Please watch the video posted below and comment on what you felt was the most interesting, confusing, or intriguing.
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The part of the movie that really struck me was Sidhartha’s realization of death. Like Mr. Cicalese said in class, everyone knows that people have to die, it’s the cycle of life, but what you fail to truly recognize is that applies to yourself. I know I’m explaining this very poorly, but in other words, I know that I’m going to die but I do not confront this and really take in that I’m going to grow old, get sick, and die. I try not to think about and in a way I can’t. It’s hard to imagine yourself old, getting sick, and dying because you’ve never experienced that before. For this reason I find it amazing that Sidhartha can gain this knowledge of death and then be able to to leave his family in order to pursue more knowledge of the world and suffering. In knowing something like you are going to die, most people try to make the most of their life through time with loved ones, indulging, or “carpe diem” and living like today is your last day. In the movie we see the selflessness of Sidhartha and how he sees it as him having only a limited time to help the world around him and make a difference. Also, I think the overall idea of Sidhartha’s father trying to protect him from suffering is kind of like our discussion of religion and faith in the beginning of the year. We said how someone who denies to believe I any religion has to face that religion to deny it. You can’t deny something that isn’t known to you or else you have no grounds to deny it. In the same way suffering is inescapable, to understand other things around you questions are brought up and some, leading to the answer of suffering, cannot be avoided.
ReplyDelete*I didn’t really know how to spell Sidhartha’s name.
I found it really interesting how Buddha was said to have been born with marks on his body that symbolize his future. For instance, in the video, the marks were on his feet. One stated that he was Buddha and the other stated that he would be world emperor. This is extremely fascinating because Buddha's father was worried that Buddha would leave the palace for religion, which is what ends up happening. Buddha's father attempted to steer his away from a religious path; however, it failed. It's also interesting how his name meant "all desires fulfilled" because it sort of foreshadows his future as Buddha. However, I was sort of confused because in the beginning of this course when we were defining religion, we stated that there is some sort of supreme force or mystery. Although, in Buddhism, there is no god or supreme authority, but instead they learn from a human, Buddha.
ReplyDeleteA very good point at which to be confused, Olivia Some people do not consider Buddhism a religion because of this very lack of a God. We'll discuss the possibility of a 'god-less' religion as we continue our study of Buddhism.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting that Buddha decided to reject the caste system and leave the palace to pursue a religious life. Even though he was a privileged Kshatryia, he realized the negative aspects of the caste system. I also thought it was interesting that his first real experience of suffering had such a profound effect on him. His father tried so hard to keep him away from suffering and to lead him to become a great secular figure, not a religious one. But I think his plan to seclude Sidhartha sort of backfired because he was so unused to suffering and death that the first time he experienced it he was completely shocked and amazed. Sidhartha began to look at everything around him as being temporary, whereas if he had been exposed to even just a relatively small amount of suffering since birth he might have been more used to it by the time he ventured out of the palace.
ReplyDeleteI think that Siddhartha’s encounter with the demons in his mind is extremely interesting. The fact that the demon king is just the psychological forces within oneself is a scary thought. Siddhartha’s discipline and ability to combat the torments he was faced with are remarkable. His ability to recognize them as forces in his own mind is pretty incredible. He must have been so in tune with himself and his thoughts. Most people, in experiencing something as horrifying as that, would have been shocked and scared while Siddhartha just stayed calm and warded them away, he overcame the evils within himself.
ReplyDeleteI thought the whole movie was interesting, and i find this religion fascinating. What really jumped out at me was that point that Buddha preached the "pointlessness of ritual and personality cult" and yet people now dedicate their lives to Buddha. Saying that I don't know who wouldn't want to dedicate their lives to him, just watching this really made me want to go on a pilgrimage.
ReplyDeleteEver since studying Buddhism in six grade I've been totally captivated by the whole religion. I love the idea of not having a God to worship and that one can reach nirvanna by just sorta finding it in oneself. I really love the idea of meditation and montras as well. I might not be right but to me it seemed that by using a montra and believing in it what ever the montra is it will come true. Kinda like the ancient version of The Secret, except without Oprah. Also I thought it was interesting how buddha discovered that the physical pain and total and complete starvation was not the way to enlightenment.
I wished the video talked more about the Dalai Lama because i know there's an interesting way each one is chosen and I hope we talk about it in class!
After I watched this video, I saw a couple similarities between Buddhism and Christianity. Like Mary, Maya had a vision about the birth of her child. She was a heavenly figure come down from heaven. Mary saw angels come down from heaven. As Catholics, we believe that Jesus was on this earth and taught his religion to people on earth. Buddha was also on this earth and he spoke his teachings to the people in India. They both to cared for the poor and sick in theirs societies. Both Jesus and Buddha left a great impact on the people during their lifetime and people in this time.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of studying different religions is comparing them and seeing the ways they are alike. I like to pick out things that remind me of Catholicism and things that I can relate to. I find it very interesting how religions that are so different can have aspects that are so similar.
I think the most interesting part of the Buddhist religion is the fact that it doesn't involve a supreme God or higher power. It is based completely on the importance of human awareness. This idea is so important because it really demonstrates the power each individual has; in the sense of coming to terms with suffering, and really understanding the value of life.
ReplyDeleteI find Buddhism to be very interesting religion. I was intrigued and a bit confused by the idea of revoking all worldly desires. I find it hard to grasp that someone can have no desires or wants. If you want to rid yourself of all you desire, isn't that a desire in itself? They want to learn more about the buddhist religion and the world. They want the answers to life and suffering. They want to reach nirvana. They want and desire all these things. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, its what makes them human. I'm just a bit unsure on how it all works out. I feel like it's asking a human to become something more like a tree, it has no wants, thoughts, or questions. It has no inclination to life or death, it just exists. I also really like how buddhist don't need to rely on a God to reach enlightenment, sort of like what Emma said, it's all based on an individual's power from within.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was extremely interesting how, at the end of the movie they say “it is a great irony that after the Buda’s death, the person that had preached of the uselessness of ritual and also really the uselessness of a personality cult became the object of ritual worship and the biggest personality cult as has ever existed in history.” I think this is a great example of how when religions first come into the world, they are good, pure, and hope for a better future, however with time they change and become corrupted. As in Buddhism, people worship the Buddha and forget his teachings against ritual and personality worship. However Buddhism has gone against the Buda’s wishes, I still believe that it is one of the best, most open, and has the purest root of any of the world religions I have studied, so far. I strongly believe that what the Buddha found was a great discovery and has only lead people to better places. I think that having Buddhism in the modern world, is a fantastic asset, because it spreads peace and self evaluation. Buddhism basically removed the corruptions of Hinduism. Siddhartha found his center and place of serenity. Weather or not he faced a version of the devil does not matter, what that symbolizes is his ability to pass thought the limited view of the human mind and tap into something deeper. Scientists say that humans use only a small percentage of our brain capacity: my thought is that perhaps he was able to circumnavigate around his limitations (personal devil) and tap into his extra brain power. He accessed a serenity that is far from science and chemistry witch is how we see brains today, he accessed what might truly be possible for everyone: happiness. Maybe that is what we are here in life to-do, go beyond ourselves and make the world a better place for everyone, free from suffering. Suffering is a result as the Buddha said, of agenda, humans selfish agendas however inadvertently it affects everyone, and usually negatively. Buddhism is extremely important because is only goal is to eliminate this. Buddhism asks for humans to go past themselves, witch is extremely hard, but not in a self-deprecating way. Siddhartha realized that pain was limited, but self-searching was infinite. I think that the fundamental goodness of Buddhism comes from it being a godless religion. Some people think that Buddhism is not a religion. However Buddhism is, because religion is defined as a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by. That is exactly what Buddhism is, without interfering gods that destract people from focusing on what is truly important, nirvana.
ReplyDeleteI was utterly amazed by the perseverance of the Buddha and later his followers. He risked death by trying to reach enlightenment by starvation. It seemed that he was desperate to seek the meaning of life or as the commentator says, he wanted to really think about how life works. He worked so hard and tried so many ways to reach this moment of enlightenment. I knew, of course that Buddha worked to reach enlightment but this film truly showed me to the extreme extent that he tried. I knew that he had left his home and his family but that he went through physical pain to reach enlightment was never clear to me. I am astonished that someone could be so devoted to one goal that he would endure so much. Today, Buddhist monks also work to reach enlightment but the path has already been made for them. They know how to achieve it and therefore just have to be dedicated and patient enough.
ReplyDeleteI found the demon Mara's powers to be very interesting. He is a part of you. He shows you the parts of you that you know are there but do not want to face. It is as if you are fighting off yourself- the thoughts you cannot control. When Siddhartha changed the arrows that Mara shot at him into lotus blossoms it reminded me of the symbolization of lotus flowers in Hinduism- spiritual maturity. Siddhartha is maturing spiritually in that time and then in the seven days that follow. Then when he is tempted by Mara's daughters (like when he is surrounded with women before this to make him stay and become like his father) he learns to remove desires. This in itself is a very hard thing to do. I do not quite understand how one could remove all desires and I also do not completely agree that all desires are bad. However, this is the belief of Siddhartha and it makes sense in the position he is put in in his meditation and mental battle with Mara.
ReplyDeleteTo address another point mentioned in earlier posts-I do not think that religions need gods- what religions need is an idea(s), a belief, and Buddha found his idea. So the absence of a God did not really strike me as odd because a God essentially represents this idea or many ideas. In Buddhism, they do not need a God to live that idea through.
I really find "enlightenment" both intriguing and confusing. A little more confusing. Probably because I am mostly ignorant, I can not really understand how Buddha met the demons in his mind and what that end result of enlightenment is. The video explains that it requires morality, wisdom, focus, etc. and the path to enlightenment, but its intriguing how it actually works.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that stuck out to me, was that Buddhism is a religion. Because I was still left with some questions about Buddhist beliefs. For example, how do they believe the world came into existence? If Buddhists don't believe in an atman, a spirit, then what goes on to Nirvana? I feel like although Buddhism has some religious aspects, like it's belief in Nirvana and its meditation practices, it's more of a life theology, because it really doesn't answer many of the questions we spoke about in the beginning of the year, which pertain to religions.
I thought it was very interesting that Siddhartha's father was very protective of him. He wanted him to become political leader, not a religious leader, showing society's focus on status and not religion.
ReplyDeleteBut Siddhartha wanted to understand world, not military pursuits, even though he was expected to become king. He was good at fencing, but wanted to study philosophy.
I thought that it was interesting that the video mentioned that the turning point of his life happened when he was only nine years old at the plowing festival. For many people, such a spiritual breakthrough only happens after years of meditation, training and reflection. He finally was released from the protective bubble that his father had arranged for him, and he got to see world outside of palace.
He saw hard work of farmer, which he had never seen before. While the rest of the people were celebrating, he saw the suffering in all the people and felt upset. To him, the festival symbolized not a celebration, but a call for reflection.
He reflected alone, and was profoundly affected by this meditation.
He saw a farmer plowing, and a bird eating worm, which led him to reflected on the question: why do living beings have to suffer?
If farmer had not been plowing, bird would not have gotten the worm. He realized that everything is connected, all actions have consequences, which lead to his teaching of Kama.
The fact that he went into a trance meant the first step of road to enlightenment.
The jana is a joyful, happy, calming meditational state.
The king was not happy, he believed that all sons should follow in footsteps of their fathers. He didn't want his son to "suffer" as a religious man. He tempted him to stay in palace and tried to create "perfect and seductive world." Siddhartha had to be very strong willed to resist all the temptations that his father had offered him in the palace. As a teenager, it must have been extremely difficult for him to realize that this fantasy land of pleasure in the palace was not the way for him to achieve enlightenment.
When he asked his father if he could leave the palace, the king eliminated all "bad things" from outside world. But Siddhartha still took four journeys. Each journey revealed aspect of life that had been hidden from him. His journeys reveal that life is so fleeting, he knows he's going to die. He saw impermanence in everything and realized he had to leave his home, family and way of life, to find answers to life's suffering.
He cut his hair and exchanged robes for rags:this was the total sacrifice, giving up his status, wealth and position as prince to find the real meaning of life.
He was alone for the first time ever, no longer in a bubble, now he had to challenge accepted way of life.
One thing that inspired me was his determination: he wouldn't leave spot until he found enlightenment. Even when he was tempted by mara and daughters, he didn't give in, and thus he achieved enlightenment.
I really liked this video, I thought it was well made and a very interesting way to show the life of a religious figure. What confused me the most was the fact that Buddha did not have any idea about sickness, old age, or death before he went outside of the palace. It seems alittle impossible that a young man who is educated did not realize he was getting older, or that people could get sick. Also, the Buddha had a first hand experiance with death, the death of his mother, how did his father explain where she was all these years? It seemed like all of this came as quite a shock to the Buddha when he went out.
ReplyDeleteI found the entire video intensely intriguing! It was amazing to learn about such a wonderful religion. I just wanted to say that when I get older, I want to conver to Buddhism, because I feel like it is such a practical, peaceful way of life. And look at the way it spread, while Islam and Christianity (both amazing religions) spread by the sword, you know history "converted by the sword," Buddhism peacecfully spread through no violence.
ReplyDeleteA couple things really stood out to me in this video. I agree with Maiya, I think the way he discovered the suffering of the world was very intense. And the conclusions he came to were very scary as well. Like the fact that aging is inescapable, sickness can happen to anyone, all men are mortal and will continue to die and be reborn because of reincarnation. I think since he was so housed and comfy in his old setting, seeing such intense extremes led him to feel guilty.
I know that when I see a homeless person, and I have money, I feel obliged to give them money even if I won't have any, but if I give them money it won't necessarily cure their homelessness, you know? I think it's relly helplessness, I mean we as humans are really like pawns in the grand scheme of life. We can be so easily killed and get such destructive deiseases and such. I mean our buildings will be standing long after we are (if it's like a disease). For example when 911 happened, it took a plane to destroy the twin towers, if you got hit by a plane... I mean the comparison isn't even necessary.
Also the thing that stood out to me was the fact that all his "visions" led his own prsonal realiztion that HE was going to get sick and die. I mean I know that one day I'm going to die (preferably in the far future), but I don't want to face death at this very moment. But being exposed to those things, made him realize that this a prominent and inevitable thing in life.
The second thing that stood out to me was his realization that moderation, not extremes was what was going to lead him to enlightenment. He saw the man string his instrument and saw that if it was too slack, it wouldn't play, and if it was too tight, it would break. After his intense fasting and his (sort of) nonchalant meditation, he realized that he needed a certain type of focus that lied in between those two.
The last thing I loved about his video was his internal war with Mara. I learned that Mara is not Satan, a tempter and counterpart to God, but that Mara was a PART of you (like Claudia mentioned). His war showed the intense power of the mind, how he changed the flaming bows into lotuses, and how he refused to be tempted by Mara's daughters. The part that stood out even more so than the Mara-part-of-you thing, was his discovery that Death is desire and desire is death, but to reject desire is as bad as accepting death. But if you can ABANDON desire and pleasures, you can escape the cycle.
But the very last thing, I wanted to mention was the 4 noble truths, 1. there is suffering in life, 2. the reason for this suffering is desire, 3. there is a cure for this desire, and 4. the prescription to obtain nirvana is morality, meditation, and wisdom.
This movie explained so much to me about Buddhism. There were many things in this movie that struck me. But I have to agree with Elizabeth L that the most striking moment was with the devil Maya. Buddha was so calm when he transformed the arrows into lotuses. I can’t remember when, but in some class I remember discussing how the lotus flower is a symbol for rising out of something evil or bad. This is because a lotus grows up out of gross pond water and blooms into a beautiful, pure flower. I thought this might be a reason why the arrows were turned into lotuses and not just any other flower.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t really agree with what Siddhartha realized right after his interaction with Maya. He had realized that the only way to overcome suffering is to give up desire. This seems to me like saying having no expectations means your hopes won’t be dashed. I don’t think this is true because if we have no expectations, then we have no goals, and then what is the purpose of life. Siddhartha may have realized how to remove suffering from life, but he took away the aspect of what is the purpose of our life.
i agree with Gari- the whole video was very interesting, and there is so much in it to think about.
ReplyDeleteone thing i noted was how Siddhartha realized starving yourself and hurting yourself wasn't the way to enlightenment, we talked so much about manipulating your body to have a vision, or enter a different state of mind, so it seemed relevent to our class discussions, Siddhartha's take on that kind of thing.
what really got me though was how similar it was to the beginning of christianity, of course they're completely different religions in so many ways, but there were similarities that struck me. such as firstly that there was a prophecy made about Siddhartha when he was born, which he fulfilled. There are so many prophecies in the Old Testament about a savior, and Jesus's fulfillment of them is strikingly accurate, although the prophecies were made for Siddhartha when he was born and for jesus long before that, but they were still both made way before what the person was capable of doing was known. secondly, and very importantly, their connection to the lower classes. they both said that lay people, not just the high priests or brhamins, could achieve moksha/heaven. they both opened their religion to everyone, saying in jesus is case the Pharises (sorry if i spelt that incorrectly) weren't saved because of who they were- anyone could be saved. Buddha was similar in rejecting the caste system, how not just the brahmins could have enlightenment, but anyone who strived for it. just in it self the idea of their divine births and how from the beginning of their lives they were expected to be great. also just that they were both real people who really lived. lastly, the dispute of weather or not the Buddha was divine or human reminded me of the disputes as to weather Jesus was Divine or human or both which came up a lot during the beginnings of christianity and is still disputed today.
I'm not saying the religion of christianity and Buddhism are what's similar, but that the back stories of the religions and about the people who started them. of course there a huge differences, but the similarities are what struck me
I thought this video was very interesting and I learned a lot. I thought how he began to challenge brahmanism and how in Buddhism the caste system is different. I thought his ideas on how a persons actions put them into a certain caste rather then birth. Also how Buddha wanted to not just have the brahmins have knowledge from the Vedas but all the people should have knowledge. I also had never thought of how desire could cause all of these problems. I thought this was a very interesting thought. This idea i found also rather confusing. Another part i found rather fascinating was how simple the head monk and Buddha himself was able to make such large and confusing topics. Lastly, i thought it was interesting how buddha was a human and they did not want it forgotten. I liked that aspect, that anyone could do this even if they are not a brahman etc. This aspect of accepting of all people is very appealing and intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting how a young man who had everything and every pleasure that could be provided would want to leave such a place. I thought it was really interesting that he wanted to see the world even though his father wanted to shield him from it. When he first went out into the real world and saw a poor men in that festival most people didn't think anything of it. I think that since he was shielded all his life from death, disease and aging it made it worse when he actually saw it. If he grew up under the realization that death happens to everyone i don't think it would have been such a big deal. I feel as though his fathers pressure to make him have everything he could ever want and block him off hurt him more then it benefited him.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that particularly interested me was the Buddha's discovery that physical suffering and fasting did not meaningfully contribute to his meditation. I found this interesting especially because it is the complete opposite of what we discussed regarding primal religions. All of the primal religions we studied used physical harm and bloodshed as an important and ancient part of their rituals. I thought it was interesting that the Buddha had such a completely different opinion regarding this, and it reminded me that there are such a range of different beliefs in the world today.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was amazing that the Buddha was brave enough to leave his home, family, and future role as king in his quest to contemplate the meaning of suffering. I know I would not be brave enough to do what he did. By leaving home the Buddha was also rejecting the role of the caste system in his life. The Buddha disagreed with the caste system, and said that your birth should have nothing to do with what you choose to do with your life. The caste system was such an accepted part of culture and it was so radical for the Buddha to question it.
What I found the most interesting was that when Sidhartha journeyed outside of the castle walls, his discoveries seemed so profound, and set in motion the actions that would lead him to enlightenment. But really all he had was a little glimpse of reality. Doesn’t this happen to people every day? We all know that we’re going to die, but sometimes the full realization of that fact doesn’t fully hit us until a certain point in our lives. I just saw Where the Wild Things Are, and at one point they talk about the end of humanity and the end of the world. Max (the little boy) tells the wild things that one day the sun will die and the world will end. This causes a huge conflict, because the wild things are so ignorant this information is devastating to them. I think this symbolizes how everybody, at some point in their lives, comes to terms with the fact that things such as death, illness, and loss are things that somehow affect and every one of us. We don’t realize how real everything is until something happens that opens up our eyes to the world that’s been there the whole time, we just haven’t really been looking. It’s kind of a scary thought, but everyone has to come to terms with their imminent death, and how they let if affect their lives.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, the narrator says that a form of meditation is trying to reach and come face to face with the devil inside you. This is a great way to phrase the goal of meditation, which is to try and dig beneath all the layers of the surface you (meaning selfishness, arrogance, appearance), which I suppose is being referred to as the devil here. I think even though in the end it says that Mara is not our Christian devil, because there is no tempting involved, it's still really interesting that the whole goal of meditation is to face the devil so you can overcome it and move on, sort of like facing your problem so that you can just deal with it and get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteThey find so much proof that the Buddha is alive and seem to know so much about his life and his exact locations, so it makes me think that Buddhists would have more of a right to claim that their religion is the true religion, or at least is more believable, since there is more proof that Buddha existed. I know we have the bible and it states many facts, but where is our actual proof that Jesus existed? Or that God exists? It all ties into the question of which religion is true, or if there are numerous true ones, and how would we ever know which one is true and which one isn't? This is a little off topic, but I think all have to be true, because what if there was a person following a fake religion? Their life would result in nothing, or at least the end of their lives, and that's a scary thought.
The idea of reaching "tuneful harmony" to me is beautiful and completely on track. They said that if the string on a certain instrument is too loose, the tune won't come out right, and if it is too tight, the string will snap. However, there is a point right in the middle that is called tuneful harmony, which works nicely. This is so interesting to me because you can basically fit meditation forms right into this example. If your meditation ways are too loose, meaning you really don't focus on them at all, you will not get anywhere (if you're only following meditation), so the results of meditation won't be what they should be. If you meditate too extremely, like ascetics, you will "snap," or die. If you do it just right, a little bit of both, in the middle, you will achievement enlightenment (hopefully).
Last thing-very short idea, but it's kind of ironic that people have desires because it satisfies them, but Buddha says that desires create suffering and dissatisfaction, so it's really backwards.
Sorry, 2nd paragraph last sentence: Their life would result in nothing, or at least the end of your life would result in nothing...
ReplyDeleteI really liked this video. I think that the most interesting point that was brought up was suffering. We talked about suffering a lot last year in religion when we talked Job and it became this huge discussion of why people suffer and how do you prevent it. In Christianity, it seems that the only way to repent and have faith but in Buddhism it is seems simplier than that. Suffering is taught to be a natural part of life. It does not matter what you do or what you have done. Each person suffers in some way or another so this eliminates why people suffer and why bad things can happen to good people. And a way to escape the cycle of pain, illness and death is to remove yourself from desire and eventually reach enlightenment by yourself. You don't need the help of a greater power. I think that the simplicity of Buddhism is what makes it a really cool religion.
ReplyDeleteI thought this video was very interesting, and there are so made things to talk about. One thing that I thought was intriguing was that Sydharta learned that almost starving yourself to death in order to achieve enlightenment is crazy. Instead of concentrating so hard and putting so much pressure on yourself, you should just relax. He was smart to realize that he would just die, and have to go through samsara again, and relive all the suffering that the world has to offer. I was also incredibly impressed to hear how he fought of the demon that tried to frighten him with illusions. Demons that use psychological fear are the scariest,and if Sydharta had given into his human desires, he would not have found it within him to achieve enlightenment. Another thing that I found interesting was when one of the speakers in the video commented on how most of the west sees Buddhism, as compared to those that are actually trying to achieve enlightenment, and break samsara. I don't mean this to be a negative aspect for the west, I think it is the right thing to do to use this one life to grab our opportunities and do what we love, in order to do this there is a lot of stress in our lives and meditation helps us focus.
ReplyDeleteI thought the most interesting part of the movie was when Sidartha was traveling through the village and he saw all the sick and the old people and he realized that one day he would become like one of them. He realized that one day, he would die, and that frightened him like it would frighten anyone. I thought this was interesting because usually, as we grow and we learn more in school and from our family and friends we learn that one day, we are all going to die, but for Sidartha, he had to actually encounter sickness in the real world to finally understand and grasp the meaning of death.
ReplyDeleteThis video was extremely interesting, and it helped me understand Buddhism a lot more. I thought it was very interesting that one difference between Buddhism and Hinduism was that Buddha thought that the Brahmins should be chosen by their wisdom and spirituality, not their birth. It seems more logical to have a religion that way, and I am surprised that Buddha came to this conclusion at such a young age versus some of the very old Hindus. I also thought it was interesting that Buddha realized how much it did not help the world's condition when he starved and did not take care of himself. While I was watching the video, I thought how selfish it was that he was doing all these things, even if they were for him to meditate, etc. I was surprised to see that he also came to the same conclusion that I did while watching the video. It makes complete sense that if you want to make a difference in, for example, the poverty in the world, you cannot seclude yourself and hope that through meditation all will be ok. You must actually take action and do something about the poverty.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I do not agree with is the fact that to acheive enlightenment, one must stop wanting things and stop being greedy. Buddha had said that you must take all desire away, so that there is no suffering. I feel as if that cannot completely happen. In just taking away your desires and wants will not make suffering, poverty, old age, death, etc. go away.
I really enjoyed watching this video and watching how Buddha realized that we are all subject to death, old age, and sickness. I think that these realizations are really the basis for his rejection of the atman. I like that they do not believe in having an atman because I personally do not agree with the Hinduism belief that we all have an atman because in reality we are who we are right now and we are not really connected to the atman that follows us through reincarnation so I do not think that it is healthy for Hindus to separate themselves from who they really are which is who we are on earth (I am not really sure how to put that in words). I also found the fact that there is no supreme god in Buddhism very interesting. I agree with what Emma said how it demonstrates the power that each individual has with their interpretation or freedom in the religion. I think that it also shows how accessible the religion is to anyone because there is not one supreme God that you must follow yet it is more a system of beliefs.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that I found most interesting was how carefully and successfully Sidhartha’s father sheltered him from suffering. It wasn’t until he was a16 years old that he saw what life was like. He didn’t understand aging, sickness, or inevitable death. He doesn’t even understand reincarnation, which is one of the most important aspects of his religion. He really didn’t know what suffering was. Its interesting that someone so ignorant can reach the ultimate state of enlightenment. However, this could be the reason he was able to be so contemplative. When he finds out about suffering, the peculiarity of it hits him hard. We grow up knowing we’ll grow old, get sick, and die. He never knew this until he was a young adult.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with what Elizabeth Leonard said much earlier. I think it is incredibly interesting to see Sidhartha's recognition that the demon king is a force inside of everyone and how this led to his enlightenment. My favorite part of the movie however was when Sidhartha connected the instrument strings to different ways that people may try to achieve enlightenment. When the strings are too loose it does not work and when they are too tight they snap. He then understands that it is not starving yourself or ignoring your needs, nor is it forcing yourself to all of a sudden master all of you life's difficulties that works. The middle way is in fact the only way to truly reach the goal of complete enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteI found it strange how strong suffering affected the Buddha. It is understanding that since he was not exposed to most suffering, that he was shocked by how much there was in the world to act like this. Since the first time he went into the city he saw almost all forms of suffering, he had a stronger reaction to it then otherwise. Then he was compelled to question the Brahmin traditions to insure himself as the answer of suffering. His rejection of the caste system made him believe that you are something (in this case a Brahmin) because you make your self by living that way because you are born into it. He himself went so far in suffering by almost starving himself to death.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the Life of Buddha video was a very interesting way begin our studies with Buddhism. I liked how the video focussed on the more personal aspects of Sidhartha's experiences rather than just naming fats about the religion. That made it easier to pay attention to and more interesting. I thought it was interesting when Sidhartha's left the pace walls and journeyed into the real world. His accounts on his journeys made me empathized with him a lot. I realize that I, like Sidhartha, am not exposed to poverty and suffering on a daily basis. On his journey, Sidhartha faced both of those aspects of life. In reality, there will always suffering. However, I think it is important to not just disregard suffrage as something that cannot be fixed. Rather, we should all contribute what we can to at least one persons suffering. I think it is really amazing how, after his new understanding of the world, Sidhartha went out himself and challenged his own religion and stepped out of his comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the Life of Buddha video was a very interesting way to begin our studies with Buddhism. I liked how the video focussed on the more personal aspects of Sidhartha's experience rather than just naming facts about the religion. That made it easier to pay attention and was more interesting. I thought it was interesting when Sidhartha left he palace walls and journeyed into the real world. His accounts on his journeys made me empathize with him a lot. I realize that I, like Sidhartha, am not exposed to poverty ad suffering on a daily basis. On his journey, Sidhartha faced both of those of these aspects of life. In reality, there will always be suffering. However, I think it is important to not just disregard suffrage as something that cannot be fixed. Rather, we should all contribute as much as we can to the healing of at least one persons suffering. I think it it really amazing how, after gaining a new understanding of the world, Sidhartha went out himself and challenged his own religion and stepped out of his comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how a soothsayer noticed something unusual about Sidhartha and was able to predict his future. He predicted that he would either be a very powerful political leader or a great religious leader(a Buddha). The father, being a political leader himself tried to prevent Sidhartha from becoming a Buddha. He did this by blinding him from all the suffering. But once Sidhartha was exposed to nature and suffering, he was much more drawn to that than the military and fighting skills. I thought this was very interesting because even though the father tried to blind him from suffering, he couldn't fully succeed because suffering is everywhere. Another thing I found compelling was how once Sidhartha was exposed to suffering and nature, he was immediately drawn to it because that was his calling in life.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by not a certain part of the movie really, but more a certain part of “Buddhas” life. I was very moved by the idea that he went from living in a palace with luxurious goods and having everything he wanted to be a person with nothing at all. I was shocked that after experiencing going out of the walls for the first time he decided he had to learn more about this. So he went onto a journey where he saw that aging is inescapable, that we can all get sick, and that men are all mortal… they are reborn and then they die again and he learned the meaning of the word “impermanence” and decided there was more for him to learn so he left his wife and child behind to figure out what exactly it was that he was missing. While he was on this journey he saw a lot of suffering and was able to meditation ano instant about what he saw. I respect this very much because many people are not able to have the ability to first of all just leave their family and their luxurious lives behind and second just slip into a state of mediation to think about the suffering that you have seen one your journey to learn amore about life.
ReplyDeleteBefore I forget and while this thought is fresh in my mind, I thought that what the Buddhist monk said was really interesting. He said that if Buddhism was to be summed up in two words, they would be practice and mindfulness. In comparison to Christianity or Catholicism in particular, we focus more on faith and good works. I know that there are other huge major differnces, like a lack of a God in buddhism, but that comment stuck out to me. Also, I was very interested in the comment that one of the scholars made. He said that many westerners join buddhism because they want to improve themselves.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I thought it was cool that the young Siddhartha first went into a meditative state under a tree and when he was older underwent enlightenment under a tree.
Lastly, I was very impressed or suprised rather at Siddhartha's stength to leave his wife and go out alone.
There were many things I found interesting with this movie. Even though Sidhartha's father kept him sheltered so much and shyed him away from anything involving religion, he was able to reach enlightenment on his first day outside in the village. I think it was wrong of his father to do that, but I think it gave him an advantage to look at these problems (aging, sickness, death) for the first time but with maturity. When we learn about these enivitable problems, we are fairly young and obviously aren't as smart as we are now, so we probably cannot look at it rationally for the first time. But I think when Sidhartha examined these unescapable issues, he was able to analyze them since he was at an old age for learning that kind of stuff. Obviously he was shocked, but he still could come to better conclusions than people who learn about this when they are four years old. I thought it was very significant how he could reach such enlightenment at 16, when some people spend their entire lives trying to reach enlightenment. When someone is sheltered from reality like that, they have a completely different view from most of the people around them - yet I haven't decided if this was a good thing for Sidhartha or a bad thing. I can't help but think - what would have been different if his father didn't have rules like that? Would he have been so intrigued by these issues? I don't have the answer but I can see how it benefited him because of his first experience with questioning it. I was also surprised that Sidhartha's father would even think he could be successful in having his son not even think about faith or life in general. Like we said before, you have to confront faith sometime in your life. Someone said this before, but you have to confront faith to deny it. I find this all very interesting because it shows how this type of experiment with someone's faith can turn out. I don't know if Sidhartha was this englightened because of his father or because of who he was in general - in other words, would this have happened to just another person whose father kept religion from him/her?
ReplyDeleteI found this movie on Buddhism extremely interesting and learned many interesting things. One of the things I enjoyed most about it was that it told the actual story of Sidhartha and made it more entertaining and interesting, whereas just simply listing the facts on Buddhism would be quite boring. One part I noticed immediately was the birth of the Buddha because it was extremely similar, almost identical, to the immaculate conception of Jesus. In Christianity, followers believe Mary conceived Jesus by God, which is extremely similar to the birth of the Buddha who was also born by God. Another part I found interesting was the way Sidhartha completely abandoned his luxurious and privileged life to be on his own and focus on eliminating suffering. He left everything behind, including his wife, which I find extremely remarkable. It shows his true dedication and interest to his faith and achieving enlightenment. It is almost impossible to imagine myself doing something similar to him; abandoning my family, lifestyle, etc. Another thing that struck me was how he did not realize there was suffering and death in the world until he was of a mature age. He was not brought up aware of the pain in the world, like we all are today. However, once he realized this was when he made the decision to leave his family and be by himself to work on meditation and eliminating suffering.
ReplyDeleteI thought that there were many interesting things in this video about the life of the Buddha. One of these interesting topics that i would like to mention is the idea about how forcing things does not work. What i mean to say is that throughout Sidhartha's life and this video, i noticed that when something was being forced it never really worked out. For example, in the beginning of Sidhartha's life his father was basically forcing this grand life in front of him or at least trying to make everything perfect so that Sidhartha wouldn't become a spiritual leader and see that there is suffering in life. As we know this hiding of the suffering doesn't work and Sidhartha actually becomes the opposit of what his father wanted him to be. Other examples of this are when Sidhartha realizes that by forcing discipline upon himself (by starving) doesn't help him at all but just brings more suffering into the world. Also when Sidhartha notices that when an instrument is pulled too tight it breaks which is almost like you shouldn't pull on something to hard or it might just snap or go the other way, in the complete opposite direction. By seeing the instrument, Sidhartha then goes to the tree where he realizes that when one calmly thinks and uses their knowledge, the answer usually comes to you, and that you shouldn't force something out of you or be abrupt. I also thought that this related concept was interesting, about how when one finds their center or the middle way to enlightenment/answers to life's questions, they will then have a tuneful harmony.
ReplyDeleteone of the things that struck me most was when he sat down as a child, and went through Jnana Marga. He had not prepared or probably barely knew what it was, and yet he finds himself in a slight trance almost thinking about life an what makes the world go round and why things happen. The chain effect really. In his case, the farmer who was plowing with the horse, and he dug up a worm. That world was then taken by the bird and became its meal, but none of that would have happened if the farmer wasn't plowing because it was his job and he needed money. The fact that he thought about this, through a life long goal to some people was so amazing to me. He was a young child thinking about the way life works and why people end up suffering.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that had me thinking was the no "god" aspect of Buddhism. It is difficult concept for me to grasp because I come from a backround where I do believe in a God, a sole God. And here you come to a religion where there is something called the teacher. But for something to be a religion, technically doesn't there have to be a god? I mean its no one of the 7 dimensions, but here there is nothing. What do they believe Buddhists? You cannot tell, it might be more of a way of life that a religion I think.
To add on...I know that when I take a test and i'm rushing and I can't remember the answer, I know that I shouldn't freak out because the the answer might slip even further away. Instead, as Sidhartha did when he tried to answer the questions about suffering, i know that i should just relax and calmly think and use my mind to come up with the answer.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I found really interesting was how Sidhartha was born with marks on his feet and that someone said he was going to be the Buddha. This lead me into the question that
ReplyDeletewas Siddhartha predestined by the Hindu gods to start this new religion? Was he meant to leave his palace to obtain Enlightenment/Nirvana? One other thing I found interesting is how
he rejects the caste system and believes that Brahmins should be chosen by their wisdom and spirtuality and by living that way, not just be born into it. As Shannon said, despite him being a privelaged Kshatriya, he chooses a secluded religious life. Also, Sidhartha's encounter with the demon Mara and his daughters was just truly interesting. The way he was able to pretty much tune out these demonic forces and really stay focused on himself and his thoughts amazes me. Personally, if I were able to experience something as "deep" and horrifying as that, I'd be terrified or frightened.. whereas, Siddhartha stayed calm and just steered himself and his thoughts away from those evil forces. One thing I'm not a big fan of is the fact that they don't rely on a God or "higher power". As a Hindu, that just seems really weird to me because whenever I was put in a difficult situation, where I didn't know what to do or how to get out of it, I had always relied on God for wisdom or to help me through the difficult situation. However, I also believe in religion being "a way of life", so to Buddhists it seems like second nature to them to help yourself from your the power within you, which seems somewhat reasonable.
Last sentence - *"..it seems like second nature to them to help yourself from the power within you, which seems somewhat reasonable."
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I thought it was interesting how the Buddha's father truly attempted to seclude him from the outside world so he would not learn about all the miseries of the outside world. Because of this upbringing, it is surprising that he was bold enough to explore the world on his own and realized the process of aging and suffering, two aspects that most of us are all too familar with today. I respect the fact that It is also pretty amazing how Siddhartha was able to start this new phenomenon with only five followers at first and now with believers all around the world.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect that struck me as it did to my classmates was the fact that there was no "God" involved in this religion, it is basically just understanding life and yourself as well. However this involves major devotion which sometimes confuses me. Though he realized that hurting yourself was not the answer, his middle way still seemed a bit intense to me. In this world today, I feel as though finding enlightment is a major and difficult commitment because it requires such a huge amount of concentration in this busy world of ours. However, I admire the way Sidhartha was able to focus and destroy Mara and realize his enlightment yet again.
I thought it was interesting that Sidhartha's father tried to keep the fact that he was destinied to become either political leader or a relgious pioner from him. Maybe if the father had talked to Sidhartha about it and left him to make his own decision, things would have gone in the father's direction.
ReplyDeleteI found it really interesting that Siddhartha's father worked so hard to protect him. This ended up working to his disadvantage. By shielding Siddhartha from the world for so long, the realities of the world shocked Siddhartha more when he saw them. I agree with Maiya's comment relating this to the beginning of the year. I was also interested by the fact that he was good at the pursuits of a king and could have achieved great status from that. Siddhartha didn't want status, he chose a path of knowledge and renounced his great wealth. Siddhartha reminds me of Jesus in several senses. They both could have been extremely rich but chose a simple faithful path.
ReplyDeleteI found Sidhartha's journey toward becoming the Buddha very intriguing. I know this statement seems extremely vague but it is a truly fascinating story. He grew up in an overly sheltered environment but he was still able to connect with his true destiny--to become a religious leader. According to legend, his father tried to deny him this fate. I think his father knew all along that his son was meant to go to be a religious leader rather universal king. It is said that Sidhartha was more interested in pondering life than shooting arrows; this shows that he was very connected with his fate from a very young age. In the beginning of the film a man says that some people see Hinduism as more than a religion but that it is seen as a science of the mind. From the way that Sidhartha is depicted as a young boy, I think he was always very interested in finding answers to the science of the mind. For example, the first time he goes out of the palace as a young boy he realizes that everything is connected. I truly admire Sidhartha's connection with his faith.
ReplyDeleteThe Buddha’s story is truly fascinating. I have always found the Buddhist religion a very interesting one and this video gave me a better understanding about it. Buddhism was described as a science of the mind: the path to enlightenment and nirvana lies in the mind of each and every one of us. The central issue of Buddhist teaching is, “Why do humans have to suffer?” Siddhartha’s observation of the tuning of the sitar, made him realize that the ‘middle way’ of meditation must be used to attain nirvana. Through meditation, by calmly focusing your thoughts on the way life works, the mind is purified. Ascetics who starve themselves are suffering even more because extreme self-renunciation and self-infliction of pain doesn’t solve anything. If Siddhartha died of starvation he would continue the cycle of samsara and be reborn. Therefore, reaching enlightenment, a state of peace, harmony, and bliss should be happy and joyful and not painful. However, it is human nature to desire to be better than others and make selfish choices and decisions that lead to spiritual brokenness and disconnection. If desire was removed dissatisfaction and suffering would be removed from life. The only one placing limits to enlightenment is the self. It is a test of will power, determination and mental strength. Siddhartha fought against the psychological forces of the demon of the mind, the lord of ego and illusion, essentially himself and won.
ReplyDeleteI found several things very interesting in this movie. The first thing is that in Buddhism, there is no “God”, no guy on top. Just the Buddha who is a teacher and will help you if you ask. I think that this is good in some ways because some people grow up learning that their God is all-powerful and that might scare them. With the Buddha, he is there teacher and it would be very easy to ask him questions because that is what teachers do, answer your questions. Another cool thing was that Buddhism had almost died out, until British archeologists went looking for the places described in Buddhist history. And what do you know, they found a lot of them! I think that’s pretty cool. And then they found the pillar that side this is the site the Buddha was born in, which means he really existed! Yet another fact is that karma shows up in Buddhism as well as Hinduism. I wonder how related they are? I like the story of how the young Buddha learned about karma; the story of when he and his father, the king, went out for the seed sowing festival and how the bird ate the worm. He learned that every action has its consequence, which we now know as karma. There was a fact that I didn’t know about the Buddha’s story and that is there was a prophecy about him: he would either become a universal monarch or a become enlightened. I think that’s a pretty pressuring choice. Either follow in the footsteps of what his father wants him to do, but what he doesn’t or do what he wants, but disappoint his father. Well, I for one am glad he chose enlightenment, I always thought Buddhism was a very intriguing religion.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of change that Sidartha had to experience all in one instance would be jarring to most people. He was absolutely shielded from all the vices of the world for his entire existence up to this point and then suddenly this rush of pain and suffering takes over him. We exposed to all of these things gradually and they become realities of our everday life, just as the good things in this world do. We absorb the pros and the cons with each other and proportionally. We are able to digest them and understand the source of suffering or lackthereof, but nonetheless it is incorporated in our world view. What if one day, everything you ever knew as an adult, teenager or child all collapsed into falsehood? It is a rather overwhelming thought. Buddha had to experience this overhaul of understanding when he was exposed to poverty, sickness and age. He decided to subject himself to this suffering in order to reach a new level of consciousness. I dont think we've seen another figurehead was so sheltered from these earthly vices and upon realization of them, took them so personally upon himself as his responsibility to correct them. He voluntarily chose the biggest burden of all and chose to live his life for the shedding of this burden that he never needed to have.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was very interesting that the Buddha died from a very human death: food poisoning. He did not have a crucifixion. He was not lifted up to the heavens. He simply got old, meek and died from a illness. I look at this to be a reminder that Sidartha Gautama was a man no matter what he achieved, a mortal man and not a god.
The most intriguing aspect of the video to me was definitely Sidhartha's insolation from suffering. It seems unlikely that with his mother having died, and his father growing older every day, that he was unexposed to suffering altogether. Regardless, Siddhartha's father's choice to keep him from any distresses in society also perplexed me. Seeing the problems could also have led him in the direction of the crown. He might have decided to try and be a great ruler who made all of his decisions based on bettering the society. He could have been a powerful and beloved king. However, when he was finally exposed to the old man, the corpse, the sick man, and the monk, he was deeply effected, eventually following the religious path. Also, the marks on his feet seemed to cause a large stir. If he did not have a marking on his feet, would his mind still lead him to be the Buddha? His father would not have insolated him, and suffering would not have had such a profound effect on him. Therefore, it was a predestined choice made by the gods that Siddhartha's father could not overstep. This makes the Buddha's relationship with the gods very close, even though the Buddha is human.
ReplyDeletein general, the entire movie was intersting. it was informative and it was like a teacher was telling us about buddha, laid back but still had that professional attitude.
ReplyDeletei thought that it was interesting to see how much the professors kept goign back to what buddha's father was thinking (when they were focused on before buddha's 'enlightenment'). they kept emphasizing the point that the father didn't want buddha to have anything to do with the world so he would be focused on politics.
also, i liked how the whole movie explained the buddha's life journey in simple terms. therefore, we can understand why the buddha felt the way he did when he was met with age, sickness, death, and hope. he acted like this because he was never around the most basic and simple thing of human nature; these things occur. one of the professors mentioned that we all know we are going to age, get sick, and die in our minds, but we don't know it in our hearts. that is such an amazing statement because more than likely it's true. loof at all the medicine and anti-aging things on the market today. we know that they are a tempoaray fix. we can take nyquil this year to get rid of the cold we have, but we know we're going to have it next year. it's a never ending cycle of delusion on our part for trying to thinking that using these products will extend our life span or make us prettier. to me, this statement struck out the most out of the entire video.