So while I'm still waiting for my copy of Symposium of Post-mysticism to come out tomorrow and be shipped (hopefully) next week, some sections of the book have already been leaked. I have browsed through them and honestly I didn't see anything too unexpected, but it was definitely an interesting read. I'm sure there are already others working on it but I felt like transcribing a couple of the articles.
First up is Byakuren because Buddhism is where it's at...not really. Here's the transcription.
Nothing really new from her profile I guess, we all knew that Byakuren was once a human who became much more through years of training. She has a strict code of conduct (knowns as Sila in Buddhism), and at least two of the Five Percepts have been mentioned here (no alcohol and killing). Interestingly though, it does not say that Byakuren does not kill or cause to kill, but rather she "does not like killing" (also obviously she is a vegetarian). In any case, because she lives by such code of ethics, it is difficult for her to make friends with other humans.
As for Byakuren's ability, it is the same as whatever was stated back in UFO, reinforcing her body with magic, to the point where she can easily survive in the Hakkero (not the mini one Marisa has but the one in the Journey to the West). However, when her magic is not active, she is actually the same as a weak human. Byakuren's longevity, her youthful appearance and whatnot are all the results of her magic. It is also said that since learning and using this kind of magic deviated from the path of Buddhism, she probably can't enter nirvana.
The scroll/sutra ("魔人経巻", Majinkyoukan) she is always holding apparently has a mind of its own and cannot be used by anyone else. It's something Byakuren made when she was still sealed in Makai, it is lighter than paper sutra and has unlimited capacity. It also has an auto reading mode, apparently (Akyuu is not so sure about this herself). It's said to be cursed, the footnotes seem to imply that apparently people in the outside world call it "infected with virus" (instead of being cursed). So Byakuren has a magical tablet?
Lastly it's not clear if she is hostile towards humans, but given that she claims to not kill and lives by Buddhist teachings, it is unlikely that she would suddenly attack anyone. It is however stated in her profile that since she was sealed off by humans who feared her and was rescued by youkai who admired her, it is natural to think that she might hold some grudges against humanity. Nonetheless Akyuu says it's better to watch out for Byakuren's youkai followers, since "clearly there are some who do not abide by the percepts".
Overall Byakuren is still a rather shady character. Although she is supposed to follow Buddhist teachings strictly, she has done questionable things that obviously go against the ways of Buddhism. The fact that her threat level remains "unknown" is also quite intriguing. Seeing as how Byakuren had always been driven by fear in her past (the fear of death led her to study black magic and the fear of losing her power caused her to help youkai), now that Miko is back, will Byakuren do something drastic as she feels her position is threatened?
It's time to sleep anyway.
Nothing really new from her profile I guess, we all knew that Byakuren was once a human who became much more through years of training. She has a strict code of conduct (knowns as Sila in Buddhism), and at least two of the Five Percepts have been mentioned here (no alcohol and killing). Interestingly though, it does not say that Byakuren does not kill or cause to kill, but rather she "does not like killing" (also obviously she is a vegetarian). In any case, because she lives by such code of ethics, it is difficult for her to make friends with other humans.
As for Byakuren's ability, it is the same as whatever was stated back in UFO, reinforcing her body with magic, to the point where she can easily survive in the Hakkero (not the mini one Marisa has but the one in the Journey to the West). However, when her magic is not active, she is actually the same as a weak human. Byakuren's longevity, her youthful appearance and whatnot are all the results of her magic. It is also said that since learning and using this kind of magic deviated from the path of Buddhism, she probably can't enter nirvana.
The scroll/sutra ("魔人経巻", Majinkyoukan) she is always holding apparently has a mind of its own and cannot be used by anyone else. It's something Byakuren made when she was still sealed in Makai, it is lighter than paper sutra and has unlimited capacity. It also has an auto reading mode, apparently (Akyuu is not so sure about this herself). It's said to be cursed, the footnotes seem to imply that apparently people in the outside world call it "infected with virus" (instead of being cursed). So Byakuren has a magical tablet?
Lastly it's not clear if she is hostile towards humans, but given that she claims to not kill and lives by Buddhist teachings, it is unlikely that she would suddenly attack anyone. It is however stated in her profile that since she was sealed off by humans who feared her and was rescued by youkai who admired her, it is natural to think that she might hold some grudges against humanity. Nonetheless Akyuu says it's better to watch out for Byakuren's youkai followers, since "clearly there are some who do not abide by the percepts".
Overall Byakuren is still a rather shady character. Although she is supposed to follow Buddhist teachings strictly, she has done questionable things that obviously go against the ways of Buddhism. The fact that her threat level remains "unknown" is also quite intriguing. Seeing as how Byakuren had always been driven by fear in her past (the fear of death led her to study black magic and the fear of losing her power caused her to help youkai), now that Miko is back, will Byakuren do something drastic as she feels her position is threatened?
It's time to sleep anyway.
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