#the cycle of life and death and the cycle of attachment and suffering | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

david-talks-sw · 1 year ago

Text

What's 'Star Wars' about?

A while ago I got an 'Ask' that concluded with "what is Star Wars about, if not the Jedi, right?" And weirdly enough... I have to disagree.

I mean... to me? Yes. Star Wars is about the Jedi. A Jedi-less, Sith-less, lightsaber-less Star Wars movie or series will struggle to get me on board (which is why I was surprised that I loved Andor so much).

But if you read everything George Lucas said, if you think about the Jedi's place in his two trilogies... they're not front and center, right?

Sure, there's Luke Skywalker... but he's a learner, in the Original Trilogy. Same goes for Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, in the Prequels. They're going through character arcs.

Otherwise, the Jedi are either used as mentors to the protagonist...

... or to deliver exposition...

... but they're mostly vectors Lucas uses to present his thesis.

Functionally-speaking, the Jedi are important in that they embody the Buddhist philosophies the movie's themes are based on.

But when it comes to the plot, they're secondary. That's because the the themes of these films are bigger than the Jedi themselves.

So the question becomes... what's are the themes?

The primary goal of the Star Wars films is to inspire kids to start thinking outside the box and teach them a set of values and psychological motifs that have been passed down through mythology and fairy tales.

These values can be summed up in the dichotomy between greed and compassion / selfishness and selflessness / pleasure and joy.

We all have both aspects and need to strike a balance between the two. After all, being greedy ultimately comes from fear and being afraid can happen to all of us. Problem is, unchecked fear can lead to anger, hate and a whole lot of suffering.

The more selfish you are, the more you want things and the more you're afraid that you'll lose everything you have, you'll get angry when someone tries to take it and that will hurt everyone around you.

In other words, fear is the path to the tempting/addictive Dark Side.

Thus, seeing as we'll be inevitably tempted by the Dark Side and give in at some point (because nobody's perfect), we should aim to be as selfless and compassionate as possible for our own good... but also for the greater good, because we're all connected to a life energy. You can call it Qi or God; in Star Wars it's known as the Force.

As such, we all form a symbiotic circle and working with that in mind is better than putting ourselves first and draining from everything and everyone around us.

But we also need to be careful because there will be people who give in to that selfish side and will try to control everything. When the time comes, we must stand up for what's right.

So that's Lucas' thesis.

If I had to sum them up, the six movies illustrate it as follows:

The Prequel Trilogy is about the consequences of greed, explored through Anakin on a smaller scale and the Senate on a larger one.

The Original Trilogy shows the triumph of compassion, through Luke, Leia & Han and the Rebellion's fight against the Empire.

Lucas talked about it multiple times, the Prequels are about how Anakin becomes Darth Vader and how the Republic becomes the Empire, and in both those cases, it happens because they're greedy.

The Senate is greedy in the more classical sense. They could give a shit about "symbiosis", no they're taking bribes, letting corporations dictate policy, using loopholes to keep themselves in power and halting any meaningful progress out of fear that the new status quo will conflict with their own self-serving goals.

Anakin's greed manifests in a different way. He turns to the Dark Side because of his attachment. He wants to stop Padmé from dying... but not because he wants to save her, rather he wants to save himself from feeling the pain of loss again and will do anything to not have to live without her, her own wishes and the natural cycle of life and death be damned.

In both cases, they cave under pressure orchestrated by Palpatine, but nobody puts a gun to their head. They make a deliberate choice that comes from a selfish place, and neither one takes personal responsibility for it, they blame others, the Separatists in the case of the Senate and the Jedi in Anakin's case.

The Republic becomes an Empire with thunderous applause, betraying the people it was meant to protect.

And when faced between doing something he knows is right and giving in to his selfish desires...

... Anakin elects to do the latter, thus betraying his family and leaving the Force in darkness.

These selfish choices impact the galaxy as a whole, including the only characters in the trilogy who were doing their best to be compassionate and live in symbiosis: the Jedi, Padmé and Bail.

These champions of the Light Side are stuck playing catch-up or helplessly witnessing the events unfold, throughout the trilogy. They're playing by the rules and Palpatine uses this to his advantage.

Thus, as the galaxy tears itself apart because of Palpatine's manipulations, the Jedi and Bail are ignored and gradually weakened until they're either rendered irrelevant or killed.

A new order is born, one built on blood, lies and greed: the Empire.

But a new hope remains.

While before, the Jedi and people like Bail stood alone as everything around them became willfully corrupt... now, a Rebellion inspired by their legacy has banded together to overthrow the current order. But they don't fight for power or personal glory, they fight for altruistic, compassionate reasons. There's a sense of general responsibility that moves them, they're all doing their part.

On a larger scale, we focus on the Rebels, who are tired of seeing people suffer and decided this needs to stop. They have gone from being passive, to proactive.

On a more personal scale, we see the evolution of Luke, from naive farmer to a hero, and guess what? More and more selfish people - like Han or Lando - are inspired to join the Rebellion, after seeing the exploits of Luke, Leia, or even Ben.

It all culminates in the final film, wherein:

The Rebels band together with the Ewoks - literal teddy bears whom the Empire, in their arrogance, never even considered to be a threat - to destroy the Second Death Star and free the galaxy from imperial tyranny.

At the same time, Emperor Palpatine pressures Luke, who is tempted by the Dark Side like his father was.

But instead of giving in to his selfish desire to kill Darth Vader for all the horrors he's done...

... he finds the strength to rise above it, instead showing compassion for his father, which, in turn, inspires Anakin to do the same.

He faces a choice, like he did in Palpatine's office, two decades prior...

... and this time he chooses right.

Children teach you compassion. Anakin lets go of his fear and anger, and saves his son at the cost of his own life, finally bringing balance back to the Force.

Good triumphed over evil. Its champions achieved victory by being selfless, hopeful and fighting together / helping each other.

And that's it, that's how the movies thematically tie together.

As you can see, the Jedi aren't that directly impactful on the overall plot, because it revolves around Anakin, Luke and the respective factions/institutions around them.

But what the Jedi do bring to the table is their ability to teach and inspire others, both in-universe and out. They're spiritually impactful.

The Jedi are the epitome of compassion, and it's partially through them that George Lucas teaches his values to the audience.

#to be clear: Star Wars doesn't HAVE to be about all this #This is just me trying to summarize what Lucas said in all his interviews and speeches #The post-Lucas Star Wars transmedia franchise made the Jedi more central than they were originally meant to be; especially in the Prequels #You see this in interviews from current SW creators /writers #but also small stuff like renaming the Prequel era “Fall of the Jedi” when it was originally named the “Rise of the Empire” era #meta #george lucas #star wars #jedi order #the force #anakin skywalker #luke skywalker #prequel trilogy #original trilogy

720 notes · View notes

literary-motif · 2 months ago

Note

I’m half-asleep so this idea is weird but how bout something like Xanthus watches Love get turned by Audric but as Xanthus feels the bond dying he feels a sense of peace as he’s “freed” himself from the bond or something. Audric is evil, Love tries to get Canthus to help them but instead he just looks at them as if they weren’t someone he knew and just acts like that. Yeh idk man.

Love Lost

Xanthus Claiborne x Reader

Audric loomed over you like a threat. His sharp teeth hovered just above your neck — just above the pulse point where he could practically feel your thundering heartbeat — and the bastard had the audacity to raise a single eyebrow at Xanthus.

‘What are you going to do about it?’ he seemed to sneer. ‘What are you going to do about it, when I take the person you love most in the world? What are you going to do when I drain them? What are you going to do when I reach inside your chest and shatter your heart like you did mine?’

You could not see the look Audric was giving him, but something must have reflected in Xanthus’ eyes. He could feel your burning terror through the bond. It was making him tremble. It made him sick.

Xanthus wanted to scream. He wanted to break through the bars of his prison, tear that monster away from you and tuck you away in a secluded corner of this world where nobody would be able to hurt you ever again.

The thought that Audric would kill you — like the look in his eyes promised him he would — made him feel like he would go insane.

“Don’t,” he pleaded, appealing to the shreds of humanity he knew his old mentor possessed. He knew Audric. He could not have changed this much in the centuries that had made them grow apart. “Please,” Xanthus breathed, searching his gaze.

The bitterness he found made his blood run cold.

“Watch me, Lawrance,” Audric said, sinking his teeth into your neck.

You let out a startled scream, squirming in his grasp. Audric was not gentle as Xanthus had been. His fangs piercing you hurt. The amount of blood he was draining from you made your head spin. You tried pushing him away, but you could do nothing against the vampire’s firm grip on you in your weakened state.

“Xanthus!” you screamed with all the strength you had left, overwhelmed by pain and fear. Audric was going to kill you, and there was nothing you could do about it. The outcome was inevitable. It felt like staring down the edge of a cliff when you were already halfway down. There was nothing stopping the freefall, and the landing would hurt.

Xanthus watched as Audric drained your life away. He knew he could have killed you in an instant if he had wanted to, and the realization that he chose to draw it out to increase his suffering made him want to tear him apart even more.

“Xanthus!” you cried with a choked-off sob. He could feel your panic, the desperation you tried to fight off as your inevitable fate drew nearer and nearer. You were going to die, there was no question about it.

When had he allowed you to become his weakness? Audric only had this much power over him because he had allowed himself to get attached to you. How many centuries had he spent above such things? How long had he been without a fatal flaw, carefully distancing himself from everything that had the possibility of hurting him, only to feel his heart crumbling to pieces in this very moment?

It had been so long since he had cared about anyone, and seeing the light in your eyes slowly diminish reminded him just why that was. Death was inevitable, and in a life as long as his was, he did not have the capacity to live through endless cycles of love and heartbreak before his heart withered away again and again.

“Xan–!” you mumbled weakly, your head lulling to the side. Black spots danced in your vision, and the room around you had suddenly turned freezing cold. Your limbs felt heavy, and it was a battle you were beginning to lose to keep your eyelids open to look at Xanthus. He was blurry, and your eyes would not focus on the person you still counted on to make everything alright.

Perhaps he could help you. Perhaps he would save you.

Xanthus only looked at you, chiseling away at the bond Audric had nearly broken. If he did not feel anything for you, it would not hurt when you inevitably touched the ground. If he did not allow himself to love you, he would not break apart when you inevitably died.

Perhaps this was a good thing. Perhaps living without weakness was the fate he needed to follow as a vampire.

As you closed your eyes for the last time, Xanthus felt something within himself snap. Your lifeless body tumbled to the ground. Audric stood over you, the blood once strongly pumping through your veins staining his mouth and shirt. He looked at Xanthus, waiting for a reaction.

Xanthus stared back. He felt apathy. This very moment felt like a waste of his time. The enemy before him was nothing but a waste of space, thinking he could inconvenience him.

Audric frowned, his patience thinning for the outcry of anguish he expected to hear from Xanthus any minute now. Any minute, he would vent the heartbreak he knew he felt. Any minute, he would show him just how deeply it had hurt when he cut out his heart and left it dead at his feet.

“You have lost,” he said, licking the blood from his lips and savoring the taste of his revenge. “The bond is broken.”

Xanthus looked at him. In one swift movement, he got up from the ground, walking to the bars of the cage that kept him trapped here for days until he stood face to face with Audric.

“I don't care,” he said.

Audric’s face fell. “You— but—” he stammered, looking at him bewildered.

This could not be. His extensive research into the bond had told him people went mad with heartache. He wanted to make him feel the pain he had caused him when his entire family was slaughtered — he wanted to make Xanthus suffer as much as he had, all the years knowing they were dead and he wasn’t.

Xanthus’ hands shot out, gripping the front of Audric’s shirt and pulling him against the bars of his cage. He could feel the stutter in Audric’s breath as his cold, gray eyes bore into him.

“I don’t care,” Xanthus said, reaching for his neck. Nobody would dare to try and find his weakness again. There was none. “What are you going to do about it?”

#sakuverse #zsakuva #xanthus x reader #xanthus claiborne

55 notes · View notes

lxmelle · 7 months ago

Text

Seems like there is some discourse on twitter/now X on the afterlife after SPOILER ALERT it was revealed that Sukuna’s unborn twin had a soul (still considered one soul with his though) that reincarnated.

This makes reincarnation canon in the jjk world, which I guess it always was, if we think about the implications of how tengen and the star plasma vessel and the six eyes were tied by fate.

I was particularly interest in the implications on Gojo and also since the chains of fate that tied them are broken.

I touched on north and south in previous analysis posts. As much as I love Gojo, he was never going to be revived because it just made sense for Gege to finish his character arc that way.

With the newer chapters showing that his brain was bleeding, and that he was sliced in such a way where his heart and gut may be cut through, it also wasn’t going to be likely.

North was starting anew, meaning rebirth / reincarnation. Not returning to life as Gojo. Gojo was satisfied with his life as he left it.

So it seems like maybe the airport was limbo. And he opted for South, as the chapter title indicated. To go back, which Mei Mei’s words to Nanami seemed to be accepted by those present. Going back to the past, as they once were.

I couldn’t really read or find multiple discourses on the subject on twitter (just a couple), but I think they’ve expanded it in the direction I touched on in my recent post on souls that went a bit too far. In sum, were all six eyes users in the history of Japan the same soul - Gojo Satoru?

Someone’s interpretation was that Gojo and Geto were also tied by fate, seeing as a CSM user can help regain balance in the world due to the increase in curses caused by the presence of six eyes + limitless like with Gojo’s birth. But this was never canon or ever officially mentioned.

I wonder myself if, in this lifetime, the cycle of rebirth / fate was broken not only because of Toji and Kenjaku, but also because of a CSM user like Geto allowed someone strong like a six eyes user to understand empathy and love. To connect with those weaker than him and not keep coming back to life - as per Yuta who questioned Uro -

Why do you keep coming back? Those with compassion and loving kindness (again Buddhist themes) may become free from the suffering and cycle of rebirth/reincarnation. Why keep choosing to? I guess the focus is on unresolved and unfinished business.

So instead of choosing to reincarnate as someone new, the cycle just ends, as they all choose to remain as souls and go South. To stay as they are. Together.

I still stand firm in my desire to believe what i wrote a while back on Camillas and musings on the afterlife:

The cover of vol. 26 was Gojo visiting

And they are a form of souls that died without regret, thus elevated to a Kami (or deity):

I think / headcannon that in the jjk world they are souls not bogged down with vengeance or being forced to reincarnate. They all presumably died, free of lingering attachments to the world.

This may allow those who died “without regret” to choose where they can live in another world. Which is pretty much a Shinto belief, but when applied to the jjk world, may depend on how they died.

Anyway, I’ll be waiting until Gege reveals more about what it all means within the jjk world. For now, here’s the link on the info on Shintoism I took those grabs from: https://justaboutjapan.com/what-happens-after-death-in-shinto-understanding-the-japanese-afterlife/

I also forgot to add this piece:

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk analysis #jjk meta #jjk spoilers #satosugu #gojo satoru #geto suguru #jjk #stsg #jujutsu kaisen theory #jujutsu kaisen theories #jujutsu kaisen meta #jujutsu kaisen analysis #jujutsu kaisen afterlife #jjk afterlife #jjk stsg

58 notes · View notes

talonabraxas · 4 months ago

Text

Nirvana (Nibbana) Talon Abraxas

The Meaning of Nirvana in Buddhism (End of Suffering Explained)

The various Buddhist traditions differ in their interpretation of nirvana, but in general, nirvana is the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice. Although beyond words, we might describe nirvana as a cessation. Nirvana represents the end of suffering and complete liberation from the karmic cycle. In some Buddhist traditions nirvana is synonymous with enlightenment. Others view it as a significant step along the way to full Buddhahood.

Nirvana is a Sanskrit word that may be translated as extinction. In Theravadan Buddhism it is often referred to in the Pali language, as nibbana. So, what is it that goes extinct when we reach nirvana? Nirvana is the cessation of samsara, the endless cycle of death and rebirth that we experience as suffering.

If we find the notion of rebirth challenging, that’s ok. We can see evidence of samsara in this one life. Despite our best efforts at getting what we want and avoiding what we don’t want, our satisfaction is short lived. We feel trapped in a never-ending cycle of wins and losses, destined to always be striving for more.

To experience nirvana is to experience total freedom from the hamster wheel of unenlightened living. Gone is our suffering and its causes. We’re fairly adept at finding temporary relief for life’s pains. To reach nirvana, however, is to find a permanent solution. It is the end of suffering and the end of future suffering, in this life and the next.

What Causes Nirvana?

Buddhist teachings on nirvana and enlightenment begin with the teachings on the four noble truths. These teachings remind us that because the pain we experience has a karmic cause, there is also a cause to its cessation.

The question might then become, not ‘How do you reach nirvana?’, but ‘What causes nirvana?’ Nirvana is not a far-off place but a state of being, an experience we can access right here and now. It is caused by overcoming the perpetual reactivity that drives us to repeat our past mistakes. Following a practice of awakening liberates us by opening our eyes to the true causes of happiness.

The causes of this freedom are encompassed within the three-fold training of ethics, meditation and wisdom. By minimizing harm, training our minds and developing the capacity to see things as they truly are, we create new causes and conditions that give rise to the Buddha within – the discovery of our own Buddha nature.

Nirvana versus Enlightenment

In some Buddhist traditions, there is a difference between nirvana and enlightenment, or bodhi. While nirvana is the cessation of suffering, bodhi signifies full enlightenment. It is a continued process whereby we become a Buddha with the intent to help liberate all others from their pain, too.

As we progress along any authentic spiritual path and our lives become more joyful, it’s only natural to want to share that happiness with others. This is how bodhicitta, the awakened heart, begins to develop. A bodhisattva, although fully capable of never taking another rebirth, intentionally returns to samsara until all beings everywhere are liberated. This ultimate expression of compassion is bodhicitta.

Experiencing Nirvana

Meditation can give us a taste of nirvana. By observing our experience without judgment, we learn there’s actually no need to react to it or change it. We learn to relax and let go of our attempts to grasp or avoid things. It feels good when we realize we can be ok (and even happy) in this moment, just as it is.

At first, the peace we get from meditation is soon forgotten as we go about our busy day. With practice, however, we can reach a point of no return in which we never forget. This is nirvana.

In a practical sense, signs of spiritual enlightenment and awakening may include the following:

You become less attached to people, places and objects You become less avoidant and more capable of being present with your pain You become less reactive and more emotionally stable You start letting go of your past story, and allow for change You become less judgmental and more open minded You begin to see things as they are, versus as you are You feel less separate and more connected to others as well as to the earth You become more trusting of your intuition Your teacher presents themselves to you You become more aware of the suffering of others You feel driven to help others experience nirvana, too

To experience nirvana is to have realized our Buddha nature. In nirvana, we experience life and this world as a Buddha would, completely liberated from the past conditioning that has caused us to think we were ever anything but enlightened.

This is a mode of being that is beyond words, only fully understood by the one who experiences it. We do know that it’s possible, however, for the Buddha was once a suffering human too.

45 notes · View notes

imustbenuts · 3 months ago

Text

Reading of Fire Emblem Awakening with a Buddhist lens and the context of the 'sacrifice mc' ending

Preface: Writen by a person who is a massive nerd living in South East Asia. Not a practicing Buddhist but grew up on the fringes of its local influence. Most points here are copy pasted and heavily edited from a prev post I wrote in reply to felikatze's post about Brave Robin some time ago.

EN: Fire Emblem Awakening

JP: ファイアーエムブレム覚醒

Awakening is a pretty important word when it comes to religion and spirituality, but specifically when put in the light of Buddhism, it takes on extra meaning. Kakusei 覚醒 in JP language has a heavier emphasis on Enlightenment than just waking up after an alarm bell rings.

In this entry, the word Awakening isn't thrown into the title in reference to Robin awakening to the fell dragon; it's a bad end if followed straight anyway. Trying to read it with a non-buddhist lens will often yield the confusion of why self-sacrifice would ever be justified, and in my experience many anglo speaking fans online have indeed express dislike of the sacrifice ending in Awakening.

Which is understandable. But! To the Japanese and many other Asian players, this overwhelmingly isn't the case. And the reason is I think: culture + Buddhism.

The flow of this post will go in this rough outline while I try to explain it from a more Buddhist pov. Sorry if it's messy :(

Buddhism 101 Crash Course (orange so if you wanna skip it feel free)

Original Timeline Awakening

'Our' Shown Timeline Awakening

Ending

Ok. Let's begin

Crash Course on surface level Buddhism 101 (please please go read more on your own if interested, this is VERY surface):

The core idea of Buddhism is that everything is dynamic, fluid, and fluctuating. Never in perpetual stasis. In Buddhism cosmosology, there are different tiers of being ranging from low to high. The goal of Buddhsim is to break out of the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara), and enter into a state of peaceful non-existence (nirvana). Suffering and yearning is inevitable as a part of life, and is meant to be reduced as much as possible for both the individual and others. Causing more will cause the individual to stray further away from the goal of nirvana. Also, that everything in the world is deeply interconnected, and an action will affect things down the line.

And, the final condition of being able to nirvana is to essentially, let go of attachment.

Buddhism Cosmology 101 and FEverse:

So in Buddhism cosmology, there are tiers of beings. The higher one is in this existence tier, the closer one is to breaking out of the cycle. Humans are the baseline, and animals are the lower while supernatural beings are higher as a general rule of thumb. (theres exceptions to this like the hungry ghosts but not impt here for this post)

IN FEA, we have a few characters who are of a vague but present 'higher' tier. Naga, Tiki, Nowe, and Nah. And then there's Grima, the gigantic Fell Dragon. Though we can interpret these characters as different races of beings compared to humans, if we apply Buddhism cosmology, then these are 'higher' tier being. With Naga being one of the highest tier. In fact she functions exactly like a Buddha.

And still, despite being a higher being relative to humans, Grima isn't out of the cycle. In fact, Grima is locked into it. Contrast Naga where it feels like she could go at anytime but choose to stay behind.

Locked in the cycle and not allowed to change

Instead, Grima is bound to a blood pact with Forneus after being artificially created. No matter how its sliced, Grima is closer a tier to the divine dragons than humans and should technically be closer to nirvana, but no dice. In-lore, this supernatural aspect grants power to Forneus' bloodline and subsequently Validar and Robin, on top of binding them to the plane of the living. Grima gets back into existence over the 1000 years after their initial defeat to inflict incredible pain and devastation and gets sealed for it.

So, Grima isn't able to break out of samsara from a Buddhist pov, and each time they come back they're requested/demanded by the summoners to cause immense pain and destruction. As much as there might be manipulation on the Grimleals' side, it's equally possible its willing to on some degree on their side. Thus the cycle of suffering for both them and the world continues.

But there is one extra nuance here to the reincarnation idea in Buddhism: Buddhists prefer the term 're-becoming' or 'rebirth' rather than reincarnation. Its not exactly a re-inheritance of the same exact unchanging soul in a new body, but the passing on of a mind/consciousness which can be malleable. And since a mental state is a lot more fluid and changeable, it's much more preferred to the idea of a same-ish soul being passed on like a hot potato typical in western Catholic interpretation of the same concept. (eternal paradise or damnation being a big thing from what I understand, so it's a very one soul one life one chance kinda deal.) Subtle differences, but put a pin in this for now.

On the topic of memories

A reincarnated person isn't supposed to have their old memories... at least, at first, the orignal Robin seems to do. Now, while big Buddha himself had his past lives' memories, it was only after he mediated and gained enlightenmnet. If we follow this logic, it's likely something broke original timeline (OT) Robin in the opposite way, leading into a... let's just say false awakening. This leads into the first timeline where Robin, retaining all their current life's memories and told their identity was Grima and not allowed to basically begin anew, destroys the world with a zombie apocalypse. In this timeline, Robin awakens, but not to a cool gucci love and peace Buddha enlightenment. Rather, the cynical, nihilistic all things should die and shut up kind.

In normal reincarnation situation, the reborn person is allowed to begin anew. There is a Buddhist hell which fucntions as a means to cleanse one of their bad karma, and so there is a strong emphasis on this. Grima is being shackled to 1 identity imo, and it sucks a bit.

Semi HC territory with this lens too: It's very likely that despair at various point was exploited for this to happen by their worshippers. Bc what better way to than to cut off a person from the rest of the world, from people, and create a situation where the victim has no one to lean on? Exactly like how baby Grima was cut off like in FE:Shadows of Valentia in that sealed off tower known as Thebes Labyrinth. Ofc, this is pure independence at the worst, and also very textbook cultist stuff.

(Side note: remembering past lives isn't really a loud thing in Buddhist practice, I think. It's sort of egotistical to claim oneself as so-and-so, going against some teachings and practice of it since it makes the claimer seem egotistical and arrogant, and thus it's just... bad form to do so. Also its more often than not used as a tactic to scam/manipulate people >_>. )

So, original timeline was played straight to the title: Fire Emblem Awakening. False Awakening. (I hope I'm making sense so far. x_x;;)

Fire Emblem Awakening's original timeline is true to its title and a bleak world.

This Awakening is just. Wrong. Remember that I mention interdependence being a big part of the core religion's philosophy? Grima shuns this by ignoring bonds and killing all those they might be friends with otherwise. Despite the constant preaching of Buddhism to be peaceful and do good things, Grima kind of murders and kills and is everything associated with darkness and death. Rather than lessen suffering, Grima causes more and takes away others' ability to walk their own path in their goal of total destruction.

Grima also does not even come close to understanding the world and interconnectedness. Thus, Grima with their actions here is doomed to be perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death.

Amnesia zap!

So, stuff happens, Lucina takes on the world and breaks into another timeline. Grima follows, causing alternate (our) Robin to get the big amnesia zap. To do over, basically, to let go of the past and redo it from a clean slate devoid of prior biases and judgement.

In effect, this is as good as being reborn from the Buddhist pov. Remember when I mention not remembering the past life at least in the beginning? And that the mind is fluid?

Later in the game, amnesia'd Robin meets OT Robin/Grima, and it gets. Interesting. The both of them seems to be disturbed by each other. If we follow the logic that these are the same person, then the schism, I think, is rooted very much in their lived experiences and thus take-away of their understanding of their own world.

This characterization further continues into Fire Emblem Heroes. They trigger each others' panic response. It's the maximum uncanny valley feeling, I think, bc it's like looking at a doppelganger: the exact same in appearance, but slightly ever so different in personality, in experience, in belief. To the point that its not exactly them, even though it should be.

At their meeting in FEA, Our Robin the Avatar the MC has already grown close to Chrom and friends. Our Robin understands bonds and their place in the world and finds love and acceptance and a place for themself beside Chrom, and in Ylisse.

This Robin understands the concept of love and interconnectedness. Grima/OT Robin, however, continues to shun it all to the end.

Conditions ok in the new timeline. Let go, Yes/No?

...So in the timeline we're familiar with, what is the Awakening referring to?

If we go by how one is supposed to attain enlightenment in Buddhism, it's by gaining an insight to how the world works, how everything is connected, and letting go of cravings/yearnings. While I think there's possibly a bunch of ways to interpret this in FEA, there is a very simple one.

The easiest interpretation would be that Robin understood their role in the world to be a vessel/reincarnation of Grima, and that it isn't the correct way because bonds are too important, and that no matter how difficult it must be, a worse future must be prevented no matter the cost. Bc they have come to adore their friends and the family of said friends and their future.

And to that future, possibly even the world in which they reside.

Grima however, stands against this. Grima's existence means the future for their friends, possible spouse and children, and Chrom, cannot live. What Grima stands for is annihilation.

There is a way to remove Grima permanently, but that comes at a cost, and that cost is them. Choosing this is to know that Grima as Grima was known cannot be allowed to come into existence, and if they were Grima or even hold the potential, that chance needs to be non-existent. The Grima before them needs to be non-existent. Robin has to be non-existent. (Out of the samsara cycle as you could say hohoho)

The alternative would be to seal Grima away and then let the future deal with them again in 1000 years. To say that Robin is too attatched to their newfound love ones and cannot let go. And this might be more preferable to some.

But we're talking about a game with Awakening in the title made by a bunch of Japanese. And with a somewhat shared culture at least I and my friends here understand. And so, pretty much everyone around me in this part of the world overwhelmingly chose the mutual destruction option.

>Yes

In the sacrifice ending, they let go of their yearning to be with their friends, their possible spouse, their possible children, and Chrom. The world, essentially.

The key difference between Our Robin and the OT Robin is, Robin has hope for the world despite being cut off from his loved ones and knowing they might be in some afterlife hell where they might very well be alone. The emotions of hope and love is just so strong it's convinced Robin that death was worth facing.

This is the True Fire Emblem Awakening.

After the credits, Chrom finds Robin on the ground again, seemingly returned and now fully unchained to the identity of Grima. This is framed as a good thing, as reward for choosing the hard path. (Even tho technically Robin doesn't break out of samsara here but. It's a good job reward for the player I guess)

So when the game asks if you are willing to sacrifice your Robin, it is in effect asking if you the player are willing to accept letting go in hopes of change and the new. (at least in my pov)

And remember the pin? About the soul/mind being malleable?

Grima and Robin are direct contrasts. Line up the themes and they contrast in every way. Past vs Future, Despair vs Hope, Death vs Life. They can be interpreted as the same person or different depending, but it remains that they share the same soul despite being very different.

In effect, this is saying that yes, even indirectly, a complete irredeemable being who has commited so much attrocities it breaks the scale like Grima can change. Can be better. The conditions just has to be there.

Now, all of these is just a reading from a Buddhist pov. There's many many more takeaways and possible routes of extrapolation, so don't take this as me saying it's the only way to read FEA. It is not. It is sooo not there's a bunch of fans out there writnig their own analysis about it.

Also, the Buddhist narrative is not exclusive to FEA. It is in every FE games to some degree. I think FEA and Engage are some of the loudest and explicit. I've written more and complied them here if you are interested in checking out more of my word vomit.

Thanks for reading!

#fire emblem #fire emblem awakening #robin fire emblem #grima fire emblem

29 notes · View notes

caelivir · 1 year ago

Text

the fault of love | orter madl

— synopsis. orter doesn’t make mistakes, but what does that make you?

— pairing. revolution leader!orter x gov. spy!reader (gn)

— genre. angst

— warnings. major character death, description of death using a gun, mention of specific crimes (kidnapping, robbery, blackmail, etc.) none are explicitly described, lmk if i miss any

— word count. ~1.7k

— notes. i stayed up until 5am to finish this i’m so dead; i tried lowercase.. let’s see how i like it. this was fun to write ngl. i hope you enjoy <3

orter madl is a bad person. he was born to be. his entire life was a cycle of left hooks, knife throwing, and gunshots. from an early age he was bound by orders and loyalty. he was raised to lead, raised to be the top in the game. show no mercy to your enemies. be the best.

everything orter does is for the suffering innocents, his family, the organization. he has to do it, even if it goes against all morals. he can’t afford to make mistakes. they’ll hinder him and ruin everything he’s worked hard for. that’s why he shouldn’t get close to anyone. attachments and emotions weaken. they mess with logical judgment, and orter would rather die before letting his emotions make decisions.

yet orter couldn’t stop himself when he got to know you, the clumsy person who spilled coffee all over his suit. he hadn’t meant to, but it was like being a moth to a flame. he sought for you, and you invaded his thoughts at every waking moment. orter wanted nothing more than to see your face, to grasp your hand into his, and to press his adoration for you onto your lips.

and that in itself–that love–would be his downfall. your entrance into orter’s life sparked a long chain of events that brought complications onto the organization that never existed before. he should’ve seen it sooner. he could’ve ended it sooner. but that’s what emotions do. they blind. they’ve blinded him for far too long, and tonight, he’ll finally put an end to it.

hours into the night, orter arrives at the empty warehouse where you’re being kept. he wears a mask over his feelings as he passes by underlings who offer their respects to him. he’s ushered inside. orter spots your figure seated in the center of the wide space. a flurry of emotions surges through him, causing him to order everyone out despite their protests.

orter sighs, taking steps closer to you, becoming more aware of your current state. your hands and legs are tied down to the chair. bruises dot along your skin, and cuts bleed from your lips and forehead. the light in your eyes has gone dead. you stare into nothing.

it pains orter more than any beating he’s ever received. he wants nothing more than to untie you, find a med kit, and clean your wounds just as you always did for him. but he knows he can’t, so he has to tighten his fists, make his knuckles turn a blinding white to hold himself back from caring for you.

he takes the seat across from you, saying nothing despite the mess of sentences bouncing across his mind. you finally pick up your gaze, keeping quiet. no words are exchanged for what feels like hours.

orter’s mask is slipping, cracking ever so slightly as you catch glimpses of confusion, anger, sadness, and nothing all at once. you manage to not betray a single emotion.

orter caves, breaking the silence with a simple question. “why?”

you bite the tip of your tongue, deciding on an answer before you speak incorrectly. “because I had to.”

“had to-” orter cuts himself off with an inhale, rubbing a hand over his face as he abruptly stands. frustration sprouts across every vein in his body. he scoffs. “do you even know what you’ve done? do you know what you’ve cost me?!”

you glare, nose flaring, finally conceding an ounce of emotion. “people are dying because of you! it is my job to stop you.”

“you just don’t understand.”

“understand? understand what?!” you cry, voice ringing through the empty room. “what else is there to understand, orter?!”

orter flinches, unsettled by the abhorrent you carry towards him. it’s unlike you. no. that was never you. it was yet another lie you had fabricated. there’s no point in making you try to see his point of view. there was no way for you two to see eye to eye. it just couldn’t happen with your backgrounds. that doesn’t stop him from trying anyway.

“do they brainwash you over there?”

“don’t be ridiculous.” you scoff.

“the people i’ve killed,” he begins. “do you even know what they did?”

your teeth clench.

“kidnapping, blackmailing, murder, robbery, trafficking, and the list goes on and on and on. they are making people suffer, and it is my job to stop them.” orter echoes your words as a spit to your face. “i know you know it too. deep down you’ve always known.”

“you’re lying.” you deny ferociously.

“the government is enabling them by turning a blind eye. you’re enabling them.” orter declares, pointing a finger at you.

“stop fucking talking!” you scream, voice cracking. you let your head fall, chest rising and falling.

orter doesn’t know what to do. it’s eating him alive, tearing his heart layer by layer. is it possible to get you on his side? but who would trust you? can he still trust you after everything?

“just what are you waiting for?” you eye him, speaking in a quiet voice that’s laced in defeat after minutes of tense silence.

“what?”

“you know why you’re here, orter. finish the job. stop wasting time.” you tilt your head back, daring him.

“y/n-”

“finish the fucking job.” you repeat, seething through pauses, enunciating each word so orter can comprehend the message.

the provocation causes orter to pull his gun on you before his brain can think otherwise. it’s aimed square at your face, yet you remain unafraid, having already accepted your doom.

orter hesitates to pull the trigger. the weapon shakes in his hand no matter how much he tries to steady himself. he has to end this. he has to. orter needs to let your relationship end like this—in rage and hate. but he can’t bring himself too, because there’s a part of him that hopes.

“was any of it real?” he asks, gripping tightly on his gun.

you know exactly what he’s referring to. maybe that’s why you answer quickly with a confident “no.”

that should’ve been enough to make orter finally squeeze the trigger, to finally put a finish to your life, but he stalls longer, taking you in, memorizing each and every line on your face. he sees your beauty even in moments before demise. he takes a step forward, pressing the tip of his firearm to your head, using it as a chance to be near you.

the trigger tightens and tightens to the point where orter thinks he’ll follow through, but the sound of your voice makes it loosen. he drops his aim to his side.

“i can’t tell you that it was real,” you state, and orter begins to see your eyes glaze. each syllable of your following words break. “because if i did, then that would mean you would be right.”

you finally break down, your facade shatters. fat streaks of tears stream down the skin on your cheeks, and you lower your head, letting them fall onto the floor.

“if i told you it was real, then i would have to admit that my year with you has been the happiest i have ever been.” you continue between chokes. “and i can’t let it be real because that would mean that i hurt you again and again and again for no reason at all.”

orter hates your anguished cries. he would give everything to the heavens to make them stop. he can only tighten his strength onto his gun.

“i have to tell myself that it isn’t real… because doing so makes it easier to deny the fact that i love you. and i love you so much, orter.”

orter reacts in what seems to be record time, pressing his lips onto yours with a passion that could set the world on fire. every unspoken word of his is poured into your mind as you move in sync with him. for this one moment, you both forget who you are. the government’s top agent. the leader of a revolution. those are mere titles squashed beneath your foot as you kiss orter with all the love you have yet to return to him.

orter’s hand finds the familiar skin of your face, stained with blood. he commits that warmth into memory, and when you finally pull away to breathe, he loses himself in your irises, examining the details that he grew fond of.

neither of you dare to go for seconds because you knew that if you did, then you would both abandon everything, your responsibilities.

so orter straightens himself up, bringing his trembling hand to hover his weapon centimeters from your forehead.

“do you have any final words?” orter forces out, bringing himself back into the cold, ruthless leader he’s supposed to be.

you grin softly. tears still soak your cheeks. “i’m so sorry. i wish things didn’t have to be this way. maybe, just maybe if we get another chance, we can live the way we wanted, and i could keep bringing you those stupid cream puffs from that bakery we love.

you inhale. “thank you for bringing my heart joy, orter madl.”

a single wet tear drops from his eyes as a familiar string of words escape his throat. “i adore you infinitely, my love.”

orter can feel the next words that bubble on your tongue, and you break out into an even brighter, toothy smile. “is that so?”

he seals his eyes shut. the trigger pulls. a shot echoes through the warehouse. the chair falls back with a clatter. orter doesn’t dare to look. if he did, then there would be nothing stopping him from letting your blood soak the threads of his clothes, screaming your name so loudly that it could reach the heavens.

orter storms out of the warehouse, allowing his subordinates to take care of the rest. and when he's finally alone, orter breaks down. his cries ring through the night. his hands bleed from countless punches he slams onto the floor.

orter madl doesn’t make mistakes, but he made the mistake of loving you.

yet he would do it again.

every single time.

#anime #manga #mashle #mashle magic and muscles #orter madl #mashle x reader #orter madl x reader #orter x reader #° ᡣ𐭩 set i: fics

216 notes · View notes

monslord · 3 months ago

Text

The merger will start -

- and it will bring about enlightenment for humanity.

As everyone is already aware, the world-building of Jujutsu Kaisen heavily draws inspiration from Buddhism and I think it'd be helpful to first introduce some of the fundamental ideas of Buddhism, in order to make more sense of why I am coming to certain conclusions.

Buddhism in the most basic terms:

A - The Dharma 1. Karma: Karma is the concept of the law of cause and effect. The intention of one's actions in life determine the circumstances of a person's future rebirth. 12 laws determine one's Karma, the most important of which is The Great Law: Whatever thoughts or energy you put out, you get back — good or bad.

2. Samsara and Nirvana Buddhists believe in rebirth. This cycle of rebirth is called Samsara. Samsara has six realms: The realm of gods, the realm of demigods, the realm of humans, the realm of animals, the realm of hungry ghosts and the realm of hell

The realm of humans is considered to be the most fortunate one, as it is the only one in which one can attain Nirvana, which is the only way to exit the cycle of rebirth, by overcoming the attachment to life itself.

3. Nirvāṇa (Enlightenment) Nirvana is a state of calm, equanimity, non-attachment and non-self – it is a reflection of the complete absence of emotional suffering. A common descriptor is “to have a mind as immovable as a mountain.” This is not to be confused with a state of apathy, but to be taken as a state of serenity. It is the ability to not be shaken by however desperate a circumstance one faces, because one has rid themselves of all the pillars which create suffering.

4. Bardo (Space between any two states) Tibetan Buddhism specifically identifies six states of Bardo, which refer the space between any two states. The whole of those Six Bardo are: The Bardo of This Life, The Bardo of Dreaming, The Bardo of Meditation, The Bardo of Dying, The Bardo of Dharmata and The Bardo of Becoming.

The Bardo of Becoming specifically is the transitional space after death and before rebirth. It is said to be much like a dream, in which one perceives a variety of powerful and often frightening appearances influenced by one's karma of previous lives. It’s during this bardo that signs of future life start to appear, and the consciousness eventually takes rebirth in one of the six realms of existence according to one’s karma

B - The Four Noble Truths: The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings:

Life is suffering (Duḥkha) Suffering has a cause (The Three Poisons) Suffering can end (Nirvāṇa) There is a path towards the end of suffering (The Noble Eightfold Path)

The term “suffering” is to be taken as synonymous to “dissatisfactory”. The Buddha differentiates between pain and suffering, the latter which references mental and emotional distress. An example of pain would be to have a wounded leg, the emotional suffering that could potentially arise from such a wound would stem more mental processes surrounding wishes to be rid of the wound, worries regarding the healing of the wound, recollecting times when the wound was not present and any other ruminations of such kind.

The notion of suffering is not meant to invoke pessimism, but rather an acknowledgement of life as it is and an offering of salvation from it.

C - The Three Poisons: Buddha believed that it is three negative qualities of the mind, which cause most of our own suffering and the suffering which we cause others:

Delusion (Moha): Ignorance, not seeing and understanding things as they truly are.

Attachment (Rāga): Greed, desire or clinging. An unwillingness to let go or to accept what is. Attachment is also to be understood as a form of resistance to the impermanence of all things.

Aversion (Dveṣa): Hatred, Anger, Ill-Will

D - The Four Immeasurables: These build the foundation for the ethical conduct of Buddhists and are grounded in the intention of minimizing suffering in the world. The freedom from suffering is not just a self-centered pursuit in Buddhism but it includes the intention of not causing others suffering.

Loving-Kindness (Metta): Active good will towards all

Compassion (Karuna): Results from Metta, identifying the suffering of others as one's own

Sympathetic Joy (Mudita): Results from Metta, the feeling of joy because others are happy, even if one did not contribute to it

Equanimity (Upekkha): Even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially

The foundation of the Four Immeasueables is also reflected in the Five Buddhist Precepts, which basically is the most reduced and bare bone core of how Buddhists should live.

E - The Noble Eightfold Path: The Noble Eightfold Path is Buddha's "guide" towards enlightenment.

The eight points listed in the Noble Eightfold Path can be summarized into three main categories:

Wisdom (understanding of the Four Noble Truths)

Ethical Conduct (actions based on the Four Immeasurables)

Mental Discipline (pertains to the cultivation of a focused and still mind)

It is important to note that “right” in this context is not an antonym to “wrong”, but rather to be seen as synonymous to “attuned”, “balanced” or “harmonious”.

F - The Four Stages of Enlightenment

Once one frees themselves of all the Ten Fetters (the chains that prevent enlightenment), one becomes an Arahant and achieves Nirvana.

Now that we are all up to speed in terms of the basics of Buddhism, let's get put this into the context of some major moments, plot points and characters of Jujutsu Kaisen.

One crucial thing to take note of at the very start are the main reoccurring themes of Jujutsu Kaisen, which are

Love

Cursed Energy

Enlightenment/Evolution

Those themes reflect the most crucial aspects of Buddhism itself.

The law of balance in Jujutsu Kaisen: Wether it comes to Binding Vows, Heavenly Restrictions, the rise of Cursed Spirits in respondse to Gojo's birth or twins – the principal of simultaneously losing one thing, where one gains another, is a reoccurring motif in the story. The origin of such an idea does not stem from Buddhism, but from Taoism, most of which people know for it's infamous Yin and Yang symbol. We also see this reflected in the way Gege creates characters, which have their anti-counterpart: Gojo and Sukuna, Tengen and Kenjaku, Yuji and Mahito, Yuta and Geto.

The body and the soul in Jujutsu Kaisen: Buddhism rejects the belief of the existence of a permanent soul. Still, the world-building of JJK heavily relies on this concept, as it is one of the aspects in which Gege took some creative liberty in.

When talking about the rebirth of his twin brother Sukuna says:

"Perhaps his (Kenjaku's) mate was my other half reincarnated ... and thus possessed the same soul*.”*

Sukuna confirms not only the existence of rebirth, but also pronounces his awareness of it. Sukuna has knowledge of the existence of the Dharma.

Regarding the soul's relationship with the body Mahito says:

“Does the soul dwell in the body? Or is the body built on the soul? The answer is the latter. The soul should always exist before the body*.”*

“The shape of the body will always be dependent on the shape of the soul.”

In the Buddhist faith the self is not made up of one permanent core, but consists of five factors, which are constantly subject to change. But in Jujutsu Kaisen the soul is the permanent core of a person, which remains unchanged as one moves from one life to another, and it finds its physical manifestation in the constitution of a body. The body is the physical representation of the soul.

The relationship of the soul and body is illustrated through the appearances of the reincarnated sorcerers, who can make their host body transform into reflecting their own soul physically. In turn maintaining the host body's appearance does not affect the soul of the person getting reincarnated. The soul alters the body but they are not symbiotic. The body does not change the soul in return and the body is not the soul itself. They are two separate entities.

This concept also reflected in the construction of Cursed Corpses. Yaga uses physical information to replicate soul information. But this replicated soul information is not the true soul of the deceased person, it is only a copy of it obtained from the physical information of the body. The same thing happened when Toji took over the body of his “host”. What manifested was not the real Toji, but only a copy of him as per Gege himself.

Samsara's Six Realms in Jujutsu Kaisen: Sukuna confirmed the existence of Samsara with the revelation that Jin Itadori was the reborn form of Sukuna's twin, thus making Samsara a confirmed factor in the story, but what about the six realms? I believe they also play a factor in the story.

Vengeful Spirits are the manifestation of a soul being reborn into the hungry ghost realm of Samsara. As we know now, someone who has accumulated enough negative Karma can be reborn into one of the less fortunate realms (animal realm, hungry ghost realm, hell realm). Naoya's greed and hatred towards women earned him such a fate of rebirth, after Maki's mother killed him. Once Maki ended his life as a Vengeful Spirit, he likely ended up even further down in the hell realm. Rika's fate has different origins and this represents another creative liberty Gege took: It wasn't Rika's own Karma which ended up with her being reborn as a Vengeful Spirit, but it was the negative Karma Yuta accumulated by clinging desperately onto Rika. His attachment (Rāga) to her led to her turning into a Vengeful Spirit. After Yuta's love for Rika transforms from a possessive, clinging one into a "pure love" (Metta), the negative Karma is “neutralized”, his hold on her is broken and Vengeful Spirit Rika dies.

Cursed Spirits represent the hell realm. Though canonically Cursed Spirits are the manifestation of human sufferings, I find that the idea that souls could get reincarnated as various manifestations of that human suffering to not be contradictory. We see Jogo meet Hanami and Dagon in a space of post-death Bardo, where he acknowledges that they will get reborn, though they won't be the same as before. Following that moment Sukuna (who's also known as the King of Curses and who's character design is inspired by Enmaten, the Buddhist King of Hell) enters the scene and berates Jogo for his greed to become human and his resistance to accept what he is. Another argument for this is that Mahito himself is confirmation of Cursed Spirits having a soul, or else he would not have been able to use his CT on himself.

Bardo, Samsara and Nirvana in Jujutsu Kaisen:

The concept of Bardo is something we often encounter in Jujutsu Kaisen. Specifically The Bardo of Becoming and The Bardo of Dying.

This metaphysical space between looks different depending on which person experiences it and what their karmic situation is. It is said to be filled with terrifying visions related to one's karma and in Jujutsu Kaisen it manifests similarly: Characters experience visions of the things that weighed on them the most heavily.

Some examples are: Kenjaku uses the Bardo of Dreams to inform all non-sorcerers of the Culling Games and their one chance to leave the colonies

For Maki and Mai the Bardo of Dying, which only occurs during the initial stages of approaching death, led them to a beach, upon which they talked about the origin of their ostracization: them being born twins. For Nobara the Bardo of Becoming manifested in a vision of empty chairs, which then started filling up with people who, despite her best efforts to maintain a distance, ended up making space for themselves in her life. What weighed the most heavily on Nobara was her experience of childhood in a small village, where privacy and force of conformity led to her building up her walls. For Kashimo the Bardo of Becoming manifested in a vision of Sukuna sharing some final wisdom with him, as the greatest weight in his life was having no match in terms of battle strength. For Gojo the Bardo of Becoming manifested in a vision of his mourning of the loss of his youth and all the lost people which were part of it. Toji in this instance could represent the factor that led to this loss, not just in terms of his assassination of Riko and the innocence he stole from Gojo and Geto, but also as the cause of Gojo‘s spiritual ascend and the consequence of isolation it brought.

Wether these moments are actually only visions, or wether during those moments the spirits of other people are truly present is not certain. In terms of Gojo's vision it seems unlikely that Haibara's soul would not have been reborn already, yet it stands to argue that Haibara informing Gojo about his appearance to Nanami, is not something Gojo would've know on his own.

Let's stick with Gojo for a moment. In Gojo's post-death Bardo Gege introduces the concept of North and South

Gojo asks Nanami what his death was like. Nanami responds as such:

"In the past this is what Miss Mei said when I asked about recommendations for leaving the country.

If you want to start anew, head north. if you want to return to your old self, head south.

Without hesitation I chose somewhere south. I'm such a backward looking person, and yet I bet on the future in my final moment."

The characters are in a metaphysical space between life and death, which visually presents itself as an airport. They are given only two options of destination: North is the start of something new and South is the return to something known. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? I believe this choice represents choosing between Samsara and Nirvana - the choice to enter another life cycle or to leave life behind altogether.

Nanami describes his choice of going south as one made with a hopeful attitude towards the future, which contrast his usually pessimistic personality. Thinking about how depressed Nanami was, my assumption would be that he would be more so inclined to choose to not be reborn. But since he describes his choice of going south as a last minute change of heart, done so with the hope of a better future, it sounds like he chose to try again. Hence why I am concluding that South represents Samsara and North represents Nirvana.

This would mean Gege took another creative liberty with this narrative choice, by either

making enlightenment altogether not a necessity to exit the rebirth cycle

or just lowering the threshold for how close to enlightenment someone has to be to be given that choice.

Since we only see Gojo and Nanami conversing about those two options Geto and Haibara might still be excluded from that choice and get reborn anyway. The glass that Gege chose also visualizes this idea: The light fluid remains as it is at the "south" of the glass. At the "north" it fades away into blackness. It does not mix, it vanishes.

Enlightenment and it's connection to mastery of Jujutsu in Jujutsu Kaisen

The state of enlightenment of a character seems to heavily correlate with their mastery of jujutsu. Strength in terms of jujutsu itself is mainly measured by the Grade of a Sorcerer.

If we apply this assumption to the plot, then non-sorcerers would be the furthest away from enlightenment and Special Grades would be the closest to it.

Let's illustrate this point by going through some character examples, starting with Gojo.

Gojo: Gojo is, amongst the modern era sorcerers, considered to be the strongest. Gojo's very character design is centered around the theme of enlightenment.

His first name derives from the Japanese term for enlightenment (Satori 悟り)

His last name references the number five in reference to the Five Buddhist Precepts.

His hair is white, referencing the color the Sala flowers turned, when Buddha reached Nirvana (as mentioned in the Heike Monogatari, which Todo quoted in his Shibuya monologue).

The Six Eyes reference the Six Realms of Samsara, the Six Sense Bases, the Six Perfections and many other aspects of Buddhism.

His Domain Expansion "Infinite Void" references Śūnyatā in name, which is a meditative state of experience

The Mudra he uses to activate his domain he uses is associated with Taishakuten, who is a Buddhist Deva.

His moment of enlightenment in Hidden Inventory is accompanied with a significant and immediate power up. The temporary mental state he experiences is exactly as Nirvana is described: A state of calm, equanimity, nonattachment and nonself - the complete absence of all suffering and the acceptance of all that is. Many people mistake this for egotistic indifference. It is not. It's a state of serenity. One that unlocks three new skills within him: Red, Purple and RCT. The connection of enlightenment to Jujutsu mastery, is showcased through this very scene. This makes complete sense in a meta context: The first step towards enlightenment starts with understanding the Four Noble Truths, which center around the role suffering plays in life. Since within the story suffering manifests as Cursed Energy, the connection between understanding suffering and understanding Cursed Energy are inherently synonymous within the story. To understand suffering means to understand Cursed Energy

Stages of enlightenment of characters in Jujutsu Kaisen: I initially wanted to measure each character's stage of enlightenment by using the Noble Eightfold Path in a questionnaire type of way, but there are unfortunately some aspects which are impossible to answer for most characters, hence why I am choosing to keep it simple by measuring this through the Four Stages of Enlightenment. Even with this approach it is not possible to give a definitive answer to each of the fetters, but we can make an estimated guess according to what we do know of the characters.

Tengen: Tengen herself represents a Bodhisattva, who is trying to postpone her ascend to Buddhahood and complete enlightenment. Her characterization makes her position as an “ascended” human obvious: She is the one who taught the foundation of Jujutsu Sorcery, much like Buddha Gautama (the OG Buddha, so to speak) taught the Dharma. Tengen maintains four major barriers, which reference The Four Noble Truths. Her base is visualized as an enormous tree - Trees are symbolically linked to the Buddha Gautama, who was born beneath a tree, obtained enlightenment beneath a tree and died beneath a tree. She only maintains her sense of self and sense of attachment by either merging with a Star Plasma Vessel or later on through the use of her own barriers. Tengen notably has an absence of aversion, as she doesn't show any inclination towards anger. Through her active attempts to stave of a loss of attachment (because the moment she loses her attachment to life as it is, she might no longer see the point maintaining her barriers) and her loss of identity one can assume that she is at the stage of a Non-returner (Stage 3 out of 4), who is actively preventing the final stage of Arahant (Stage 4 out of 4). In Buddhism a state of non-self does not necessarily mean becoming one with all of humanity, but within the story that is what it represents. Yaga himself uses the term evolution to describe Tengen's predicament, which is being used synonymously to enlightenment in Jujutsu Kaisen, because isn't enlightenment itself a form of evolution?

Gojo: He rejects the traditional ways, which might be a manifestation of having let go of the belief in rites and rituals. Gojo seems not prone to aversion, since we rarely see him angry. Even after his unsealing he seemed rather collected, despite the horrific circumstances. Similarly we don't see him being overly clingy towards anything, as he seems to accept things as they happen. Still, he is shown to not be entirely free of his attachments to people and the circumstances of life during his youth. His sense of self is also very strong, which is why I conclude that Gojo is at the Stage of Once-returner (Stage 2 out of 4). This also fits in nicely with his farewell chapter being titled “Go South”, because even if Gege leaves the choice up to each character, thematically Gojo should still have one life cycle to complete until he reaches complete enlightenment and truly dies.

You might say that this doesn't make much sense in terms of Gojo being canonically stronger than Tengen, but remember, enlightenment relates to Jujutsu mastery. It is also worthwhile noting that Tengen's CT is simply not suitable for battle since it is a protective one and holds no offensive power.

Sukuna: Sukuna is a more complicated case and this might be by design. He isn't driven by hatred, his actions are calculated with certain self-centered outcomes in mind. He is simply indifferent to everyone except himself. The question of attachment is a little complicated, as Sukuna has no emotional attachments to anything or anyone and sees no meaning in anything, except in his self-centered pursuit of pleasure. And what brings him most pleasure is challenging battle. A thirst for bloodshed, which nobody so far had been able to satisfy. Keep this in mind, as this will matter later on. He is also portrayed as prideful. His sense of self is enormous. He actively rejects any form of love, even deems it as useless, which is inherently anti-buddhist. Despite that, solely based on his reduced attachment and absent aversion, he should be placed close to the stage of Non-returner (Stage 3 out of 4), with only his egocentrism and pursuit of bloodshed preventing him from achieving complete enlightenment. And it makes sense, because what would someone, who is free of all shackles but without an ounce of kindness in him, look like? Probably a whole lot like Sukuna

When we think about stages of enlightenment mirroring a sorcerer's mastery of jujutsu, then it becomes more evident why Gojo lost to Sukuna – Sukuna's understanding of the The Four Noble Truths was more advanced and therefore his understanding of Jujutsu exceeded Gojo's.

Imo every single sorcerer has to have reached some kind of level of enlightenment, as I think it's necessary to be able to get to even a low level of mastery of Jujutsu. I think Gege likely thinks in terms of way smaller and more variable steps towards enlightenment, but I am going only by legitimate information in relation to Buddhism, while trying to keep the headcanons out of this analysis part.

Kenjaku and the vision of anti-enlightenment: Kenjaku personifies the antithesis to Tengen – someone who understands the Dharma and the Four Noble Truths and who intends to corrupt the world even further through this knowledge. Kenjaku is the archetype of the character who wants to play god. He messes with the process of natural creation, tries to disrupt the natural order and intervenes in the balance of life. All of his actions reflect a complete disregard for Buddhist values. This begins with the nature of his Cursed Technique, which in itself is a form of stealing. He makes Binding Vows with Sorcerers, which disrupt the natural cycle of rebirth and he makes them with the knowledge that he will be rid of his side of the bargain once he switches bodies. The Culling Games consist of ten colonies, which reference the Ten Fetters, which are the very roadblocks to enlightenment. Higuruma states that the very goal of the Culling Games is “permanence”, which goes against the natural impermanence of all things. Even Kenjaku's Domain Expansion symbolizes an abuse of his knowledge, as we see the Five Wisdom Buddhas surround a horde of Cursed Spirits, in what is a corruption of it's original meaning. Kenjaku's actions reflect the active effort to push humanity and life into the very opposite direction of enlightenment. Remember, Tengen states that enlightenment is a process that inevitably will happen, if one lives long enough. It’s a natural consequence of life.

The soul, the body, enlightenment and Cursed Energy – the core problem of Jujutsu Kaisen

So, what do we know by now?

We know that the soul is linked to the body in an almost karmic way. Everything that alters the soul, also alters the body. These two are related, although they are not symbiotic. The body does not change the soul in return and it is not the soul itself. They are separate entities.

We know that the degree of someone's enlightenment reflects their mastery of Jujutsu, because Jujutsu is energy born from suffering.

We know that the brains of sorcerers are different from non-sorcerers.

Changes within the soul alter the body (specifically the brain). Mahito used soul manipulation to alter Junpei's brain into developing a Cursed Technique.

Different abilities stem from different areas of the brain. The ability to perceive Cursed Spirits is different from the ability to control Cursed Energy. RCT specifically is stated to be located in the frontal lobe. Cursed Energy is located in the gut, which seems to be a reference to the gut-brain axis.

The soul is the source of all emotion. If enlightenment affects one's emotions, then it also must be affecting the soul

Based on these observation we can conclude that Yuki had the right instinct, when she started studying the soul in order to figure out how to rid the world of Cursed Energy.

Within Buddhism when one is reborn they are believed to have to start right back at 0 in terms of their enlightenment journey. The reason is simply that in traditional Buddhism there is no belief in a permanent soul which remains constant throughout each rebirth. In traditional Buddhism upon death the old self gets extinguished and all that is left is all the karma one has accumulated, which then determines the circumstances of one's rebirth. But what if within the universe of Jujutsu Kaisen each person retains whichever level of enlightenment they have reached and continues on from that stage on into the next lifetime? What if that is how sorcerers came to be? What if they are all the result of the many lifetimes, which they have went through and all the experiences that have led their souls and therefore brains to evolve? Gege uses the term evolution, when speaking about enlightenment within the story. Evolution is adaptation. The fact that highly graded Jujutsu Sorcerers get born into Non-Sorcerer (Geto and Todo most notably) families feels like a validation of that idea. In the same vain Naoya maintained his CT after getting reborn as a Vengeful Spirit. Gojo shifted the balance of the world from the very moment he was born. How would that be possible for a newborn who had to start at 0% ? Like I mentioned before, Tengen states that when one lives long enough evolution is inevitable. It is just that due to her own immortality that she experiences the process in one go, while maintaining the same identity and therefore the memory of the process.

Heavenly Restriction - an affliction of the soul ?: Since the problem of Cursed Energy must be resolved, the origin of it must also be analyzed. The only way to do that is through analyzing Toji and Maki, and what sets them apart from everyone else.

Toji is nicknamed as “the one who left it all behind”. His lifestyle inherently portrays the antithesis of what a Buddhist should aspire to: He is an assassin for a living, he gambles, he freeloads, he doesn’t speak kindly. So what could possibly set him apart from others, in the context of spirituality and how it relates to Cursed Energy? The most core aspect of Toji lies in his alias: He didn't want for anything. He only deviated from this attitude, when presented with the opportunity to kill Gojo, when a desire to become better than Jujutsu Sorcerers took hold of him. This reverting back to attachment is also reflected in him remembering Megumi in the moment of his short-lived success. If he had stuck with this mental shift, his body might have after a while started to create Cursed Energy.

Remember when I stated that Gojo's enlightenment moment in Hidden Inventory reflected a temporary state of serenity instead of, as many assume, apathy? What if, just like some readers, the body struggles to tell the difference? All it senses is that the soul stopped experiencing suffering, wether it is because one voluntarily let go of all attachments or wether they were depressed to the point of total apathy, might not make a difference to the body. If Toji was already born this way, then the idea of the soul remaining a permanent part of the self throughout each life cycle would hint that Toji had carried these emotions from a previous life into his next one.

And what about Maki? Maki was only born a non-sorcerer but not entirely free of all Cursed Energy until she lost her sister. Binding Vow and twin-lore aside, what happened to her spiritually in that moment? According to Maki's own words, she lost her heart. This highlights the very significance of Mai to her - Mai was the one thing Maki clung to, the one thing that mattered enough to her to evoke such strong emotions in her. Once Mai died, just like Toji, Maki didn't want for anything. She didn't care for the acknowledgement of her clan or even the existence of it. She did what her sister asked her to do and felt no particular way about it. Even Yuji and Megumi later on notice the shift in her demeanor, which turned completely unaffected.

Every other character clings to something to some degree, these two appear to be the exception. Sukuna desires bloodshed, Kenjaku desires the creation of something greater than him, Gojo clings to the loss of his youth, Megumi clings to Tsumiki, Takaba clings to his dream of becoming a successful comedian, Kamo clings to his mother, Mechamaru clings to his wish to be with Miwa and the list goes on.

Yuji Itadori – The one who will teach you about love Lets get to the most important character in the story.

We see him start off as someone who is incredibly compassionate and who is highly attuned to what other people are feeling. We learn that he is physically incredibly strong and that he has the ability to act as a “cage” for the strongest sorcerer in history. With the information we have we can conclude that his physical strength reflects an incredibly strong soul, and that this strength might also be the reason why his soul is able to suppress Sukuna's soul and therefore keep him from taking over the body they shared. We don't know what exactly makes a soul “strong”, but one thing even Sukuna notes about Yuji is his will to be unbreakable.

We watch him suffer through seemingly endless horrors, through which in turn his mastery of Jujutsu improves. This makes perfect sense, since we now know that understanding suffering is a core step towards enlightenment. He learns to control his emotions in the face of his losses, which is best illustrated in the difference in his reaction to Nobara's death and Choso's death. This is not because Yuji cared less about Choso, but because Yuji grew mentally. He is not driven by greed or resentment either, but only through his desire to be unbreakable in his pursuit of protecting people. Sounds pretty Buddhist, doesn't it? The Mudra Yuji uses for his domain derives from Kṣitigarbha, a Bodhisattva, who vowed to not reach Nirvana, until he has emptied all of hell. Seeing as Cursed Spirits are the very manifestation of hell creatures, Yuji's role in the story becomes more obvious than ever: He will be the one to rid the world of this hell manifested on earth, by freeing everyone of Cursed Energy.

A vision for the end Yuji will kill Sukuna.

But death is not a final end, if one gets reborn. Killing Sukuna, only for him to get reborn with the same soul and therefore same feelings and attitudes, would only temporarily alleviate the problem. Eventually the calamity that is Ryomen Sukuna would reappear and wreak the same havoc as before. This means that for the sake of the story Sukuna must not get reborn. Remember how I believe that Gege changed the rules of Samsara and Nirvana? That in Jujutsu Kaisen rebirth is not a matter of full enlightenment but of choice? Specifically getting to choose between South or North? Nanami chose South and therefore rebirth because he has hope for the future. There are things he still looks forwards to. He has a reason to go back and not want to die for good. Now, what is the one thing that Sukuna still craves? The reason he turned himself into a cursed object? Bloodlust. This seemingly unsatisfiable lust for battle. The only way for Sukuna to voluntarily exit the rebirth cycle is for this desire to get quenched. His sole, self-centered attachment to life.

Yuji will give him this satisfaction by demolishing him in a way he has never experience before and ironically it will be the greater kindness Yuji could offer to him. After that he will be able to die peacefully and never come back. This would also, beyond the idea of approaching all beings with compassion, explain why Gojo felt bad that he couldn't give Sukuna the same satisfaction he received from that battle - he likely knew Sukuna wouldn't be able to go peacefully as long as it remained unsatisfied. This resolution is as necessary for Sukuna as it was for both Kashimo and Gojo. The difference is that Sukuna doesn't long for anything else, unlike Gojo and Kashimo, who still craved for the connection to others. I believe Kashimo specifically was introduced for the sole reason of setting up Sukuna's death in this manner.

Sukuna's death will be not the end of the story, since the main problem still hasn't been resolved. Yuji still has to bring about the cessation of Cursed Energy and this can only be accomplished through the merger, as it is the only device in the story through which such a significant change on this large of a scale could be enacted. And as the game master and someone in the hold of the darkest kind of desperation, Megumi will set the merger off, even after being freed from Sukuna.

I have tried to make the case that ridding everyone of Cursed Energy does not mean that humanity has to reach complete enlightenment. By trying to understand what sets Maki and Toji apart from everyone, I have tried to deduct which aspect of enlightenment is responsible for the change of the body's constitution towards not creating Cursed Energy. I don't feel 100% confident in the assumption that it is attachment (desire, greed, clinging), but I am failing to come up with anything else, based on what we know so far into the story, hence why I am basing the rest of my theory on that assumption.

The goal of Kenjaku was to merge all of humanity through Tengen and turn them into something which exceeds a Cursed Spirit. Tengen describes that each individual will still retain their identity, their soul, while they all merge into interconnectedness. She describes that one soul's emotions will threaten to sweep over to everyone else in a domino effect, threatening to throw everyone into darkness. But what if Yuji is the wildcard in this equation? We know that Yuji's soul is exceptionally strong, so what if, within the confines of the merger, he is able to influence everyone into a moment of enlightenment, a moment of evolution? And what if through this the eradication of all Cursed Energy is possible?

If the factor which creates Cursed Energy is attachment, meaning people's greed and tendency to cling to things, then the loss of attachment in all of humanity, would resolve the following issues:

Non-sorcerers would no longer produce Cursed Energy and go on living as before.

There would be no Curse Users who could abuse their power.

Cursed Spirits would cease to exist.

The political threat of Cursed Energy as an energy source is resolved.

Megumi, who's suffering is mainly caused by his clinging to Tsumiki, will be saved from his desperate mental state.

Another aspect of Yuji's characterization is that his attacks affect the soul. I think we can assume that not only can Yuji attack other's souls but he can also see or at least feel it. It is often illustrated just how compassionate Yuji is and we see Mahito explain that emotions come from the soul. Mahito himself could see Nanami's true feelings, because he can see his soul waver. I think it is not too far fetched to say that because of this Yuji can also detect the space between two souls.

This brings me to the second part of my theory: Yuji will also be able to separate the souls of everyone who got sucked into the merger, because he can differentiate them all from another, just like he can tell the difference between Sukuna's and Megumi's soul. This might be done through a Binding Vow, through which Yuji sacrifices his own life for the sake of saving humanity by separating everyone from the merger. With this Yuji will have accomplished what he had set his mind to do: He killed Cursed Spirits and he killed Sukuna. All while setting an example for what love truly is – benevolence, loving-kindness, friendliness, amity, good will, and care for others. I believe that as he makes that Binding Vow, which settles his fate of death, he will have achieve true detachment form all greed and desire, which in turn, through the connection of the merger, impacts everyone else, in the short moments before the merger finally disperses. It might sound cheesy, but in essence the “power of love” will bring salvation in the form of Yuji Itadori. It is not a romantic love but a pure love.

I assume that we will get a major time-skip after that, specifically a time-skip that shows Japan after major reconstruction, while also showing us the reborn versions of our favorite characters enjoying life free of the burden of Jujutsu. (To push this idea further I even thought that the new art of Gojo, Megumi and Yuji could be what their future selves will look like, since it has a bit of a futuristic vibe to it, though not extremely so.)

This is what I believe the resolution of the story could look like. Or maybe not because who knows what Gege is thinking.

There is one thing which bothers me in terms of this theory: It has no room for Megumi to use his fully realized Domain Expansion. Gege has put a lot of thought into Megumi's Cursed Technique, which references Yakushi Nyorai, who is associated with healing. The Mudra Megumi uses and his Ten Shadows are inspired by Nyorai. Additionally it is worth noting that his Shikigami mirror the Ten Sacred Treasures of Shintoism, which when put together are supposed to be able to even revive the dead. Not only that but the object inside his domain seems to be a part of the cervial vertebrae and the enteric nervous system. But yeah, idk where to fit that in so I will just ignore it for now lol.

Thanks for reading! Please forgive mistakes of any kind.

#jujutsu kaisen #analysis #jjk #jjk 265 #yuji itadori #toji fushiguro #maki zenin #megumi fushiguro #gojo satoru #tengen #kenjaku #sukuna #prediction #theory #buddhism #symbolism

24 notes · View notes

omegaphilosophia · 1 month ago

Text

The Philosophy of Buddhism

Buddhism is a spiritual and philosophical tradition that originated in India around the 5th century BCE with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. Buddhism encompasses a wide range of beliefs, practices, and schools of thought, but at its core, it is concerned with understanding the nature of suffering, the path to its cessation, and the ultimate realization of enlightenment.

Key Themes in the Philosophy of Buddhism:

The Four Noble Truths:

Dukkha (Suffering): The first noble truth is the recognition that life is permeated by dukkha, often translated as suffering, dissatisfaction, or stress. This includes both the obvious sufferings of pain, aging, and death, as well as more subtle forms of mental unease and dissatisfaction.

Samudaya (Origin of Suffering): The second noble truth identifies the cause of suffering as tanha (craving or desire) and ignorance (avidya). This craving is not only for physical pleasures but also for existence, non-existence, and various forms of attachment.

Nirodha (Cessation of Suffering): The third noble truth asserts that it is possible to end suffering by extinguishing its causes, namely craving and ignorance. This state of cessation is known as Nirvana, which represents the ultimate liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering.

Magga (Path to the Cessation of Suffering): The fourth noble truth outlines the path to the cessation of suffering, known as the Noble Eightfold Path. This path provides a practical guide to ethical living, mental discipline, and wisdom.

The Noble Eightfold Path:

Right Understanding (Samma Ditthi): This involves understanding the true nature of reality, particularly the Four Noble Truths.

Right Intention (Samma Sankappa): Cultivating intentions of renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness.

Right Speech (Samma Vaca): Speaking truthfully, avoiding gossip, lies, and harmful speech.

Right Action (Samma Kammanta): Acting in ways that are ethical and non-harmful, following principles like non-violence and honesty.

Right Livelihood (Samma Ajiva): Engaging in work that does not harm others and is ethically sound.

Right Effort (Samma Vayama): Cultivating positive states of mind and preventing unwholesome states.

Right Mindfulness (Samma Sati): Maintaining awareness of thoughts, feelings, and actions, leading to greater self-understanding and wisdom.

Right Concentration (Samma Samadhi): Developing deep states of meditation that lead to profound insights and the cultivation of wisdom.

The Three Marks of Existence:

Anicca (Impermanence): Everything in life is in a constant state of flux. All phenomena are transient, and clinging to anything as permanent leads to suffering.

Dukkha (Suffering): Suffering is an inherent part of existence, arising from the impermanent and unsatisfactory nature of life.

Anatta (Non-Self): There is no permanent, unchanging self or soul (atman). The belief in a permanent self is an illusion that contributes to suffering.

Karma and Rebirth:

Karma (Action and Consequence): Karma refers to the moral law of cause and effect, where intentional actions lead to corresponding consequences. Good actions lead to positive results, and bad actions lead to negative outcomes, both in this life and future lives.

Rebirth (Samsara): Buddhism teaches that beings are trapped in a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara), driven by karma and craving. The ultimate goal is to escape this cycle by attaining Nirvana.

Nirvana:

Liberation from Suffering: Nirvana is the ultimate goal in Buddhism, representing the cessation of all suffering, the end of the cycle of rebirth, and the realization of ultimate truth. It is a state of peace, liberation, and enlightenment.

Beyond Dualities: Nirvana transcends all dualities and conceptual distinctions, including the dichotomy of existence and non-existence.

Meditation and Mindfulness:

Central Practices: Meditation (bhavana) and mindfulness (sati) are central practices in Buddhism, aimed at cultivating concentration, insight, and mental clarity. These practices help individuals develop a deep understanding of the nature of reality and the mind.

Vipassana and Samatha: Two main types of meditation in Buddhism are Vipassana (insight meditation), which focuses on gaining insight into the true nature of reality, and Samatha (calm-abiding meditation), which develops concentration and tranquility.

The Middle Way:

Avoiding Extremes: The Buddha taught the Middle Way as a path that avoids the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. It represents a balanced approach to spiritual practice that leads to enlightenment.

Practical Wisdom: The Middle Way also refers to the balanced application of wisdom in everyday life, guiding ethical conduct and mental development.

Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda):

Interconnectedness of All Phenomena: Dependent origination is the principle that all phenomena arise in dependence upon other phenomena. This interconnectedness means that nothing exists independently, and everything is part of a complex web of cause and effect.

Causality and the Cycle of Suffering: Understanding dependent origination is key to understanding the cycle of suffering (samsara) and how to break free from it.

Ethical Conduct:

The Five Precepts: Buddhism provides a set of ethical guidelines known as the Five Precepts, which include abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication. These precepts help cultivate moral discipline and support the path to enlightenment.

Compassion and Loving-Kindness (Metta): Compassion (karuna) and loving-kindness (metta) are central ethical values in Buddhism, encouraging individuals to act with care and concern for the well-being of others.

Schools of Buddhist Philosophy:

Theravada Buddhism:

Focus on Early Teachings: Theravada, also known as the "Teaching of the Elders," adheres closely to the early teachings of the Buddha and emphasizes individual liberation through wisdom and ethical conduct.

Arhat Ideal: The goal in Theravada is to become an Arhat, an enlightened being who has attained Nirvana and is free from the cycle of rebirth.

Mahayana Buddhism:

Great Vehicle: Mahayana, or the "Great Vehicle," offers a broader interpretation of the Buddha's teachings and emphasizes the Bodhisattva path, where practitioners strive to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

Emptiness (Shunyata): Mahayana philosophy introduces the concept of emptiness, which suggests that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, highlighting the interdependence and impermanence of all things.

Vajrayana Buddhism:

Diamond Vehicle: Vajrayana, or the "Diamond Vehicle," is an esoteric form of Buddhism that incorporates rituals, mantras, and meditation practices aimed at achieving rapid enlightenment. It is closely associated with Tibetan Buddhism.

Tantric Practices: Vajrayana involves complex tantric practices that are believed to transform the mind and body, leading to enlightenment.

The philosophy of Buddhism is a profound exploration of the nature of existence, suffering, and the path to liberation. Through its teachings on impermanence, non-self, dependent origination, and the cultivation of compassion, Buddhism offers a comprehensive framework for understanding and overcoming the challenges of life. Its emphasis on mindfulness, ethical conduct, and wisdom provides practical guidance for achieving inner peace and spiritual awakening. Whether through individual practice or engagement with the broader community, Buddhism continues to inspire and guide people in their quest for meaning, peace, and liberation.

14 notes · View notes

moonpoolcat · 21 days ago

Text

No Significant harassment 2\6

FINALLY HE'S OUT!

Quick backstory (Short version)

No Significant Harassment is a hyper outgoing gen 3 iterator an co-senior of the Twilight local group alongside Looks tot he Moon. After witnessing Slivers death NSH noticed Moons behavior had changed, rather then taking pity on the senior like everyone else but instead became more then a friend an did what he always had done an stuck by her side becoming the ultimate emotional support making sure she recovered from the loss in peace. That was until the incident happened. NSH was the first to respond to Moons distress calls when Five Pebbles suddenly starts abusing the resources he shared in his attempts to break the taboo prompting the jester and Seven red suns to create slugcats in a futile attempt to save their senior well as the iterator he fell in love with all those cycles ago. but in his efforts of creating a slugcat to deliver slagkeys he had created Hunter a cycle too late an had to deliver them himself almost destroying his puppet trying to save Moon in a last ditch effort to hold together whatever life they had. But it was would all be in vain anyway as Moon had suffered a major error erasing almost every piece of their relationship broke the poor jester to pieces. Even though his attempt failed and the results leads to the disaster that was Moons death Sig had been introduced to a new reality. He had lost everything but continues to power through his own mental state maintaining the groups stability. Ever since Moons rampage of death an carnage he had done everything to keep the admin sane to no avail. He can only do so much being everywhere at once. But with the rise of the anti-sliverists how long can the jester keep on the happy façade with the rising danger that slowly lurks around the corner? or will he too finally snap an becomes a danger to everyone?

Explanation behind design Yes if you look hard enough he looks like a green Fizzoroli, I took inspiration from him to make Sig unique from the others. Making him a jester makes sense as Sig cracks jokes constantly or tries to make other iterators laugh fits his character. The jester hat antennas was a suggestion. I had him wear a hoodie in the first sketch but the antennas kept getting in the way so it was scrapped.

I didn't really enjoy that NSH's design looked too simple. Putting him in baggy clothes just looked off to me. I wanted him to fit a role that made sense. I had lots of fun with the color palette, it was a way of migrating locked personalities into an extroverted character as i am introverted IRL, his sleeves were inspiration from the 2004 joker from batman that gave me the idea to make Siggy a jester in the first place ditching the idea of giving him a jacket. He still has his scarf it's just really short an not noticeable, his antennas are long because it looked like hair to me so I went with that. It was not easy working with so many shades of purple. There was no way i was going with green on green i was not going to make him look like a walking pile of green shit.

Relations

Looks to the moon: NSH tries his best to entertain her to hopefully calm her mood. Still longs for the relationship they had but knows Moon will never remember their time together. Follows every order to the letter no matter the circumstance. He suffers slight trauma from watching her kill off the rest of the local group. He knows what she is doing is wrong but her manipulation tactics are flawless an hard to break away from and he doesn't want to be useless.

Seven red suns: They actually dated a while back but it was short because of Sigs attachment to Moon that broke them apart. He didn't want it to be this way being Suns long running friend when everyone else feared him. Becoming admin was a suggestion, he didn't think this action would cause his best friend to go off the deep end to trying to kill him causing all of this calamity to happen in the first place? He hopes to one day repair their friendship but for now he can only observe and make sure Sun's doesn't go postal. SOS: NSH always did enjoy participating in Slivers experiments, she was his inspiration for reaching out an trying new things being a common influence to his outgoing an 'zesty' behavior. Five Pebbles: His hatred towards Pebbles was a mistake after Moon died. Harming him while had had the rot crossed the line. He has some remorse for his pain of wanting to leave the cycle. Sig talks to Pebbles every once in a while mainly to help him with projects or just talk.

Chasing Winds: They didn't really bond that well so there is hardly any information on how these two got along. He did witness Winds and Suns fight at the last meeting they had. Wind was never fond of Sigs jokes though They don't really see eye to eye.

UI: A strong ever lasting hatred, NSH was more than pissed finding out the careless actions she had done that not only affected his friends but had ruined his relationship with Moon entirely. EOS: The iterator is busy being protected by his own sick twisted group but NSH is determined to kill him for the reason of abusing Suns.

Other local groups

Oasis local group: His partner is a senior of this local group and he temporarily runs as co- senior managing both the Oasis local group and his own group.

Zodius local group: His two sisters are within his group so it is not unusual for NSH to bounce back an forth between groups visiting them.

Jaded local group: NSH has not thoughts on this group, but if Moon wants them dead then so does he. Stormfall local group: Regularly stops by to visit Winds, sometimes uninvited. He still sees him as part of his local group that is considered family whether Winds like it or not.

Extra

Sig has an older and younger sister, (all three of them are speedsters) built after one another but his sisters would rather not get involved in Moons murder sprees. Their names are: Carefree Evanescent Espionage and Sixteen flying bold affinity

Astral form: Goat

NSH is both pansexual an polymerous, known for being a total casanova Sig never stuck to one partner other then Moon an Suns at the time as he never was one for getting attached. Even if he is already married now his partner has no issue with him revisiting these past partners that are or so one night stands if anything while still keeping in touch with them all.

Sig is a speedster, meaning he can run almost at the speed of light if he wanted an can be in almost every place at once.

Regularly messes around with scavengers, he had become one with a tribe on top of his can and he normally takes them with him to pull pranks on his friends.

Fear of glass, specifically tight spaces surrounded by glass.

The city on top of NSH is forever set a light being an infinite power source. Anything left behind by the ancients that would have decade without power is still in perfect working condition stuck in time.

When stressed Sig will phsycally roll into a ball as a means of coping.

Since NSH has a small thing for music, his time with the scavengers while being semi feral has developed his own type of music, he hates the sound of silence so there is always some type of music playing nearby

His territory his can resides in littered in crystals an towers that respond to the aggressive electric activity caused by clouds when his can breathes or just Sig in general when he runs by.

The color tangerine makes him feel uncomfortable for some reason though its unknown why?

If Sig is overstimulated his body reacts by releasing high amounts of static but any creature that comes into contact with him is automatically immune to it.

A series of crystals naturally grow on an his around structure and territory, they're highly attracted to lightning especially if Sig runs by them

Weapon of choice: Volt rings, the rings can be found only on his tail, they're conductors to contain the amount of electricity Sig picks up on a daily from natural surroundings, normally that would be otherwise lethal to other iterators. When taken off they can expand or shrink to whatever Sig desires to be used in certain situations and are automatically electrified to use as projectiles. Along with these are virtual panels that Sig summons at will, they don't do much accept become platforms or other means for him to protect himself or props when entertaining others. Just like last time if this reaches loads of likes i'll go suffer an write a longer NSH lore post.

#rain world #no significant harassment #rw nsh #rainworld au

12 notes · View notes

kuroov · 5 months ago

Text

⸻ THE PATH OF SATORU GOJO AND HIS TRUE ENLIGHTENMENT

or in other words, me being a delusional gojo dick rider

this post contains: jujutsu kaisen spoilers, theories, slight gore, religious (Buddhism) talks. My maybe incoherent rambling? No seriously this might be very incoherent and messily put together, so I’m sorry in advance 😭

This is an expanded and refreshed version of my previous theory while I hate what Gege did, I have this odd believe there is a big piece we all are missing and it might be delusions, but I think this piece or rather those pieces are crucial to get Gojo back, so stay strong fellow Gojo lovers

ANYWAYS let’s dig into it

Before we go into the depths of the Jujutsu Kaisen Manga. I want to dig further into Buddhism, because part of it is crucial for this theory.

First of Buddhism basically teaches that human life is one of suffering, it’s a cycle that you can only escape through becoming a “better” person. If you’re bad person, you will be a bad person in your next life and so on, that is until you stop wanting things, until you start letting go off greed, hatred and ignorance etc. It’s believed one shall reach Nirvana and become enlightened when this happens — so to put it in simple words. Good now, good later, bad now, even worse later. Got it?

“The four noble truths”

1. Dukkha (Suffering) — Humans are subjected to desires and cravings, but even when we obtain those cravings, satisfy those desires. It’s only merely temporary. Pleasure does not last, so evenwhen we are not suffering from outward causes like illness or bereavement, we are unfulfilled, unsatisfied because none of this things last, and if they do they become monotonous

2. Samudāya (The origins of Suffering) — Buddha discovered that the root of all suffering comes from one thing and that’s desire, which comes in three forms or rather the three roots of evil.

Greed and desire, represented in by a rooster

Ignorance or delusion, represented by a pig

Hatred and destructive urges, represented by a snake

In the Fire Sermon Buddha has taught the Buddhist Monks more about suffering.

Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning?

The eye is burning, forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning, also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact for its indispensable condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.

Buddha went on to say the same of the other four senses, and the mind, showing that attachment to positive, negative and neutral sensations and thoughts is the cause of suffering.

3. Nirodha (Cessation of Suffering) — How do you stop suffering? Buddha’s teaching says that you stop it, once you liberate yourself from attachment.

Bhikkhus, when a noble follower who has heard (the truth) sees thus, he finds estrangement in the eye, finds estrangement in forms, finds estrangement in eye-consciousness, finds estrangement in eye-contact, and whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful- nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact for its indispensable condition, in that too he finds estrangement.

"Estrangement" here means disenchantment: a Buddhist aims to know sense conditions clearly as they are without becoming enchanted or misled by them.

When he finds estrangement, passion fades out. With the fading of passion, he is liberated. When liberated, there is knowledge that he is liberated. He understands: 'Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived out, what can be done is done, of this there is no more beyond.'

[After death an enlightened person is liberated from the cycle of rebirth.]

4. Magga (Path of the Cessation of Suffering) — The fourth and last noble truth, is the Buddha’s prescription for the end of suffering. This is a set of principles called the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Way: it avoids both indulgence and severe asceticism, neither of which the Buddha had found helpful in his search for enlightenment.

The eight divisions. Note the eight stages are not to be taken in order, but rather support and reinforce each other:

Right Understanding - Sammā ditthi

Accepting Buddhist teachings. (The Buddha never intended his followers to believe his teachings blindly, but to practise them and judge for themselves whether they were true.)

Right Intention - Sammā san̄kappa

A commitment to cultivate the right attitudes.

Right Speech - Sammā vācā

Speaking truthfully, avoiding slander, gossip and abusive speech.

Right Action - Sammā kammanta

Behaving peacefully and harmoniously; refraining from stealing, killing and overindulgence in sensual pleasure.

Right Livelihood - Sammā ājīva

Avoiding making a living in ways that cause harm, such as exploiting people or killing animals, or trading in intoxicants or weapons.

Right Effort - Sammā vāyāma

Cultivating positive states of mind; freeing oneself from evil and unwholesome states and preventing them arising in future.

Right Mindfulness - Sammā sati

Developing awareness of the body, sensations, feelings and states of mind.

Right Concentration - Sammā samādhi

Developing the mental focus necessary for this awareness.

The eight stages can be grouped into Wisdom (right understanding and intention), Ethical Conduct (right speech, action and livelihood) and Meditation (right effort, mindfulness and concentration).

The Buddha described the Eightfold Path as a means to enlightenment, like a raft for crossing a river. Once one has reached the opposite shore, one no longer needs the raft and can leave it behind.

The five Skandhas. What are the five Skandhas? They are an essential concept in Buddhist philosophy and psychology, that describe the components that make up the human experience and the illusory nature of a self. They are said to be a big milestone to achieving enlightenment

1. Form (Rupa) — The material or physical aspect of existence. Form encompasses the physical body and the sense organs through which we perceive the external world. Traditionally, these are listed as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

2. Feelings (Serdana) — The feelings or sensations that arise in response to our experiences, including all pain and pleasure. These feelings can be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.

3. Perceptions (Samjna) — The mental process of recognizing, identifying, and interpreting sensory information. Perception involves conceptualizing and categorizing our experiences using the information gained by our five senses.

4. Mental Formations (Sankhara) — This includes all our mental activities, including thoughts, emotions, attitudes, intentions, and habitual tendencies.

5. Consciousness (Vijnana) — Consciousness is the subjective knowledge that arises in recognition of the other four skandhas. Simply put, this is your awareness of skandhas one through four.

Like all conditioned or compound phenomena, the five skandhas are impermanent and subject to change and decay. Understanding the nature of the aggregates helps us to realize the insubstantial and impermanent nature of the self and leads to the insight of no self (anatta), which is the foundation of the Buddhist path to liberation.

Buddhahood

Buddhahood is the state of an awakened being, who, has found the path of cessation of “suffering" and they are now in the state of "no-more-learning" as they understand the principle of Suffering and how to cease it. Their mind is cleansed from the three roots of evil (Greed/Desire, Ignorance/Delusions, Hate/Destruction). A Buddha is no longer bound to the cycle of rebirth, but has ended the suffering of it alas a Buddha reached Nirvana.

Nirvana

Nirvana means extinguishing. Attaining nirvana - reaching enlightenment - means extinguishing the three fires of greed, delusion and hatred.

Someone who reaches nirvana does not immediately disappear to a heavenly realm. Nirvana is better understood as a state of mind that humans can reach. It is a state of profound spiritual joy, without negative emotions and fears.

BUT there is “two” stages of Nirvana, one in life and one upon death. The one in life marks the state of a Monk, whose got rid off all attachments and Desires while still having an identity (Body, Name and Life). The Nirvana upon death however is the complete cessation or liberation of everything, including consciousness and rebirth.

We are almost there (no we are not)

Bodhisattva

Bodhisattva means to “seek enlightenment”, it’s the second type of enlightened next to Buddha. The Term however has taken on multiple meanings.

1. Bodhisattava originally referred to the Histrorical Buddha before he reached enlightenment — a Man who has first enlightened himself and then will enlighten others

2. One who achieves enlightenment but not Buddhahood yet — remains on earth to help humans attain salvation

3. Bosatsu is the highest aspiration of Bodhisattava and it’s goal is to save all sentient beings.

Great! Now what does this got to do anything with Jujutsu Kaisen and Gojo?

A lot, because let me tell you. Gojo has never been truly enlightened. But how? I thought his enlightenment was in Hidden Inventory arc.

No we, as the readers have been always under the impression that Gojo was enlightened because of his proclamation, quoting Buddha’s infamous quote. But that doesn’t mean he’s been actually enlightened. Because truth is Gojo was never enlightened.

Satoru Gojo is currently supposed to be 29 years old, however, he isn't. Gojo was sealed October 31st, at around 9:00 pm and unsealed November 19th at an unknown time line. So this means he had spend roughly around 17 days in the prison realm— a space where time didn’t pass for him, and therefore his body has not aged for those 17 days. Gojo’s birthday is the 7th December, but due to the circumstances of the prison realm his body was behind on aging, therefore we adding those 17 days he hasn’t aged to his birthday, the 7th — that would bring us to the number 24. The battle of the strongest was on December 24, so hence that information Gojo is supposed to turn physically 29 that day. But why is the timeline when Gojo turned 29 so important? Because Buddha began his spiritual journey at the age of 29 and this is crucial for Gojo’s possible revival.

As I said Satoru Gojo was born December 7th, 1989 at an unknown time. Instantly the focus was on him, the golden child of the Gojo clan. Why? Because after 100 years, the clan had another potential heir with both the limitless technique and the six eye. It was literally said the balance of the world was altered when he was born, therefore we can all imagine the amount of responsibilities he had. And Gojo most likely was raised with this knowledge, which might be a fundamental reason why we have never seen child Gojo hanging out with people his age. He was either alone or with an adult by his side — but then he went to Jujutsu Tech, he met Suguru, Shoko, Nanami etc. He seemed to finally have friends and what’s more important, he had found an equal in Suguru.

Geto’s department was the reason why Gojo had become a teacher, to foster and guide the new generation and to mend the mistakes that the system did back then with him and Suguru. Gojo wanted to actively create an environment, that would be safe for his students and not make history repeat itself. Personally I believe part of the reason why most of Gojo’s students are considered outcasts in the Jujutsu Society — Maki as someone with zero cursed energy, Toge as someone who can’t even communicate properly because of his technique, Yuta who had a curse attached to him and so on.

But although Gojo cared for people, he still identified them by their strength. And this is another reason why Gojo decided to teach the outcasts of Jujutsu, because he mostly saw the potential in them to be strong, stronger than him under his guidance and share the burden of being the strongest with them or have them outshine him one day. Does this make him a bad person? No, while his selflessness might have stemmed from selfish desires, it doesn’t make him a poor character, but only shades his personality more.

Why am I mentioning this? Because Gojo’s character has always been defined by his strength, his powers — it’s what he identified with, and boosted himself with. And that’s exactly where his flaw lies. Don’t get me wrong, again I’m not saying that Gojo is a bad person or anything along the lines, but I am saying that Gojo is a deeply troubled and complex character and part of the reasons for this are his powers, because he identifies and defines himself by them. Even some of his closed ones define him by his powers.

That being said Gojo had declared to win the battle against Sukuna, because he has no other choice — He’s proclaimed as the strongest sorcerer, so it’s a given he must win, no? HOWEVER Sukuna has never made those claims, he has never called himself the strongest or promised to win on December. What he did say was, that he would kill Gojo and that’s what he did. But fact is Sukuna has never felt the need to attach his identify to titles like Gojo does because, Sukuna is secure in his identity and to be honest he doesn’t give a fuck about anything. He just does want he wants, does things he takes pleasure in and that’s it — A prime example are Haruto and the twin girls, Mimiko and Nanako, he killed them because he just felt like it, simple as that. Sukuna‘s understanding of Jujutsu is also completely different than Gojo’s since he only needs to see something once to understand it and copy it for his own uses. As Angel pointed out, it was a mistake for Gojo to "show" Sukuna how to restore his burnt out Curse Technique. Because Sukuna is able to understand its inner workings and deduce its limits better than Gojo — the fight between him and Mahoraga was another prime example for that. But most important Sukuna doesn’t rely on his techniques, whilst a crucial part of Gojo relies on his six eye to understand and detect cursed energy/techniques.

That brings us to the infamous identity crisis of Satoru Gojo

The recent chapter had this question stand in focus again, because perhaps we finally get an answer to it now. (Putting this off for now, cause I want to focus on something else) and that’s Gojo’s six eye, specifically a Music Video that has dropped months ago by Eve.

First of the chopped fish with the six eye, the biggest eye destroyed specifically. Now while this might seem random, hear me out. Sukuna has referred to Gojo as a nameless fish in one panel, the chopped fish is mostly a reference to that but why destroy it’s eye? When Sukuna didn’t even mention anything about eyes and then the biggest one aswell (as if it’s like a core point here) being destroyed and the other two pictures from the mv — Clearly that’s supposed to be Gojo’s eyes, but why the chains over it? (in the anime chains were used to represent a binding vow) and then the chains disappear and suddenly the dark spot pops up (it’s supposed to be blood I’m assuming, but if you watch the video you can see how it suddenly just stains the picture after the chains disappear. In a way it reminded me of Nobara and how she lost her eye) and that brings me to a significant question: Why make it seem as if Gojo would lose his eye? Or perhaps not his eye but his six eye.

In a picture collage I made, there are several pictures of manga Gojo, and one thing stood out in particular about those frames. One eye is always covered or not shown and that Gojo sketch is drawn in his current fit in the manga, even the hair looks similar to how it was drawn when his dead body was shown — so going back to the main point; WHY IS HIS EYE COVERED?

(Just some examples)

Gege has not done this with anyone so consistently and frequently, but with Gojo. Whose main focus has always been his six eyes; the reason he’s the strongest. The reason his birth altered the jujutsu society is because Gojo has both limitless and the six eyes. In the pictures there are two, where one eye is shown to be injured — he has cuts all over his face, but only one of his eyes is injured directly in the middle of it and it’s the same eye that has been covered up multiple times (this alone is pretty weird but it goes further) Same eye, with a cut/line through it in one picture — looking more bleary than the other eye. Also again in lot of fiction bleary eyes are used to show off blindness. And then the other pictures there, the eye that has been covered and injured before, completely dark now and not even shown and it’s also Gojo’s last move before his death. Again fiction uses one dark eye to represent eye loss (And while I know for anime it’s there to show off rage or badass moments, I believe considering everything this doesn’t sound so far stretched)

And even when he died, you can see that the same eye is more bleary than the other one and even has a subtle line drawn in it, if you look closer. It even seems like it still has some light in it (the little white dot). AND the eye thing has been going on in the anime aswell. shattered glass, blurred eyes — all that.

[Gege is also working closely with Mappa on the anime, just adding this information to make you consider everything that was stated.]

In his official art of Gojo’s revival he has no stitches, but his eyes is glowing or something like that.

Keeping this in mind aswell, let’s move onto the point that made run laps through my room. Kenjaku/Geto, Yuki, Toji and Yuji.

Kenjaku has stated that ever since he possessed Geto’s body he had Moments where he started acting/speaking like him. Furthermore this also seems to be the first time, a body he’s possessed actively tried fighting him. As we see in this panel below (he’s actually trying to choke himself after Gojo called out to him) — now hear me out Gojo’s body is healed, and Yuta is not Kenjaku. He would most likely not resist if Gojo’s body tries to take control over his consciousness. Also according to Kenjaku the Body is the Soul and the Soul body, which is essential to Yuki’s Soul Research and Gojo’s comeback.

Yes you read right — Yuki Tsukumo has been doing active Soul Research and journaling it. And who owns her Journal now? Itadori Yuji, the Protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen and also someone who’s able to capture the Soul.

I am at the picture Limit unfortunately, so I will make a part two that comes out a bit later today

#jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu gojo #jjk gojo #jjk spoilers #gojo satoru #kuroov

20 notes · View notes

smilesession · 16 days ago

Text

extremely candid, tell-all thoughts about sacrifice and familial codependency, potentially emotional incest, mentions of abuse

I have watched sacrifice become the root of all suffering, but sacrifice has become cemented as a vicious cycle with no clear path of escape as its own result.

How can I dare to place judgment or blame on my mother? A woman who gave up so much of herself in service to her disabled husband and disabled child. I watched her, when I was growing up, working up to 80 hours a week, sometimes I would stay up all night with her at the office and feel bewildered and exhilarated from exhaustion. For me it was an adventure, for her it was obligation and I can hardly imagine how she felt. Its evidence of her incredible fortitude. While she worked this hard, she was also solely responsible for taking care of the home, taking care of a significantly autistic daughter, and taking care of a negligent, drug-addicted, manipulative husband. She also hit me almost every day.

When my parents met, my father was in his early 30s (to my mother's mid-20s) and he was dying of late-stage congestive heart failure. He had 6 months to live. He lived in absolute squalor, working part-time doing something or another to do with printing signs, in spite of having a business degree, while my mom was a homeowner and worked full time in a finance position despite not having a college education. On their first meeting, my mom gave him advice on how to better maintain his long hair that he grew out to his waist but didn't wash or take care of. She was not particularly interested in him until she found out he was dying. My mom attached herself to the idea of future-widow, secretly, finding a promise of eternal validation in martyrdom. They married after 6 months and she played the role of dutiful wife; she moved him into her home, she navigated the medical system for him, she and her own mother kept him fed and comfortable, she paid for his increasingly experimental and niche treatments, and she sat at his bedside in the Mayo Clinic, both loving him and privately waiting for his death.

He didn't die. I was conceived shortly after the heart transplant. She wanted to leave him when he went back to using drugs, feeling that it was an act of disrespect to her, to her family, and to the young man who was his organ donor. She decided that leaving wasn't an option, due to the extent he depended on her. He also refused, by threats and by stubbornness, to let her leave.

The next best thing to being a widow is to be a martyr. She conceded to letting him never go back to work, and she began working longer and longer hours and striving harder. His job was to take care of me and the home. For him, this was a free ticket to eternal adolescence; for my entire childhood if he wasn't verbally abusing me he was locked behind a door, in his private room, getting high and watching either the news or Adult Swim or old concert videos on TV. He resented my natural neediness as a young child, and said to me, quantifiably more than he said anything else, "the next time you need something, I won't be there for you", and he stuck to his word. In my memory, I can't remember a single time he reacted to my needing something with anything more than complete disdain, by waving me off with his hand. He would sleep for most of the day and sometimes forget to pick me up from school. He would not sacrifice one moment of comfort for anything in the world - he is pathologically incapable of it. My mom, on top of working as much as she did, solely took care of keeping the home clean, attending to my needs, and attending to him. Again, she also hit me almost every day and openly despised me until I was an adult.

They never divorced, even though I begged her to. She would always say to me, "he wouldn't be able to survive on his own". He doesn't require around-the-clock medical care; what she meant is that he doesn't possess basic life skills. He never learned how to use the internet, does not manage his doctor's appointments, has never cleaned anything, and has never submitted a job application for himself. My mom handles all of this. When he did finally get a job, part-time at a casino, my mom delivered him lunch every day.

Once when I was really little, maybe a 2nd grader, I wrote a set of comics while at school, "My Mom is Busy!" and "My Dad is Lazy!" where I drew her going to work and him laying in bed. I wasn't trying to be mean, I was trying to depict my life. When he saw them, he insisted that I'd done it to humiliate him by lying.

For my entire life, I've watched my mom run from herself by dissolving into service to others. She dissolved her own will in service of him, by overworking, and taking on charitable volunteering on top of it. The older I get I simultaneously gain more respect for this, and more grief. I think that amount of sacrifice is a type of escape, and a type of bargaining, and a type of groveling. I think its a cycle in which she wants to do anything possible to try to prove the slightest bit of worth in herself, because she doesn't feel she has it inherently.

My entire childhood she talked horribly about herself and called herself fat and ugly even though she's always been objectively beautiful. We often dieted together and I liked it because it seemed like it made her happy in some way. I think I carry every part of her pathology, replicated into me.

Self-martyrdom is trying to outrun yourself, to displace pieces of yourself into other people, trying to force others to being your mirror, all the while making it less and less likely. It's implicitly a humiliating insult. It's implicitly dehumanizing to everyone involved. I can never dislike my mother, because you can't help but love and admire someone who faces adversity by giving more and more. I have eternal, bottomless love for her that's only made stronger by the contrast with my father, who responded to adversity by making it everyone else's problem, by being entitled and ungrateful, for feeling like heaven and earth were owed to him for absolutely nothing.

As my mother's daughter I become a martyr inherently by loving her. I want to be that perfect mirror, I want her to see the good in herself in me, instead of seeing "proof" of her perceived insufficiency. Sacrifice inherently makes you look to others to know who you are. I know firsthand that when you sacrifice yourself for a weaponized-incompetent partner, you see yourself as a subhuman, you see that nothing you can do is good enough. And it goes on permanently and you become more twisted and monstrous in your own eyes the less and less you're "appreciated". It's about the self, but it feels like overly simplistic pop-psych to call it narcissism proper. Focus on Self is displaced entirely on caretaking the Other. In this kind of sacrifice, you erase yourself and become a sacrificial object. My mom isn't a narcissist, she's completely invisible to herself. My dad is blatantly a narcissist. On top of all of this, he degrades her for her tastes and preferences and requires everything be done in accordance to his own. She is not able to watch tv shows, listen to music, etc without his open judgment, mockery, and condemnation.

But is it not narcissistic to think you can save anyone from their own decisions? Making yourself a sacrificial (thereby holy, superior, not-human) object in service is still believing you're capable of the impossible. She would have been lucky if he died. I wish he could have died even though it means I wouldn't have been born. I would sacrifice myself for her.

I struggle to break the cycle because it would be betraying her.

19 notes · View notes

alenablack · 5 months ago

Text

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about these characters so enjoy the insanity!

‘The Spare’

Both Daemon and Ron exist as spares for their family inheritance; in the case of Daemon he is only second in line for a majority of his life while Ron exists as the sixth son, however both experienced similar feelings of jealousy and inferiority due to their status as a ‘spare to the heir’. Being born into families of royalty (in the case of Daemon) and the wizarding version of ‘nobility’ (in Ron’s case) there is an added pressure to still perform for and defend their respective families despite their internal conflict.

‘Prone to fits of jealousy and rage’

Both Daemon and Ron experience emotional outbursts, almost always as a result of feeling unwanted or undervalued. Daemon is prone to physical aggression and overt displays while Ron lashes out at friends, family and attempts to soothe. Interesting both of them have a cycle of running away from the conflict and coming back to the source of their hurt feelings.

Core value: Loyalty

Despite the feelings of inadequacy and jealousy both Ron and Daemon are incredibly loyal to a fault, even to their own detriment. In the case of Daemon it results in the loss of his life and for Ron it is the death of his brother and prosecution of his family for his loyalty to Harry.

‘Excellent strategists but emotionally inept’

Both Daemon and Ron are shown to be strategic and valuable members of their respective factions for this ability (Movie Ron suffers from Hermione favoritism which is why we’re shown less of his cleverness, not to mention his status as a chess prodigy), however Ron and Daemon seem emotionally inept when it comes to the feelings of others. They can be quick to lash out and are prone to cruelty when they feel emotionally vulnerable or threatened. They also suffer from emotional blindness in relation to the feelings of those around them, especially in the case of their loved ones.

‘Attaches themselves to the person they envy and covet’

By far the most obvious and glaring similarity between the two of them is their relationship’s with the source of their feelings of envy and jealousy. In Ron’s case we have Harry, who Ron values as his best friend and brother while also feeling inferior and insecure about the value that Harry is given by the wizarding world as a whole. In Daemon’s we see this relationship happen firstly with his brother, King Viserys, and later with his neice and wife, Rhaenyra who replaced him as heir to the iron throne. Daemon values family above all but often lashes out towards them when faced with his own inadequacy.

#ron weasley #daemon targaryen #harry potter meta #house targaryen meta #house of the dragon #harry potter

14 notes · View notes

lets-try-some-writing · 1 year ago

Note

i wish more continuities played with the horror of being revived after your (presumably) grisly demise. It must be real traumatizing right?? Like, it's gotta be! It could really help with characterizing/building a particular character too (cough optimus cough).

You my dear requester have come to exactly the right writer for this request. I have a fic based on this general premise called A Mere Shadow if you are interested. However, I will never turn down the chance to hurt my blorbo even more.

I may have gone a bit nuts with this concept so hold on-

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙

A Shadow of Death

Optimus Prime has been faced with death many times. Even as Orion Pax he did not fear it. Death was a fact of life, one he came to accept in his youth. The Matrix only further eliminated that intrinsic desire to flee the possibility of being killed. To a certain extent, it was a blessing as it kept him from faltering at crucial moments, even if he was met with pain for his determination.

Blaster shots a little too close to his spark chamber for comfort, stab wounds deep enough to be concerning, plague of the deadly variety, and more close calls than he dared to count... they were all nothing compared to the true call and agony of death. The fire that rained down on the base that fateful cycle was torture for Optimus. When Smokescreen found him, he very nearly begged Primus to let him die. Only once he was dragged away did he have time to think and to rationalize. Living in that state was a torment, but at the time, he knew it was to end. He made his peace with death long ago. He did not fear its embrace.

It was painful, but it was meant to end. He felt his spark abandon his frame, he sensed his mortality fading as he gave up his life in the line of duty. He was not content, but he was ready to pass and leave the burden behind. It had been so long, and finally, death welcomed him into its patient arms. Its chill wrapped around him, digging into the core of his being. It ached, but it was not unpleasant, especially as he began to see the fallen welcoming him, beckoning him to come home. His attachments faded and for the first time since he was a youngling, he was at peace. He did not expect to be drawn back sharply by a power he instinctively knew belonged to another Prime. He did not know what to think when he woke in his new frame, one built stronger, faster, and more capable. However he knew it was wrong, or rather his frame was not the only thing about him to change.

There was not time to think or time to consider. All he could do was fight and spend the next several cycles focused on getting his team settled. They needed to see he was strong, and so he kept up the façade as weeks passed and a shadow of death hung over him. He could not tell them, for what would he say? How was he supposed to explain the oddities that hung around him at all hours, making him suffer in silence while unable to speak. Something didn't let him, almost as if there were rules that forbade him to reveal that which weighed on him to those who could not sense his discomfort as he could.

It began the first time he returned to their new base after a scouting mission. He had been chilled ever since he was reforged and thought it perhaps due to his spark adjusting to the new frame or vice versa. He spent hours flying and moving, working his engine and his thrusters to the point of his plating being hot to the touch. Despite that... he was cold, not in painful manner, but merely... uncomfortable. It was enough to keep his senses sharp and yet it was unnatural. He went to Ratchet to try and have his frame examined, but all the doctor could tell him was that it must have been a quirk of his reforging. His systems were operating fine and his fans were regulating his temperature even better than before. There was no reason for him to feel chilled unless it was a mental issue. At that Ratchet attempted to have him sit down for a mental exam, but Optimus waved it off as his frame still taking time to settle.

Optimus did not bring up the topic again, not even when he stood beside burning buildings and still felt that coldness seeping into his protoform. He could feel digits caressing his plating, yet when he tried to check his sensors, there was nothing there. The cold haunted him, and in the end, he wrote it off as a punishment of eluding death one too many times.

The cold was bearable, but he hated recharge with a passion. Up until his reforging, recharge was one of the rare blessed moment of rest he was allowed. But now? He dreaded every instance where his frame demanded time to recover. He tried to drag it out for as long as he could with additives and all sorts of substitutes for rest, including plugging his processors into the database to defrag while he was still up and active. But in the end, the need eventually came, or the team would grow suspicious and he would be forced to retreat to his berth all the same.

Laying down for recharge was always comforting. It was familiar and allowed age old routine to take over, allowing him to vent deeply and simply feel for a while. But that is when the trouble always started. Optimus could never stop himself from feeling the pull of recharge. Once it set in, he couldn't move. His frame froze up and despite him being quite active mentally, his frame eased and rested, falling into recharge long before he did. Sometimes his optics were unshuttered, other times they weren't when the paralysis set in. Whatever the case, it always felt like he was back in that cave, bleeding out and in agony. It was terrifying to be stuck in that paralysis before recharge as nearly every time there was a haunting moment when his vents failed to work and his spark ceased in its blaze for but a nanoklik. But Primus, that one nanoklik always felt like an eternity where his frame almost seemed uncertain if it was alive or dead.

At the end of that long nanoklik he could feel digits running along his frame and he could see things in the corner of his vision regardless of whether or not his optics were functioning. Whispers that he could not comprehend echoed in his audials as his frame began to ache, desperate for ventilation and for energon to continue flowing. Then just as it started to grow unbearable, almost as if he were about to die, then his frame would return to its normal functioning and the paralysis would fade. For the first few deca-cycles after his restoration, Optimus threw himself to his pedes after such incidents and took up the night watch, unwilling to recharge after the threat of death hung over him.

He almost went to Ratchet, he almost burdened his oldest friend with his fears. So many cycles he spent nearly half in recharge as he fought against the need for rest, terrified of that looming death that never came. He did not fear death, but its agony was something he grew to be wary of. It was nearly enough to force him to act and plead with his team for aid. However in the end... he abstained, even though it pained him more when the dreams began.

Optimus had always dreamed, even as Orion. It was part of his nature, and gaining the Matrix only gave his dreams more vividness and viability. And yet... after being reforged, he no longer dreamed at all, at least not as he used to. When he fell into recharge, he found himself in a void with no light, no sound, and nothing to help him determine if he was up, down, or even within his own frame. He could never see his servos, nor could he sense himself moving if he willed himself to. He was simply left in a world of darkness for hours, unable to feel anything except the chill that plagued him during his waking cycles. That alone was nerve wracking but manageable due to the strange sense of peace he found within that void. Sometime he could swear he saw motes of light dash past him, slipping through that void and vanishing before he had time to observe them. He made it habit to search out those motes of light while within the void that came for him during recharge. It kept him occupied and made the chill less startling.

He learned to recharge through it all, but never for long. The lack of rest made itself known throughout his waking hours as he wandered and did his work. The chill kept him awake, but he could not stop himself from feeling the pull of that cold void whenever his focus slipped. It was almost as though it was calling him, trying to reclaim him after he escaped its grasp. Sometimes when he was particularly unfocused, he would find himself standing under the stars, watching and observing, unable to move as his mind seemed to leave the confines of his frame. In those instances he could sense things, he could see those same motes of light dashing around him, and with time, he came to understand what they were.

Life, sparks, souls.

It took time, but he came to understand. By the time Megatron was gunning to rebuild the Omega Lock and Ratchet left to join that effort, Optimus found himself... colder. He had never feared death, it was a part of life he didn't care to know but accepted all the same. Now though? Now he understood it. The chill forever sunk into his frame, and he noted that what once was a mere mental issue became reality. He was cold to the touch, even after battle. Things grew to be more distant, or rather less important as the cycles passed him by. The void that he walked in was trying to reclaim him. He could sense it in the way his spark flared and grew dimmer. The void wanted him back, and every day he was drawn closer to it.

What frightened him after his reforging grew to be commonplace. He didn't fear it anymore. The void that came in dreams came to be a second home of sorts, one he grew more adept at seeing the sparks within. It seemed wrong for him to be at peace with the way his mind shifted and how he no longer was terrified of those brief moments where his frame threatened to fail. It simply did not bother him when he saw the void in the corners of his vision or when chilled digits touched him. It became familiar, and with that familiarity, the living realm grew more distant.

He did not emote often, at least not as the others did. Now he did not express himself at all. There was no need. The world was changed for him. The team worried but chalked it up to Ratchet being gone. They were partially correct. Without that mortal tie, the cold came and seeped deeper, making it easier to slip and see the cracks, the thinner places between reality where sparks darted, returning to their maker after their lives ended. It fascinated him, even though it often had him staring into what the others considered empty space when he was supposed to be acting.

He was changing, and what fully solidified that for him was when he began to feel the chill of death closing in around others. He first noted it around Vehicons, mainly those who had brushes with death or were unfortunately killed in combat. There was little he could do for them, as usually by the time he noted the chill, it had already wrapped around the Vehicon in question, dooming them to their fate. He only acted when he felt it around Arcee before she tried to enter a groundbridge. It was harder to feel, but he still stopped her. When questioned, he found he could not speak and explain, so he opted for vague wording, hoping it would help her to see and understand.

Arcee: Optimus, what was that for?

Optimus: You cannot go there. The chill follows you.

Arcee: Sir? What does that mean.

Optimus: Danger Arcee. A threat I cannot save you from.

Arcee: I don't understand-

Optimus: You do not need to. I sense the chill, I see the looming cloud. Do not go. You shall not return if you do.

Harder to focus, harder to think. Whenever he was not working, Optimus watched the sparks come and go, observing with a strange distant affection he could not place. All the while the chill grew deeper, closer to his spark, and his frame became weary despite its power. He was changing...

And the void wanted him back.

#transformers #maccadam #transformers prime #optimus prime #team prime #angst #shadow of death au #death #alternate universe #Optimus has problems #but he can't say anything about it because of eldritch rules #I love me a mortal turned monster story #can any of yall pick up the hints of my death au here?#Yeah this is kinda a reverse of that #only this time it aint death learning to feel #instead its a mortal learning to let go

60 notes · View notes