After finishing the game Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I am playing through again, but this time through the Golden Deer house,1 and I stumbled upon this amazing quote by one of the characters, Claude:
Claude is a particularly insightful character in the game (and probably one of the coolest), but this statement really sounds Buddhist to me, especially if you are familiar with Yogacara Buddhism, or the concept of mind as mirror.
It also reminds me of that quote I posted previously from Chrono Trigger:
Speaking of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I have really enjoyed how diverse and well-written the characters are. With each path, the characters start out pretty different, but in time they learn to understand one another as your teamwork builds up, and in spite of their different viewpoints, they learn to work more closely together, sometimes even romantically. They don’t necessarily agree with one another, but they learn to co-exist at the very least. That’s not an easy thing to do, but I believe it’s the emotionally mature thing to do.
In any case, I think what matters is learning to appreciate how one-sided your own viewpoint is, even when it feels like “common sense”.2
The choices you make, the lifestyle you choose then to create a feedback loop that reinforces your own view of the world, and this in turn skews your thinking more and more to one viewpoint. It’s an easy thing to say, but hard to notice in oneself. You don’t have to throw it all out, but never be afraid to question your own assumptions.
Since this is also the start of the Juya season in the Jodo Shu tradition, best wishes to you all!
Namu Amida Butsu
1 previously Black Eagle house. Edelgard is controversial, but that lady was amazing. I got a little choked up at the end.
2 even the Buddha called this out in the famous Kalama Sutta.
Gleanings in Buddha-Fields 