Avatar Aang ( Chinese : 安昂 ; pinyin : Ān Áng ), or simply Aang , is the titular protagonist of Nickelodeon 's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko ), voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen . Aang was the last surviving Airbender, a monk of the Air Nomads ' Southern Air Temple, and the youngest ever airbending master (for his time).
122-576: He is an incarnation of the " Avatar ", the spirit of light and peace manifested in human form. As the Avatar, Aang controls all four elements (water, earth, fire, and air) and is tasked with bringing balance and keeping the Four Nations at peace. At chronologically 112 years old (biologically 12), Aang is the series' reluctant hero , spending a century in suspended animation in an iceberg before being discovered and joining new friends Katara and Sokka on
244-411: A Latin term that literally means 'entering the flesh again'. Reincarnation refers to the belief that an aspect of every human being (or all living beings in some cultures) continues to exist after death. This aspect may be the soul, mind, consciousness, or something transcendent which is reborn in an interconnected cycle of existence; the transmigration belief varies by culture, and is envisioned to be in
366-453: A McDonald's Happy Meal toy—with Appa as a launcher that shoots out Momo, the flying lemur. KidsTelly.com ' s Dan G. Hughes noted that "the flying six legged bison has a lovingly sketched personality," further commenting how every character (including Appa) changes and grows throughout the series. Kevin Fitzpatrick of UGO Entertainment praised Appa's "love and courage throughout
488-528: A Tamil literature and history scholar, the most acceptable range for the Sangam literature is 100 BCE to 250 CE, based on the linguistic, prosodic and quasi-historic allusions within the texts and the colophons . There are several mentions of rebirth and moksha in the Purananuru . The text explains Hindu rituals surrounding death such as making riceballs called pinda and cremation. The text states that good souls get
610-696: A belief in gilgul , transmigration of souls, and hence the belief in reincarnation is universal in Hasidic Judaism , which regards the Kabbalah as sacred and authoritative, and is also sometimes held as an esoteric belief within other strains of Orthodox Judaism . In Judaism , the Zohar , first published in the 13th century, discusses reincarnation at length, especially in the Torah portion "Balak." The most comprehensive kabbalistic work on reincarnation, Shaar HaGilgulim ,
732-483: A child with a flying bison . Meanwhile, DiMartino was interested in a documentary about explorers trapped in the South Pole , which he later combined with Konietzko's drawing. "There's an air guy along with these water people trapped in a snowy wasteland...and maybe some fire people are pressing down on them..." The plot they described corresponds with the first and second episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender , where
854-584: A compound at the South Pole, bringing teachers to her instead of allowing her to seek out her own. In the sequel series' first season, Avatar Aang's spirit occasionally serves as the spiritual advisor to seventeen-year-old Korra (much like the previous Avatar incarnation, Roku, did for Aang). Korra struggles with the spiritual aspects of bending and being the avatar, so initially Aang is only able to give Korra glimpses of his memory concerning Yakone in relation to her confrontations with his two sons, Amon and Tarrlok,
976-659: A disguise while in flight. At the Western Air Temple, he was among the first members of the group to accept Zuko as Aang's firebending teacher, as he is still grateful for Zuko freeing him in Ba Sing Se . He flew Aang and Zuko to the Sun Warrior Temple in order to learn the origin of firebending. He also flew Zuko and Katara to the Southern Raiders ship, so Katara could confront the murderer of her mother. After
1098-399: A dozen flying bison. The creators eventually lost interest in this science fiction theme and changed it to an Asian-inspired fantasy world. Aang was changed to being stuck in a hundred years of suspended animation , his bald head was explained away by him hailing from a culture inspired by Buddhist monk s, the robotic Momo became a flying lemur , and the herd of bison was reduced to one. In
1220-572: A few conflicts, Aang became an apprentice of Waterbending Master Pakku alongside Katara. After helping the Water Tribe drive off a Fire Nation invasion headed by Admiral Zhao, with Katara as his teacher, Aang and his group journey to the Earth Kingdom to find an Earthbending teacher. Ozai, angered that Iroh betrayed the Fire Nation, sends his daughter, Princess Azula , to hunt down Zuko and Iroh. In
1342-473: A fictional cat named Mehitabel who claimed to be a reincarnation of Queen Cleopatra. Théodore Flournoy was among the first to study a claim of past-life recall in the course of his investigation of the medium Hélène Smith , published in 1900, in which he defined the possibility of cryptomnesia in such accounts. Carl Gustav Jung , like Flournoy based in Switzerland, also emulated him in his thesis based on
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#17328560695601464-455: A flashback on Appa's Lost Days , Appa's herd flies down to an Air Nomad Temple where Aang and other young Airbenders are waiting. Aang brings Appa an apple as a sign of friendship, which Appa accepts, sealing their bond as well as giving Appa his name, after the word "apple". Almost immediately, the two became friends and would remain close, Appa being the one thing aside from his staff and robes from Aang's home that Aang took with him when he fled
1586-480: A general way. Detailed descriptions first appear around the mid-1st millennium BCE in diverse traditions, including Buddhism, Jainism and various schools of Hindu philosophy , each of which gave unique expression to the general principle. Sangam literature connotes the ancient Tamil literature and is the earliest known literature of South India . The Tamil tradition and legends link it to three literary gatherings around Madurai . According to Kamil Zvelebil ,
1708-705: A hermetic ideology to reflect this isolation. The Fire Nation were the first to industrialize due to their ability to generate power and master metallurgy with their bending of fire and lightning. At the start of the series, Aang is initially only proficient in air, having been able to bend it with ease since he was a young child. Through the teaching of Katara and Zuko, he gradually learns waterbending and firebending; but struggles with Toph's teachings of earthbending due to its rigid nature conflicting with his desire for freedom. Aang utilizes all elements equally, but heavily favors airbending for crowd control and non-lethal purposes, in accordance with his pacifism principles. As
1830-431: A large brown arrow marking that is remarked to be extremely itchy. In the show, the markings on the flying bison's backs are what inspired the tattoos which symbolize an Air Nomad's mastery of Airbending . Their fur is shed at the end of winter. The Air Nomads summon the sky bison to their side through the use of whistles that only the animals can hear. Aang and friends use the words "yip yip" to get Appa to take off into
1952-470: A list of six realms of rebirth, adding demigods ( asuras ). The earliest layers of Vedic text incorporate the concept of life, followed by an afterlife in heaven and hell based on cumulative virtues (merit) or vices (demerit). However, the ancient Vedic rishis challenged this idea of afterlife as simplistic, because people do not live equally moral or immoral lives. Between generally virtuous lives, some are more virtuous; while evil too has degrees, and
2074-491: A more realistic character instead of a perfect one by revealing many character flaws. In 2016, Screen Rant ranked Aang #15 on its "30 Best Animated TV Characters Of All Time" list. At the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics , Dutch windsurfer Kiran Badloe won the gold medal in Men's RS: X while having a blue arrow haircut inspired by Aang's design. Reincarnation Reincarnation , also known as rebirth or transmigration ,
2196-402: A new body is asserted to be instantaneous in early Jaina texts. Depending upon the accumulated karma, rebirth occurs into a higher or lower bodily form, either in heaven or hell or earthly realm. No bodily form is permanent: everyone dies and reincarnates further. Liberation ( kevalya ) from reincarnation is possible, however, through removing and ending karmic accumulations to one's soul. From
2318-514: A notable aspect of Aang's character is his vegetarian diet, which is consistent with Buddhism , Hinduism , and Taoism . In the Brahmajala Sutra , a Buddhist code of ethics, vegetarianism is encouraged. Furthermore, the writers gave Aang a consistent reluctance to fight and an aversion to killing. In "The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)", Aang encounters an angry spirit destroying a village and kidnapping villagers; but instead of fighting
2440-608: A path similar to his father, after the latter requests it, being stopped by Katara from entering the Avatar State as he began a later encounter with Zuko and then tries to mediate protestors and the Yu Dao resistance, afterward assembling members of a fan club and forming the "Air Acolytes", a group that he intends to teach the ways of the Air Nomads. Aang then participated in a search for Zuko's mother Ursa, successfully finding her and entering
2562-611: A place in Indraloka where Indra welcomes them. The texts of ancient Jainism that have survived into the modern era are post-Mahavira, likely from the last centuries of the first millennium BCE, and extensively discuss the doctrines of rebirth and karma. Jaina philosophy assumes that the soul ( jiva in Jainism; atman in Hinduism) exists and is eternal, passing through cycles of transmigration and rebirth. After death, reincarnation into
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#17328560695602684-430: A quest to master the elements and save their world from the imperialist Fire Nation . Aang's character has appeared in other media, such as trading cards , video games , T-shirts , and web comics . Avatar Aang has also been portrayed by Noah Ringer in the live-action film The Last Airbender (2010) and voiced by D.B. Sweeney in the sequel series The Legend of Korra . Gordon Cormier portrays Avatar Aang in
2806-538: A sect of the second century deemed heretical by the Catholic Church, drew upon Chaldean astrology , to which Bardaisan's son Harmonius, educated in Athens, added Greek ideas including a sort of metempsychosis. Another such teacher was Basilides (132–? CE/AD), known to us through the criticisms of Irenaeus and the work of Clement of Alexandria (see also Neoplatonism and Gnosticism and Buddhism and Gnosticism ). In
2928-476: A short time when the group was traveling in the Earth Kingdom . He was kidnapped by Sandbenders in the middle of the vast Si Wong desert, while Aang, Katara, Sokka, and their winged lemur Momo were trapped in a vast underground library. It is later revealed that he was eventually sold to a Fire Nation circus where an animal tamer attempted to make him part of the show. Appa later escaped and journeyed throughout
3050-655: A similar view. Sometimes such convictions, as in Socrates' case, arise from a more general personal faith, at other times from anecdotal evidence such as Plato makes Socrates offer in the Myth of Er . During the Renaissance translations of Plato, the Hermetica and other works fostered new European interest in reincarnation. Marsilio Ficino argued that Plato's references to reincarnation were intended allegorically, Shakespeare alluded to
3172-806: A soul into'), a term attributed to Pythagoras . Another Greek term sometimes used synonymously is palingenesis , 'being born again'. Rebirth is a key concept found in major Indian religions, and discussed using various terms. Reincarnation, or Punarjanman ( Sanskrit : पुनर्जन्मन् , 'rebirth, transmigration'), is discussed in the ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, with many alternate terms such as punarāvṛtti ( पुनरावृत्ति ), punarājāti ( पुनराजाति ), punarjīvātu ( पुनर्जीवातु ), punarbhava ( पुनर्भव ), āgati-gati ( आगति-गति , common in Buddhist Pali text), nibbattin ( निब्बत्तिन् ), upapatti ( उपपत्ति ), and uppajjana ( उप्पज्जन ). These religions believe that reincarnation
3294-578: A specific "bending arts". The creators made bending a natural extension of consistent limitations and rules of the world. Everything in Avatar's world, whether it be clothing, culture or infrastructure, is influenced by bending. The City of Omashu uses a complex system of gravity and earthbending to transport supplies. The Water Tribes were a naval superpower: their buildings are made of ice and used waterbending as mechanisms for their walls and gates. Airbenders built temples atop high mountains and cliffs that could only be easily reached by Airbending and they have
3416-455: A study of cryptomnesia in psychism. Later Jung would emphasise the importance of the persistence of memory and ego in psychological study of reincarnation: "This concept of rebirth necessarily implies the continuity of personality... (that) one is able, at least potentially, to remember that one has lived through previous existences, and that these existences were one's own...." Hypnosis , used in psychoanalysis for retrieving forgotten memories,
3538-487: A vision and encourages her to learn the origins of Wan (the first Avatar) and Raava. Aang, or possibly a vision of him, later appears in the Spirit World, encouraging Tenzin to move past the enormous legacy of being Aang's son and find his own path. Korra's connection to Aang and the other preceding Avatars is severed when Vaatu extracts and subsequently kills Raava, the divine Avatar Spirit entity within her. Even though Raava
3660-474: Is Pherecydes of Syros (fl. 540 BCE). His younger contemporary Pythagoras (c. 570–c. 495 BCE ), its first famous exponent, instituted societies for its diffusion. Some authorities believe that Pythagoras was Pherecydes' pupil, others that Pythagoras took up the idea of reincarnation from the doctrine of Orphism , a Thracian religion, or brought the teaching from India. Plato (428/427–348/347 BCE) presented accounts of reincarnation in his works, particularly
3782-516: Is 'souls'. Kabbalistic reincarnation says that humans reincarnate only to humans unless YHWH / Ein Sof / God chooses. The origins of the notion of reincarnation are obscure. Discussion of the subject appears in the philosophical traditions of Ancient India . The Greek Pre-Socratics discussed reincarnation, and the Celtic druids are also reported to have taught a doctrine of reincarnation. The concepts of
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3904-490: Is a threat to himself or his friends, especially Aang. Conversely, he has demonstrated an unrestrained affection towards those that he likes. Appa also has a fear of going underground or in small tunnels, evidenced by his claustrophobic panic in the episode " The Cave of Two Lovers ". He has a special friendship with Momo the lemur, with whom he is often in company. Appa also shows a special preference towards Zuko , who saved him from his imprisonment beneath Lake Laogai. Appa
4026-511: Is an extensive literature of Jewish folk and traditional stories that refer to reincarnation. Reincarnationism or biblical reincarnation is the belief that certain people are or can be reincarnations of biblical figures , such as Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary . Some Christians believe that certain New Testament figures are reincarnations of Old Testament figures. For example, John
4148-574: Is captured by Sandbenders. Aang grows upset and angry and confronts the Sandbenders, learning that Appa has been sold. After stopping a Fire Nation drill threatening the safety of Ba Sing Se, they look for Appa only to find themselves dealing with the Dai Li before exposing their leader's deception. The group reunites with Jet helping them find Appa at Dai Li headquarters. They expose the Hundred Year War to
4270-464: Is central. In the first century BCE Alexander Cornelius Polyhistor wrote: The Pythagorean doctrine prevails among the Gauls ' teaching that the souls of men are immortal, and that after a fixed number of years they will enter into another body. Julius Caesar recorded that the druids of Gaul, Britain and Ireland had metempsychosis as one of their core doctrines: The principal point of their doctrine
4392-489: Is cyclic and an endless Saṃsāra , unless one gains spiritual insights that ends this cycle leading to liberation. The reincarnation concept is considered in Indian religions as a step that starts each "cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence", but one that is an opportunity to seek spiritual liberation through ethical living and a variety of meditative, yogic ( marga ), or other spiritual practices. They consider
4514-578: Is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting-point. Existence without limitation is Space. Continuity without a starting point is Time. There is birth, there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in." Around the 11–12th century in Europe, several reincarnationist movements were persecuted as heresies, through the establishment of the Inquisition in the Latin west. These included
4636-549: Is fatally electrocuted by Azula. He is later brought back to life by Katara, using the spirit water given to her by the Northern Water Tribe at the start of the second season. In the beginning of third and final season, after he woke after being knocked out by Azula, Aang grew some hair. After that, Aang is unable to use the Avatar State for quite a while. Although reluctant with the plan at first, Aang accepts to have everyone think he had died and his remaining allies attack
4758-525: Is featured prominently throughout the franchise, not only in the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series, but also in the film The Last Airbender , various video games, and comic books. Dee Bradley Baker voices Appa in both the TV series and the film. Appa is in almost every episode of the animated series, having appeared in 58 of the 61 episodes of the three seasons. Much of the back-story about
4880-419: Is reborn and fused again with Korra, she discovers, to her dismay, that her spiritual connection to Aang and all past Avatars is presumably gone forever. When Zaheer gave an ultimatum: Surrender to him or lose the new airbenders, Korra meditated into the spirit realm, she expressed her wish to call upon Aang's spirit and ask his advice in saving the new Air Nomads. Iroh's spirit assured her that, even though Aang
5002-500: Is referred to also by Lucretius and Horace . Virgil works the idea into his account of the Underworld in the sixth book of the Aeneid . It persists down to the late classic thinkers, Plotinus and the other Neoplatonists . In the Hermetica , a Graeco-Egyptian series of writings on cosmology and spirituality attributed to Hermes Trismegistus / Thoth , the doctrine of reincarnation
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5124-525: Is sometimes understood within Orthodox Judaism in terms of reincarnation. According to this school of thought in Judaism, when non-Jews are drawn to Judaism, it is because they had been Jews in a former life. Such souls may "wander among nations" through multiple lives, until they find their way back to Judaism, including through finding themselves born in a gentile family with a "lost" Jewish ancestor. There
5246-556: Is such a thing as living again, and that the living spring from the dead." However, Xenophon does not mention Socrates as believing in reincarnation, and Plato may have systematized Socrates' thought with concepts he took directly from Pythagoreanism or Orphism. Recent scholars have come to see that Plato has multiple reasons for the belief in reincarnation. One argument concerns the theory of reincarnation's usefulness for explaining why non-human animals exist: they are former humans, being punished for their vices; Plato gives this argument at
5368-472: Is that the soul does not die and that after death it passes from one body into another... the main object of all education is, in their opinion, to imbue their scholars with a firm belief in the indestructibility of the human soul, which, according to their belief, merely passes at death from one tenement to another; for by such doctrine alone, they say, which robs death of all its terrors, can the highest form of human courage be developed. Diodorus also recorded
5490-465: Is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death . In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of a human being is immortal and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, the soul merely becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or an animal to continue its immortality . The term transmigration means
5612-554: Is the only way. But upon learning that he was actually on the back of a Lion Turtle, one of four that made the first benders by manipulating humans' chi, Aang receives the Lion Turtle's Energybending. During the final battle, Aang's scar is pressed against a jutting rock, opening his chakras and allowing him to enter the Avatar State. Aang wins the battle, but before he delivers the final blow, he stops himself. Instead, Aang removes Ozai's firebending ability, rendering him harmless and ending
5734-574: The Myth of Er , where Plato makes Socrates tell how Er, the son of Armenius , miraculously returned to life on the twelfth day after death and recounted the secrets of the other world. There are myths and theories to the same effect in other dialogues, in the Chariot allegory of the Phaedrus , in the Meno , Timaeus and Laws . The soul, once separated from the body, spends an indeterminate amount of time in
5856-508: The Nickelodeon Super Brawl series, including Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and its sequel . On April 12, 2024, Aang was released as a skin in the video game Fortnite . Tokyopop has published a films comic (sometimes referred to as cine-manga), in which Aang, being the main character of the show, appears repeatedly. In 2010, director M. Night Shyamalan cast 12-year-old Tae Kwon Do practitioner Noah Ringer as Aang in
5978-779: The Tibetan Book of the Dead . While Nirvana is taught as the ultimate goal in the Theravadin Buddhism, and is essential to Mahayana Buddhism, the vast majority of contemporary lay Buddhists focus on accumulating good karma and acquiring merit to achieve a better reincarnation in the next life. In early Buddhist traditions, saṃsāra cosmology consisted of five realms through which the wheel of existence cycled. This included hells ( niraya ), hungry ghosts ( pretas ), animals ( tiryaka ), humans ( manushya ), and gods ( devas , heavenly). In latter Buddhist traditions, this list grew to
6100-772: The Cathar , Paterene or Albigensian church of western Europe, the Paulician movement, which arose in Armenia, and the Bogomils in Bulgaria . Christian sects such as the Bogomils and the Cathars, who professed reincarnation and other gnostic beliefs, were referred to as "Manichaean", and are today sometimes described by scholars as "Neo-Manichaean". As there is no known Manichaean mythology or terminology in
6222-693: The Druze , Kabbalistics , Rastafarians , and the Rosicrucians . Recent scholarly research has explored the historical relations between different sects and their beliefs about reincarnation. This includes the views of Neoplatonism , Orphism , Hermeticism , Manichaenism , and Gnosticism of the Roman era , as well as those in Indian religions. In recent decades, many Europeans and North Americans have developed an interest in reincarnation, and many contemporary works mention it. The word reincarnation derives from
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#17328560695606344-621: The Earth Kingdom until he encountered the Kyoshi Island Warriors , who attempted to heal the various wounds he had sustained in his travels and escort him back to Aang. Appa was forced to leave after an attack by Azula and her allies, ushered away by Suki while the warriors tried to delay the three Fire Nation girls. On his journey he encountered a sadhu named Guru Pathik at the Eastern Air Temple , to which he had fled. Being healed of his personal turmoil and directed to Aang by
6466-512: The Germanic peoples prior to Christianization and potentially to some extent in folk belief thereafter. The belief in reincarnation developed among Jewish mystics in the medieval world, among whom differing explanations were given of the afterlife, although with a universal belief in an immortal soul. It was explicitly rejected by Saadiah Gaon . Today, reincarnation is an esoteric belief within many streams of modern Judaism. Kabbalah teaches
6588-571: The Netflix live-action adaptation of the same name . Upon death, Avatar Roku was reincarnated and Aang was born, and later raised by Monk Gyatso, a senior monk at the Southern Air Temple and friend of the late Avatar Roku. Even prior to learning he was the Avatar, Aang distinguished himself by becoming one of the youngest Airbending Masters in history by inventing a new technique. As a result of Fire Lord Sozin's increasingly hostile attitude towards
6710-498: The Orphic religion and Thracian systems of belief. Surviving texts indicate that there was a belief in rebirth in Germanic paganism . Examples include figures from eddic poetry and sagas , potentially by way of a process of naming and/or through the family line. Scholars have discussed the implications of these attestations and proposed theories regarding belief in reincarnation among
6832-501: The Theosophical Society 's dissemination of systematised and universalised Indian concepts and also by the influence of magical societies like The Golden Dawn . Notable personalities like Annie Besant , W. B. Yeats and Dion Fortune made the subject almost as familiar an element of the popular culture of the west as of the east. By 1924 the subject could be satirised in popular children's books. Humorist Don Marquis created
6954-474: The "water people" ( Katara and Sokka ) rescue the "air guy" (Aang) while "trapped in a snowy wasteland " (the Southern Water Tribe) with "some fire people [that] are pressing down on them" ( Zuko and the Fire Nation troops). The creators of the show intended for Aang to be trapped in an iceberg for one thousand years, later to wake up to a futuristic world, wherein he would have a robot named Momo and
7076-663: The 'soul, Self exists' ( atman or attā ), while Buddhism aserts that there is 'no soul, no Self' ( anatta or anatman ). Hindu traditions consider soul to be the unchanging eternal essence of a living being, which journeys through reincarnations until it attains self-knowledge. Buddhism, in contrast, asserts a rebirth theory without a Self, and considers realization of non-Self or Emptiness as Nirvana ( nibbana ). The reincarnation doctrine in Jainism differs from those in Buddhism, even though both are non-theistic Sramana traditions. Jainism, in contrast to Buddhism, accepts
7198-406: The 2010 live-action film The Last Airbender with roar effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker . Appa's role in the film has been noted to be significantly less prominent than in the animated series. The sky bison was rendered entirely in computer graphics for the film by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), with Pablo Helman as visual-effects supervisor. Regarding the challenges of adapting
7320-507: The Avatar State, encasing the young Avatar and his bison in an air-pocket among icebergs , where he remained suspended for a century. Although Monk Gyatso had snuck into Aang's bedroom late at night to tell Aang that he will not be relocated to the Eastern Air Temple, it had already been too late. After one hundred years of suspended animation in an iceberg, twelve-year-old Aang was freed when found by Katara and Sokka , yet unaware of
7442-461: The Avatar, Aang serves as a bridge between " Material World " and the " Spirit World ", the plane of existence where the universe's disembodied spirits dwell. His spirituality training progressed swiftly, granting visions and access to the various memories from his past lives. Like his predecessors, his most powerful ability is the Avatar State , in which he receives a massive boost in raw power from
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#17328560695607564-680: The Baptist is believed by some to be a reincarnation of the prophet Elijah , and a few take this further by suggesting Jesus was the reincarnation of Elijah's disciple Elisha . Other Christians believe the Second Coming of Jesus would be fulfilled by reincarnation. Sun Myung Moon , the founder of the Unification Church , considered himself to be the fulfillment of Jesus' return. The Catholic Church does not believe in reincarnation, which it regards as being incompatible with death . Nonetheless,
7686-588: The British Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was inaugurated in London, leading to systematic, critical investigation of paranormal phenomena. Famous World War II American General George Patton was a strong believer in reincarnation, believing, among other things, he was a reincarnation of the Carthaginian General Hannibal. At this time popular awareness of the idea of reincarnation was boosted by
7808-466: The Celts and not the opposite, claiming he had been taught by Galatian Gauls, Hindu priests and Zoroastrians . However, author T. D. Kendrick rejected a real connection between Pythagoras and the Celtic idea reincarnation, noting their beliefs to have substantial differences, and any contact to be historically unlikely. Nonetheless, he proposed the possibility of an ancient common source, also related to
7930-513: The Earth King, who promises to help them invade the Fire Nation. Soon after, Aang meets a guru who attempts to teach Aang to open his seven chakras in order to control the defensive 'Avatar State'; but when Aang perceives Katara in danger, he leaves before the seventh chakra is opened, and thus loses his progress until the seventh is opened. Though Aang manages to unlock the Seventh Chakra, he
8052-409: The Fire Nation wiped out his people, including Gyatso which causes Aang to summon his avatar spirit and the other 3 nations find out the avatar is back. After a series of misadventures, Aang meets his previous incarnation, Roku, who informs him that he must master all four bending arts and end the war before the coming of Sozin's Comet at the end of summer. Upon arriving to the Northern Water Tribe, after
8174-456: The Fire Nation's capital, but are thwarted by Azula. However, Zuko has a change of heart, rebels against his father, and offers to teach Aang Firebending. Aang and Zuko also improve their Firebending powers with the help of their world's last two dragons . During the finale, finding himself on a strange island, Aang is reluctant to actually kill Fire Lord Ozai, despite his four previous past lives (Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen) convincing him it
8296-460: The Gaul belief that human souls were immortal, and that after a prescribed number of years they would commence upon a new life in another body. He added that Gauls had the custom of casting letters to their deceased upon the funeral pyres, through which the dead would be able to read them. Valerius Maximus also recounted they had the custom of lending sums of money to each other which would be repayable in
8418-475: The Hundred Year War. Later, in the Fire Nation capital, Aang is seen beside Zuko, the new Fire Lord. The series ends with Aang and his friends relaxing at Iroh's tea shop at Ba Sing Se, where Aang and Katara share a kiss . After beginning the Harmony Restoration Movement, an event that was meant to remove Fire Nation remnants from the Earth Kingdom, Aang agrees to end Zuko's life should he go down
8540-588: The Inferno . Aang also appeared in Escape from the Spirit World , an online video game found on Nickelodeon's official website. The game includes certain plot changes that are not shown in the show. The show's directors, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, claim the events are canon . Aang is also a playable character in Nickelodeon crossover titles such as Nicktoons Nitro , Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix , and
8662-399: The South Pole and reunites with Katara and Sokka during the festival of the rebuilt and newly expanded Southern Water Tribe, with assistance from dozens of waterbenders and healers from the Northern Water Tribe. While frozen in an iceberg for 100 years, the Avatar State drained much of Aang's life energy. While he did not feel the effects for many years, after he entered middle age in his 50s,
8784-413: The Southern Air Temple. Appa remained in suspended animation along with Aang for 100 years until their discovery by Katara and Sokka . Since then, Appa has been the group's main form of transportation in their quest, as well as occasionally assisting in battle. Appa was a consistent part of the group throughout the series until his capture by the Sandbenders in " The Library ". Appa became lost for
8906-671: The Spirit World to assist in locating the Mother of Faces, convincing her to grant Rafa a new face. After a period of entertainment, Aang is contacted by his former life Yangchen, who tried contacting him about Old Iron's return. Aang also has a fight with the Rough Rhinos when they try to oust him from the Eastern Fire Refinery. Aang then aids in preventing Azula, disguised as the Kemurikage, from stealing any more children. He later returns to
9028-532: The Super Bowl led UGO Entertainment critic Jordan Hoffman to ask, "Where's Appa?" as the sole complaint, noting the character's lack of prominence in the preview. Correspondingly, MTV 's Rick Marshall provided instructions online on "how to find the elusive Appa" for the character's brief appearance in the background of a trailer scene. As with the rest of the film, Appa's appearance in The Last Airbender
9150-664: The White Lotus with finding and guiding the new Avatar after him. When Aang died, the Avatar spirit reincarnated into Korra of the Southern Water Tribe. Aang intended for the Order to simply guide and guard Korra, but several mishaps in the aftermath of Aang's death (including a kidnapping attempt by the anarchist Zaheer ) and the still-fragile state of relations between the now-Five Nations resulted in Katara and Tenzin sequestering Korra in
9272-586: The air. Like all animals in the Avatar series, Appa cannot speak , apart from in one episode in which Aang hallucinates Appa and Momo talking. Throughout the series, Appa has demonstrated high intelligence and often appears to understand a portion of human speech, whereas Momo , the winged lemur , struggles to understand. Although placid, Appa has shown himself capable of fighting when necessary. Other aspects of Appa's character include his fear of fire and his trusting of those who have been kind to him. He can become quite temperamental towards anyone who he thinks
9394-404: The animal spirit guide of the protagonist, Aang . Dee Bradley Baker voices Appa, along with all the other animals, in both the TV series and the film. The show's creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have described Appa's appearance as a cross between a buffalo and a manatee , although its body plan does resemble that of a water bear . According to an interview with
9516-472: The artists involved with creating the show, Appa's design was based on that of Catbus from the film My Neighbor Totoro , as they found it difficult to create a six-legged mammal . In the Avatar franchise, Appa is the last known living sky bison, which are large mammal-like creatures that fly through airbending and steer through air currents with their broad tails. The bison are covered in thick white fur with
9638-497: The cartoon Appa into a realistic-looking CGI beast, Helman said: "He has six legs, and that's a big challenge for us, because how do you take it into reality? There is no reference for a creature with six legs. Nature doesn't create those things. It's very difficult to get six legs to do the right thing. We looked at how elephants walked, which helped. We did some tests and figured out Appa would pretty much move like an elephant." ILM animators also looked at polar bears while imagining
9760-500: The character comes from the episode " Appa's Lost Days ", "in which the most under-explored member of the team gets his very own episode." The first meeting between Aang and Appa is seen during a flashback sequence in Appa's Lost Days . It is tradition with Air Nomads that each young Airbender is given a sky bison calf once they come of age to be the Airbender's lifelong animal companion. In
9882-524: The cosmic energy, enabling him to easily overcome any opponent that tries to fight him head-on. In addition, this state allows him to access bending techniques he would not have learned during his own lifetime but throughout those of his past lives. If he is killed in the Avatar State, then this would cause the Avatar to cease being reincarnated and end the Avatar Cycle. Aang was received exceptionally by critics and fans. Kendall Lyons stated, "Aang seems to be
10004-566: The cycle of birth and death, saṁsāra , and liberation partly derive from ascetic traditions that arose in India around the middle of the first millennium BCE. The first textual references to the idea of reincarnation appear in the Rigveda , Yajurveda and Upanishads of the late Vedic period (c. 1100 – c. 500 BCE), predating the Buddha and Mahavira . Though no direct evidence of this has been found,
10126-596: The doctrine of reincarnation but Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake by authorities after being found guilty of heresy by the Roman Inquisition for his teachings. But the Greek philosophical works remained available and, particularly in north Europe, were discussed by groups such as the Cambridge Platonists . Emanuel Swedenborg believed that we leave the physical world once, but then go through several lives in
10248-558: The early 20th century, interest in reincarnation had been introduced into the nascent discipline of psychology , largely due to the influence of William James , who raised aspects of the philosophy of mind , comparative religion , the psychology of religious experience and the nature of empiricism. James was influential in the founding of the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) in New York City in 1885, three years after
10370-399: The early stages of Jainism on, a human being was considered the highest mortal being, with the potential to achieve liberation, particularly through asceticism . The early Buddhist texts discuss rebirth as part of the doctrine of saṃsāra . This asserts that the nature of existence is a "suffering-laden cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end". Also referred to as
10492-458: The end of the Timaeus . The Orphic religion , which taught reincarnation, about the sixth century BCE, produced a copious literature. Orpheus , its legendary founder, is said to have taught that the immortal soul aspires to freedom while the body holds it prisoner. The wheel of birth revolves, the soul alternates between freedom and captivity round the wide circle of necessity. Orpheus proclaimed
10614-468: The episode "Tales of Ba Sing Se", Aang's name was written as 安昂 (ān áng) in Chinese. Michael Dante DiMartino, the show's co-creator, said: "We wanted Aang to solve problems and defeat enemies with his wits as well as his powerful abilities" . According to the show's creators, "Buddhism and Taoism have been huge inspirations behind the idea for Avatar ." As shown in "The King of Omashu" and "The Headband",
10736-400: The events that occurred during his rest. His reawakening catches the attention of Prince Zuko , the banished son of current Fire Lord Ozai , and Aang is forced to leave, with Katara and Sokka accompanying him after they learn that he is the Avatar. Aang and his new friends visit the Southern Air Temple, where they meet a winged lemur whom Aang later names Momo. It is there that Aang learns that
10858-592: The film adaptation of the series, The Last Airbender . His name in the film is pronounced [ɑŋ] instead of [eəŋ]. The casting of a presumed white actor in the role of Aang (as well as a primarily Caucasian cast) in the Asian-influenced Avatar universe triggered negative reactions from some fans, marked by accusations of racism, a letter-writing campaign, and a protest outside of a Philadelphia casting call for movie extras. The casting decisions were also negatively received by several critics, who stated that
10980-512: The form of a newly born human being, animal, plant, spirit, or as a being in some other non-human realm of existence. An alternative term is transmigration , implying migration from one life (body) to another. The term has been used by modern philosophers such as Kurt Gödel and has entered the English language. The Greek equivalent to reincarnation, metempsychosis ( μετεμψύχωσις ), derives from meta ('change') and empsykhoun ('to put
11102-405: The foundational assumption that soul ( Jiva ) exists and asserts that this soul is involved in the rebirth mechanism. Furthermore, Jainism considers asceticism as an important means to spiritual liberation that ends the cycle of reincarnation, while Buddhism does not. Early Greek discussion of the concept dates to the sixth century BCE. An early Greek thinker known to have considered rebirth
11224-589: The intelligible realm (see the Allegory of the Cave in The Republic ) and then assumes another body. In the Timaeus , Plato believes that the soul moves from body to body without any distinct reward-or-punishment phase between lives, because the reincarnation is itself a punishment or reward for how a person has lived. In Phaedo , Plato has his teacher Socrates , prior to his death, state: "I am confident that there truly
11346-450: The inter-relation of Manicheanism, Orphism, Gnosticism and neo-Platonism is far from clear. Taoist documents from as early as the Han dynasty claimed that Lao Tzu appeared on earth as different persons in different times beginning in the legendary era of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors . The (ca. third century BC) Chuang Tzu states: "Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There
11468-687: The leaders of certain sects in the church have taught that they are reincarnations of Mary - for example, Marie-Paule Giguère of the Army of Mary and Maria Franciszka of the former Mariavites . The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith excommunicated the Army of Mary for teaching heresy, including reincarnationism. Several Gnostic sects professed reincarnation. The Sethians and followers of Valentinus believed in it. The followers of Bardaisan of Mesopotamia ,
11590-422: The lighthearted kid that you can easily familiarize yourself with", and that he "seems to bring comfort in the most dangerous or hostile situations." There are many similar descriptions about Aang as a childlike character who is "reckless and excitable". Reviews point out that "as the Avatar, Aang seems unstoppable, but as Aang, he is just another Airbender"; the review states later that the show continues to focus on
11712-635: The need of the grace of the gods, Dionysus in particular, and of self-purification until the soul has completed the spiral ascent of destiny to live forever. An association between Pythagorean philosophy and reincarnation was routinely accepted throughout antiquity, as Pythagoras also taught about reincarnation. However, unlike the Orphics, who considered metempsychosis a cycle of grief that could be escaped by attaining liberation from it, Pythagoras seems to postulate an eternal, neutral reincarnation where subsequent lives would not be conditioned by any action done in
11834-529: The next world. This was mentioned by Pomponius Mela , who also recorded Gauls buried or burnt with them things they would need in a next life, to the point some would jump into the funeral piles of their relatives in order to cohabit in the new life with them. Hippolytus of Rome believed the Gauls had been taught the doctrine of reincarnation by a slave of Pythagoras named Zalmoxis . Conversely, Clement of Alexandria believed Pythagoras himself had learned it from
11956-427: The original casting call expressed a preference for Caucasian actors over others. Noah Ringer later identified himself to Entertainment Weekly as an American Indian . Aang's character was developed from a drawing by Bryan Konietzko of a "balding human man in his forties wearing a futuristic outfit" based on Michael Dante DiMartino's appearance with an arrow design on his head. Konietzko later developed this man into
12078-407: The other nations, the senior monks decided to reveal Aang's nature as the Avatar four years before the traditional age (Avatars are usually told of their status once they turn 16) and relocate him to one of the other Air Temples. Learning that he was to be taken from Gyatso caused Aang to flee the monastery on his flying bison, Appa, before being caught by a storm; the life-or-death conditions triggered
12200-637: The passing of a soul from one body to another after death. Reincarnation ( punarjanman ) is a central tenet of the Indian religions such as Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism , and Sikhism . In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of Judaism , certain pagan religions including Wicca , and some beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Aboriginal Australians (though most believe in an afterlife or spirit world ). A belief in
12322-420: The previous. In later Greek literature the doctrine is mentioned in a fragment of Menander and satirized by Lucian . In Roman literature it is found as early as Ennius , who, in a lost passage of his Annals , told how he had seen Homer in a dream, who had assured him that the same soul which had animated both the poets had once belonged to a peacock. Persius in his satires (vi. 9) laughs at this; it
12444-919: The products of Yakone's Bloodbending vendetta on the Avatar. It is only after she loses her ability to bend that Korra allows herself to listen to her past lives, at which point Aang is able to manifest more directly to her and helps to restore her powers by triggering the Avatar State and teaching her to Energybend. The sequel series' second season reveals that Avatar Aang apparently treated Tenzin as his favorite child, due to his son's Airbender status; Kya and Bumi mentioned to Tenzin that Aang always took Tenzin on vacations with him, but never them. Aang's Air Acolytes also were unaware that Aang had two other children besides Tenzin. Tenzin himself insists that Aang loved all his children equally, but that Aang took more precedence in raising him since Tenzin would have to take care of future generations of airbenders. Aang himself later appears, along with Roku, Kyoshi and Kuruk, before Korra in
12566-468: The release from the cycle of reincarnations as the ultimate spiritual goal, and call the liberation by terms such as moksha , nirvana , mukti and kaivalya . Gilgul , Gilgul neshamot , or Gilgulei Ha Neshamot ( Hebrew : גלגול הנשמות ) is the concept of reincarnation in Kabbalistic Judaism , found in much Yiddish literature among Ashkenazi Jews . Gilgul means 'cycle' and neshamot
12688-501: The sadhu, Appa flew to Ba Sing Se, where he was captured by Long Feng. Appa was kept in a secret location at Lake Laogai until his rescue by Zuko , who was initially planning on utilizing him to capture the Avatar. Appa eventually returns to the main group in the last scenes of Lake Laogai . Appa still accompanies Aang and his group even after they enter the Fire Nation. However, in order to make sure that he does not give away Aang's identity when flying, Aang covers Appa with clouds as
12810-464: The search for Aang in the finale failed, the group was forced to divide their efforts to prevent the Fire Nation from wiping out the Earth Kingdom. Appa flew Zuko and Katara to the Fire Nation capital where they fought and defeated Azula before she could assume leadership of the throne. Afterward, Appa is last seen outside of Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se, listening to Iroh play a horn. Appa appears in
12932-486: The second season, Aang learns Earthbending from Toph Beifong after he has a vision of the blind Earthbender in a swamp telling him to find her. On their journey, they are chased by Zuko’s sister Princess Azula and her friends Mai and Ty Lee . The group learns about the Day of Black Sun in a secret underground library, and they attempt to reveal the information to the Earth King at Ba Sing Se. However, their flying bison, Appa ,
13054-617: The series" citing how "our cuddly 8-foot tall buddy [is] willing to face any danger, and overcome any hardship to return to his master." Leading up to the opening of The Last Airbender , reporter Kofi Outlaw of Screen Rant remarked that Appa "is a fan-favorite of the series." Similarly, Edward Douglas noted in Superhero Hype! that "Two of the characters from the cartoon fans are most anxious to see brought to life aren't even human. They are Appa, Aang's six-legged flying bison, and Momo, his flying pet lemur." The film trailer shown during
13176-508: The soul's rebirth or migration ( metempsychosis ) was expressed by certain ancient Greek historical figures, such as Pythagoras , Socrates , and Plato . Although the majority of denominations within Abrahamic religions do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include the mainstream historical and contemporary followers of Cathars , Alawites , Hassidics ,
13298-494: The spirit, Aang negotiates. He is also depicted showing ethical reluctance in killing the Phoenix King, and eventually strips Ozai of his bending instead of murdering him. As the Avatar, Aang is capable of bending all four elements (air, water, earth and fire). The series' creators consulted a professional martial artist in the design of the show's fighting style; each of these styles' philosophies and set movements corresponds to
13420-544: The spiritual world—a kind of hybrid of Christian tradition and the popular view of reincarnation. By the 19th century the philosophers Schopenhauer and Nietzsche could access the Indian scriptures for discussion of the doctrine of reincarnation, which recommended itself to the American Transcendentalists Henry David Thoreau , Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson and was adapted by Francis Bowen into Christian Metempsychosis . By
13542-449: The strain of this exertion increasingly weighed upon his body. Ultimately, it resulted in Aang dying at the relatively young biological age of 66 (since he was in the ice for 100 years, in 153 AG). Aang was outlived by his wife, Katara, and his three children, but he did not live to see his grandchildren, all of whom would become powerful airbenders. As his death drew near, Aang tasked the Order of
13664-926: The texts assert that it would be unfair for people, with varying degrees of virtue or vices, to end up in heaven or hell, in "either or" and disproportionate manner irrespective of how virtuous or vicious their lives were. They introduced the idea of an afterlife in heaven or hell in proportion to one's merit. Early texts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism share the concepts and terminology related to reincarnation. They also emphasize similar virtuous practices and karma as necessary for liberation and what influences future rebirths. For example, all three discuss various virtues—sometimes grouped as Yamas and Niyamas —such as non-violence , truthfulness , non-stealing , non-possessiveness , compassion for all living beings, charity and many others. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism disagree in their assumptions and theories about rebirth. Hinduism relies on its foundational belief that
13786-618: The third Christian century Manichaeism spread both east and west from Babylonia , then within the Sassanid Empire , where its founder Mani lived about 216–276. Manichaean monasteries existed in Rome in 312 AD. Noting Mani's early travels to the Kushan Empire and other Buddhist influences in Manichaeism, Richard Foltz attributes Mani's teaching of reincarnation to Buddhist influence. However
13908-521: The tribes of the Ganges valley or the Dravidian traditions of South India have been proposed as another early source of reincarnation beliefs. The idea of reincarnation, saṁsāra , did exist in the early Vedic religions . The early Vedas mention the doctrine of karma and rebirth. It is in the early Upanishads, which are pre- Buddha and pre- Mahavira , where these ideas are developed and described in
14030-735: The two front legs moving as arms while Appa walked. The first video game Appa appeared in is the 2006 Avatar: The Last Airbender . Appa also appears in Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth and in Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno . In the Avatar: The Last Airbender Plug It In & Play TV Game , Appa takes center stage in "Appa Air Attack" in which Appa destroys Fire Nation airships using his airbending abilities. Appa has been featured in varying pieces of merchandise, including toys and plush dolls. The sky bison has also been featured as
14152-551: The wheel of existence ( Bhavacakra ), it is often mentioned in Buddhist texts with the term punarbhava (rebirth, re-becoming). Liberation from this cycle of existence, Nirvana , is the foundation and the most important purpose of Buddhism. Buddhist texts also assert that an enlightened person knows his previous births, a knowledge achieved through high levels of meditative concentration . Tibetan Buddhism discusses death, bardo (an intermediate state), and rebirth in texts such as
14274-461: The writings of these groups there has been some dispute among historians as to whether these groups truly were descendants of Manichaeism. While reincarnation has been a matter of faith in some communities from an early date it has also frequently been argued for on principle, as Plato does when he argues that the number of souls must be finite because souls are indestructible, Benjamin Franklin held
14396-454: Was eventually tried as a means of studying the phenomenon of past life recall. Appa (character) Appa ( Chinese : 阿柏 ; pinyin : Ā Bǎi ) is a fictional character on the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and in the film The Last Airbender . In the series, Appa is a flying bison, a species of animals that can fly naturally, and is
14518-531: Was met with largely negative reviews. Geekosystem ' s Susana Polo found the CGI version of Appa "really quite creepy," noting "that prey animals (like bison) have eyes on the sides of their heads, and so moving them to the front without changing rest of the facial structure tips us right into the Uncanny Valley ." With regards to the film's scripting, io9 reviewer Meredith Woerner wrote, "The saddest cut by far
14640-520: Was no longer able to guide her, she could ask one of Aang's closest friends: Lord Zuko . Aang's character appeared in the Avatar: The Last Airbender Trading Card Game on a multitude of cards. He appeared in the Avatar: The Last Airbender video game as one of the four playable characters . Two sequels were made: Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth , followed by Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into
14762-481: Was watching Appa and Momo's personalities disappear." Based on previews of Netflix's Avatar live-action production , Polo felt that the new depiction was not as "absolutely cursed" as the Shyamalan version. In season 4 of the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Clone Commander Appo has a white arrow on his helmet referencing Appa. The supervising director of The Clone Wars , Dave Filoni , worked on
14884-481: Was written by Chaim Vital , based on the teachings of his mentor, the 16th-century kabbalist Isaac Luria , who was said to know the past lives of each person through his semi-prophetic abilities. The 18th-century Lithuanian master scholar and kabbalist, Elijah of Vilna, known as the Vilna Gaon , authored a commentary on the biblical Book of Jonah as an allegory of reincarnation. The practice of conversion to Judaism
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