Buddhist Stereotypes

The stereotype is not really one of Buddhism alone but of all religions, and it is to say that all religions pray to some kind of lord to help them.  My understanding of Buddhism was that they were more focused on reaching enlightenment through various rituals and a system of beliefs and not necessarily praying to one singular God.  Buddhism is more focused on compassion for the self and others, and it focuses on the teachings of Buddha, unlike Christianity which focuses on the teachings of one God and we've been taught to ask His forgiveness when we sin.  Lisa ascribed herself to Zen Buddhism, which focuses on zazen, koan, and sanzen, none of which include praying to "Lord Buddha" to ask for things, so the Simpsons singlehandedly encouraged the western idea of Buddhists as people who are just like "us," obeying a singular Lord and praying to him for whatever it is you need that day.

Not only does the Buddhist cosmology consist of more than just one almighty Buddha, the purpose of Buddhism has nothing to do with earning His forgiveness or his help in times of need, the religion is one of self-focus and following his teachings to reach the ultimate goal of enlightenment (whether it be in another part of the cosmos or here on earth before death).

The Tao of Pooh

"When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun."  
I enjoyed the Tao of Pooh, I loved how Hoff used childhood characters to exemplify the nature of the religion to make it relatable and understandable to people of all ages.  After reading it and my knowledge of Taoism from class I think I really like Taoism and I think a lot of people could benefit from learning about it and possibly taking it up as a philosophical belief (or even their full-time religion).  Taoism really opened my eyes to the level of non-Taoist actions and activities that much of American society takes part in.  Hoff’s book helped me to fully understand concepts such as wu wei, I also finally understand the Uncarved Block (p’u).  This book made me look more closely at my own life and my life choices and I feel like if I embraced these Taoist concepts my life would be so much less stressful.

This leads into the topic of the Bisy Backson and how it represents American culture as whole.  Our society is obsessed with taking matters into our own hands to better our situation, and that is not always a bad thing, but it is the exact opposite of the way of the Tao (or rather wu wei).  The Bisy Backson is so busy trying to “save time” that he eventually ends up wasting all of it.  I’ve noticed about our culture that everyone is always rushing to do one thing or another, and in the end the cause of the rush is usually not worth it.  For example, I’ve noticed a lot of people my age or younger have been trying to rush their growing up process far too quickly, and from my experience it always ends up negatively, or the experience backfires on them.  If we all could embrace the concept of unmeddlesome action and let life take its course as it is supposed to we could not only come out on the other side having enjoyed life thoroughly, we can breeze through the process without a care or worry, letting life lead us instead of the other way around.

Shinto Blog

I watched "The Peach Orchard" it was really interesting and I definitely saw some of the aspects of Shinto culture that we learned about in the film.

Shinto traditions emphasize respect of the kami and in this film the little boy's parents had not respected the   Peach Orchard kami by cutting down all the trees in their grove.  It is demonstrated how important this is when the spirits of the orchard bring forth the little boy to show him the destruction his family had caused.  This also served as punishment for with this visit they informed him they would never return again and he would never be able to see the beauty of the orchard in blossom again. As we have learned Shinto ethics consider it a sin to destroy any kind of shrine to the kami, from this I assume that it was also considered a sin to cut down the trees which contained the spirits of the orchard kami.  Early in the film the boy fixates on the (spirit) dolls of the house before encountering the real spirits in the field, I suspect that when they informed him they would never come back they also meant that they would no longer be watching over the little boy and his family, which reinforces the lesson in Shinto ethics.

Success and Liberation

SUCCESS:

The Fame, Lady Gaga "The Fame" 2008 Pop

Touch the Sky, Kanye West "Late Registration" 2005 Hip-Hop

Money Honey, Lady Gaga "The Fame" 2008 Pop

Diva, Beyonce "I Am...Sasha Fierce"2008 R&B

Opera Singer, Cake "Comfort Eagle" 2001 Alternative Rock

LIBERATION:

I Will Survive, Cake "Fashion Nugget" 1996 Alt Rock

Born This Way, Lady Gaga "Born This Way" 2011 Pop

Stone Free, Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe" 1966 Classic Rock

Exodus, Bob Marley "Legend" 1984 Reggae

Let Your Hair Down <<Explicit>>, Yvonne Fair 1975 Funk

It seems that songs that represent success were more easily found among contemporary music while songs of liberation were more prevalent in earlier decades of the 20th century.  Ever since the increasing popularity of wealth and fame it seems to be all anyone talks about (besides sex and drugs) in popular music, this really reflects on the society we live in as well.  Looking at the songs I chose for liberation all except for Lady Gaga's came out before 1985 (considering that Cake's "I Will Survive" is a cover of the original Gloria Gaynor version, which came out in 1978), I think this reflects the difference in the cultures surrounding both time periods the songs for each aim came out during, starting with Jimi Hendrix's "Stone Free" the songs I chose for liberation came off the wave of civil rights movement and free love of the 1960s, two movements that were all about liberation.  

Pleased to Service the Community

Pleasure Songs:

Night by Night - Chromeo, "Business Casual" 2009 Electro-Pop

Bring Me Along - Pepper, "No Shame" 2006 Cali Reggae

The Mating Game - Bitter:Sweet, "The Mating Game" 2006 Triphop

Beautiful Monster - Ne-Yo, "Libra Scale" 2010 Modern R&B

Bad Romance - Lady Gaga, "The Fame Monster" 2009 Pop

Community Service Songs:

YMCA - The Village People, "Cruisin'" 1978 Disco

What Have You Done For Me Lately? - Janet Jackson, "Control" 1986 R&B

One Love - Bob Marley, "Legend" 1984 Reggae

Help! - The Beatles, "Help!" 1965

With a Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" 1967 Rock

I thought the pleasure aim was more prevalent, the songs were certainly easier to choose.  I think that's because everyone wants pleasure but not everyone has a desire to help people or the courage to ask for help themselves.  I think the contemporary interpretation of pleasure today has not necessarily strayed from what I imagine the Hindu principle began as but I think the world has presented us with more and more ways to please ourselves.  For example nowadays people not only seek pleasure from other humans (in the form of sex, etc.) they also seek pleasure from drugs and alcohol and other non-traditional pleasurable activities, although all the songs I picked for pleasure pertain to the pleasure of being with a person.