Weeping Demons and Shinto

               The category of clips I chose was the Weeping Demons video clips. I must admit, I chose it because of the name and was completely surprised by what I seen on the clips. That definitely was not what I was expecting. After viewing the clips, I was able to relate them to two of the three principals of the general characteristics of a life lived in reverence of Kami.
               Principal #1: to be grateful of the blessings of Kami and be diligent in the observance of the Shinto rites. From the conversation the demon had with the wanderer, one could learn from the demon's own experience to be grateful to mother nature and be conscious of human nature with the earth and with one another. The demon's story of his life as human expressed his remorse for abusing mother nature by pouring milk into the river and burying crops deep into the earth a bulldozer for his own benefit. He never imagined that another human would come along and turn his home into a radiation desert of demons and overgrown dandelions. (This also identifies with the Shinto ethic that sins can be based on human interactions with one another).
               Principal #2: to be helpful to others and in the world at large through deeds of service without thoughts of rewards. Although the demon did not actually provide a service for the wanderer, he used his own life experiences as an example of why he felt someone should be grateful of the earth outside of that desert. Early on, the demon tells the wanderer that he is a weaker demon and will be probably be eaten soon by a demon with 2 or 3 horns. This just lets me know he has nothing to lose from the conversation with this wanderer.
             These clips also seemed to identify with the idea that the human spirit remains forever and can inhabit various other worlds with Kami. The demon led the wanderer to the site of the weeping demons after explaining that those particular demons are condemned to a life of suffering and so they spend their time weeping from their painful horns. Although they pray to be dead, none of them have ever been killed.

The Tao of Pooh

The Tao of Pooh

·         Reading “The Tao of Pooh” was a really easy read in that Benjamin Hoff used the familiar Winnie the Pooh to explain the principles of Taoism. Although the reading was easy, I won’t say that I loved it because I absolutely hate dialogue pieces. Hoff feels as though Taoism is the perfect way since it is ancient and does not seem to be as confusing as some other religions and beliefs. He provides much criticism towards other beliefs and religions when trying to explain why Taoism is a better choice.

·         According to Hoff, I learned the following principles of Taoism. The “Uncarved Block” is similar to Winnie the Pooh in that the uncarved block represents the idea that “things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power”. In the book, Pooh also recites the “Cottlestone Pie” riddle which explains the principle that “things are as they are” or the idea of everything having an inner nature that controls its actions. Wu Wei, also called the “Pooh Way”, means using your inner nature and the things around you to go with the flow of life. The story of the old man and the water was used as an example to explain what Hoff meant by the “Pooh Way”. The old man learned to live the natural ups and downs of the water and survived by not trying to fight against the superior power of the water. The chinese story about the “Stonecutter” was used to explain the principle that everyone was is special and one must look into your inner self to find out what you are supposed to do. And lastly, the great secret or T’ai Hs, is the idea that emptiness and nothing are the key to development.  

·         I do not agree or disagree with the statement that America is a culture of busy backsons. He uses Rabbit as an example of how Americans are always busy and In Taoism it is not a good thing to always be busy. I agree that the average American is very busy, but I’ve learned that the conditions/reasons why these Americans are so busy varies between people and cultures. Everyone needs a moment to relax away from their busy schedules, so I can even understand why Taoism believes it is not a good thing to always be busy. But because followers of Taoism are not a part of American culture they may not understand the things we as Americans have to do to keep up with such a fast paced society. Even in reading “Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate”, Warner explains how a Buddhist in America still had to work because America does not have a traditional support system in place for those Zen Buddhist in America. This is why I would say I disagree with the statement because of the fact that every culture and person is different.

·         I do not feel as though Taoism is a solution to the problem of American culture and Americans as individuals. The idea of individuality and being able to think for one’s self is a characteristic common to the American people. It is a part of the freedom we enjoy in America as citizens. Although the principles of Taoism are easy to understand and follow, there is not much room for the types of freedoms we have here. And most importantly, I am aware that people are different in the way that they act, think, and live.

Buddhism Stereotypes

BUDDHIST STEREOTYPES

The following is a commercial for the Mercedes Benz C-Class:

This commercial was interesting to me. In the beginning, the asks to drive the Mercedes Benz C-Class. During the drive, the monk is seen laughing as he impatiently fights to get around a biker traveling slowly in front of their vehicle. In the meantime, the other car traveling behind them is driving in a moderate manner. At the end, the monk examines both cars only to laugh and point out that the car he just rode in has a bumper covered in dead bugs.

A few things jumped out at me after watching this commercial. One, I’m pretty sure a monk would not have been driving that car like that. And secondly, I recognized the stereotype that all Buddhist believe in not harming any living creature with the understanding of the precept of, Ahimsa. Ahimsa means non-violence. This is often confused with the practices of Jainism, in which one of the modified rules for laity is that you should never take the life of a sentient being. So as part of Jainism religion, individuals practice some extremes to guarantee they don’t accidentally kill anything living. One example of an extreme is the practice of sweeping the ground before they walked to make sure they don’t kill any insects. Buddhist on the other hand, do believe in the principle of non-violence, but not to the extent of trying to protect all life you come into contact with.   

This relates to Brad Warner’s book, Zen: Wrapped in Karma dipped in Chocolate, in a couple ways. His book helps to justify some differences between real Buddhism and Buddhism that has been influenced by the secular world.  One, it brought out the reality of being a monk in the western world. In places like India, Japan, china, etc. there is a support system in place for monks, priests, etc. Warner talked about how a monk must have a “real job” in the secular world to provide for himself because there is no support system here for them to be a full-time monk (pp. 12). I dont know about the monk in the commercial, but either he has a really good job or one hell of a support system to even risk driving a benz like that. Warner also talked about traditional Buddhist and their idea of having as little possessions as possible, because more possessions meant more responsibilities (pp. 22). Times have changed and it is ok to live a little, but there is a thin line between living a little and being greedy. In my opinion, the behavior the monk displayed while driving the car, laughing and all, was his idea of living buddhist living a little.  

Aims 2 and 4: Success and Liberation

Aim #2: Success (Warning: Explicit Lyrics)
1. Beyonce --> Hollywood, R&B, 2007

2. Rick Ross ft. P. Diddy --> Another one , Hip Hop, 2010
3. Ne yo --> Champayne Life , R&B, 2010
4. Mary mary --> God in Me , Gospel , 2008
5. Mase, Notorious B.I.G., and Puff --> I been around the world , Hip Hop,

Aim #4: Liberation
1. Lauryn Hill --> I gotta find peace of mind , R&B, 2007

2. India Arie ft. Akon --> I am not my hair , R&B,
3. Lauryn Hill --> Zion , R&B, 1998
4. Pink --> F**kin Perfect , Pop, 2010
5. Christina Aguilera --> Beautiful , Pop, 2003

Of the two aims, Success was more prevalent. As for why, there are many reasons for that. Success is, and has been, the ultimate goal for most people in life. It starts as a child, your parents encourage you to do things that will help promote your success in the future world. This success can mean education, money, a career, a status, etc. depending on how the individual percieves the success they wish to acquire. Music and Media help to influence individuals perception on success by providing them with pictures and stories about the success of others, which can have negative or positive effects on the rationality of how individual's think successful people decide to use resources. I noticed that I had to analyze the lyrics of the songs that i chose to use for liberation. I aimed for those songs which revealed some self discovery. The western view of these aims are different from that of Hinduism because the understanding of success and liberation are deeper, therefore meaning more the individual than the materialistic success constantly displayed here. The success aimed by Hinduism includes wealth, fame and power, and achievements are considered to be temporary conditions. This is almost opposite of here because just being wealthy is a sign of success whether you have the power and fame or not. Also, achievements are usually crucial to the development of an individual's success and often used to tell one's legacy, so they are definitely not thought of as temporary. The conception of Liberation in Hinduism means infinite being, infinite awareness, and infinite joy which is why i chose songs that aimed for self discovery.

Blog #1: Hinduism Aim #1 and Aim #3

Hinduism Aim #1: PLEASURE
1. Musiq Soulchild "Love"

2. Beyonce "Speechless"
3. Katy Perry  "I Kissed a Girl"
4. Tweet "Oops oh my"
5. Trey Songz "Love faces"

Hinduism Aim #3: COMMUNITY SERVICE
1. John Legend "Wake up"

2. T.I. ft Chris Brown "Get back up"
3. Andy Grammer "Keep your head up"
4. Bill Withers "Lean on me"
5. "Whats going on?" artist collaboration

Overall Response: I would say that the pleasure aim seems to be more prevalent. Love is one type of pleasure common to just about everyone, and love doesn't just have to pertain to a direct relationship with another human being. It was much easier for me to think and find songs about pleasure because one can take pleasure doing many things and/or obtain pleasure in the process. What surprised me was how hard it was to find songs I felt would coincide with the concept of community service. Overall, I aimed for the positive and influential lyrics within the content of the songs in hopes of grasping the idea of community service. Because the American pop music has a variety of people with different backgrounds and religious preferences, the understanding of the Hindus Four Aims of Life becomes different from that of the artist of American pop music. The Hindus understanding of the Four Aims of Life is of a much simpler, although complex, range than that of American pop music.