He changed Tiwat

As we have discussed before, Buddhist concepts posit that humans possess "eight consciousnesses."

The concept of "eight consciousnesses" is, to be precise, a theory of the Yogacara school of Mahayana Buddhism. When Tang Sanzang went to the West to retrieve Buddhist scriptures, he brought back Mahayana Buddhist theories, and the Great Compassion Tree King and the Small Auspicious Grass King also belong to the Yogacara school of Mahayana Buddhism (we will discuss this in detail later).

In the seventeenth volume of the book "Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya" translated by the Tripitaka Master, it is recorded: "The defiled Manas consciousness is the basis for all consciousnesses, and because of the seventh consciousness, the other consciousnesses are bound together and cannot be freed." This means that the first six consciousnesses take the "Manas consciousness" as their root, and due to the defilement of the "Manas consciousness," "attachment to self" and "attachment to dharma" arise, causing sentient beings to sink into delusion and be unable to be liberated.

Where then is the path to liberation?

In the state of "all phenomena are without self, Nirvana is tranquil," one must eliminate the "self," eliminate the "manas consciousness" (the individual unconscious), and enter the "alaya consciousness" (the collective unconscious). Without "attachment to self," there is no more suffering, and one is liberated.

According to Buddhist theory, the first six consciousnesses are the five senses and brain thinking, the seventh consciousness "Manas" is the "soul", and the eighth consciousness "Alaya" is the origin of the first seven consciousnesses.

Every thought, word, and deed of all sentient beings forms a "karmic seed." Before these seeds are borne, they reside in the "Alaya-vijnana" (storehouse consciousness). Therefore, the "Alaya-vijnana" is also called the "storehouse consciousness" or the "seed consciousness." The "Manas-vijnana," or the "soul," is also derived from the "Alaya-vijnana."

The World Tree's ability only affects the first six senses, only up to the level of "consciousness," and can only affect memories.

When the "scattered soldiers" charged the tree, and when Nasita modified the World Tree, they were both in spirit form. This represents the "Manas consciousness" influencing "consciousness".

We know that oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, while those grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges.

Even the same seed can produce different fruits depending on the growing environment.

The same "seed" and the same "Alaya consciousness" can give rise to different "Manas consciousness" (soul) under different "past" (memory) conditions.

So the Great Tree King broke off the purest branch from the World Tree and cultivated "another self"—that is, created a new administrator account with the exact same appearance, transferred the permissions to it, and then deleted the old account—the Water God of Fontaine deceived the laws of nature using the same principle.

Sky Island's system authentication is, in theory, a kind of essential level test that involves the "Alaya consciousness".

In other words, it doesn't matter whether you are the "Great Tree King" or the "Little Lucky Grass King." What matters is that the administrator of the World Tree is the "Demon God Buyer." Similarly, the Rock King has a bunch of titles, such as the God of Commerce and the God of Precious Metals, but his essence is the "Demon God Morax."

The branch of the World Tree named "Nasita" is the same as the essence of the Great Compassion Tree King (Alaya Consciousness), both being the demon god "Buyer". In the Sky Island system's understanding, these two have the same ID and the same avatar. Nasita is the loyal and reliable old civil servant Buyer.

According to the Great Compassion Tree King, it is as follows:

[King of the Great Compassion Tree: Because our "essence" is the same, we also appear to be exactly the same.]

Nasita: Why... are they "essentially" the same?

King of the Great Compassion Tree: Because you are me, and I am you.

King of the Great Compassion Tree: You are my "reincarnation".

However, because the "Manas consciousness" of the Great Compassion Tree King Buyer and the Little Auspicious Grass King Nasita is different, they are two different people in terms of personality.

[Great Compassion Tree King: Although our essences are the same, our destinies will certainly differ. All things have their own destiny.]

The Great Compassion Tree King: Just as a branch that grows into a new, large tree can never be exactly the same as the original one.

This bypasses the paradox of "I killed myself". What does it have to do with me, Jia Jiansheng, if you are looking for Zhou Shuren?

In name, Narcida is the reincarnation of Buyer, and the two are one person, but their fates are different—Narcida is essentially a homunculus like the "Skirmisher," an unregistered person, no longer under the control of the Teyvat fate system.

In the end, Nasita used the administrator account to enter the World Tree and completely erased the remaining memories and consciousness of the Great Tree King.

The Great Compassion Tree King eliminated its own "Manas consciousness" five hundred years ago. This act is called "no-self of all phenomena" in Buddhism.

In the Buddhist worldview, all things in the world are driven by "karma," which is called "karmic dependent origination"—which can be simply understood as cause and effect.

The "False Heaven" of Teyvat, which determines the fate of all beings, is also a system of cause and effect, where the "cause" determines the "effect." The cup that Paimon breaks in the Sumeru storyline illustrates this point. Even if the World Tree is changed, it will not change the cup that Paimon broke (Paimon likely did it intentionally).

As long as the soul of the Great Compassion Tree King exists, the karma of her being contaminated by "forbidden knowledge" will remain, the cause and effect will remain, and this matter cannot be changed.

Why did the "straggler" fail to break through the tree? Because he still had "attachment to self." Whether it was the "collapse of the nation" or the "wanderer," the "straggler" still existed in the world; he still had things he couldn't let go of, and he still had unresolved karmic ties. Therefore, he failed.

The Great Compassion Tree King's action was to directly eliminate "me" and the immortal demon god's soul.

Without "self," there is no "karma," no "cause and effect." No karma, no dependent origination, no cause and effect—this is true "liberation," the state of "all phenomena are without self."

The Nasita who remained was like a "newly sprouted white branch," a brand new blank sheet of paper, untouched by cause and effect.

The wisdom of the Great Compassion Tree King, the "God of Wisdom," is the highest wisdom in Buddhism—she directly attained Nirvana, transcending the cycle of reincarnation.

Thus, the Buddhas of the three times, one after another, finally attained the path to liberation.

In the Heart Sutra, this is called "All Buddhas of the three times attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi by relying on Prajnaparamita".

"Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi" is a Sanskrit term, referring to the wisdom attained by the Buddha, also known as "unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment." It signifies the supreme wisdom that truly and equally perceives all truths.

— And Naxi Da's second life is called "the root of right and good vision", which means that after the little grass god's second life, she began to realize the Dharma.

Nasita's essence is still that of Buyer, and sooner or later she will also realize the path to "supreme enlightenment".

4. Naxi Da Bodhisattva of the Mahayana Yogacara school

As we discussed earlier, Nasita and the Great Compassion Tree King belong to the Yogacara school of Mahayana Buddhism. Nasita's destiny seat and skills are designed entirely according to the theories of the Yogacara school.

Nasita's six life signs follow the sequence of seed—root—bud—stem—leaf—fruit, developing from a seed until a fruit grows.

One Life: The Seed of Consciousness

This refers to the "Alaya-vijnana". This consciousness is the origin of all things in the universe, containing all things and ensuring their existence without loss, hence it is called the storehouse consciousness. Furthermore, because it can contain the seeds that give rise to all things, it is also called the seed consciousness.

The "Alaya-vijnana" is also the foundation of the entire Yogacara school; the entire Yogacara school is built upon it.

Second life: The root of right and proper view

"Right and Equal" means "Supreme Perfect Enlightenment," the wisdom of the Buddha.

"Good vision" is a synonym for "good manifestation" and is the sixth of the "Ten Practices" in the Bodhisattva hierarchy in Mahayana Buddhism.

The Avatamsaka Sutra states: "Disciples of Buddha! What constitutes the virtuous conduct of a Bodhisattva Mahasattva?"

This Bodhisattva is pure in body, speech, and mind; dwelling in non-attainment, demonstrating non-attainment, and knowing that all three karmas—body, speech, and mind—are devoid of anything.

The nature of non-existence transcends words and phrases, surpassing all worldly realms, and has no basis. It enters the Dharma of non-discrimination and non-attachment, entering the Dharma of supreme wisdom and truth, entering the Dharma of transcendence that cannot be comprehended by any worldly realm. This is the skillful means of a Bodhisattva, manifesting the form of birth.

In short, he is a wise Bodhisattva who is good at teaching and enlightening sentient beings.

It is also related to the "purification of the three karmas" effect of Nasita's E skill.

Three Fates: The Sprout of Accomplishment Through Cultivation

The term "influence" means that the good or evil behaviors a person exhibits in their actions and words, or the good or evil thoughts that arise in their consciousness, will leave a "trace" in the Alaya consciousness, just like the fragrance that perfumes clothes; this is called "influence".

This is similar to what we call "path dependence." When a person frequently does good or evil, it will gradually become a habit without the person even noticing. "Living with good people is like entering a room full of orchids; after a while, you will no longer smell the fragrance. Living with bad people is like entering a fish market; after a while, you will no longer smell the stench."

In Yogacara philosophy, "habitual conditioning" is the bridge connecting "seeds" and "actual actions." That is to say, your current good or bad behavior will become "seeds" stored in the "alaya consciousness" through this "habitual conditioning." And this "seed" will gradually grow and further influence your behavior through "habitual conditioning."

It is essentially still a cycle.

Four Fates: The stem of the current state of comparison

The term "inference" is a concept in Buddhist logic, which is essentially "logical reasoning," representing the deduction of unknown things from known experience.

Five Fates: The Leaf of Subtle Truth that Dispels Ignorance

This is also a way of praising the Yogacara school, which says that the mysteries of Yogacara dispel foolish views.

The *Records of the Remaining Voices of the Treatise on the Establishment of Consciousness-Only* states: "How profound is the teaching of the *Cheng Weishi Lun*! It shatters the illusions of self and phenomena, and empties all perceptions of emotions and desires; it reveals the perfect truth of dependent origination, conventional truth, and wondrous reality, thus establishing its title 'Consciousness-Only,' fully elucidating the five contemplations. Vasubandhu composed the verses, and Dharmapala and others wrote the commentary. Thirty lines are not too few, one hundred volumes are not too many; it is the essential key to truly contemplating the mind, the initial gateway to Mahayana Buddhism."

Six Fates: The Reality of Great Eloquence and Perfect Completion

These are the "three natures" mentioned in the "Treatise on the Establishment of Consciousness-Only"—"the nature of conceptualization", "the nature of dependent origination", and "the nature of perfect reality".

Simply put, a person walking at night sees a snake and is startled. After calming down and looking at it again, they realize it's a rope. Upon closer inspection, they realize it's a hemp rope. This process is the upgrading process of the "three natures".

Mistaking a rope for a snake is a sensory misperception, a "conceptualized perception"—people generally consider all things in the world to be real, and take an imagined snake for a real snake. This is called "conceptualized perception of all phenomena arising from various causes and conditions," which is a false attachment, mistaking illusory things for real ones.

Narcida's E skill "All Things Heard" refers to this.

The fact that people mistake a rope for a snake has a prior cause, indicating that they have heard of or seen snakes, and know what snakes look like. Their fear shows that they know snakes can harm humans—this is called "dependent origination," which is a false thought arising from various causes and conditions.

Once you realize that the rope is made of hemp, you've seen through the essence of things—this is "the complete reality".

These "three natures" represent the process from "nothingness" to "false existence" and then to "real existence," which is the process by which people come into contact with the truth as described in realism.

In other words, after Xiaocao Shen Liu Ming, he reached the state of "perfect reality", realized the "true nature of all phenomena", and grasped the truth.

Next, let's look at Nasita's other skills.

The term "平A" is also a term in Yogacara Buddhism, referring to the cognitive function of the mind and its mental factors.

The Yogacara school says, "All phenomena are only consciousness, and there is no external world outside of consciousness," advocating that all images must appear within the mind—which is consistent with the Neo-Confucianism's "nothing exists outside the mind," and is therefore an idealist school.

We've already discussed the E skill "All That Is Heard," so here we'll talk about its special effect, "Purification of the Three Karmas."

The three karmas refer to "physical karma", "verbal karma", and "mental karma".

Physical karma: all the karma created by the body's actions, such as hitting someone;

Verbal karma: verbal actions, such as swearing.

Mind karma: the sixth consciousness, which is the karma created by thought. Well, even daydreaming is sinful.

Extinction: This refers to the cessation of suffering, one of the Four Noble Truths.

Purity: refers to pure practices.

The *Cheng Weishi Lun* states: "Defiled dharmas refer to the truths of suffering and its origin, namely, the causes of rebirth and karmic afflictions. Pure dharmas refer to the truths of cessation and the path, namely, the attainment of Nirvana and the path to liberation. Thus, the impure dharmas of birth and death are considered defiled dharmas, while Nirvana, or the two truths of cessation and the path, are considered pure dharmas."

To put it simply, it means Nirvana and becoming a Buddha.

Naxi Da has "extinguished the three karmas," achieving "purity of bodily karma, purity of speech karma, and purity of mental karma," hence she is the Bodhisattva Naxi Da.

The game describes this skill as follows: "Since the God of Plants and Trees has seen the true nature of all phenomena in the emptiness of the universe, he can thoroughly investigate the mechanism of the arising and ceasing of causes and conditions in the three periods of time."

In plain terms, Naxi Da has witnessed the world's affairs for five hundred years in the "void," and has been able to see through the truth beneath the surface, comprehending Buddhist teachings and becoming a Bodhisattva.

The Q skill "Heartscape" literally means the Realm of Boundaries from Fate.

The game describes this skill as "In the eyes of the god of wisdom, perhaps all things in the universe are nothing more than a Maya dream, a reversal of reality."

Inverted: This refers to the "inverted dreams" often mentioned in Buddhist scriptures. It means that one must "stay away from inverted dreams" in order to "ultimately attain Nirvana".

What is "inverted dreaming"? It can be divided into four types: First, forgetting the truth of impermanence, believing that a fleeting, illusory existence can be eternal; second...

First, one becomes attached to worldly pleasures, forgetting their inherent suffering; second, one forgets that all things in the world arise from causes and conditions, leading to various forms of delusion and conflict; third, one experiences...

They are deceived by the physical body, believing that there is a real "me" in this world.

Maya: A transliteration of the Sanskrit word "maya," meaning illusion or magic. Additionally, the mother of Buddha Shakyamuni was named "Mahamaya."

When applied to Nasita, this statement still emphasizes the Yogacara school's concept of "all phenomena are consciousness-only, and there is no external realm outside of consciousness," stressing that "nothing exists outside of the mind."

Talent: Pure and Virtuous Acceptance of Clear Discourse

"Acceptance" refers to the Buddha's compassionate acceptance and protection of all sentient beings. Naxi Da, in the "Palace of Pure Goodness," imparts knowledge to the people of Sumeru through a dream, hence the name "Pure Goodness Acceptance and Clear Treatise," which can increase the proficiency of teammates.

Talent: Wisdom and Pratyekabuddha Wisdom Theory

"Pratyekabuddha" refers to the "Pratyekabuddha Vehicle," and there is also a "Pratyekabuddha Tower" in Mount Sumeru. This term refers to a practitioner who attains enlightenment on their own. That is to say, Nasita had no teacher and comprehended the Dharma without a teacher.

Talent: Pure conduct in accordance with all phenomena

"Recollection" is a Buddhist practice, as exemplified by the "Sutra on Recollection of the Three Jewels".

"Recollection" requires one to continuously focus one's attention on a particular object in one's mind; here, it specifically refers to focus on the Dharma. When one's thoughts are closely connected to the Dharma, constantly remembering the Buddha's presence is called "Buddha-recollection." This is also why Buddhist disciples memorize Buddhist scriptures.

Through this method, practitioners can deepen their understanding of Buddhism and elevate their spiritual level.

The point here is that Naxida can see the thoughts of all beings at any time, which means she can read minds.

In conclusion, the character Nasita is basically a bodhisattva of the Mahayana Buddhist Yogacara school, using various Buddhist skills, and every description is related to Buddhism, but she just doesn't admit that she is a Buddha. Haha.

This is the cyclical fate of the world (Part 2)

IV. "Scattered Soldiers"

1. The unavoidable "scattered soldiers"

I really need to emphasize this to everyone.

When the topic of "Scattered Soldier" came up in the book club group before, I mentioned that the background of "Scattered Soldier" is very complicated. No other character in Genshin Impact has a more complicated background.

In short, he appeared in version 1.0 and is the "native protagonist" of Teyvat.

—If the Twin Stars of the Sky had not descended, then without a doubt, the heavy responsibility of "saving the world" would have fallen on the shoulders of the "Scattered Soldiers".

Because the "Skirmisher" is positioned as the "Transcendent" in Nietzsche's "Ultraman philosophy" and is also a key figure in breaking the cycle of Teyvat, many of his elements are unique in the entire Genshin Impact game.

Even if I personally dislike this character, I can't avoid him when writing fanfiction because he embodies the essential clues of the Genshin Impact universe. Whenever I write about the False Heaven and reincarnation, I absolutely cannot avoid mentioning the "Scattered Soldiers."

Please note that what I am saying here is purely "objective fact," without any "emotional bias," and is simply discussing "settings."

That is to say, even though I don't like "Scouts" and didn't pull for the character, and I don't like the character's personality, the existence of this character is indeed important and reasonable. As an author and a player who likes to do research, it is a plot element that I must study.

Even in the new Genshin Impact event storyline, the idea of ​​turning "scatterers" into "heroes" and connecting them with Durin stems from this "setting" that started in version 1.0.

Therefore, any talk of "removing the skirmishers" is... a very "clear-headed" one, understand? Leaving aside the money and emotions of players who bought those "skirmishers," removing them means removing foreshadowing and countless plot connections from version 1.0 onwards. Spreading this kind of rhetoric is essentially wishing for "Genshin Impact to die quickly"—even though some people have been saying Genshin Impact has been dead for years...