Tree of knowledge of good and evil (yin/yang): Judeo-Christian references in Naruto

[Oblargagh]

I was thinking about Kaguya eating the fruit of the Shinju and getting blessed with the power of chakra.

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This reminded me of Eve from the Bible eating the fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. When Eve ate the fruit, she gained knowledge of what was good and what was evil. She also gained self-awareness.

The tree is very similar to the Shinju.

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Spoiler

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Genesis 3:3-7

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

The parallels between Eve and Kaguya are obvious. They are both females that gained knowledge/power of good and evil (yin and yang) from eating the fruit of a tree.

Furthermore, Eve had two sons: Cain and Able. Kaguya had two sons as well. Hagoromo and his brother. As we know in the Bible, Cain slew Able because Cain became jealous that God preferred Able's offerings over his own (Able offered meat while Cain offered crops).

Genesis 4

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Nevertheless, we do not know anything about the relationship between Hagoromo and his brother. We can only speculate. However, the relationship of Cain and Able does parallel the relationship of Indra with Asura.

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Indra was Asura's older brother; just like Cain was the older brother of Asura. And just like in the Bible where Able's offerings were more favored than Cain's, Hagoromo favored Asura to carry on the Sage's legacy instead of the older brother Indra. This created the "Curse of Hatred" that fell upon Indra's descendants. This is very similar to the concept of the "Mark of Cain" mentioned in the Bible which is thought by some to be placed on the descendants of Cain.

Cain is the older brother; Indra is the older brother. In both of their respective stories, they are rejected in favor of their younger brother by a source of authority. This causes conflict between both older brothers and their younger brothers. This conflict causes a "curse" to be placed on the descendants of both older brothers.

There may be other similarities in Naruto with the Bible, but the Adam and Eve and Cain and Able similarities seemed so obvious.

 

[NarutoB]

Spoiler

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Dat ass though

 

[FlyingThunder]

that could prove that jashin is hagoromo's brother??? it's a guess, don't shoot me if i'm wrong

 

[Byron123]

that could prove that jashin is hagoromo's brother??? it's a guess, don't shoot me if i'm wrong

Lol in fact I have written a theory about that, a very, very radical one in relationship to Uzumaki clan:

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[Oblargagh]

that could prove that jashin is hagoromo's brother??? it's a guess, don't shoot me if i'm wrong

I suppose. I don't know how symbolic it would be to have Jashin as Hagoromo's brother.

 

[Element Master]

it has more relations with the Japanese Myth about the Moon God

 

[NukaCola]

Yin & Yang ≠ Good & evil
Yin = slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, passive, water, earth, the moon, femininity, and nighttime.
Yang = fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, aggressive, fire, sky, the sun, masculinity and daytime.

 

[Oblargagh]

Yin & Yang ≠ Good & evil
Yin = slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, passive, water, earth, the moon, femininity, and nighttime.
Yang = fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, aggressive, fire, sky, the sun, masculinity and daytime.

You are right. However, the point is the dualism that is represented. Two opposites are represented by the tree. It's a parallel.

 

[Delcan]

There are many references across different religions used in naruto no?

 

[ninjarasengan]

Either this...

In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil (/ˈɪɡdrəsɪl/; from Old Norse Yggdrasill, pronounced [ˈyɡːˌdrasilː]) is an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology, in connection to which the nine worlds exist.

Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is central and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations; one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the wyrm (dragon) Níðhöggr


or it is combined with the christian one...though the adam and eve+forbidden fruit thing has been done by various religions around the world...but Shinju's base defiantly had those Dragon's

 

[Oblargagh]

Either this...

In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil (/ˈɪɡdrəsɪl/; from Old Norse Yggdrasill, pronounced [ˈyɡːˌdrasilː]) is an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology, in connection to which the nine worlds exist.

Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is central and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations; one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the wyrm (dragon) Níðhöggr


or it is combined with the christian one...though the adam and eve+forbidden fruit thing has been done by various religions around the world...but Shinju's base defiantly had those Dragon's

...Which dragons?

 

[flyboyissac]

The sage of six paths and his brother

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[flyboyissac]

it has more relations with the Japanese Myth about the Moon God

moses and brother had a staff

1 died 1 had 2 kid

etc.... anything else?

 

[ninjarasengan]

...Which dragons?

Níðhöggr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Nidhogg" redirects here. For the video game, see Nidhogg (video game).
Níðhöggr gnaws the roots of Yggdrasill in this illustration from a 17th-century Icelandic manuscript.

In Norse mythology, Níðhöggr (Malice Striker, often anglicized Nidhogg[1]) is a dragon who gnaws at a root of the world tree, Yggdrasil. In historical Viking society, níð was a term for a social stigma implying the loss of honor and the status of a villain. Thus, its name might refer to its role as a horrific monster or in its action of chewing the corpses of the inhabitants of Náströnd: those guilty of murder, adultery, and oath-breaking, which Norse society considered among the worst possible crimes.

In chp650 page 5 and page 12 the Shinju's roots transform into wood dragons. (Well...I guess it should be one dragon)

 

[NukaCola]

moses and brother had a staff

1 died 1 had 2 kid

etc.... anything else?

Hogoromo staff is a khakkhara a weapon for buddhist monks