Tenzin adjusted his maroon robes, smiling gently as he looked at his students, Keitaro included. The sun's rays shone through the windows of the monastery, creating a pattern on the old floorboards.
And to be fair, it looked quite pretty...
The topic of this class was simple, he was going to speak about the Buddhist gods or Deva, if Keitaro was correct that was what they were called.
This knowledge may seem useless but Keitaro could find a way to use it, if he could his curse energy the same way those gods could then maybe.....
Maybe he could find something very good...
Speaking of which, he wonder how strong one of those gods would be as a curse....he tremble a bit upon even thinking about, unlike in Japan, if those gods were to turn into curse here then...they will probably be alot more powerful as even if this place like a barrier to make curse energy easier to use.....they were alot more people fearful of those gods...considering India had around a billion people or so....
Tenzin started to explain, using his comforting voice: "Many people think of Buddhism as a religion that doesn't have gods. That's not entirely true. In Buddhist cosmology, the existence of Devas - powerful beings who live in celestial realms - is acknowledged."
He gestured towards bright thangka painting on the wall that showed an energetic ranking of figures. "This is a visual representation of these realms," he said. "The Devas reside in the highest levels, each having their own domain and level of power."
Tenzin pointed to a figure in the painting, decorated with celestial jewelry and radiating an otherworldly glow. "This is Indra, the king of the Devas. He presides over the realm of pleasure and enjoyment." Some of the students looked curious while others seemed skeptical.
Which was to be expected it's not every day you hear about that stuff, though Keitaro was still waiting on the juicy stuff.
"It's important to understand that Devas, despite their power, still suffer. They're bound to the cycle of rebirth, just like humans. Although they may have incredibly long lifespans, they're not immortal. They experience desire, jealousy, and anger, just like us."
'so everything is bound by the circle of suffering....though wouldnt that mean when someone reaches enlightenment they are free of suffering..' as those thoughts flowed through his mind, the image of Gojo popped up in his mind.
Gojo had awakened and was enlightened and yet he was still suffering, was what Gojo received a fake enlightenment of some sort...no, Buddhism does acknowledge suffering in the sense that it happens and to not hold it.
But Gojo has....would truth enlightmen be to toss everything away and only have oneself...but wouldn't that lead to an individual that only lives for themself and no one else, someone that would just be a walking disaster..
A Natural calamity...
Tenzin chuckled. "Some people say that Devas are at the top of a very fancy food chain, always trying to gain power and influence in their celestial realms."
A young monk sitting in the front row raised his hand. "Tenzin la," he said, "if the Devas still experience suffering, should we really revere them?"
Tenzin nodded appreciatively. "That's an excellent question. We don't worship Devas in the same way that some religions worship gods. They're not all-powerful creators who deserve blind devotion. Instead, they remind us that even the most powerful beings are temporary. Their struggles are a reflection of our own."
He tapped the thangka painting again. "The Buddhist path isn't about seeking a place among the Devas. It's about breaking free from the cycle of suffering altogether. The ultimate goal is to achieve enlightenment, a state beyond birth, death, and all forms of suffering."
Time skip
Keitaro was haunted by his avid curiosity about the connection that may exist between the water of Gokyo Lake, the chief's daughter's experience with the Rakshasa's illusion, and the Buddhist concept of Devas.
He isolated himself in a secluded section of the monastery library surrounded by dusty books and ancient scrolls.
Akane, who was curled up on a cushion nearby, asked him if he was still obsessed with the water.
Keitaro replied that it was not only about the water, but rather the entire situation. He wondered if there was a connection to cursed energy between the Rakshasa's illusion domain, the healing properties of the water, and the Devas.
He flipped througha breakable scroll with faded illustrations and saw a depiction of a celestial being whose aura crackled with an uncanny resemblance to cursed energy.
"Devas," he murmured, the word tasting foreign on his tongue. He recalled Tenzin saying that the Devas were not all-powerful, but they were powerful indeed. Keitaro asked if there could be a link between them and the situation at hand.
He was wondering on what exactly brought curse energy to the world, what could it possibly be, it had existed for a very long time, from what he could gather, curse energy was old....old, very old.
Cursed energy was a mystery,a muddled force that fueled jujutsu sorcery. Keitaro searched deeper into his research, digging up fragments of myths and legends. The stories spoke of celestial beings with immense power, capable of manipulating reality in ways that mirrored cursed energy techniques.
Some legends even hinted at a time when the boundaries between the human world and the celestial realm were narrower, allowing a flow of energy that manifested as cursed energy. Keitaro wondered if cursed energy was the love child of a broken connection between realms. Did the negative emotions that fueled it stem from a primal yearning for a lost connection to something more? This was a long shot, a theory cobbled together from myths and speculation, but it was still a lead.
There was only one way to find out if he was right or wrong...,.
He will need to visit the lake himself, it shouldn't be too hard considering he can teleport.
This little side story should prove to be quite fun.