Shinto Blog - The Tunnel

I was very excited to learn this assignment dealt with Kurosawa’s Dreams. I had seen a few of them a couple years ago and really liked it, but didn’t know what it was called. I know we only needed to watch one dream segment for the assignment, but I couldn’t help watching all of them. The dream segment that I have picked is The Tunnel. In this dream, a military commander is returning home from WWII. He is walking along a deserted road at dusk; he comes upon a long, dark tunnel. Everything is brimming with an eerie premonition. An anti-tank dog loaded with explosives comes out of the tunnel to bark at the man. He continues into the tunnel which seems to stretch for eternity. On the other side, he turns around to see a young soldier walk out of the tunnel behind him. His skin is light blue to notify he is dead. The commander, horrified, recognizes the private as a soldier from his platoon. The private does not understand that he is dead and needs the commander to explain it to him. Upon realization, the young soldier returns into the tunnel. Next, even creepier, the entire third platoon marches out of the tunnel to report to their commander. The commander, grieving, must inform them all that they have died. He is overcome with guilt that he sent them all to their deaths while he alone is able to return home. He wishes that he could have died along side of his men rather than live with the weight of their deaths on his shoulders. The commander sends them marching back through the tunnel.

This dream segment is haunting and moving. I wish that there was more; I’d like to know how the whole story unfolds. I found the concept of the tunnel very interesting. Even though the commander had walked through it and saw nothing out of the ordinary, the tunnel became similar to a portal between the Other Worlds and our world. The ways in which I think Shinto was reflected were the fact that the souls of the soldiers were still tangible and would continue to be so forever, and in the mentality of the commander. The commander seemed to be in great conflict within himself. On the one side he probably longed for peace and harmony, but he also had a duty to fulfill while the war was raging. He holds extreme guilt in his heart over the death of his entire platoon. This could be because he feels that he himself has murdered them all and/or he probably feels dishonored in some way that he did not die along side of them. Also, it was not explained but one wonders why it is that the commander escaped death and they did not – does he feel guilt and dishonor because he had been a coward and had run away?

Taoism Blog

My reaction to The Tao of Pooh is overall positive-ish. While there were some things that I could not appreciate, which I will describe shortly, I did enjoy learning about Taoism. My previous levels of understanding about Taoism were virtually nonexistent. This being said, I liked the book merely for the fact of learning something new. The other positive reaction I had was toward some of the illustrations (taken from the ancient authors) that Benjamin Hoff used, such as the illustration about Wu Wei on pages 68-69. I felt these examples more insightful, or helpful, for my individual understanding. I know the book was about Pooh Bear and his chums and all… but… I was annoyed for probably seventy-five percent of the time with the interactions between the characters and the author. It felt redundant and distracting. More often than not I was confused as to what was actually being talked about during those paragraphs. Maybe it was fine for others that have read The Tao of Pooh, but I personally could have done without it. 

The chapter on “Bisy Backsons” was interesting. I had, again, both positive and negative reactions. Generally speaking, I felt that Hoff was correct in his perception that America as a society is so very fast paced, obsessed with saving time and youth, and that often times an individual seeks only to change others instead of working on the self. I did not like that he portrayed the early settlers in the light that he did. I certainly do not find the Puritans blameless, but Hoff sounded … bitter? He was excessive in his judgments (party crashers, unappreciative of the beauty of nature, etc. Page 102), and also in his praises towards the “wiser inhabitants” (Indians, page 101) and towards Nature (“Friendly Land”).  Other than his hyperbolic commentary on American society’s problems, I could appreciate his “solutions.” I feel that we as individuals do not have enough “inner quiet” and should develop it further. I like the idea of changing our mentality to enjoying the process of living as opposed to just trying to get to the reward. It’s hard not to get sucked into the light speed lifestyle, but I have found it to be unhealthy in my own life. I’ll give Hoff a few points for that at least.

Image from here.

Take a look at this picture. Everything is fabulous for this serene woman. The water is so crystal clear, the sand warm and inviting, possibly even a lovely breeze to keep her from overheating. There are no jellyfish or pieces of trash littered on the beach, no gritty sand particles getting under her bikini, and certainly sunburn is not going to happen. Life is great. Life is nothing but smiles and sunshine. Come what may, she will be unfazed.

Now bear with me. I couldn’t find a picture of what I was looking for exactly. But I believe that I can tie this one in. You should be able to follow where I’m going with this at least. I was searching for a picture with a Buddhist practitioner in a serene state (like this woman on the beach doing her yoga/meditation), but with a lot of chaos in the background. I saw something like this once, but unfortunately I am unable to find it. Lady on the beach it is. 

The stereotype that I wish to examine is the preconception that if one is Buddhist, one is equipped with an arsenal to respond to all scenarios with a peaceful, calm bearing probably from some secret nugget of omniscience having been uncovered. If only this was true! It would certainly be pretty wonderful if such a thing was attainable. For all the stereotypes that could be, this is at least a very positive one. 

Brad Warner, author of Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate, discusses multiple times that this vision of Buddhism just isn’t so. When his mother died, Warner shares personal insight revealing that even though he was a Zen follower and teacher, he still had to deal with the emotions that bubbled up:

I’m not going to pretend I just sailed through this thing all starry-eyed, going, ‘Life is death and death is life’ like some kind of cartoon Zen master. It was tough. But I’m glad to have had the practice I’ve had and the insights it’s given me into stuff like this because it helps. It really does. You never know what’s gonna come up in your life. When something big happens, like your mom dying, for example, you really don’t know how you’re going to react. This is why Zen guys do the practice of zazen. (47)

Practicing Buddhism won’t give you all the answers, but according to Warner it can aid you. On page 61, Warner reminds us that there are a lot of things that simply cannot be answered, but in Buddhism “I don’t know” will suffice. Despite this,

Zen practice can help you deal with disappointment by showing you that all of life is characterized by disappointment. Nothing ever lives up to your expectations, no matter what your expectations are. This doesn’t mean you’re never disappointed. I know I sure was. But you know that disappointment is just the action of your brain readjusting itself to reality after discovering things are not the way you thought they were. The best course of action when encountering disappointment is to know you now understand the situation better than you did before when all you had to go on was your thoughts. There’s no sense wallowing in sadness that you were mistaken. (75-76)

At the end of it all, the stereotype of obtaining an eternal numbness to all the bad feelings that occur in life is an unrealistic view, just wishful thinking. “[In] Zen we try to avoid these states of euphoria or bliss. The reason we avoid them is because they’re just as unbalanced as our so-called normal states of mind. Euphoria is the other side of terror. Just because you’re only paying attention to one side doesn’t mean you’re not getting both. True balance of body and mind is very comfortable and pleasant, but it’s not euphoric or blissful” (95).

Assignment Two

I looked at “Worldly Success” as the attainment of wealth, position, honors, celebrity, etc. I felt that this was a pretty typical definition from the American view point, while my understanding (correct me if I’m wrong) of the Hindu viewpoint of worldly success also includes wealth, fame, and power. It is important to note that these paths, in Hinduism, are limited and precarious. I think it is understood in our culture that these things don’t last forever (“15 minutes of fame,” etc.) but I’m not entirely convinced that we quite view them as precarious. In addition to the obvious successes of fame and money, I felt that success could also include simply having your life, which is why I included the Nina Simone song.

For the second aim for the assignment, I defined “Liberation” as not just the attainment of being free (whether from jail, oppression, life) but also the seeking of becoming liberated. I have understood the Hindu interpretation of liberation to be a focus on Moksha – a break of the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). Needless to say, the songs that came to mind did not deal with the liberation from samsara. The majority of liberation songs I thought of dealt with people seeking freedom from the sorrows and trials of life, from violence and oppression, searching for peace (I would include attaining peace as a form of liberation).

I felt that the two aims were fairly equal in terms of prevalence. This may be that I really don’t have a wide grasp on popular culture and thus have a limited scope. I think that this is because popular culture is obsessed with achieving success (in various formats) but also yearns for liberation from the alternating monotony and tribulations infused in human life.  As expressed previously, I think the two views on worldly success are similar between American and Hindu thought (the only difference being the precarious bit), but the two views on liberation deal with different ideas (material/emotional/physical liberation versus eternal liberation).

WORLDLY SUCCESS

1) Nina Simone, Ain't Got No/I Got Life, Pop, 1968.

2) Three Days Grace, The Good Life, Rock, 2009.

3) Lady Gaga, Paparazzi, Pop, 2009.

4) Fiddler on the Roof, If I Were a Rich Man, Soundtrack, 1971.

5) Monty Python, The Money Song, 1971.

LIBERATION

1) Bob Marley, One Love, Reggae, 1977.

2) Los Lonely Boys, Heaven, Rock, 2004.

3) Glynis Johns, Sister Suffragette, Soundtrack, 1964.

4) A Perfect Circle, Imagine, Rock, 2004.

5) The Soggy Bottom Boys, I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow, Folk, 2000.

Hinduism Assignment One

Aim Number One: Pleasure
1. Queen, "Don't Stop Me Now," Rock, 1978.
2. Panic! at the Disco, "Lying is the Most Fun...," Pop punk, 2005.
3. All Time Low, "Dear Maria, Count Me In," Pop punk, 2007.
4. The Audition, "Warm Me Up," Pop punk, 2008.
5. Mayday Parade, "Jamie All Over," Alternative rock, 2007.

Aim Number Two: Community Service
1. Bill Withers, "Lean On Me," Soul, 1972.
2. Simon & Garfunkel, "A Bridge Over Troubled Water," Folk Rock, 1970.
3. The Hollies, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," Rock, 1969.
4. Cyndi Lauper, "True Colors," Pop rock, 1986.
5. Jewel, "Hands," Pop rock/Contemporary, 1998.

Looking at aims #1 and #3, I defined “pleasure” as “anything that pleases the self” and “community service” as “helping others (in various formats).” Naturally, I could think of many songs dealing with different aspects of pleasure, as pleasure is a very popular topic. It was a great deal more difficult to think of songs dealing with community service and helping people. Perhaps society as a whole prefers promoting selfish – selfish simply meaning matters dealing with the self, not necessarily referring to the bad connotation that arises – whims, while encouraging others to be of use to their community and the world is put on a back burner in comparison. For aim #1, it was hard for me to select only five songs to post. There are a lot of choices! I decided to go with more blatantly “pleasurable” songs. Songs #2 and #4 are about lust and sex – the “dirty” side of pleasure. Song #3 is about a stripper – while not everyone’s idea of a good time, some go for that sort of thing. Songs #1 and #5 talk more about having a good time, making good memories, living life to the fullest. Aim #3 was another matter all together. When I think of community service, I think of Habitat for Humanity, a food pantry, helping a little old lady across the street, etc. I guess I was dwelling more on actions, not on an emotional level. It was the “emotional” that kept popping up when I was searching for applicable songs. All five of the songs listed for aim #3 deal mostly with helping people in need of emotional encouragement.

What did I observe?
The main observation I found, and no surprise here whatsoever, is that frankly people like a good time. It is in our nature to seek out pleasurable things: cute animals, sunsets, being in love, sex, alcohol and other substances, you get the idea. A pending observation, one that I’m still pondering over, is the fact that there aren’t as many (still quite a few when you do some sifting of course) songs in popular culture about helping those in need. I’m still contemplating the reasons of why that is.

How does the Hindu understanding of the four aims of life differ from what was expressed in American pop music?
Is there much of a difference for the first aim of pleasure? Pleasure is pleasure. Perhaps it is different for the fact that in Hinduism, it is believed that eventually one will tire of seeking pleasure and will instead turn to seeking the greatest aim of salvation/liberation, while the American understanding appears to not enforce the eventual lack of desire to seek pleasure. I feel that there is probably a greater difference for the third aim of community service. As I said earlier, the majority of songs that I did think of are about helping others on the emotional level while I think the Hindu understanding focuses also on the physical needs.