the North. In its existence of over 80 years after being finalized in 1936 by the French, the line has been bombed, abandoned, rebuilt and reopened in 1976 as a mark of Vietnam's rebirth months after the end of the American War. In just 36 hours the slightly outdated train takes you along Vietnam's various views of cities, country land filled with rice paddies, conical hats and buffaloes, mountains, coastline and jungle. Luckily, there are quite a few stops along the line, allowing us to pack our bags and motorbike (covered in a custom made wooden frame) and hop on to travel from Nha Trang to Hoi An. We spend 10 hours on board while enjoying the many sights of Vietnam from a much more comfortable seat than the one on our motorbike and saved ourselves at least 3 days of driving! 👍 And we chose the right stop; just one hour after we got off the train crashed into a truck killing 6 people (for what we have heard at least).. 😫 # Hoi An is famous for its wonderful authentic, UNESCO listed Old Town and its tailor-made clothing industry. Back in the 15th-19th century, Hoi An's old town functioned as an international trading point for silk, pottery, china and aloe-wood. It is exceptionally well preserved and reflects aspects of Japanese, Chinese and European cultures in its over 1000 timber-framed buildings. About 22 of these buildings, including old houses, assembly halls, museums, temples and the famous Japanese Bridge as portrayed on the 50.000 Dong bill, are open for visitors who need to buy a ticket to enter any 5 of them. Popping into those old buildings was cool to see the architecture and wooden details, but we found that just strolling through the lantern-lit alleys (especially at night), walking along the river and exploring the original street plan of the wooden town was the best experience. # Another interesting experience we had was getting some tailor made suits. Usually it takes some quick measuring and 2 tryouts before a suit is done, but the shop we selected from the many seemed to have some difficulties creating pants that properly fit Lodewijk's rich bottom; only after the 6th tryout they got them right! 😵At least we had sufficient time to cruise around Hoi An's beautiful surroundings of river delta, beaches and rice paddies during the wait. # Our last stop before entering the Demilitarized Zone that once separated North from South Vietnam was Hue. Unfortunately, as soon as we got on the motorbike in Hoi An to start the daylong ride it started to poor with rain. Once we had finally arrived we were cold, wet and sad as our camera had stopped working, but very excited to be reunited with our friends Andreas and Sarike! We spent a day and a half visiting the old citadel with royal palace, making friends with the deaf owner of a local restaurant, watching the worst movie ever made in the local cinema, playing pool and drinking liters of rice wine while the rain kept pouring. 👍 Leaving Hue means we are over half way our +/- 2.000 km journey through Vietnam, quite an achievement with the two of us plus bags on that one beasty bike if you ask us! We're ready for the other half and looking forward to finding out about the differences between North and South! 🏍

[richard-st-clair]

The Parable of the White Path

with Commentary

by Master Shan-tao

And to all those who wish to be reborn in the Pure Land, I now tell a parable for the sake of those who would practice the True Way, as a protection for their faith and a defense against the danger of heretical views. What is it? It is like a man who desires to travel a hundred thousand 'li' to the West. Suddenly in the midst of his route he sees two rivers. One is a river of fire stretching South. The other is a river of water stretching North. Each of the two rivers is a hundred steps across and unfathomably deep. They stretch without end to the North and South. Right between the fire and water, however, is a white path barely four or five inches wide. Spanning the East and West banks, it is one hundred steps long. The waves of water surge and splash against the path on one side while the flames of fire scorch it on the other. Ceaselessly, the fire and water come and go. Parable: The man is out in the middle of a wasteland and none of his kind are to be seen. A horde of vicious ruffians and wild beasts see him there alone, and vie with one another in rushing to kill him. Fearing death he runs straightway to the West, and then sees these great rivers. Praying, he says to himself: "To the North and South I see no end to these rivers. Between them I see a white path, which is extremely narrow. Although the two banks are not far apart, how am I to traverse from one to the other? Doubtless today I shall surely die. If I seek to turn back, the horde of vicious ruffians and wild beasts will come at me. If I run to the North or South, evil beasts and poisonous vermin will race toward me. If I seek to make my way to the West, I fear that I may fall into these rivers."

Thereupon he is seized with an inexpressible terror. He thinks to himself: "Turn back now and I die. Stay and I die. Go forward and I die. Since death must be faced in any case, I would rather follow this path before me and go ahead. With this path I can surely make it across." Just as he thinks this, he hears someone from the east bank call out and encourage him: "Friend, just follow this path resolutely and there will be no danger of death. To stay here is to die." And on the west bank. there is someone calling out, "Come straight ahead, single-mindedly and with fixed purpose. I can protect you. Never fear falling into the fire or water!"

At the urging of the one and the calling of the other, the man straightens himself up in body and mind and resolves without any lingering doubts or hesitations. Hardly has he gone a step or two when from the east bank the horde of vicious ruffians calls out to him: "Friend, come back! That way is perilous and you will never get across. Without a doubt you are bound to die. None of us means to harm you." Though he hears them calling, the man still does not look back but single-mindedly and straightway proceeds on the path. In no time he is at the west bank, far from all troubles forever. He is greeted by his good friend and there is no end of joy. Commentary:

That is the parable and this is the meaning of it: what we speak of as the "east bank" is comparable to this world, a house in flames. What we speak of as the "west bank" is symbolic of the precious land of highest bliss. The ruffians, wild beasts, and seeming friends are comparable to the Six Sense Organs, Six Consciousnesses, Six Dusts, Five Components, and Four Elements [that constitute the "self"].

The lonely wasteland is the following of bad companions and not meeting with those who are truly good and wise. The two rivers of fire and water are comparable to human greed and affection, like water, and anger and hatred, like fire. The white path in the center, four or five inches wide, is comparable to the pure aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land which arises in the midst of the passions of greed and anger. Greed and anger are powerful, and thus are likened to fire and water; the good mind is infinitesimal, and thus is likened to a white path [of a few inches in width].

The waves inundating the path are comparable to the constant arising of affectionate thoughts in the mind which stain and pollute the good mind. And the flames which scorch the path are comparable to thoughts of anger and hatred which burn up the treasures of dharma and virtue.

The man proceeding on the path toward the West is comparable to one who directs all of his actions and practices toward the West[ern Paradise]. The hearing of voices from the East bank encouraging and exhorting him to pursue the path straight to the West, is like Shakyamuni Buddha, who has already disappeared from the sight of men but whose teachings may still be pursued and are therefore likened to "voices." The calling out of the ruffians after he has taken a few steps is comparable to those of different teachings and practices and of evil views who wantonly spread their ideas to lead people astray and create disturbances, thus falling themselves into sin and losing their way.

To speak of someone calling from the West bank is comparable to the vow of Amitabha. Reaching the West bank, being greeted by the good friend and rejoicing there, is comparable to all those beings sunk long in the sea of birth and death, floundering and caught in their own delusions, without any means of deliverance, who accept Shakyamuni's testament directing them to the West and Amitabha's compassionate call, and obeying trustfully the will of the two Buddhas while paying no heed to the rivers of fire and water, with devout concentration mount the road of Amitabha's promised power and when life is o'er attain the other Land, where they meet the Buddha and know unending bliss.

[From Taisho daizokyo, XXXVII, 272-3] selected from William Theodore de Bary, The Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan, Vintage, Random House, NY: 1972. ISBN: 0-394-71696-5, pp. 204-207