Chương 271: Shura Sect Venerable

SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO

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Shura/Asura:

Just a quick, not so related, tidbit of information regarding this term. It’s a sanskrit word originating from Hinduism/Buddhism. When you mention this term, two forms probably come to mind, the god, deva, heavenly being or whatever term you ascribe to it, and the Shura/Asura Path.

First, let’s tackle the deva part. In Buddhism, when one talks about the Asura, the phrase ‘heavenly yet not heavenly’ is often used to describe them. This is because they are devas and yet do not exhibit the compassion you expect of devas. They exhibit human-like vices but yet are heavenly in nature. They exhibit the sinister nature of those of the ghostly realm and yet maintain a heavenly aura. In short, they represent an unorthodox amalgamation of traits that are neither here nor there.

Asura belong to a category commonly translated as Demigods and Semi-devils even though the words mean the Eight Varieties of Devas and Dragons. The devas who make up this category are as follows, in ranking: Deva, Dragons, Yaksha (dual personality nature spirits/ghost), Gandharva (male and part animal singers), Asura, Garuda (bird), Kinnara (half-bird or centaur, depending on myth), Mahoraga (serpents). Asura are described as being extremely ugly as male, extremely beautiful as females, and are either combative or seductive. They enjoy the benefits of being heavenly without having to suffer or possess the required the morals. As such, while they aren’t technically evil, they are extremely susceptible to the becoming fallen.

In light of that, the Shura Path isn’t actually an evil Path per say. As a reference, there are ten paths, four separate from reincarnation, and six being fettered by reincarnation. Of the Four Paths, commonly described as being sacred, there are the Buddha, Bodhi, Pratyeka, Sravaka. Of the Six, there are as follows: the Deva(Heavenly) Path, Human Path, Asura Path, Beast Path, Ghost Path and Hell Path. Only the Human and Beast Paths have physical representations but essentially, these six paths represent a certain kind of Karma you reap via your own actions. Leaving one of the Paths could be described as ‘Death’ and following one is ‘Life’.

That's all for this week's cultural tidbit! Took some time to collate and translate that so I hope you learnt something! Hopefully, this gives you greater context as to why Shura/Asura is often used to name evil/warlike/capricious factions.