“The warrior stood on one side, and fear stood on the other. The warrior was feeling very small, and fear was looking big and wrathful. They both had their weapons.
The warrior roused herself and went toward fear, prostrated three times, and asked, “May I have permission to go into battle with you?”
Fear said, “Thank you for showing me so much respect that you ask permission.”
Then the warrior said, “How can I defeat you?”
Fear replied, “My weapons are that I talk fast, and I get very close to your face. Then you get completely unnerved, and you do whatever I say. If you don’t do what I tell you, I have no power. You can listen to me, and you can have respect for me. You can even be convinced by me. But if you don’t do what I say, I have no power.”
In that way, the warrior learned how to defeat fear. ”
“When Things Fall Apart” by Pema Chödrön
~Here is the thing: if we are applying Buddhist logic, then Tensa Zangetsu is 100% correct here.
Fear is what’s known as a “klesha” (क्लेश, mind poison).
As the name suggests, kleshas are mental states that poison the mind and result in unwholesome actions.
There are many systems to classify the kleshas, but it is generally agreed that there are three main ones, which are known as the “Three Poisons” or the “Three Unwholesome Roots”. All other kleshas are considered to originate from a combination of these three. And these three also feed into each other in a vicious circle.
Moha: delusion, aka as confusion or ignorance
Raga: attachment, aka as greed or lust
Dvesha: aversion, aka as hate or hostility
Fear is either considered to arise from a combination of Moha and Dvesha, or to be a form of Dvesha.
Ok, but wtf does all of the above have to do with Ichigo’s relationship to his Inner Hollow?
Well, let’s start by remembering that Ichigo didn’t start off with negative feelings towards Hollow Zangetsu: when he emerged from the Shattered Shaft, he paid no mind to the hollow mask he had on and, later, during the SS Arc, he actually wanted to keep the hollow mask as a lucky charm. Also, Old Man Zangetsu actually introduces Ichigo to Hollow Zangetsu as a training partner. You could make the case that ichigo’s relationship with his Inner Hollow actually started with the right foot.
But then Yoruichi takes the hollow mask away from Ichigo, making it clear it is a bad thing. While Yoruichi’s actions were well-intentioned, they were also misguided.
The next time Hollow Zangetsu shows up, it is, just as the previous times, to save Ichigo from what would have been a killing blow from his opponent. However, unlike the previous times, this time Hollow Zangetsu takes control of Ichigo and tries to finish his opponent off.
From here on, it is a downward spiral, where Ichigo continues to receive well-intentioned but ultimately incorrect advice on how to deal with his inner hollow, which scares Ichigo even more.
This ultimately lead to Ichigo’s confrontation with Hollow Zangetsu. Hollow Zangetsu actually tries to stop and talk and convey important information to Ichigo at several points, but Ichigo has no interest in listening (Moha) because he has already made up his mind (Raga) that he is going to use violence to suppress (Dvesha) and dominate his hollow powers.
The confrontation ends with Hollow Zangetsu warning Ichigo that this is in no way over.
Now, you might be asking yourself: if there is not a thing such as a “healthy fear”, then what is the solution here?
Well, just as there are “Three Unwholesome Roots”, there are “Three Wholesome Roots” which counter them.
amoha (non-delusion) leads to pañña (wisdom)
alobha (non-attachment) leads to dana (generosity)
advesa (non-hatred) leads to metta (loving-kindness)
And so, it is fitting, that Ichigo’s problem with Hollow Zangetsu, which started with ignorance, resolves when Ichigo sees through (amoha) the Hollowfied Tensa Zangetsu’s behaviour and thus gains both the knowledge he was seeking and comes to understand Tensa Zangetsu’s motivations (pañña).
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