Shinto Blog

The part of  Kurosawa’s film “Dreams” that I chose to watch was the Peach Orchard. This part of the film begins with a young boy bringing food to his sister and her friends. He was very distraught when he realized that there were only 5 girls instead of 6 and this is how the story began. Just in the opening part of this scene the Shinto view on family was seen. They emphasize the importance of family and how caring their relationship should really be. As the young boy runs off to find the other girl he encounters the spirits of peach trees which his family has cut down. These spirits upset the young boy by blaming him as the reason they were cut down. The young boy begins to cry and explain that he really enjoyed the orchard and had a lot of appreciation for the peach tree orchard himself. This scene also represents another important aspect of Shinto culture which is the importance of nature. The young boy truly appreciated the peach orchard where as his family did not. The spirits almost seemed to make an example out of him and punished him for the pain that his family caused to them. Also another aspect of Shintoism was seen in this part of the film because in Shinotism  everything is spititual between nature and humans. The peach tree spirits communicated with the boy and this was a great example of this. Also the idea of kami is brought into this scene because the young boy believed that the peach orchard was kami.

The Tao of Pooh

            I really enjoyed the uniqueness of the Tao of Pooh . I really appreciated how Hoff  used  Winnie the Pooh , a very memorable character from the childhoods of many Americans, as the focal point of the book. I really appreciated how  Hoff uses the character to display the themes of this Eastern religion. Winnie the Pooh is seen by many Americans as playful and aloof but when looked at closer he truly displays the characteristics of Taoism. Winnie the Pooh appreciates the simple parts of the day that  many others really seem to forget about. He really takes life as it is given to him.

            Benjamin Hoff talks about America as a culture of Busy Backsons. He uses this note to display how Americans are on the  move and how  many Americans never give themselves time to appreciate the little things because of their busy lifestyle. This description is very true and I completely agree. There are days when I am constantly on the move and I feel like I have no time to even think. Growing up with Indian parents who weren’t born here, they always talked about how America was the country for opportunity and that no dream was unachievable. Benjamin Hoff talks about how the Busy Backsons run after things that are not necessarily meant for them. I have seen several people struggle and fail in pursuing careers that were just not meant for them. I very much so agree with Hoff on the fact that some things are just not meant for certain people.

            As for Taoism being the solution to the problem of American culture I do feel that there are aspects of Taoism that would in fact help the problem of American culture. I appreciate the fact that Taoism talks about taking time to appreciate the smaller things in life. However in my eyes there seems to be a lack of drive and competitiveness in Taoism which is a pinnacle in American culture. Americans thrive on discovery and without it we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Bhuddism

                   In this short clip from King of the Hill , Hank hill is speaking to this Buddhist monk telling him to tell his son that he is not a Buddhist. Hank gets upset with the monk and says " I am going to kick your ass." The monk responds and says " If my ass is going to be kicked then it will be kicked." This in a sense is a positive stereotype about Buddhism in the sense that Buddhists take life how it is given to them. Brad Warner states in his  book in the chapter about possibly killing his mother " When Shunryu Suzuki and Dainin Katagiri were dying of cancer they did not ask their students to end their lives for them, nor did Dogen when he was dying at age fifty-four of what was most likely tuberculosis. I would imagine these men believed it was their duty to experience what life demanded they experience."  This quote reinforces the fact that in Buddhism they believe in living life and dealing with it the way that it is presented to them. This directly relates to how the monk reacts when Hank Hill tells him that he is going to kick his ass.
                    The clip also displays another stereotype that monks will always be depicted as being dressed in robes. This is a negative stereotype because monks are not at all required to wear robes at all times. In Warner's chapter about real Buddhism existing  in the West he states," Yet it seemed like the media was chasing after tawdry fantasies promoted by charlatan in pretty robes instead"(26). As Warner continues to talk about in his book, robes are in fact not even required and many monks don't always wear robes at all.          
                     Many Americans continue to be clouded with these stereotypes and seem to get a very skewed perception about Buddhism .Growing up in America and seeing many things on television about how all Buddhists wear robes and speak in proverbs has really given viewers the wrong idea about the religion itself. If I had not taken this class I probably would not have learned that some of these stereotypes were in fact incorrect.

Blog #2

 Success
Money To Blow - Drake
Successful-Drake and Trey Songs
I Made It - Kevin Rudolph 
On Top Of The World - TI


Liberation 
I'm Like a Bird - Nelly Furtado
Free Fallin - John Mayer 
Liberation- Outkast,Ericka Badu
Freedom- Akon


           The songs that I chose for the Success aim were much easier to find because of the fact that so many songs are about making it in this world. I feel that the subject of rap songs are mostly about success. Songs like "Money to Blow" by Drake and On Top of the World by TI talk about the fact that these rappers are so rich that they can waste their money on anything. These songs boast about how far these artists have made it. I feel that the aim of Hinduism about Success is a more humble one to push its followers to succeed.  
      I chose songs about being free for the Liberation aim. I felt that "Freedom" by Akon really encompassed the aim of Liberation. It talks about being released from oppression and I thought that was a good representation of the aim of Hinduism. Also songs like the one by Nelly Furtado talks about how to be free and flying away to find their new place of belonging. Liberation by Outkast is also a great song that talks about being freed from oppression and other holds of life.

Community Service and Pleasure Songs

Community Service Songs

• Wavin' Flag - K'naan
• 8th of November- Big and Rich
• American Soldier- Toby Kieth 
• Heal the World - Michael Jackson
• We Are the World- Lil'Wayne, Kanye West, Pink

Pleasure Songs

• Because I got high - Afroman
• Birthday Sex -Jeremih
• Your love - Nikki Minaj
• Fantasy - Mariah Carey
• Crash into me - Dave Matthews Band

   I found songs that I felt were representative of both community service and pleasure. The community service songs that I chose were Wavin' Flag which was about poverty and other problems in the world, 8th of November and American Soldier are about a soldier at war serving his country, Heal the World is about provery and other problems in the world and We Are the World is also about the poverty and making an effort to fix these problems. The songs about pleasure that I chose were about the pleasure of drugs (Afroman),love(Nikki Minaj and Dave Matthews Band),sex(Jeremiah) and fantasies(Mariah Carey).