A Buddhist parallel in Jujutsu Kaisen suggests why Sukuna is crucial to Yuji's true Enlightenment

Ryomen Sukuna and Itadori Yuji are the two sides of a coin in Jujutsu Kaisen, where one loves to help others, and the other enjoys mocking their weaknesses. Additionally, one loves to look up to people stronger than him, but the other doesn't consider anyone stronger than him.

In the last panel of Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 256, Itadori Yuji awakened his cursed technique and he could be the last resort of humanity against the King of Curses. But why did he awaken his cursed energy more than 25 chapters after the first chapter of the series?

Yuji and Sukuna could be the parallel images of Buddha and a demon. A demon named Mara was always a hindrance in the way of Buddha, refraining the latter from achieving enlightenment. But he could have been a big reason for Buddha achieving enlightenment later in his life, similar to Yuji awakening his cursed technique after being put on the trail by Ryomen Sukuna.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga series and has the author's opinion.

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Jujutsu Kaisen: Why Itadori and Sukuna could be parallels of Buddha and Mara

Sukuna (left) and Itadori (right) as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

According to chapter 246, Sukuna's demise became imminent because the number of sorcerers overpowered him. Sukuna did land a Black Flash on Maki and Choso, which helped him activate his cursed energy, but he was ultimately met with a Black Flash from Itadori. After Itadori hit him with a Black Flash, he awakened his cursed energy.

In episode 1 of the series, Itadori became the host of the King of Curses after eating one of his fingers. From this point onwards, Sukuna tried his best to break Itadori and take over his body. When Mahito killed Junpei, Itadori asked for Sukuna's help, but the latter mocked him and refused to help.

During the Death Painting arc, as Megumi tried to hand Itadori one of Sukuna's fingers, Sukuna purposely ate it to get more control over Itadori's body. During the Shibuya arc, Sukuna not only destroyed the majority of the Shibuya station during his fight with Mahoraga, but he also killed innocent civilians with his domain expansion and enjoyed witnessing Itadori suffer in guilt.

Itadori Yuji as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

After changing hosts to Megumi, Sukuna started to mock Itadori as a weakling because he had no cursed technique. With strong enemies coming his way, Itadori was always accompanied by them and was an entitled fool in the eyes of the King of Curses. So, it became obvious in the eyes of fans that Sukuna was an obstacle in the way of Yuji until he awakened his cursed energy.

This sounds similar to the journey of enlightenment of a historically renowned figure, Buddha, and how a demon, Mara, tried his best to distract him from enlightenment.

Siddhartha Gautama, more commonly referred to as Buddha, was born into a royal family. He didn't like seeing the weak being oppressed so he set out on a spiritual quest looking for answers. When he couldn't find the answers to his questions, he sat under the Bodhi tree and meditated until he achieved enlightenment. While he was meditating, a demon kept interfering and tried to break his focus.

This demon was Mara. He tried to stop Buddha from achieving enlightenment by sometimes mocking him, sending women his way, and trying every other way to invoke earthly desires inside him. Unfortunately for him, Buddha remained steadfast and rejected all his advances, ultimately achieving enlightenment.

Itadori Yuji as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

The journey of Buddha to enlightenment and the role of Mara as a test for him could be considered the same as Itadori's journey to awakening his cursed energy and Sukuna being a test for him. Just like Buddha, Yuji could have never awakened his cursed energy if Sukuna hadn't entered his life and mocked him.

Sukuna could never take over Yuji's body because just like Buddha, Yuji's will was stronger and untainted. Moreover, Mara was also known by other names like "The Evil One," which could have the same meaning as Sukuna's title of "The Disgraced One."

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