Ah so Midra is similar to myself. I too search for enlightenment ever so casually and often. ( _Not constantly._ ) And he kicked my a$$ enough... more than enough. The depths of my foolishness indeed. But for some reason I never started to hate him. So this is why. He's a kindred spirit.
From's games carry many themes ever so often, like a signature. ° The exiled monarch's son ° A path of Dragon's and their own realm ° Mages who seek their own enlightenment ° Giants ° Patches :D ° and Women showing of their feet ;)
Midra pulling his head off after he states that he will no long endure this agony combined with the themes of Buddhism reminds me of the taboo of Buddha statues being beheaded. It is important that Buddha is whole. It's conformation that Midra has totally given up on trying to mitigate his suffering and has instead embraced it for the worst.
i think that the frenzy flame is definetely inspired by buddhist associations, like buddha decided on his path when he became aware of the suffering of mankind, like the frenzy burns the eyes of the people at becoming aware of the suffering of the world or their lives. but i dont believe it is a one to one as you put it, here is why ingame we never see someone getting peace by the frenzy flame or the mad fingers, none of their path is to let go of resistance, they seem to be in costant pain with their only hope being asking someone else for the anihilation of the world. i think the frenzy flame takes buddhist motiffs, but represents succumbing to full disociation and madness in response to strong traumatic experiences, thinking there is nothing worth saving of this rotten world instead of seeing through it like a buddhist does, the lords of frenzy literally lose their heads to signify this hateful psychosis. anyways, great video and i totally agree with the frenzy flame being inspired by buddhism in many ways.
It is true that for most people afflictied with the flame, they dont overcome pain before dying, but there are a couple exceptions. Those being Irina, who is able to speak calmly and die without words after a brief period of pain, and Midra himself after ascending, his movements are slow and dancy, and at times even playful, like someone who is high or intoxicated. I believe this is the enlightenment Ontos is connecting to Buddhist philosophy
Metaphorically yes. But the trauma and suffering the world impose upon them can only be conquered if one has no sense of self to care for him/herself or the rest of the world, human and nature alike. So in this enlightenment state you care for none and save none, just exist without meaning or goal or attachment. That is turning your back to the world instead of againts the world, I think, since empire falls, society falls, life got snuffed out and bloomed again, none of that matter. An absolute indeference to life instead of scorn toward it. A cold, warm, uncaring universe. Ironically pretty damn nihilistic, total annilation of the physical and spiritual, thus yeah the Frienzied flame shall burn down all creations thus leave nothing to be separate or distinctive - the ultimate beginning of nothingness.
I think the biggest place people fall off the tracks with the frenzied flame is with Shabriri and the use of the word 'slander' as if he were some sort of evil teleporting demon made out of the frenzied flame when it seems he really is just a Diogenes-like figure shouting unkind truths indistinguishable from slander to the golden order in the way only a profound cynic with no remaining fear for himself could. His description suggests that the frenzied flame only found a home in his eyes afterwards. Despair and surrender are two endpoints of an encounter with suffering, but cynicism is another - forcing the truth onto the underlying actors no matter how much it hurts.
And I think "corruption" is a theme in Elden Ring, and stagnation. Even the scarlet rot was beautiful at first, but the violence of the hornsent turned it foul. Come to think of it, I see a major parallel between Romina and Midra. And maybe that's why Marika wanted to effectively stop death, to stop time, to stop corruption that she knew was inevitable. She wanted the climax of the golden order to last forever.
I think a lot of the evil slander idea comes from people's understanding of the Kale cut content. It's not explicitly linked in-game, but you could see how people would link a mostly successful genocide (that hugely increased the frenzied flame followers) based on the lies of a man who canonically suffered a terrible punishment and even worse reputation/ legacy
@@caylem00 The thing here is that at this point in the timeline, Rykard is padding his name by hunting down enemies of the state religion, real and imagined, and would be in charge of punishing the Great Caravan. Given his track record of inventing a case against the Albinaurics and abducting and torturing them in a way that didn't permit death, and inventing a case *to* lure in Tarnished and abducting and torturing them in a way that doesn't permit death, it isn't a great stretch to suppose that he did exactly the same with the Great Caravan. I personally blame the lack of story detail about the Inquisitors - it has Rykard's fingerprints all over it. The cherry on top here is that Shabriri's Woe's description puts his punishment before the Great Caravan's fate - and the first summoning of the Frenzied Flame to the Lands Between, only after which the Frenzied Flame manifests in Shabriri's eyesockets. It also manifests everywhere else that despair has found a home, including in the Leyndell soldiers at Mt. Gelmir.
I was flirting with making this exact video for literally over a year because I noticed exactly the same themes, and people misunderstanding the frenzied flame as 'edgy nihilism' were driving me crazy, but you beat me to it. It's the coolest thing in this entire game imo- it's like a dark scary dharmic religion where enlightenment is characterized as terrifying and destructive because you're letting go of worldly attachments to the point where the world itself is left behind as we all return to a giant brahmic mega-being. I think the 'madness' is the revelation of your impermanence, your ego death, your vision of a transcendant future where the material world is shed entirely as the human race ascends to a higher plane, it's all more or less exactly the same as actual Buddhism except characterized as scary and evil instead of peaceful and liberatory, because the implications of a Buddhist view of the universe CAN be terrifying. Everything you build, love, believe, and want to protect is an ephemeral blink of an eye and the path to enlightenment can only come from accepting that and letting go of your attachment to anything and everything that exists.
Except you aren't returning to anything, the frenzied flame just makes the one great whole again, you die game over, while the being ? Entity ? Concept ? Whatever the greater will was before being splintered becomes whole again.
Midra might have been able to *endure* for a bit longer if a certain foul Tarnished didn't come into his room and start beating him up... I'm glad you were able to remake and re-upload this video!
YES! Thank you for making this. The ideas behind it are so misunderstood. And, this is exactly why Melina has such a strong crossover with the frenzied flame quest line.
In a way, marika and the hornsent were essentially having a war on death (like that of the war on drugs) or other gods in different mythology’s trying to surmount their own enviable end. So even the idea of openly discussing something that’s such a threat to them lead to their extermination, sealing, and shunned.
Furthermore, it is ironic that while their intentions 'might' be different regarding divinity, their methods were so corrupt that eventually both reigns had to make the same mistakes all over again to see their foolishness. The end might not justify the means, after all.
If their is one thing I appreciate most about fromsoft style of storytelling, it’s the fact that the matters at hand is allowed to “age” over countless millennia till what was learned so long ago was once again forgotten (whether intentional or not). Showing the hubris of those involved with hindsight. I enjoy the frenzied flame (as well as the ambiguous aldia ending in ds2) for just how many ways people in both the game and irl react to it. Talking, discussing, and arguing over it is extremely interesting to me.
I remember wanting to watch this weeks ago but it was deleted. I'm very interested in Buddhism and love to see it in Elden Ring discussions. Great to hear you've reuploaded this. ❤
I'm pretty sure the fingers being at the manse means Midra created the Three Fingers, either unwittingly or not. The Three Fingers were more than likely present at the manse at some point considering all the swollen grapes and the presence of the Untouchables. This also explains how Marika and the Golden Order managed to get their hands on the Three Fingers too.
Incredible video here. One of the best analyses of a lore concept i've seen so far. Keep up the good work! Excited to see what you do next but also don't want you to Midra out or go hollow so pace yourself as needed 🧘♂️✌️
also if you think about it nanaya suffocated in the mansion. shes found untouched by the flame of the man who loved her , but she was not spared the reality of the hornsent using regular fire to just straight up torch the place. its like the fire refused to touch her
I also want to add that your explanation of this game's employment of Buddhist philosophy has also really helped me understand what I've read in such Buddhist texts as the Platform, Heart, and Diamond Sutras.
Very cool breakdown and I didn't realize that the Abyssal woods were named after Buddhist hell. One thing I'd like to also point out are the similarities between the Frenzied flame and the gods Bacchus and Odin. Both were the oldest gods of their time and both were gods of alcohol and divine madness. In the case of Bacchus he was also the god of wine and grapes. He also was kind of an outsider among the Greek gods and likely predated them. Some even say that Bacchus came from the Egyptian Osiris, another god of wine, apparently. I could go on but I think these points, combined with your description of the Buddhist ties, are consistent with Miyazaki's tradition of telling Buddhist stories with western style characters and motiefs.
I am so damn happy that games like Elden Ring have ignited a deep passion in the modern youth to search for more philosophy and spirituality. It shows how hungry people are for true paths. Awesome video my friend. Keep it up.
Been thinking about this idea of the frenzied lord being like a dark buddha. Like life is suffering. Attachment is suffering. Suffering can be alieviated. B U R N I T A L L A W A Y. Also the ascetic angle with the frenzied lord needing to rid themselves of attachments (armor) to become a true lord of frenzy is pretty neat. Like the lord of frenzy flame just wants to alleviate all living things of suffering. Come on guys uwu
Ah, the darkest side of religions... "You don't believe in my way of thinking? Then I will force it upon you! Because my vision is right and only I see the truth of things!" - burns all of reality and every soul away. No school of thought is truly safe from this weaponization.
Thank you for approaching Midra's story and the Frenzied Flame with such high levels of care, research, and original analysis! Definitely wasn't expecting a NEURO 101 lecture and a self-help trick. I think what you've established here also lines up with why FromSoft decided to give 'Lord' Midra such graceful animations. While I LOVE the fight and the music, I can't help but think that they could've experimented more with sounds associated with Buddhist music (chants etc.) for his soundtrack, if the 'Buddha' theming is what they were aiming for. Something like slowed-down chants blended with the whale-like cries we hear in his cutscene could work. But hey, a slow waltz with the cosmic force of nihilistic tranquility actually hits really hard! If you're accepting criticism, I think some parts could be cut for brevity. We don't really need to know the different neural pathways of pain to understand how pain can be differently perceived through practice and brain plasticity. I'm sure you can also safely assume that viewers of Elden Ring theory videos have a fundamental understanding of math to know that something multiplied by 0 does not equal 1. Great work, nonetheless.
Solid vid, haven't heard anyone talk about Non-Duality yet, which is definitely here. However, it isn't really solely in Buddhism me thinks. Non-duality is first seen in Hinduism (Upanishads) and is also very prevalent in Sufism. Te themes of eyes, blindness, fire, burning away the fetters of individuality, sun, light, grapes, madness, etc. are actually very akin to themes and terms widely used in sufi poetry. I think it is a general nod to the eastern mindsets of Non-duality though, not any one religion that understands this. Other links are: the nomadic musicians, linking to Vedic Nomad cultures and Sufi musicians. In non-duality (advaita in particular), the senses, especially sight is often seen as illusory, and is to be transcended to see reality; the One. Sometimes called Isvaradhrsti (Seeing God in All) In some stories of Hinduism, Brahma (the creator God) made mistakes, suffering, deceit, etc. and so Shiva (the destroyer and transformer God), destroys and burns the universe to reset it.
Great observation. I argue that the Frenzied flame is an amalgamation of any religion going by Monad style philosophies. Existence as being an emanation from an all encompassing force. Beliefs that often run a counter towards Abrahamic thinking of a just god providing guidelines to live by. The return to singularity through some kind of material destruction. To add another to your links, I argue Hyetta when explaining how she interprets it is very reminiscent of Gnostic thinking (Divine spark reflecting an inner fire that draws in humans to pursue universal truth to free themselves from the material world).
If it's like the other boss themes.... There are no lyrics. It's literal gibberish at the request of Miyazaki. Though, I think there might be prototype versions WITH actual lyrics in Latin.... But, Miyazaki didn't want readable lore in the songs like that. Plus, it mirrors his experiences with foreign books. Some of it to him was completely indecipherable.
@@ashen-one--x my guess is that it had lyrics and the gibberish was based on the lyrics. Since Radhan's final theme has one literal lyrics, "Mother Marika Eternal", it's half right.
i was able to find the reddit post and youtube video of what youre talking about. at least for Elden Ring that appears to be the case. older souls games though i think the lyrics may be not gibberish.
*Sigh* yet another "You Don't Get [Thing]" deconstruction video that only proves that I completely understood [Thing] from the start Not to say this isn't a fantastically put together video, this certainly deserves more views!! I'm just a cynic who dislikes these kinds of titles lol
I just read NK Jemisin's *The World We Make* and...SPOILER...it's neat how the final motivation of the villain feels kinda in line with the flame of frenzy, granting a few important nuances, in returning to a primal simplicity and sloughing off all distinction and separation. In her book, this is framed as an evil thing to do, though not unsympathetically. At the same time, the primal simplicity comes across as rather controlling with regard to the universe, which seems rather the wrong way to be a Buddhist. That was neat, I think I caught hints of that in Shabriri (curiously a Jewish reference) but I hadn't put them together like that.
"Life is suffering." It's not some edgy tagline, it's a foundational Buddhist principal. And the Frenzied Flame IS life. It was there FIRST, long before anything else. It is the power underlying all creation, and it is *correct* that self-awareness is the source of all suffering. At the most basic possible level, the Flame is right. And what it wants - to unmake everything that causes suffering in life, in IT, and go back to how it was before - is good and just. Only, it means unmaking everything that came before. Not just all potential for what could be, but everything that ever *was*, undone. Like it never existed to begin with. Life is suffering. And in a world where every single great power is fighting for control over how Life is expressed, the Frenzied Flame is the most pure. There is a reason it screams when you use it. But without self-awareness, there's not much *to* existence, is there? Even if the story and history of life is almost solely one of pain, every single good and meaningful thing that ever happened was in defiance of that truth. So, which is more important? Astounding video, thank you.
First off: Amazing effort, great video. This is literally frenzied flame propaganda. "Not inherently evil, it just wants to stop the suffering." Says the dude wearing the corpse of of recently deceased ally like a suit. Nowhere is it written that the Frenzied Flame must be truthful. Nowhere is it written that Outer Gods cannot lie. The Frenzied Flame could just as easily be said to pray upon our inherently self destructive nature and our own frustrations with the limitation not only of existence but our own ability to effect change upon that existence, as it could be said to be a great liberator which seeks a restoration of the spiritual purity which gave rise to life. This is Evangelion all over again; is the status of LCL a good status or a bad one? Well - its pretty fucking bad if you like being yourself Trying to ethically separate that cold fact, that its depriving people of the most personal thing you have (identity), from the reality of how you achieve LCL, is just obfuscation. Is death bad? Is killing bad? I mean all you're doing is returning someone to the same space as before they were born and no one says we were suffering before we existed so whats the big deal?
(stamps feet, hurriedly collects PS5 and copy of Elden Ring, hastily leaves room, all the boys and girls who had yet to take their turn with a run audibly show their disappointment with an...) awwwww.
11:30 bro thats tenuous, the one-ness happens *during* the eye-burning in psychedelics. And all the ones I’ve used are VERY much not at all perceptually similar to burning in ANY way. Its a quickening or enhancing. Anyway interesting ideas but its gotta make the distinction between detachment and the intense attachment of living only to destroy something. Frenzy is definitely related but in many ways opposite to detachment,
@@magnustherad3597 I dislocated ny shoulder about 1.5 years ago. On the ambulance my pain was about 9 but through reducing my resistance my perception and experience of suffering was 4
Just as an aside, people who rely on Stoicism as an excuse to dismiss their own actions of annoying other people, as if to argue that it's the fault of the other person to be so offended by what they're doing, *HAVEN'T SUFFERED ENOUGH.*
Great and very insightful video 😮 ! It makes me think that Melina also gave us a similar argument/encouragement to Nanaya's "Endure" against the frenzied flame. When close to the 3 fingers Melina says : "...However ruined this world has become, however mired in torment and despair, life endures 👀. Births continue. There is beauty in that, is there not?" 🫠
@@chadgoose7886 experiencing the suffering of an obnoxious condescending title is nothing compared to the suffering master Midra experienced. Ego death as described in the video is essential to enlightenment. And for that, you might just need to accept that there can be things you dont get about Midra. The title of this video is intentional make no mistake
This game is based on Greek, not Japanese. For example, the lands between means mesopotamia, chapel of anticipation means chapel of elpis. And so abyss, word origin greek abyssos, means depth. Midra is Midrash in Hebrew, same as micorash bloodborne. Nanaya is mesopotamian goddess. However Midra's Manse in Japanese 館[yakata] Volcano Manor and Caria Manor in Japanese 館[yakata] Japanese translators doesn't work… Its really Japanese game?
@@TruePeaceSeeker Buddhism scorches the world along with the self and the perceiver who thinks has a separate existence, is permanent and different from this "world" You cant reduce suffering before reducing that self clinging. Dont try to over simplify how craving is reduced in Buddhism
If you want to discuss Elden Ring lore and Xenoblade with me, I'm dropping the link to my discord here discord.gg/6F8GeMAUEd
Ah so Midra is similar to myself. I too search for enlightenment ever so casually and often. ( _Not constantly._ )
And he kicked my a$$ enough... more than enough. The depths of my foolishness indeed.
But for some reason I never started to hate him. So this is why.
He's a kindred spirit.
Buddhism-based religious horror is kind of a recurring theme with Miyazaki.
From's games carry many themes ever so often, like a signature.
° The exiled monarch's son
° A path of Dragon's and their own realm
° Mages who seek their own enlightenment
° Giants
° Patches :D
° and Women showing of their feet ;)
@@LawfulBased you left out men showing of their feet :'(
@@LawfulBasedDon't forget Miquella. He's got varied tastes in feet.
Buddhist themes are common in eastern Eurasia, similiar to how Judaic themes are common in western Eurasia.
@elio7610it looks like this game has both
East and West religious horror have merged to become super religious horror.
Midra pulling his head off after he states that he will no long endure this agony combined with the themes of Buddhism reminds me of the taboo of Buddha statues being beheaded. It is important that Buddha is whole. It's conformation that Midra has totally given up on trying to mitigate his suffering and has instead embraced it for the worst.
i think that the frenzy flame is definetely inspired by buddhist associations, like buddha decided on his path when he became aware of the suffering of mankind, like the frenzy burns the eyes of the people at becoming aware of the suffering of the world or their lives. but i dont believe it is a one to one as you put it, here is why ingame we never see someone getting peace by the frenzy flame or the mad fingers, none of their path is to let go of resistance, they seem to be in costant pain with their only hope being asking someone else for the anihilation of the world. i think the frenzy flame takes buddhist motiffs, but represents succumbing to full disociation and madness in response to strong traumatic experiences, thinking there is nothing worth saving of this rotten world instead of seeing through it like a buddhist does, the lords of frenzy literally lose their heads to signify this hateful psychosis. anyways, great video and i totally agree with the frenzy flame being inspired by buddhism in many ways.
Damn dog cook
based take
It is true that for most people afflictied with the flame, they dont overcome pain before dying, but there are a couple exceptions. Those being Irina, who is able to speak calmly and die without words after a brief period of pain, and Midra himself after ascending, his movements are slow and dancy, and at times even playful, like someone who is high or intoxicated. I believe this is the enlightenment Ontos is connecting to Buddhist philosophy
There is quite literally nothing worth saving.
Metaphorically yes. But the trauma and suffering the world impose upon them can only be conquered if one has no sense of self to care for him/herself or the rest of the world, human and nature alike. So in this enlightenment state you care for none and save none, just exist without meaning or goal or attachment. That is turning your back to the world instead of againts the world, I think, since empire falls, society falls, life got snuffed out and bloomed again, none of that matter. An absolute indeference to life instead of scorn toward it. A cold, warm, uncaring universe. Ironically pretty damn nihilistic, total annilation of the physical and spiritual, thus yeah the Frienzied flame shall burn down all creations thus leave nothing to be separate or distinctive - the ultimate beginning of nothingness.
I like midra as a foil to gold mask.
Sun for head, doesn't explain anything, wears rags.
Enough...
What Midra explains is...more than enough
I ask you forgive me, lord Goldmask...
T.
Don't forget T-posing
@@Ontos99 T
I think the biggest place people fall off the tracks with the frenzied flame is with Shabriri and the use of the word 'slander' as if he were some sort of evil teleporting demon made out of the frenzied flame when it seems he really is just a Diogenes-like figure shouting unkind truths indistinguishable from slander to the golden order in the way only a profound cynic with no remaining fear for himself could.
His description suggests that the frenzied flame only found a home in his eyes afterwards.
Despair and surrender are two endpoints of an encounter with suffering, but cynicism is another - forcing the truth onto the underlying actors no matter how much it hurts.
Shabriri being likened to Diogenes is a great insight
And I think "corruption" is a theme in Elden Ring, and stagnation. Even the scarlet rot was beautiful at first, but the violence of the hornsent turned it foul. Come to think of it, I see a major parallel between Romina and Midra.
And maybe that's why Marika wanted to effectively stop death, to stop time, to stop corruption that she knew was inevitable. She wanted the climax of the golden order to last forever.
I think a lot of the evil slander idea comes from people's understanding of the Kale cut content. It's not explicitly linked in-game, but you could see how people would link a mostly successful genocide (that hugely increased the frenzied flame followers) based on the lies of a man who canonically suffered a terrible punishment and even worse reputation/ legacy
@@caylem00 The thing here is that at this point in the timeline, Rykard is padding his name by hunting down enemies of the state religion, real and imagined, and would be in charge of punishing the Great Caravan. Given his track record of inventing a case against the Albinaurics and abducting and torturing them in a way that didn't permit death, and inventing a case *to* lure in Tarnished and abducting and torturing them in a way that doesn't permit death, it isn't a great stretch to suppose that he did exactly the same with the Great Caravan. I personally blame the lack of story detail about the Inquisitors - it has Rykard's fingerprints all over it. The cherry on top here is that Shabriri's Woe's description puts his punishment before the Great Caravan's fate - and the first summoning of the Frenzied Flame to the Lands Between, only after which the Frenzied Flame manifests in Shabriri's eyesockets. It also manifests everywhere else that despair has found a home, including in the Leyndell soldiers at Mt. Gelmir.
@@LJdaOG may be onto something considering the isolated merchant on mt gelmir specifically, sells the inquisitors set
I was flirting with making this exact video for literally over a year because I noticed exactly the same themes, and people misunderstanding the frenzied flame as 'edgy nihilism' were driving me crazy, but you beat me to it. It's the coolest thing in this entire game imo- it's like a dark scary dharmic religion where enlightenment is characterized as terrifying and destructive because you're letting go of worldly attachments to the point where the world itself is left behind as we all return to a giant brahmic mega-being. I think the 'madness' is the revelation of your impermanence, your ego death, your vision of a transcendant future where the material world is shed entirely as the human race ascends to a higher plane, it's all more or less exactly the same as actual Buddhism except characterized as scary and evil instead of peaceful and liberatory, because the implications of a Buddhist view of the universe CAN be terrifying. Everything you build, love, believe, and want to protect is an ephemeral blink of an eye and the path to enlightenment can only come from accepting that and letting go of your attachment to anything and everything that exists.
So, nihilism with an esoteric zeal.
Except you aren't returning to anything, the frenzied flame just makes the one great whole again, you die game over, while the being ? Entity ? Concept ? Whatever the greater will was before being splintered becomes whole again.
Midra might have been able to *endure* for a bit longer if a certain foul Tarnished didn't come into his room and start beating him up...
I'm glad you were able to remake and re-upload this video!
YES! Thank you for making this. The ideas behind it are so misunderstood. And, this is exactly why Melina has such a strong crossover with the frenzied flame quest line.
Melina can die without blinking an eye…
In a way, marika and the hornsent were essentially having a war on death (like that of the war on drugs) or other gods in different mythology’s trying to surmount their own enviable end. So even the idea of openly discussing something that’s such a threat to them lead to their extermination, sealing, and shunned.
Furthermore, it is ironic that while their intentions 'might' be different regarding divinity, their methods were so corrupt that eventually both reigns had to make the same mistakes all over again to see their foolishness.
The end might not justify the means, after all.
If their is one thing I appreciate most about fromsoft style of storytelling, it’s the fact that the matters at hand is allowed to “age” over countless millennia till what was learned so long ago was once again forgotten (whether intentional or not). Showing the hubris of those involved with hindsight.
I enjoy the frenzied flame (as well as the ambiguous aldia ending in ds2) for just how many ways people in both the game and irl react to it. Talking, discussing, and arguing over it is extremely interesting to me.
I remember wanting to watch this weeks ago but it was deleted. I'm very interested in Buddhism and love to see it in Elden Ring discussions. Great to hear you've reuploaded this. ❤
I'm pretty sure the fingers being at the manse means Midra created the Three Fingers, either unwittingly or not. The Three Fingers were more than likely present at the manse at some point considering all the swollen grapes and the presence of the Untouchables. This also explains how Marika and the Golden Order managed to get their hands on the Three Fingers too.
Incredible video here. One of the best analyses of a lore concept i've seen so far. Keep up the good work! Excited to see what you do next but also don't want you to Midra out or go hollow so pace yourself as needed 🧘♂️✌️
Ranni analysis is in the works. Please stay tuned
also if you think about it nanaya suffocated in the mansion. shes found untouched by the flame of the man who loved her , but she was not spared the reality of the hornsent using regular fire to just straight up torch the place. its like the fire refused to touch her
This was truly enlightening (haha) and I really learned a lot from this video. Thank you!
I also want to add that your explanation of this game's employment of Buddhist philosophy has also really helped me understand what I've read in such Buddhist texts as the Platform, Heart, and Diamond Sutras.
Midra is the king in yellow in his human State
Very cool breakdown and I didn't realize that the Abyssal woods were named after Buddhist hell.
One thing I'd like to also point out are the similarities between the Frenzied flame and the gods Bacchus and Odin. Both were the oldest gods of their time and both were gods of alcohol and divine madness.
In the case of Bacchus he was also the god of wine and grapes. He also was kind of an outsider among the Greek gods and likely predated them. Some even say that Bacchus came from the Egyptian Osiris, another god of wine, apparently.
I could go on but I think these points, combined with your description of the Buddhist ties, are consistent with Miyazaki's tradition of telling Buddhist stories with western style characters and motiefs.
Shinzen Young and Elden Ring. That's a crossover I can safely say I never thought I'd see.
I am so damn happy that games like Elden Ring have ignited a deep passion in the modern youth to search for more philosophy and spirituality. It shows how hungry people are for true paths. Awesome video my friend. Keep it up.
I like it for the sake of thought, but people have a terrible issue of twisting philosophy, myth and fairytale into some kind of "truth".
Been thinking about this idea of the frenzied lord being like a dark buddha. Like life is suffering. Attachment is suffering. Suffering can be alieviated. B U R N I T A L L A W A Y. Also the ascetic angle with the frenzied lord needing to rid themselves of attachments (armor) to become a true lord of frenzy is pretty neat.
Like the lord of frenzy flame just wants to alleviate all living things of suffering. Come on guys uwu
Ah, the darkest side of religions... "You don't believe in my way of thinking? Then I will force it upon you! Because my vision is right and only I see the truth of things!" - burns all of reality and every soul away. No school of thought is truly safe from this weaponization.
I learned Buddhism from Shinzen! I also thought that the three fingers felt like a Buddhist path. Thanks for making this video, I really enjoyed it
Also, study Culadasa's book 'The Mind Illuminated'
Thank you for approaching Midra's story and the Frenzied Flame with such high levels of care, research, and original analysis! Definitely wasn't expecting a NEURO 101 lecture and a self-help trick. I think what you've established here also lines up with why FromSoft decided to give 'Lord' Midra such graceful animations.
While I LOVE the fight and the music, I can't help but think that they could've experimented more with sounds associated with Buddhist music (chants etc.) for his soundtrack, if the 'Buddha' theming is what they were aiming for. Something like slowed-down chants blended with the whale-like cries we hear in his cutscene could work. But hey, a slow waltz with the cosmic force of nihilistic tranquility actually hits really hard!
If you're accepting criticism, I think some parts could be cut for brevity. We don't really need to know the different neural pathways of pain to understand how pain can be differently perceived through practice and brain plasticity. I'm sure you can also safely assume that viewers of Elden Ring theory videos have a fundamental understanding of math to know that something multiplied by 0 does not equal 1.
Great work, nonetheless.
Brilliant and insightful as always ❤
Misundersuddha
Excellent video, and such an interesting idea! Keep up the good work.
asceticism and ego death are deeply rooted into elden ring and shadow of the erdtree, its really fascinating
Terrifying and beautiful, both at the same time.
Solid vid, haven't heard anyone talk about Non-Duality yet, which is definitely here. However, it isn't really solely in Buddhism me thinks. Non-duality is first seen in Hinduism (Upanishads) and is also very prevalent in Sufism. Te themes of eyes, blindness, fire, burning away the fetters of individuality, sun, light, grapes, madness, etc. are actually very akin to themes and terms widely used in sufi poetry. I think it is a general nod to the eastern mindsets of Non-duality though, not any one religion that understands this.
Other links are:
the nomadic musicians, linking to Vedic Nomad cultures and Sufi musicians.
In non-duality (advaita in particular), the senses, especially sight is often seen as illusory, and is to be transcended to see reality; the One. Sometimes called Isvaradhrsti (Seeing God in All)
In some stories of Hinduism, Brahma (the creator God) made mistakes, suffering, deceit, etc. and so Shiva (the destroyer and transformer God), destroys and burns the universe to reset it.
Great observation. I argue that the Frenzied flame is an amalgamation of any religion going by Monad style philosophies. Existence as being an emanation from an all encompassing force. Beliefs that often run a counter towards Abrahamic thinking of a just god providing guidelines to live by. The return to singularity through some kind of material destruction. To add another to your links, I argue Hyetta when explaining how she interprets it is very reminiscent of Gnostic thinking (Divine spark reflecting an inner fire that draws in humans to pursue universal truth to free themselves from the material world).
@@Gaarkukan21 Thank you :)
Awesome to see others theorizing similarly; the gnostic oneness is totally there
i cant stop listening to Midra's boss fight soundtrack. i really wish i knew latin or whatever language they are speaking.
Midra's theme is an exceptional composition.
If it's like the other boss themes.... There are no lyrics. It's literal gibberish at the request of Miyazaki.
Though, I think there might be prototype versions WITH actual lyrics in Latin.... But, Miyazaki didn't want readable lore in the songs like that.
Plus, it mirrors his experiences with foreign books. Some of it to him was completely indecipherable.
@ really?? ive seen translations of other themes but maybe they were just trolls.
@@ashen-one--x my guess is that it had lyrics and the gibberish was based on the lyrics. Since Radhan's final theme has one literal lyrics, "Mother Marika Eternal", it's half right.
i was able to find the reddit post and youtube video of what youre talking about. at least for Elden Ring that appears to be the case. older souls games though i think the lyrics may be not gibberish.
I can't even tell you how much i loved this video.
Hey now, I’ve been picking up on the Buddhist subliminals in Fromsoft games since OG Demons’ Souls.
SO excited for this. Miyazaki does excellent commentary involving Buddhism.
My criticism of Buddhism is "Imagine that your mind is so open your brain falls out?"
@@TOUGHEYES Alright.
i never looked at mydra that way. it make all the sence.
Perfectly explained, kudos my friend
the thing about "frenzy" is that it doesnt mean anger it could mean excitement
I love this video. Thanks
*Sigh* yet another "You Don't Get [Thing]" deconstruction video that only proves that I completely understood [Thing] from the start
Not to say this isn't a fantastically put together video, this certainly deserves more views!! I'm just a cynic who dislikes these kinds of titles lol
Highly unlikely but good job bud. Make a video on it next time and share your madness with us ;))
ok we got to the science section and i have no fucking clue what's going on so nevermind lmfao
Mirras story and the frenzy flame reminds me a lot of Hollow knight and the Radiance
I just read NK Jemisin's *The World We Make* and...SPOILER...it's neat how the final motivation of the villain feels kinda in line with the flame of frenzy, granting a few important nuances, in returning to a primal simplicity and sloughing off all distinction and separation. In her book, this is framed as an evil thing to do, though not unsympathetically. At the same time, the primal simplicity comes across as rather controlling with regard to the universe, which seems rather the wrong way to be a Buddhist.
That was neat, I think I caught hints of that in Shabriri (curiously a Jewish reference) but I hadn't put them together like that.
"Life is suffering."
It's not some edgy tagline, it's a foundational Buddhist principal. And the Frenzied Flame IS life.
It was there FIRST, long before anything else. It is the power underlying all creation, and it is *correct* that self-awareness is the source of all suffering. At the most basic possible level, the Flame is right. And what it wants - to unmake everything that causes suffering in life, in IT, and go back to how it was before - is good and just.
Only, it means unmaking everything that came before. Not just all potential for what could be, but everything that ever *was*, undone. Like it never existed to begin with.
Life is suffering. And in a world where every single great power is fighting for control over how Life is expressed, the Frenzied Flame is the most pure. There is a reason it screams when you use it.
But without self-awareness, there's not much *to* existence, is there? Even if the story and history of life is almost solely one of pain, every single good and meaningful thing that ever happened was in defiance of that truth.
So, which is more important?
Astounding video, thank you.
Thanks cuh🙏
First off: Amazing effort, great video. This is literally frenzied flame propaganda. "Not inherently evil, it just wants to stop the suffering." Says the dude wearing the corpse of of recently deceased ally like a suit. Nowhere is it written that the Frenzied Flame must be truthful. Nowhere is it written that Outer Gods cannot lie. The Frenzied Flame could just as easily be said to pray upon our inherently self destructive nature and our own frustrations with the limitation not only of existence but our own ability to effect change upon that existence, as it could be said to be a great liberator which seeks a restoration of the spiritual purity which gave rise to life.
This is Evangelion all over again; is the status of LCL a good status or a bad one? Well - its pretty fucking bad if you like being yourself Trying to ethically separate that cold fact, that its depriving people of the most personal thing you have (identity), from the reality of how you achieve LCL, is just obfuscation. Is death bad? Is killing bad? I mean all you're doing is returning someone to the same space as before they were born and no one says we were suffering before we existed so whats the big deal?
Excellent stuff
NO YOU DON'T GET MIDRA
🤨 right, who he think he is
(stamps feet, hurriedly collects PS5 and copy of Elden Ring, hastily leaves room, all the boys and girls who had yet to take their turn with a run audibly show their disappointment with an...) awwwww.
Seems to be the trend nowadays for content creators to do the whole, "YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT XYZ TOPIC AND I'M RIGHT".
@@shivernaut8607 I think I got your joke... I mean, I think.
@
I mean this guy should've known better "what if shivernaut reads the title" he wasn't thinking fr.
is this a reupload?
This vid needs more attention!
editing is kind of weird. but so is the discussion. great video nonetheless
11:30 bro thats tenuous, the one-ness happens *during* the eye-burning in psychedelics. And all the ones I’ve used are VERY much not at all perceptually similar to burning in ANY way. Its a quickening or enhancing.
Anyway interesting ideas but its gotta make the distinction between detachment and the intense attachment of living only to destroy something. Frenzy is definitely related but in many ways opposite to detachment,
I broke my tooth a couple years ago, my pain was 10, my resistance was id guess about 2 or 3... it was almost pleasant.
@@magnustherad3597 I dislocated ny shoulder about 1.5 years ago.
On the ambulance my pain was about 9 but through reducing my resistance my perception and experience of suffering was 4
Your voice is wonderful. 😮❤
Albinuric video request #333
Cool stuff
Just as an aside, people who rely on Stoicism as an excuse to dismiss their own actions of annoying other people, as if to argue that it's the fault of the other person to be so offended by what they're doing, *HAVEN'T SUFFERED ENOUGH.*
The points have been great so far, but the choice of videos/images are kind of weird lol
My editing is madness inducing
Great and very insightful video 😮 ! It makes me think that Melina also gave us a similar argument/encouragement to Nanaya's "Endure" against the frenzied flame. When close to the 3 fingers Melina says : "...However ruined this world has become, however mired in torment and despair, life endures 👀. Births continue. There is beauty in that, is there not?" 🫠
The theme of births is also illustrated in the painting which shows Nanaya cradling her belly...
Subbed. Imma research Buddhism now.
read the book 'the mind illuminated' by Culadasa
Obnoxious condescending title
@@chadgoose7886 experiencing the suffering of an obnoxious condescending title is nothing compared to the suffering master Midra experienced.
Ego death as described in the video is essential to enlightenment. And for that, you might just need to accept that there can be things you dont get about Midra.
The title of this video is intentional make no mistake
Who are you to tell me what I don't get? Disliked
You Don't Get Ontos | Elden Ring's Misunderstood Lore Theorist Deconstructed
This game is based on Greek, not Japanese.
For example, the lands between means mesopotamia, chapel of anticipation means chapel of elpis.
And so abyss, word origin greek abyssos, means depth.
Midra is Midrash in Hebrew, same as micorash bloodborne.
Nanaya is mesopotamian goddess.
However Midra's Manse in Japanese 館[yakata]
Volcano Manor and Caria Manor in Japanese 館[yakata]
Japanese translators doesn't work…
Its really Japanese game?
😭 what’s with the editing
Eat World
Buddhism does not go into scorching the world lmao.
Its about reducing suffering by acknowledging. The top comment described this
@@TruePeaceSeeker Buddhism scorches the world along with the self and the perceiver who thinks has a separate existence, is permanent and different from this "world"
You cant reduce suffering before reducing that self clinging. Dont try to over simplify how craving is reduced in Buddhism