#boddhisattva

Marseille. A la Vieille-Charité, une expo "Panoramas" faisant le tour de la variété des musées de la ville (d'où cet aspect disparate, mais très plaisant)

masque de coureur Dan - Côte-d'Ivoire, fin XIXe s.

Mañjusri, boddhisattva au geste de l'enseignement - Tibet, XVe s.

masque de danse, "tigre" - Olinalà, Mexique, XXe s .

Joseph Inguimberty - "Le Débarquement des Arachides"

Chien de Fô, gardien de palais - Chine, XIXe s.

Ptah, Khonsou, Hathor - Egypte, Basse Epoque

"Nierika" = tableau de laine Huichol - Mexique, XXe s.

Chùa Linh Ứng Da Nang, Vietnam

Let me explain

There is a branch of Buddhism in which they believe that the consciousness of every enlightened being creates a bubble of order in the primordial Chaos. Each one of these is a Universe

So yeah, Buddhists believed in the multiverse before it was cool. although of course they didn't call it like that. They called them "buddha spheres" or "buddhakshetra" in sanskrit

And here's where we get to Isekai. When you die you don't reincarnate in the same universe, you can be reborn in *any* universe

For this reason there is a whole literary genre about the many past lives of Siddhartha Gautama before he was born in this universe and became THE Buddha

That's right, Siddhartha is the OG isekai protagonist

Some of these worlds are inhabited by humans, and Siddhartha is a beggar, or a king, or a doctor, or a farmer, or whatever. In some worlds he's not even human, he's a monkey, or a tiger, or a dragon, stuff like that

What's important is that in each of these lives he learns a lesson that brings him closer to Enlightenment

I think this is the cultural background that inspired Isekai

If Siddhartha was a normal person and he was reborn in many universes, then everyone is, and if there's an infinite amount of universes, some of them must run on videogame logic!

But here's the thing. I want an isekai that uses other ideas from Pure Land Buddhism, specially the idea of Pure Lands

You see, every enlightened being shapes their Buddha Sphere however they see fit, according to some mysterious design our unenlightened minds cannot understand, and this results in universes to different levels of suffering

Some universes are full of eternal neverending suffering, basically Hell, and yet it was created by a Bodhisattva so that souls with terrible karma could become purified and be reborn in a better place

But there are also universes of eternal peace, these are the Pure Lands. If you are reborn here you will find a place where you can spend your entire life learning, meditating, and trying to reach enlightenment. You will never be sick, you will never be hungry, no one will ever hurt you... You get the idea

The two most famous Pure Lands are those of Amitabha and Guanyin (aka Avalokiteshvara)

Now imagine an isekai were the protagonist is born in the pure land of Guanyin Boddhisattva, and Guanyin herself explains the situation to him. But he says he's not interested in reaching enlightenment and becoming one with the cosmos, and so Guanyin allows him to travel between different Buddha Spheres, maybe looking for his friends or something, I don't know

By Akuppa, 2005 with gratitude to Joanna Macy

Firmly establish your intention to live your life for the healing of the world. Be conscious of it, honour it, nurture it every day.

Be fully present in our time. Find the courage to breathe in the suffering of the world. Allow peace and healing to breathe out through you in return.

Do not meet power on its own terms. See through to its real nature - mind- and heart-made. Lead your response from that level.

Simplify. Clear away the dead wood in your life. Look for the heartwood and give it the first call on your time; the best of your energy.

Put down the leaden burden of saving the world alone. Join with others of like mind.Align yourself with the forces of resolution.

Hold in a single vision, in the same thought, the transformation of yourself and the transformation of the world. Live your life around that edge, always keeping it in sight.

As a bird flies on two wings, balance outer activity with inner sustenance.

Following your heart, realise your gifts. Cultivate them with diligence to offer knowledge and skill to the world.

Train in non-violence of body, speech and mind. With great patience with yourself, learn to make beautiful each action, word and thought.

In the crucible of meditation, bring forth day by day into your own heart the treasury of compassion, wisdom and courage for which the world longs.

Sit with hatred until you feel the fear beneath it. Sit with fear until you feel the compassion beneath that.

Do not set your heart on particular results. Enjoy positive action for its own sake and rest confident that it will bear fruit.

When you see violence, greed and narrow-mindedness in the fullness of its power, walk straight into the heart of it, remaining open to the sky and in touch with the earth.

Staying open, staying grounded, remember that you are the inheritor of the strengths of thousands of generations of life.

Staying open, staying grounded, recall that the thankful prayers of future generations are silently with you.

Staying open, staying grounded, be confident in the magic and power that arise when people come together in a great cause.

Staying open, staying grounded, know that the deep forces of Nature will emerge to the aid of those who defend the Earth.

Staying open, staying grounded, have faith that the higher forces of wisdom and compassion will manifest through our actions for the healing of the world.

When you see weapons of hate, disarm them with love. When you see armies of greed, meet them in the spirit of sharing. When you see fortresses of narrow-mindedness, breach them with truth. When you find yourself enshrouded in dark clouds of dread, dispel them with fearlessness. When forces of power seek to isolate us from each other, reach out with joy.