Buddhism and Film

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Auspicious Buddhist Symbols

Mackenzie Groff

In the Buddhist religion, there are said to be eight auspicious symbols. These symbols include a conch shell, a lotus, a wheel, a parasol, and endless knot, a pair of golden fishes, a banner proclaiming victory, and a treasure vase. Among these eight symbols, the two that intrigued me the most were the eight-spoked dharma wheel and the endless knot. These two auspicious symbols represented and helped to explain Buddhism ideas that I've always been interested in.

The Eight-Spoked Dharma Wheel is composed of three simple parts: the hub, the rim and the spokes. The wheel also has an underlying form of a circle which is the shape that is used for Buddhism and several other religions to represent something being complete in itself. The hub of the wheel is used to represent the mindfulness and moral discipline that is a fundamental part of Buddhism. The spokes represents the end of ignorance and elimination of suffering that Buddhists believe happens when one acquires and applies the wisdom of the world. Just as the wheel is held together by the rim, it symbolizes the notion of concentration that holds the whole meditative process together. The wheel emerged as a symbol of the Buddha's teachings. The wheel was often identified as the Dharmachakra or "wheel of law." The Tibetan term for Dharmachakra directly translates to "the wheel of transformation." The quick motion of the wheel is meant to serve as a metaphor for the quick spiritual change that is present in Buddha's teachings. (Below is an illustration of the wheel).

The other symbol that really interested me was the endless knot. The endless knot is a depiction of right-angled intertwined lines, symbolizing the casual interrelations and dependent arising that are present in Buddhist ideology. The lack of gaps or disconnections in the pattern of the knot are meant to illustrate the simplicity and fully balanced harmony evident in Buddhist life. The fact that this symbol does not have a beginning or an end is also representative of the Buddha's infinite wisdom. When placed on a greeting card or gift the endless knot is believed to bring good kharma to both the giver and the receiver. The endless knot is one of the most popular symbols in Tibetan Buddhism. (Below is an illustration of the endless knot).

Sites used:

http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/symbols

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/symbols/eight_auspicious_symbols.htm

Buddhism and Respect for Parents

As we know Siddhārtha Gautama left his wife and his child in order to practice Buddhism. Similarly, in the movie Samsara, we saw the main character leave his wife and child to return to the monastery to practice Buddhism. We have had many discussions about how this bothers many of us because they are practically abandoning their family, which seems wrong to us. In the movie Amongst White Clouds there was a monk that talk about leaving his family. He said that he was allowed to leave his family because his brother was going to take care of his parents and if his brother could not have taken care of his parents he would have not been able to leave because the Buddha would not like that. I found this extremely odd because Buddha and many others left their families, or they at least left their spouses and children. So for my second blog post I wanted to research why Buddhism allowed men to leave their wives and children but not their parents.

After researching I have found that there has always been much respect for ones parents in the east and in Buddhism. There is actually a Sutra about ones parents and the respect that must be shown to them. This particular Sutra is called “The Filial Piety Sutra.” In this teaching the Buddha talks about the “deep kindness of parents and the difficulty in repaying it.” Buddha explains that it is a difficult task to be a parent. He goes into detail about what the mother goes through when she is pregnant and about to give birth. He says that it is a great burden and worry because she could lose the child at any moment. Later on when the child is older the burden is still there because there is a great responsibility to raise a child right. Because this is such a difficult task the child must try to repay this kindness back to their parents. Since they must repay this kindness they cannot leave if someone cannot take care of their parents, because obviously that would not be kind. I still think it is odd that they are allowed to leave their spouse and children because I feel that there is a great sense of duty there as well, but apparently the Buddha is more concerned about parents rather than spouses and children.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Zen Buddhism: In Search of Self

(A documentary of Buddhist Nuns)

After watching the documentary on Thich Nhat Hanh and being introduced to a female Buddhist for the first time, I decided to watch a documentary on a group of Buddhist Nuns. The film that I watched was called Zen Buddhism: In Search of Self by Gong Jae Sung. It was filmed at Baek Hung Temple on the Palgong Mountain in South Korea in 2001-2002. The documentary follows the 90-day meditation of the Baek Hung Nuns’ and contains very little commentary, except for a short interview with the head nun and the occasional subtitle.

During the ninety-day period two dozen nuns follow a tradition that is over a thousand years old where they meditate, fast, and contemplate life. The main goal of this rigorous challenge is in the hopes of attaining enlightenment. During this time, they undergo a daunting seven day long meditation without sleep. If their posture ever sways out of position, they are roughly tapped on the back with a bamboo stick. In order to stay awake, they often get up and go outside in the cold and meditate while walking around the center courtyard while remaining in a line formation.

I found it very interesting to see the different roles of the nuns in this particular temple. They often showed a few of the nuns in the kitchen preparing the meals. My favorite part of the entire hour long film was watching all of the nuns gather and prepare the New Year’s day feast of homemade pot stickers (that looked delicious I might add), noodles and broth, and various other dishes. I found it quite odd that they never actually showed the nuns eating the elaborate feast. They also went on a trip to a monastery of Buddhist Monks where they joined in an annual day of games and food.

In all honesty, this was quite boring to watch, but it was really nice to see people laugh and enjoy activities like singing, playing board games, and just enjoying the company of their fellow nuns and monks. It did, however, catch me off guard to see the nuns taking group pictures and eating chocolate candy bars or chocolate covered energy bars in silver wrappers. For some reason it’s just hard for me to picture nuns and monks using or enjoying modern day items like a camera and chocolate protein bars. I may just be naive for finding it weird, but it is just not how I picture individuals practicing Buddhism to behave. All in all, this documentary was interesting and I recommend watching it at some point if you ever want to get a different view on monastery life.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Buddhist Prayer Wheels

Before this class, one of the things that came to mind when I thought of Buddhism was the prayer wheel. I didn’t really know what what they were exactly, so I decided to research them a bit. As it turns out prayer wheels are pretty much exclusive to Tibetan Buddhism. They are cylindrical, made of metal or wood, and have a handle attached. Prayers (mantras) are sealed inside and the wheel is spun. Each rotation is seen as the prayer being ‘said’ or ‘sent out’ once, so spinning the wheel is a way to send out far more prayers than one would be able to do if they were just saying them throughout the day. There are also types of of prayer wheels that can be powered by a river or spun because of steam rising from a heater.

The 21st Century has led to some interesting developments in prayer wheels. The Dalai Lama has stated that “having the mantra on your computer works the same as a traditional prayer wheel, since a computer’s hard drive spins hundreds of thousands of times per hour” (Dharma-haven.org). GIFs of spinning prayer wheels can also ‘count’, as well as spinning prayer wheel screen savers.

Prayer wheels are traditionally spun clockwise, as that is the direction the mantras are written in. The spinner is supposed to spin the wheel gently while focusing on mindfulness and reciting a mantra (usually the one that in contained within the prayer wheel).

Sites Consulted:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/gmbqsHZBTWWe9pCiTw99Ww

http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/prayer-wheel.htm

Local Vipassana

Upon watching the documentary, the Dhamma Brothers, I became curious about the types of Buddhist practice going on locally and the application of Vipassana practices in the United States. After researching, I found an organization that originally combined punk music and Vipassana that acts as a rehabilitation practice for recovering addicts.

Against the Stream, started by Noah Levine, is now an organization that grew from Levine’s book under the same title as well as two other related works. Their mission is to make the teachings of the Buddha available to all who are interested from any and every walk of life. Levine came from a life of struggle with many types of addiction and began his journey to enlightenment while incarcerated. His father had introduced Vipassana to him at a young age, but only once Levine had “hit rock bottom” did he turn to the practice. This direct parallel to the stories of the inmates in the documentary made me question the availability and how Against the Stream is reaching out and making an impact for those from all social and economic standings.

Against the Stream is a non-profit organization that works solely off of donations and class fees. The website states that over 25% of attendees are offered some type of scholarship for classes and all classes are tax-deductible. There are now several locations of Against the Stream or Dharma Punx gatherings across the United States including a Nashville chapter.

My question lies in the demographic that these meetings are reaching and the cost of attendance. Who are the people that are coming and aware of the availability of such resources like the Against the Stream program and what kind of voice do such organizations have in the religious communities of their corresponding areas? What is the relationship like between the organizations and local religious places of worship (of all kinds)? How are we as a community fostering a positive environment for programs like this that promote interfaith?

I would be interested in seeking out the local chapter and becoming more aware of the Buddhist or Buddhist-based practice community outside of Belmont in Nashville to gather insight on these questions and other aspects of the program. (Field trip?)

http://www.againstthestream.org/

http://againstthestreamnashville.com/

http://www.dharmapunx.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjhce63L0N4

Buddhism & Sports

The movie Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring and the martial arts scene had me thinking about sports and buddhism together. Growing up in a Christian family, I only knew buddhism by the Karate Kid or other martial art films. Also, after talking about how "the body" is a key thing to monks practicing Buddhism.

My questions before researching were: Do all monks practice some form of sport whether it be yoga or a form of martial arts? What are their thoughts on sports? Do they prefer the strength and balance martial arts brings them or the flexibility and calmness that yoga brings? Do they practice more sports that are common in our modern world?

After the first half of researching, I found out that sports, especially extreme sports, is a practice of meditation to some. How this article phrased it was a form of "sportsamadhi (recall that samadhi is the Sanskrit term for “meditative concentration”)."

I also found out that only a few temples like the Shaolin temple in China practice Kung Fu among their monks. In this wikipedia page, it states that the Shaolin Kung Fu is the oldest martial art in the world and its considered one of the most well known styles.

And even further researching, I found that yoga and martial arts is actually key to some monks practice in Buddhism.

It doesn't quite surprise me that these two sports are being used as either meditation or keeping balance in the body and mind. I also practice yoga as a form of relaxation and for flexibility. Personally, after each 60 minute session I feel a sensation of calmness and a relaxed state of mind. Most sports depend on the temple where the monks stay at. And if an someone is practicing buddhism on their own, they can do whatever sport they would like (i.e. marathon, dance, soccer, ect.). It's all about practicing the state of body and mind to achieve enlightenment and to them sports help.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Early Buddhist Symbolism

One major takeaway I have had so far throughout the course is how much symbolism goes along with Buddhism. Piggy-backing off of some of the former posts I wanted to take a look at some more symbolism in Buddhism. When I first began looking at the statues and figures of Buddha I found that these were not as popular in the early Buddhist practice. I found this very interesting because whenever I think of Buddhism I think of the statue that I have seen a lot over the years. When I really started looking into early Buddhist symbols I found the images mostly consisted of Buddhist art that more so “symbolized” the Buddha as well as what he taught. These symbols include things like the lotus, as mentioned before, the wheel of law, and even the footprints of Buddha. The Eight Auspicious Symbols include some of these but offered a little more insight into the Buddha’s teachings. I found there were many meanings for each symbol out there so I just picked the ones I liked best.