Saiyuki drabble
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That hand reached for him and his first instinct was to lash out--no, they wanted to hurt him, they wanted to kill him, and he didn’t know how to react except to be viciousangryhurtterrified, don’tdon’tdon’tIwon’tletyou!--but he knew this touch. He wasn’t afraid, and Goku wasn’t afraid, and it was warmth and sunlight and a voice murmured low in ( Read more... )
That hand reached for him and his first instinct was to lash out--no, they wanted to hurt him, they wanted to kill him, and he didn’t know how to react except to be viciousangryhurtterrified, don’tdon’tdon’tIwon’tletyou!--but he knew this touch. He wasn’t afraid, and Goku wasn’t afraid, and it was warmth and sunlight and a voice murmured low in ( Read more... )
Omg, and not to mention Pig is the biggest fucking liar on the planet, and stupid Sanzang ALWAYS takes his word over Monkey's! I really found Pig to be the most hateful character of the story. >:(
symbolic of his union with Sanzo
I was thinking to myself that I could agree with this metaphorically, but maybe not literally--because then how does that explain Goku already having the band before Konzen ever met him? However, I think it could definitely represent something of his "union with Sanzo/Konzen" in that Sanzo('s soul, whatever the incarnation) has given Goku something he has lost, and vice-versa. The raw power-vs-outlandish impulses, as well, but I think it also has something to do with Goku being taken out of his natural environment and put somewhere he doesn't belong, where he can't cope with the baseless hatred and fear and his diadem (re: self-control, self-possession) snaps. With Sanzo's intervention and unconditional understanding, he's able to provide Goku with a tangible manifestation (--> the band) of what 'arms him to weather the storm.' Urgh, I hope that makes sense. I haven't had a chance to practice my lit analysis in quite a while...
Engagement ring--!! ROTFLMAO XDD
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I was under the impression from the Gaiden that the first time Kanzeon saw Goku was when he was brought before her, and Konzen just happened to be there, and she made sort of a split decision that Goku, with all his spirit, would be good for Konzen, who was literally wasting away with boredom. (Or at least, that's probably what se'd say if asked, haha.) In the original story, the Merciful Goddess got Goku's band (along with two others) from Buddha, then put it on Monkey's head herself, yeah. But now that you mention it, I guess it's obvious se must have seen Goku before at some point, duh. I don't know if the way it came across in Gaiden was a Soli scanlation issue, or Kanzeon just being hir manipulative, match-making self, heh.
I agree about Sanzo and Goku representing some dichotomy, struggling for balance and not quite realizing (yet) that it can be found in one another. However, the notion of body-and-spirit doesn't quite sit right with me. Maybe because Sanzo himself is so reluctant and skeptical on the whole matter of fate, enlightenment and spirituality.
I mean, especially during the Burial Arc, we can see Sanzo's disgust with the blind obedience and complete inability to do anything for themselves that he encounters in just about every other monk he comes across. I'm sure it's more than once that he's said something like, "The gods don't save anyone. You have to save yourself." And I definitely wouldn't say enlightenment is one of Sanzo's top ten goals, haha. I think there's a definite desire to rise above all the shit in his life, but I don't think it's so spiritual as 'enlightenment.' Plus, if Goku represents 'body,' that kind of puts him out of the enlightenment loop because the goal is for the spirit to transcend the body. 'Leaving the mortal husk behind' and all that. :S
If I had to choose a parallel for Goku/Sanzo, I'd go with mind/heart. Not in a Sanzo-as-intellect-and-Goku-as-empathy way, but with Goku as 'mind' because it's his own mind he struggles against when he becomes Seiten Taisei, and he has the open, naive, knowledge-thirsty mind of a child (or any good 'scholar,' lol). Sanzo would represent the heart, not only for the comments the Sanbutsushin have made to him about "seeing with the eyes of his heart," but because his struggle's with his heart, and about trying to regain something of what was taken from him when he lost the person he most loved, and about becoming who it is he was meant to be. And finding harmony between the mind and heart is a big thing in Buddhism.
makes Goku's outrage sound more altruistic.
Oh, no, lol, when I said that, I was thinking about how the armies of Heaven treated Goku, or the monks when they found him sneaking into the temple to pilfer food --> pretty much, those first two times he broke his limiter. Since then, Goku's gotten much better, more self-confident and less likely to snap as easily, but yeah, Sanzo dying right in front of him will still do it. Because while Goku has matured past the point where Sanzo IS his entire world, Sanzo is still the main component. ,':O And I just realized, this goes to support the idea of heart-vs-mind, too, because the heart is definitely the mind's biggest weakness.
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Ah, I think that's one of the issues here, because I would have to say that as far as morality is concerned, I consider it separate from spirituality. I tend to think of 'enlightenment' (though not necessarily in the strictest Buddhist sense of the word) in more of a mental sense--that it's different for everyone and very much a product of the mind. I'm probably equating enlightenment with self-actualization, but I think it makes an apt comparison. In that way, I think Sanzo would be seeking 'enlightenment'/self-actualization, if only because he realizes the way his life was going was not where he wanted to be, and he realizes he has to make a conscious effort if he wants to fix that.
....Ah hahahah, I was totally concentrating on responding to one portion of your paragraph, and it wasn't until I was done that I saw again the I think Sanzo thinks/thought enlightenment was a purely cerebral process part. So it looks like that by disagreeing with you, I've only gone to PROVE YOUR POINT, AS EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE... And now the question becomes, since I have the same type of personality as Sanzo, does this mean I'm better or more ill-equipped to hash his psychology?? D:,'
Though I do totally agree about the physical experiences. "It's the journey, not the destination."
I also think you're right about the fact that Sanzo can't help but be spiritual, if only because this is one of the significant divisions in the Saiyuki universe: spirituality. We see different people's takes on it--Sanzo, Koumyou, Ukoku, the random monks Sanzo hates--but these attitudes could also be extrapolated to represent a larger psychology. There's a lot of psychology in Saiyuki, but because of the universe in which it takes place, and the idea that there are gods and all-seeing Bodhisattvas, it's all explored through a spiritual lens.
Yes. But mostly No.
Lol. Well, there's nothing to say all of them can't represent several symbols at once (god knows I saw--and had to write essays about!--enough of that in some of the heavier 19th-early 20th century lit in high school). What I think I mean to say is that I agree with the body-spirituality opposition you've suggested, but not necessarily in Buddhist or more philosophical terms. Goku is definitely 'body' in his fully-embracing enjoyment of the present, and the fact that he's a very sensual person and represents obvious ties to "earth." Sanzo, on the other hand, stands out for being 'chosen by the gods,' but if that's "spirituality," I definitely think that it's more in a personal sense than a religious sense. :/ (Oh god, it's too early in the morning to engage with you in such rigorous mental sparring, LOL)
Sanzo and Goku should keep as far away from each other as possible
::laughs:: No, no! I meant to say it's the heart that's generally considered the mind's greatest weakness, but this isn't a bad thing. We certainly criticize unscrupulous people as being 'heartless.' I think it's just that the mind should be(come) strong enough to hold ground when it matters, despite the heart, while conversely, the heart can temper the mind's most grandiose schemes/dangerous leaps of logic/struggles against itself, etc.
on some level I see the ikkou as a composite person
Ohhhh, oh oh, this just makes me want to actually finish writing post Xpyne and my thing going into (way too much) detail about the Meyers-Brigg personalities of the ikkou. :DDD But what you said about them being a composite person lies very close to the fact that they each have one of the four temperament types described by Keirsey and Bates. In that vein, Sanzo is Power, Goku is Spirit, Hakkai is Duty, and Gojyo is Freedom. <-- ah, this is a little hard to follow without having read the book, but Xpyne and I hope to make a post about all this sometime this century soon. ::vibrates with excitement::
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Oh my god, you have no idea how HARD that made me laugh. ::wipes tears from her eyes:: Only because Sanzo is one of the most textbook cases of NT you will ever see. (And an NT would be mildly offended at being pegged an NF, haha.) Goku, actually, is the group's NF. Hakkai is the SJ, and Gojyo's the SP. So I can see where the camaraderie you feel with Goku comes from. :)
Well, power/spirit/duty/freedom is really just simplifying things to the most basic terms mentioned in the book. "Power" really refers to the power of science and logic/reason, and "freedom" is about the fact that the SP's greatest desire is freedom to act impulsively, according to his whims and 'in the moment.' But like I said, more on all that once we (ever) make this post I keep talking about. :p
Oh, and I so agree with what you said about the boys' inherent paradoxes. :D
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ROTFL! Yes, that's exactly what Xpyne and I were joking about in that scene. I mean, ostensibly it was because the demon boy showed up, and we're supposed to believe that Sanzo decided it was the fastest way to stop the fight <-- whut?, but we couldn't help laughing at him for being the best kind of hypocrite. XD
guilt on top of horrified impotence
Yes, just that! Sanzo had been almost happy moments earlier--or at least in a good mood--because he'd been able to hold his own, unarmed, against a whole band of youkai. He finally felt like he'd proved (to himself) that he could take care of himself--which was a big part of his self-loathing for so many years, for having been a liability and someone who needed protecting at the expense of Koumyou's life. So he probably finally felt he'd overcome that...when Goku goes and nearly gets killed, and he's just standing there, without having been able to do a thing about it. Ah haha, poor Sanzo, life doesn't even wait until you're down to kick you. <3
Way back before the last Reload had come out, when there were spoilery rumors flying around that Sanzo just up and ditched Goku the other three, I told Xpyne I couldn't believe it, and the only way I'd accept it was if it was because something major had happened to Goku, and Sanzo freaked out at realizing he wasn't so unattached as he'd thought.
Lucky for Sanzo I was proven right. >:T
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