When Buddha Meets "the Matrix"

Some major topics we discussed in our "Buddhism in the Movies" workshop:

1. Awakening from the world of illusion

• What is illusion? What is reality? Do you feel something is missing in your life?
• What choices have you made to take your life to this point?
• What choices will you make, and where will they take you in the future?
• How to wake up from this all-enveloping illusion?
• Humans were used as batteries by the "sentient machines" in the movie. A commentary on how we treat our farm animals only as product and energy source?
• Residual self-image: what a great term. How we view ourselves is but a shadow, projection, a residual image of what we truly are. This false self image is a composite of our life experiences.

2. Free your mind

• How we limit ourselves by thinking "I can't"
• If we are willing to let go of our fear, doubts, and disbelief, how much can we accomplish?

3. Levels of faith and levels of reality

• How much faith do we have in ourselves, in our beliefs, and in our teachers?
• How much are we willing to believe in illusions, even when we know they are illusions?
  
  (e.g. in the movie, "Mouse" is willing to have a date with the "woman in red dress" which is a simulation he created; Cypher goes a step further, betraying the crew so he can return to the illusion of Matrix. We do that all the time, e.g. eating the cheesecake or steak or drinking alcohol that we know we shouldn't)
  
  Do we really want to know the truth?
• Is faith necessary in enlightenment?
  

4. "There is no spoon"

• To what degree is the physical reality created by our mind?

5. Oracle, omniscience, knowing the future

• In times of uncertainty, we want to turn to some authority to tell us what to do.
• In the movie, the Oracle actually doesn't tell you what to do. What does she do? How is her method similar to that of a Buddhist Master?
• The future is shaped by the past, but not fixed in cement. Instead it is a ever-unfolding process that changes as we make decisions each moment.
• What then is omniscience?

6. Death and rebirth

• Did Neo have to die in order to complete his transformation as the One? What is this significance? Compare with Christianity and Zen (where many Zen masters describe their enlightenment experiences as having the old self died.)
• How is it possible that Neo came back to life? How is it logical in the movie? Do you die if you believe you will die?

7. Concept of a Savior/Bodhisattva

• What qualities did Neo have to become The One?
• What did his transformation/training involve?
• Can only certain special being beTthe One (Christianity, in the movie) or can anyone become The One (Buddhism)?

8. Duality of Good and Evil

• In the first Matrix movie, Good and Evil, reality and illusion are very clear and disctinct. In the second and third movie, both boundaries become blurred until .... (we didn't discuss this as this is an important topic in the subsequent movies)

Interconnections: Buddhist Views on the Self, Beings,
and Global Harmony

Ven. Jianhu, Ohio State University, 20081121

Modern technology and the internet has effectively created a global community that transcends physical boundaries, a fact that, interestingly, parallels the ancient Buddhist view of a global, interconnected community bound not by blood or culture but by karma (“karma internet”!). That is, since ancient times we have been inter-related by our actions and interactions that span the past, present, and future. We explore and explain this world view and how it brings insights on attaining global harmony.

1. Characteristics of the Internet

a. Everyone is interconnected

b. Everyone can act, influence, and be influenced

c. Instantaneous (and gradual) action and response

d. No boundaries: Ethnic origin, skin color, geography, social status are all irrelevant.

2. Karma internet has the exact same characteristics

“Karma” means “action”

a. We are tied to each other by our direct and indirect actions
(Think of how many people are interconnected with us)

b. We constantly influence and are influenced by others (the internet only makes this more apparent)

c. The cause-and-effect chains are created instantaneously with each action, but the results may take days, years, or even lifetimes to become observable.

d. Karma acts on all beings equally, without boundaries.

3. The Law of Causality

a. “When we create good karma, happiness or fortune comes back to us. When we create bad karma, suffering will come back to us.” “As you sow, so will you reap.”

b. With the Law of Causality, karma interactions means responsibility. We are responsible for our actions and how they influence the world.

c. Who created this law? Nobody and everybody. (Web 2.0—bottom up)

4. Karma net ties the past and future together into the present moment.

5. Self and others

a. In view of the karma net, what am I? An individual? A mere action point in the net? A node and all its connections? The whole network?

b. “We are one, but we’re not the same.”

6. The hope of global harmony

a. Each person is both a node and an indivisible part of the network

b. Each person can have great influences (both good and bad)

c. Understanding this karma internet well, we begin to see the whole picture

d. Causality and the karma net together implies: to help others is to help oneself. To hurt others is to hurt oneself.

iCalm

iCalm: Overcome Anger the Zen Way

Buddha Jewel Monastery, Seattle

Since this is a fairly complicated topic with many ideas, I tried to organize it so that it's easy to remember. A good name is half the success, right?

i: internal, introspection, i generated it, i can overcome it
C: Causality, changes
A: Acceptance
L: Let go, learn from adversity
M: Mindfulness

It takes several hours to explain these principles.
But ultimately, one word is enough: illusion.
Anger is an illusion; it comes from a wounded ego. When the illusive ego is eliminated, we'll have true inner peace.

心經的智慧1

Buddha Jewel Monastery, Seattle, 11/07

解釋「摩訶般若波羅蜜心經」經題。

摩訶是大，因為這部經的道理是最大、最高的。為什麼？因為心量無限大。心量是空，所以是無限大。

又，能真正了解這個道理，即是般若智，般若智最大。有般若智慧，則苦是虛；無智慧，則苦是實。所以行深般若波羅蜜，就能度一切苦厄。

下次佛寶寺心經講座：12/12/2008