The Peach Orchard

Right off the bat, the first thing I oddly started paying attention to is the film and cinema aspect of everything. The director, Akira Kurosawa, used a lot of extended, one take clips which really helped take off a lot of stress on the eyes and stress in the mind of the viewer. It really seemed to almost connect the audience with the scene rather than keeping us on our toes at the modern seemingly frantic pace of movies today. It was rather refreshing to be honest.
In class we learned that not all of nature is "kami" or a spirit, however the powerful aspects of nature have spirits. In the case of The Peach Orchard, the peach trees all had their own spirit. Thus signifying to me, oddly enough, that peach trees are of great influence or power in Japanese society. In addition to that, we also learned about the idea that when a human dishonors or does something that offends a spirit then that spirit will leave them, or no longer bless them. In The Peach Orchard the family where the boy lived had cut down the entire peach orchard, and therefore the spirits told the boy that they would leave. The boy then cried because he had tried to stop them, he loved the peach orchard. The spirits then argued among themselves and realized they should'nt have blamed the boy. It was not his fault, and allowed him to see the peach orchard as it was one last time.
To analyze the video further I decided to skim the YouTube comments, which provided a little more insight into things I wouldn't have thought about. It was a rather interesting argument between a few commentators where every time I read one I almost agreed completely until I read the next! One commentator stated that he felt "the boy was caught between his respect for the trees (nature) and the desire to be with the girl who attracts him. But as soon as he saw the girl, his respect for the trees falls to the wayside. His appreciation for beauty can't stop at just the visual sense. His desire is driven by what the illusion of the girl represents. And so the beauty that is there (was there) disappears and is lost." however, another commentator argued "I don't think it's relating to his respect or not at all. They promised him just one more time would they blossom, and only for a moment." Reading further I noticed a comment that explained the girls existence in the video that I hadn't picked up on, which was that she was the personified spirit of the last peach tree that hadn't been cut down. The size of the tree also mattered because the tree was small, therefore the girl was young!
Anyways, a lot of random information that was actually slightly unrelated to the main topic we were required to touch upon. But this is a blog, and I felt like sharing! Happy Easter folks!

Don't Think Too Much...

So, after having read this book, I must say... I'm quite astounded. It is very well written, and has brilliantly expressed ideas. Having been a fan of Winnie the Pooh as a child (prior to reading the book) I had an idea as to where Taoist views could work there way into the character's attitudes, lo and behold, my ideas were fairly accurate after reading the book (however I slightly differed in opinion about Owl). Not only was I able to connect with the ideas being expressed in the book, it also helped me understand a few of the slightly confusing concepts in Taoism that would more than likely just fly over my head in a class lecture.
The book goes into a critique on America as a culture or society of "Busy Backsons." To understand what that means, I had to first figure out what a Busy Backson was, which is, in fact, a misspelling of a sign saying "Busy - back soon", that is "I am busy, will be back soon." Hoff explained that America is full of people that are focused on working... all the time. Although I feel compelled to agree with him in the most general of cases, I have to disagree with it being exclusively America. Not only do I disagree with it being exclusively America, I almost disagree with it being the stereotype that it seems to be, his point is very general and there are always plenty of exceptions.
With that said, Hoff explains in a wonderful quote regarding societies which I think is a more accurate statement, even when he still regards society as a whole, saying "The main problem with this great obsession for saving time is very simple: you can't save time. You can only spend it. But you can spend it wisely or foolishly." I feel like this quote should be read aloud to anyone and everyone. All it takes is a little change of perspective to get people to make better decisions and that's what this book does. Hoff takes characters which most people know and love, then changes our perspectives by introducing another, then diving in deep with details and ideologies from a Taoist regarding our society. It's times like these I really appreciate being as open minded towards other religions ideologies as I am, even while being a Christian. It really helps one grasp life better if you're able to open your mind to new concepts and ideas, even when the idea didn't necessarily spawn from your deity. In conclusion I'd have to say that I would recommend the Tao of Poo to any person interested in anything concerning a way of living life. I'll be sure to chill out some from now on.

Blog Assignment 3: Zen GPS

Drawn by Dave Coverly

I found this image actually laugh out loudable (I know loudable isn't a word, but it gets my point across). There are many stereotypes I get from the single image. First of which being the image of the Buddhist itself, wearing the typical robe and having a shaved head, which is the typical image any person (at least I know I do) would have of a Buddhist Monk. The main stereotype I received from this was the idea that all Monk's speak merely riddle-like passages. Never giving a straight answer, never making things too easy.

The image stereotype of a Buddhist is far from accurate. It may get the point across but it is not as true to life as we most often think. Especially in the Western Hemisphere. There are plenty of people you can see walking down the street who look nothing like Buddhist, one in particular is actually in one of my classes here at VCU, he is a Buddhist (apparently) and he looks like a straight punk (long hair, beanie, hoodie, jeans, and etc). One example from the book of Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate, by Brad Warner is when he was on the lookout in the LA Buddhist scene. Brad describes an apparent Zen Master named Frederick Lenz saying he was "a skinny white man who liked to be photographed in a sexy leather jacket with a bright light behind his giant fro' to make it look like a halo." That is one very un-stereotypical Buddhist (as well as his apparent teachings, we find out later from Brad).

The stereotype concerning the mythical and enigmatic speeches, questions, and apparent answers however had not necessarily been touched upon to the point of my reading. I can only imagine with the speech of the writer that this stereotype can also be falsified. A Buddhist can not be made similar to the likes of Yoda. Although some questions must be answered in a way that will make the practitioner think deeper than what is being told on the surface.

With all that said... that little comic is still hilarious. Just sayin'.

-Greyson

2nd two aims

Success
Second and Sebring by Of Mice & Men


All Star by Smash Mouth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_jWHffIx5E

Rock and Roll Band by Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGC3063J-co

We Are The Champions by Queen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04854XqcfCY

You're the Best Around by Joe Esposito
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jYcW1nEsGk

Liberation
The Freedom We Know by Hillsong United


Freedom by Darrell Evans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4PsGEFrXC0

Alive by P.O.D.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOESyEljmFE

I Am Free by Newsboys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR7bBEBIC9g

Endorphins by August Burns Red
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwWwOVWih9M

To begin off, I'd like to point out that the greater majority of rap music has to do with money and success, therefore I avoided the genre and the greater majority of liberation songs were found in the Christian music genre, which I actually enjoy, no offense to anyone who enjoys rap, it just happens to not be my cup of tea. Then again, I'm sure my first song listed isn't many peoples cup of tea either, seeing as its metalcore, but I also enjoy that.

Continuing on, the songs I found more of were surprisingly liberation, however I assume it's because I knew what I was looking for. There were quite a few songs I would've used in the success category, however I also assumed they would have already have been used by other people. One of the biggest things I discovered is that there were in fact many songs about success, but more songs about person liberation and freedom. What it seems to me is that people feel more satisfied with the feeling of being free rather than just having money and being successful. Being successful and being free can sometimes seem similar but couldn't be any different. When comparing Hinduism to American Pop songs they are actually surprisingly alike, having money, success, and fame seem to be generally respected all around, but at the same time (although not depicted by the songs lyrics, but more so the artists themselves) that money has not made them happy, some artists don't enjoy fame. Liberation however, is what seems to leave them more satisfied and willing to write a more meaningful song about the subject.

1st two aims

Pleasure:
1. Too Much by Dave Matthews Band


2. Guilty Pleasure by Cobra Starship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGs9Su2Dbic

3. Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVxiHC9AJQw

4. Cocaine by Eric Clapton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdDhV45lYHU

5. Smile by Uncle Kracker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arLwtHj3Ta0

Community Service:

1. God of Justice by Tim Hughes


2. Albertine by Brooke Fraser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGx-xU6TnU8

3. Do They Know It's Christmas?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-w-CmCCF7k

4. The Hands That Built America by U2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxCAvK2wIEo

5. We Are The World by 25 For Haiti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI



In my searches for songs I found very few songs that had to do with community service or serving others. Many songs were found to be under the category of pleasure and love. So in one sense it seemed that nearly all the songs that were ever written were self-serving and selfish. But at the same time the reason for this is because people use music to express themselves and how they feel for things. The American dream is to achieve success and money and to pursue personal happiness so why not write everything they can about it, and in the process having many people agree with the lyrical content and how it applies to them. With that in mind its no question as to why we have “break-up songs,” or “Feel good songs.” However the difference between the Hindu beliefs and American songs is that the Hindu's seem to actually have pleasure slightly figured out while the songs depict people who continue to seek pleasure in the world, whether it be love, money, drugs, people doing things for them and the like. In the duty/service sector, however, many of these songs were found to be under the Christian mindset category where joy is found from serving God and serving those less fortunate, which in the Hindu belief will apparently lack in satisfaction in the long run, but to the composers of the songs its all for a good cause and worth their effort.