|
|
| I would assume that
the human souls sent to Soul Society stay there to await another
incarnation. But the memories and spirit body they have after
their death is identical to that of their old physical body.
Surely they can't incarnate in a new physical body with a spirit
body from a previous incarnation. There must be a way of
shedding the old spirit body and transforming into one that fits
a fresh life.
|
|
| Even
though Soul Society is the spirit world and sanctuary for the
dead, we know that death exists there. But what does that mean?
How can a soul die? |
<<<
Read from RIGHT to LEFT <<<
Chapter 98 |
|
| The
first mention of something resembling reincarnation within Soul
Society (that I can recall) is by Zaraki. While it is arguable
whether Zaraki knows anything about the metaphysics of death, he
is still confident in the continuation of his existence beyond
it. The way I see it, he is a Shinigami Captain, and has
been around death enough to have some instinctive knowledge of
it. |
<<<
Read from RIGHT to LEFT <<<
Chapter 149 |
|
| Many,
many chapters later, we finally have a more direct, credible
source on death in the spirit world courtesy of Kaien. In
the human world, physical bodies capable of interacting with the
physical plane serve as containers for non-physical souls. When the physical body dies,
it decays and returns to the earth where its elements are broken
down and recycled into future bodies. The soul it housed moves on to the spirit world,
where spirit is the medium for interaction.
Shinigami,
being denizens of the spirit world from birth, have no
physical bodies. They are pure spirit. When the spirit body dies
it, like a physical body, disintegrates into the building blocks
of that world. Is this the death of the soul, the essence, the
consciousness of that person? Or is the spirit body just another
container for something even less tangible?
Kaien
believes something does survive the death of the spirit body,
and he calls it "heart."
|
<<<
Read from RIGHT to LEFT <<<
Chapter 268 |
|
| The
word used for "heart" here is kokoro. It is the
innermost thoughts and feelings that we hold dear and, though
not quite as distinct as a "soul," can be seen as the
essence of a person and what they stood for.
Kaien
is very vague on whether an individual's consciousness exists in
its own right after the death of their spirit body, but he does
believe an individual's kokoro lives on through their nakama,
their closest friends. |
<<<
Read from RIGHT to LEFT <<<
Chapter 268 |
|
| Indeed,
Kaien doesn't believe our kokoro was ever exclusively
ours. He sees it as something that is created through the
interaction of two or more beings. If we had nobody around to
care about, protect, and share our experiences with, our self
would be empty and our life lack purpose. But when we connect
with other beings, we create memories, trigger feelings, discuss
ideas, find direction, and better understand ourselves.
Kaien's
explanation of kokoro as an external entity that exists
between and binds two beings is a lot like the concept of karma
in its purest form: cause and effect. Karma is the web of
meaning we attribute to memories and the lessons we learn from
shared experiences. These can be joyous or painful, but in
either case tie us to that other person.
For
instance, Aizen designing a mutant Hollow that merged with Kaien
created karma between them that was not resolved within
the lifetime of Kaien's spirit body.
|
<<<
Read from RIGHT to LEFT <<<
Chapter 268 |
|
| The
karma of friendship shared between Kaien and Rukia
resulted in him passing his kokoro to her when his spirit
body died. |
<<<
Read from RIGHT to LEFT <<<
Chapter 136 |
|
| Rukia
here plainly differentiates between the spirit body and the kokoro/heart:
"within you, Kaien-dono's spirit body really does exist,
but Kaien-dono himself does not." Although Aaroniro has
Kaien's memories and spirit body, these are not what determine a
person's core self. It is the kokoro. |
<<<
Read from RIGHT to LEFT <<<
Chapter 268 |
|
| Is
there such a thing as reincarnation in the Bleach universe? And
if so, what part of a person reincarnates? If the kokoro is left after a spirit body
disintegrates, is it the kokoro that reincarnates? How
can it do so if it resides in the person's friends?
Are
there differences between the souls of humans, Shinigami,
and the residents of Seireitei and Rukongai? We
know that humans and Shinigami have different color reiratsu,
but Shinigami have been known to become humans, and even
mate with humans. Likewise, humans have been known to become Shinigami.
Even if it is only through a Shinigami transferring power
to them, there still exist commonly-recognizable Shinigami-substitute
badges in Soul Society so Ichigo can not be an isolated case.
Although natives of Seireitei make a big deal of their
proclaimed superiority to the natives of Rukongai, souls
from Rukongai have been known to become high-ranking
members of Seireitei and have even been married and
adopted into Seireitei nobility. It would seem that all
souls are just at varying degrees of awakening to their
potential.
There
are many, many unanswered questions about how/if reincarnation
works in Bleach, and whenever new things come up, I will post
them here!
|
|
|
|