My first ever NFT purchased was semui.eth, back in September 2021.

While I had known and purchased crypto in the years prior, my reacquaintance with it during the surge of interest around NFTs represented something entirely new: I was drawn to the idea of establishing a digital identity based on nothing but onchain actions and declarations. I was intrigued by how this might play out. My hypothesis was (and still is) that we would see the online world (url) become closer to the real world (irl). Where digital has always had an ephemeralness to it, blockchain can make it real in a way that has never been possible before. If your reputation matters and is portable across platforms, you are likelier to care more about your interactions and how you express yourself. For me, it's like a digital experiment in how the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson might be realized.

"Sow a thought, you reap an action. Sow an act, you reap a habit. Sow a habit, you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny."

Semui is a concept that has been on my mind for quite some time. Its origins are in Buddhism, and refer to the nature of Kannon Bodhisattva to provide salvation to those that suffer by taking away their fear. I first encountered the idea through my studies in kendo. My favorite anecdote can be found in a memoir, on the origins of the framed inscription semui (施無畏) that hangs at the entrance of the Kannon shrine at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo.

Many years ago, the high priest of the temple began to fear death in his old age. Seeking a way to maintain composure, he tasked himself with writing out the word semui found in the Kannon's teachings on one hundred sheets of paper each day. As he focused on perfecting his calligraphy, he found his fear dissipated. After filling two or three trunks with these sheets of paper, he at last reached the end of his life, calm and without fear. The semui that hung above the entrance to Sensoji Temple is based on this priest's best iteration out of those thousands of calligraphy works.

This story comes up in the memoir as a response to a question about the ultimate goal of kendo. That freedom from fear can be found on the other side of mastery is something that applies to many aspects of life in general. We find pastimes, then purpose, then meaning, then mastery through repetition and learning new things. It makes me think the ultimate meaning of life is in doing the best you can, making the most of the time available to you, so that when you reach your end, you have no fears, and no regrets. Just leave it all on the field.

So, I took Semui as my digital identity. It's a reminder to be open, to learn, to try new things, so that at the end of the day we can conquer fear, whatever that may be. As a very fearful, melancholic person by nature (lol), I don't pretend to know what it feels like to have mastery over fear. Still, it remains an aspiration for me, and something I hope to attain over a lifetime.