"Sunshine Through the Rain"

In Kurosawa’s film Dreams the scene entitled “Sunshine Through the Rain” epitomized several beliefs inherent within Shinto worship. The primary concept is that of duty and dishonor. The young boy out of curiosity, decides to venture out into the woods while it is raining, despite of warnings of a ‘fox marriage’ that occurs during the time alongside a great warning of danger. While there, he witnesses a ceremony occurring. The wedding ceremony, occurring in the seclusion of the woods, was one that required a level of secrecy. As the young boy oversaw the processions without invitation or permission, he put himself in danger’s way. Upon his return, he is given a dagger and asked to commit suicide rather than face the dishonor of his actions. In the Bushido of the Shinto tradition, death is favorable over dishonor. Therefore, the boy is asked to commit “Hari Kari,” a ritual suicide, rather than face the dishonor of his almost unforgivable action. Furthermore, his mother prevents him from returning into the house because of his actions, especially since they violated one of the greater ethics of societal and familial harmony.

While traversing through the woods, there were a couple moments of observed grandeur and a sense of sublime awe within the beauty of nature as a whole. This parallels the Shinto belief of a connection between man and the powers of nature. Inherent within this union is an underlying spirituality uniting the various universal components. It appears that this type of concept is similar to the Brahman in Hinduism and even echoes beliefs of the much later-developing Transcendentalism of the American 1800’s.  The Kami present within nature is something to be observed, revered and respected. The tone of reverence is created in Kurosawa’s film by the silence and the stark contrast of a young, innocent boy in the vastness of the woods and nature as a whole. The young boy’s silence and slow movements can be a direct result of is awe of both the beauty and vastness of the scene before him The portrayal was a reminder of a similar fascination that William Wordsworth had with nature ever since a young age, which he reveals in his autobiographical poem, The Prelude. Nevertheless, both Kurosawa and Wordsworth ultimately portray nature in a sublime and enrapturing way full of an unspoken power and beauty.

Kurosawa makes a seamless tie between the respect of Kami within nature and the values of dishonor, death and societal harmony within the short scene – a very powerful film making skill. 

-Kunal Kapoor

The Tao of Pooh

The Tao of Pooh by Hoff presented itself with an interesting duality. On one hand it was attempting to convey the complex teachings of Taoism in a very simple, easily graspable method. On the other hand it was attempting to provide an appealing and attractive method of drawing parallels within the Winnie-the-Pooh framework. As my personal opinion, I believe the narrations within the work were very strong. The complex concepts of Taoism were expressed very clearly, coherently, and easily understandable. They made complete sense and their relevance and application is easily visible. However, this visibility was not brought to light, at least in my opinion, by the dialogue portions of the work or many of the analogies, poetry excerpts, stories, etc. with a handful of exceptions. For example, Hoff makes a very clear point that individuals often “try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are” (39). However, attempting to make this link between “Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie” (39) as a sort of symbol for ignoring the reality of things as they are appeared to me to be an illogical jump. The crux of the statement would have had the same powerful effect, if not more, if presented without the analogical reference. The most captivating portions of the work were the ones where the author took the bold directions to give the meaning and insight of powerful Taoist concepts. The lead-up to the concept through the use of poetical or anecdotal evidence appeared weak and many times detracting. As someone who never watched Winnie-the-Pooh growing up, I do not think the logical gaps would have been fulfilled by actually having watched it.

Despite this critique, the wrong impression should not be taken. The work as a whole is good. The lasting impression is well elucidating of the Taoist claims. However, I believe the connections to the Winnie-the-Pooh settings were not appealing enough. I would have rather preferred they be left out and the book as whole made more direct. However, my opinion might be amiss having not been involved in the Winnie-the-Pooh world since a child, although I do not believe my ignorance is enough claim to outweigh my overarching view.

The book’s references to the lives of Americans, however, proved to be extremely poignant, and in my mind the most relevant portions of the work collectively. Hoff makes an interesting point that Americans are typically brought up under the motif of being “desperately active” (93) and ignore the need rest and be still (93). Additionally, Hoff portrays Americans as individuals brought up in a culture that necessitates perpetual work, leading one to be “going somewhere” all the time (96). The implications are that Americans are goal-oriented and always searching for happiness by trying to actively go out and obtain it in a Puritanical mindset, rather than allowing the “inner quiet” to lead them to happiness (110). When I read this, I was reminded of a work by Erich Fromm entitled To Have or To Be, in which Fromm makes a similar claim, stating that human beings, particularly those in America, are striving for happiness by trying to ‘have’ happiness through possession, action and activity, rather than ‘being’ happy in their most profound state of stillness. Hoff ultimately makes this similar claim, stating that “A lot of people try to buy Happiness and Importance in the same sort of way. But you can be happy and important without that, you know” (133). By allowing the T’ai Hsu, the “Great Nothing” to reign over us, especially as Americans, I believe in Hoff’s views, and that of Taoism’s implications, that Americans would be happier as a whole if they chose to abide by their great stillness and do ‘nothing’ rather than filling their lives with perpetual drive resulting in emptiness and unhappiness.

In fact, the Taoist notion of attaining wisdom by “removing things every day” has strong implications to solving the problem of American unhappiness and individual unhappiness as a whole. By forgetting “my body and senses, and leav[ing] all appearance and information behind…in the middle of nothing, I join the Source of All Things” (149). By simply allowing oneself to then be one with the Tao, one cannot be in any state of misery. Without the senses, the attachments will not be there and therefore the misery will not be there, an idea that Buddhists would probably strongly agree with.  I believe this notion presented by Hoff would be a great solution to the “American” problem.

Many Taoist ideas presented in the book prove to be extremely vital in terms of their didactic nature. One in particular I hope to embody from here on out is that of Wu Wei. I believe embodying this concept will prove to lead to a much easier flow throughout the day and lead to greater happiness and smoothness without much input effort.

-Kunal Kapoor. 4/16/11 

Buddhist Stereotypes

Portrayals of Buddhist monks in American society are often pervaded with the stereotypical images of peaceful beings who radiate a sense of selfless compassion. On a whole, the movie Bulletproof Monk released in 2003 serves to support some of the main stereotypes, but does not fit entirely into the status quo of Buddhist portrayal. The movie’s setting in America serves to create the image of the Buddhist monk as one is an embodiment of tranquility and understanding, one who does not belong in a place of “strip clubs, Las Vegas and HBO.” However, the movie also breaks some of the norms and portrays the monk as one who is willing to physically fight against individuals bent on doing harm in society in order to protect the sacred scroll of his master. In the process, he paradoxically violates the principle of ahimsa in order to free society of the ‘villains’ and leave society on track for a peaceful future.

In the following trailer for the movie, the Buddhist monk is portrayed as one having qualities of deep understanding of the identity of the self, one who is in as state of continual calmness, one who can manipulate the flow of time in superhuman ways and one who can defy the laws of gravity simply by belief and meditation. The trailer also portrays an individual who embodies the underlying power of mind over body:  

                                   

Brad Warner’s book, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate, portrays a starkly realistic manifestation of Buddhism from the life of someone who lives the principles. However, both the movie and the book present similar viewpoints regarding ahimsa, although they both appear paradoxical on the surface. In the movie, the Monk strives to protect his master’s scroll which contains powerful prophesies about the future. A group of armed villains is in continual pursuit of him with the aim of killing him, obtaining the scroll, and using the prophesies to their advantage in gaining worldwide dominance. To prevent them and to keep the world on track for a peaceful future, the Monk must often engage in combative scenes and violent interactions. Paradoxically, he has to break his ideals of ahimsa in order to preserve the same for society’s future.

Similarly, Warner contemplates sacrificing his viewpoints of ahimsa for maintaining a value of peace that is also greater than himself. This similarity is most strikingly made when he thinks about the idea of euthanasia, especially while his mother is suffering from Huntington’s disease. Warner claims, “As a Buddhist, I do not find the idea entirely objectionable… there is no sin involved either in killing or in the decision to die” (45). Driven by his ideals of compassion, he does not feel as if his mother wants to live a life of suffering. He therefore theorizes that contradicting the value of ahimsa, and allowing her to undergo a death through euthanasia might, in fact, be of service to her in generating peace. Paradoxically, he thinks of violating the momentary ahimsa and engaging in an act that most people would consider a sin, all with the hopes of restoring her to a more peaceful state in the longer run.

Warner, however, is a very realistic practitioner, almost to the point where some of his ideals contradict the original views of Buddhism. The idea of reincarnation and previous lifetimes appears nonsensical to him. He directly states, “ I do not believe in heaven and hell, at least not in the conventional sense…Nor do I believe in an afterlife or in reincarnation” (61). He follows this statement with a footnote indicating: “Sorry, Mr. Dalai Lama” (61). This example serves as a way in which Warner defies the typical Buddhist principles.

Although both Warner’s book and the movie portray various key themes in regards to the stereotypical Buddhism, they also portray some points that deviate from the convention. Regardless, both present a Buddhism that molds certain views of their ideals to fit into modern-day realism.

Hinduism: Worldly Success & Liberation

Worldly Success:

1) Drake - "Successful" Hip Hop 2010 (explicit)
2) Birdman, Drake, Lil Wayne - "Money to Blow" Hip Hop 2009  (explicit)
3) Flo Rida - "Money on my Mind" Hip Hop 2009  (explicit)
4) Jay Z ft. Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind" Hip Hop 2009
5) Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars -Billionaire  Pop 2010  (explicit)

The song I think conveys the desire of worldly success the most clearly is the very popular song by Travie McCoy called Billionaire:

Liberation:

1) Boys Like Girls - "The Great Escape" Pop/Rock 2007
2) New Boyz - "Tie Me Down" Hip Hop 2009  (explicit)
3) Natasha Bedingfield - "Unwritten" Pop 2005
4) High School Musical - "Breaking Free" Pop 2006
5) The All Time Low - "Weightless" Pop/Rock 2007  (explicit)

The song I think conveys the theme of liberation with the most clairvoyance is Breaking Free, from Disney's The High School Musical:

            Like when finding songs related to pleasure and community service, finding songs related to worldly success and liberation revealed a similar trend. In both cases, songs related to materialistic gain or worldly accumulations proved to be the easier of the two to find within the American music industry. Although I do not find this surprising, what I do find surprising is the disparaging proportion of songs related to materialistic gain, and also the insatiable desire to attain materialistic items  in comparison to the songs related to goals considered of greater noble intent according to the Hindu mindset, such as the goals of community engagement and ultimately the goal of liberation and moksha.

            However, there are still many songs related to liberation and freedom. Yet, these songs are slightly different in their content when compared to the goal of liberation as moksha in Hinduism. The songs about freedom are mostly ones relating to being free from a particular situation, such as from a binding relationship between a girlfriend and boyfriend. Other cases include being free and realizing the free-will to define one’s life and choose the direction of one’s actions. Other songs describe escaping from the situations of life and entering a new, tension-free realm. However, the slight difference between all these songs of liberation is that they convey a sense of “escapism” from their current realm. Rather, the idea behind the Hindu mindset is one of transcendence of the worldly realm, not just an escapism. The transcendence results from the realization that the materialistic desire and accumulation will never be enough, and that the ultimate meaning that is sought after these entities is also transient. Therefore, the pursuit of liberation is the most noble pursuit and is also the most meaningful. It is a sense of transcending the current plane after understanding its limitations, not necessarily doing so in an escapist way.  

            It would be very interesting to note the trends in some of the artists’ writings and lyrics throughout their music career. I would be interested to see if their original songs and predominant themes relating to materialistic gain and worldly success adapt as their career grows and as they see more of the world. I wonder if, in the later parts of their career, they will adapt a sense of understanding of the world that is geared more towards liberation and moksha in a transcending sense of way, rather than just an escapism from tension or stress.  

-Kunal

Hinduism: Pleasure & Community Service

Aim 1: Pleasure

1) (explicit) White Tie Affair, "You Look Better When I'm Drunk" Rock/Pop, 2010.
2) (explicit) Drake, "Best I Ever Had" Hip-Hop, 2009
3) (explicit) Rihanna ft. Drake, "What's My Name" Hip-Hop, 2010
4) (explicit) Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain, "Blame It" Hip-Hop, 2008
5) (explicit) Katy Perry - "I Kissed a Girl", Pop, 2008

One of the songs that is most fitting is: Katy Perry, "I Kissed a Girl":

Aim 3: Community Service

1) Black Eyed Peas - "Where is the Love?" Hip-Hop,2009
2) Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson - "We Are the World", Pop, 1985
3) Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez - "Send it On", Pop, 2009
4) Jewel - "Hands" Pop/Country, 1998
5) Backstreet Boys - "Children Need a Helping Hand", Pop, 1997

One of the songs that is most fitting is: Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson - "We Are the World"

                Overwhelmingly, the more prevalent theme and the one easier to find in American pop culture revolves around Pleasure, rather than Community Service. The reason for this is debatable, but perhaps one of the most salient reasons is that as human beings we are embracing our animal instincts, embracing pleasure, immersing ourselves in pleasure and have not yet transcended our desires for pleasure. According to the Hindu mindset, the appeal of pleasure is insatiable for a period of time, after which we realize that its effects become transient and our true efforts should be dedicated to liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, or Moksha. While in the mode of pleasure, we are often drawn to its appeal rather passionately, and often express our emotions as humans in a variety of forms, the most appealing of which is in art – music, dance, paintings, etc. Especially with the growth of resources like YouTube and Google, the access to these types of passionate expressions has become much easier and has helped to synergistically enhance their popularity.

                The Hindu aims of pleasure often urge for self control in the pleasure. While not denying the ability to enjoy one’s moment and experience in pleasure, it does urge for one to do so responsibly and be weary of recklessness.  Very few songs in American Pop culture point to the negative sides of pleasure, or urge one to be weary of excessive pleasure. The songs often relate the greatness of a pleasurable experience, but often do not discuss any downsides of the event or anything that would detract from their appeal. Being of Hindu descent, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to Hindi music and have noticed that American songs about pleasure often overwhelmingly revolve around sex, whereas in the Hindu culture they focus more on innate beauty and their sublime nature. In the American mindset, the viewpoint is more related to conquering the experience and emotion of pleasure, where as in the Hindu mindset it revolves around immersing oneself in it, and standing in awe as to its sublime, unconquerable beauty.

                However, what I noticed that was personally interesting is that as I have grown from my teenage years, I have noticed that the songs relating to pleasure are appealing, but their appeal is becoming increasingly short-lived. The message in the songs related to community service have started to strike a deeper cord within me, perhaps because I have attempted to see life through a lens of deeper meaning and view the world as an interconnected web in which one’s actions effect others in an infinite number of ways. The themes of community service in both the Hindu and American mindset run rather parallel. Although community service in the Hindu mindset is not the ultimate goal, it is potentially a step in the gradual growth towards ultimate liberation, or Moksha. 

--Kunal Kapoor

February 6, 2011