Buddhism has a set of core beliefs known as the Four Noble Truths.
- Life is suffering (dukkha).
- Desire is the cause of suffering.
- There is a way out of suffering.
- The way out is to follow the Eightfold Path.
Because humans hold onto impermanent and material desires, they are trapped in the cycle of samsara where they face an endless cycle of rebirth and death. The way to moksa, or release, isn’t easily attained. In Dhammapada “Chp. 20”, as the Gautama Buddha was meditating under the tree, a temptation in the form of Mara, the serpent demon, tried to dissuade him from the path to enlightenment. The Gautama Buddha went through extreme asceticism and extreme indulgence before filling the empty void and achieving enlightenment by following the Middle Path. As a result, he would free himself from all conditioning and desires as described in Dhammapada “Chp. 14”. The PBS documentary The Buddha touches on this idea that hard work was needed and that one must acknowledge, like the Buddha, that the natural world as is was already broken.
Koi fish, especially in Japan and China, were used as symbolism for many ideas. Koi fish were considered symbols of perseverance and courage (Ezinearticles.com). However, in China, the koi fish also represented yin yang which demonstrated the polarity of all things in Taoism. Due to the similar sonic connotation as the Chinese word for “abundance”, the koi fish also represented good fortune. However, in Japan, the idea of perseverance was showcased through the adversity and struggles of the currents. This was apparent in the story about a lone koi fish trying to climb up a waterfall when others had already given up. The koi fish never gave up and made it to the top after many trials and errors (Koistory.com). As a reward, it turned into a golden dragon, symbolizing power and strength. This relates to Prince Siddhartha’s path to enlightenment and his determination to seek out the answer to what he has been missing. Once he finds his answer, he is bestowed with the title of Buddha, the Enlightened One. Just as the koi fish are struggling to swim through the fast and strong currents, people are struggling to swim through an “ocean of suffering” (Ezinearticles.com). There are a lot of parallels between Buddha’s story and the significance of koi fish, especially in Japan.
Today, there are modern interpretations of this koi fish and waterfall story. The most prominent one in popular culture would be the relationship between Magikarp and Gyarados in the Pokemon franchise by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori. Magikarp is infamously classified as being the most useless Pokemon for it has poor stats all around. It doesn’t have any physical fighting attacks until it learns the most basic one, Tackle, at level 15. Prior to that, its only move is Splash which doesn’t do anything. Looking at this from the Buddhist lens, it replicates the story symbolically.
The Japanese name for Magikarp is コイキング or “Koiking” which is a direct reference to the specimen. The English name uses “carp” because koi literally meant “carp”. They were considered as such in Japan when koi fish farmers cultivated them for their colors. Magikarp can only splash around, and once it’s used up all the power points to do the move, it can only flail in frustration. This flail actually does deal damage to the enemy. It’s this constant struggle to follow through with an end goal that’s hard to attain, but one must keep going through the motions to finally find release.
Once a player trains up Magikarp to level 20, it will evolve into Gyarados, a water-type that looks like a dragon while maintaining the body structure of a koi fish. The struggle to train up and attain a Gyarados is worth it to get out of the “ocean of suffering”. In relation to the ideas of Buddhism, it is upon the individual and his/her actions that define the consequences in life. It is equally their job to persist through adversity in order to achieve enlightenment. Just as Prince Siddhartha had done so much to achieve enlightenment and become a symbol of wisdom, the koi fish’s determination led to its own enlightenment into a symbol of strength.
Sources
- http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Meaning-of-Koi-Fish&id=4508985
- https://koistory.com/blog/koi-fish-meaning-and-myth
- PBS Documentary, The Buddha
- Dhammapada, Chp. 14
- Dhammapada, Chp. 20
