#eightfold path

Denji: Right View. Denji knows his actions have consequences, that death is not the end (easy when you're Hybrid) and that beliefs have consequences after death. But his refusal to strive toward non-violence holds him back and his conduct is still too vulgar to give him the right kind of resolve.

Aki: Right Conduct. By the end of his arc, Aki is ahead by four entire steps which is impressive considering his profession. He does not kill, take what is not given, display sexual misconduct or show materials desires. If he just dropped the meat and the liquor, he would be ahead of most of his population.

Power: Off the path entirely. It's like she's not even trying.

Himeno: Right View. Himeno is more than aware of actions having consequences, that death is not the end (Ghost Devil and her desire to be mourned by someone after death). But she makes no real effort to curb her violent tendencies or her vulgar conduct, leaving her stuck at the first step.

Arai: Right Resolve. I'll give Arai the benefit of the doubt and assume that outside of work, he strives for non-violence. However, his behavior in the Eternity Devil arc implies he lies to others about his true intentions so he's stuck at the second step.

Violence Devil/Galagli: Right Conduct. Violence has the potential to make it to the eighth step...but unfortunately, his mask feeds him poison so he can't qualify for the fifth step.

Kobeni: Right Speech. Kobeni is surprisingly observant despite her anxiety but her propensity for killing leaves her at the third step. She must curb her rage if she wishes to reach enlightenment.

Kurose: Right Resolve. Kurose displays too much propensity idle chatter to qualify for the third step. I assume he's not too violent out of work.

Tendo: Right Samadhi. Having shown no evidence of the previous steps in canon, Michiko Tendo is ripe for enlightenment. Good for her.

Quanxi: Right View. Despite her age, Quanxi is stuck at the same step as Denji due to her violent responses to issues. Shame on her.

Asa: Right Resolve. Asa, despite her attitude problem, isn't particularly violent but her abusive speech disqualifies her from the third step. She needs to work on how she talks to others.

Yuko: Right View. Due to her contract with the "Justice Devil", we'll never know how far Yuko's violent tendencies go. But she displayed enough to disqualify her from the second step.

Makima: Right View. She is killing understanding the consequences of her actions...but her plans involve too much violence. You think such a powerful woman would know better...

Kishibe: Right View. All these old people being so violent...a bad example for the younger generation.

Yoshida: Right View. Too casual with killing. Stop killing with tentacles if you want to get to the second step.

Reze: Right View. Can't stop killing. Too bad, a bomb would perfect for facilitating bojjhaṅgā.

Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia, during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.

Founder of Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, founded Buddhism, one of the world's major religions, based on his teachings about overcoming suffering and achieving enlightenment.

Born as a Prince: He was born in Lumbini (modern-day Nepal) as a prince of the Shakya clan around the 5th to 6th century BCE, shielded from the hardships of the world.

The Four Sights: At age 29, he left his palace and encountered "The Four Sights"—an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic—which inspired him to seek answers to life's suffering.

Attained Enlightenment: After years of ascetic practices, he meditated under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya and achieved enlightenment, becoming "the Buddha," or "the Awakened One.

“From the time we are small it is something we are taught to build within ourselves; an impenetrable wall, which we can retreat whenever we need. You must train yourself to listen without hearing; for instance you can listen to the sound of a blossom falling, the rocks growing…

If you really listen your present circumstance vanishes. Do not be fooled by our politeness, our bows, our maze of rituals… beneath it all we could be a great distance away. Safe. And alone.”

The Quest for Buddhism (112)

Buddhist cosmology

Brahmaviharas – From the teachings preached by the Buddha to his son Rahula (Ref)

“O Rahula, deepen your meditation on loving-kindness. Because if you deepen your meditation on loving-kindness, any resentment, hatred will disappear.

O Rahula, deepen your meditation on compassion. Because if you deepen your meditation on compassion, all harmful intentions will disappear.

O Rahula, deepen your meditation on sympathetic joy. Because if you deepen your meditation on sympathetic joy, any dissatisfaction will disappear.

O Rahula, deepen your meditation of equanimity. Because if you deepen your meditation on equanimity, any anger will disappear.”

Excerpt from Maha-rahulovada-sutta in Majjhima Nikaya (MN)]

仏教の探求 (112)

仏教の宇宙論

四無量心 (しむりょうしん) 〜ブッダが息子のラーフラ (羅睺羅:らごら参照)に説いた教法より

”ラーフラよ、慈の瞑想を深めなさい。なぜなら、慈の瞑想を深めれば、どんな瞋恚 (しんに: 憎悪)も消えてしまうからである。

ラーフラよ、悲の瞑想を深めなさい。なぜなら、悲の瞑想を深めれば、どんな害意も消えてしまうからである。

ラーフラよ、喜の瞑想を深めなさい。なぜなら、喜の瞑想を深めれば、どんな不満も消えてしまうからである。

ラーフラよ、捨の瞑想を深めなさい。なぜなら、捨の瞑想を深めれば、どんな怒りも消えてしまうからである。”

Last night while I was writing down the Four Noble Truths with a brush pen in my sketchbook (I do stuff like that sometimes), my roommate put on the movie Coraline. This was entirely coincidental but I was struck by how much the themes of the movie relate to everything I've been learning recently about the core teachings of Buddhism.

There is a concept in Buddhism called "right view." It is the first practice in the Eightfold Path. I think of this as referring to a person's understanding and perception of reality. When a person does not see the true nature of reality, they are vulnerable to illusions and delusions, which cause cravings and excessive attachments.

The Other Mother in Coraline has buttons for eyes, and she sews buttons into the eyes of other people who she lures into her illusory reality. She literally lacks "right view," and she tries to force other people to share her distorted view. She craves, and clings, and she wants other people to cling to her, so she offers them the things they crave. She controls others because she is so attached to them.

The moment when all of this hit me was at the end of the movie, when the Other Mother screams, "Don't leave me! Don't leave me! I'll die without you!"

The reason it hit me is because I suddenly saw myself in her. I think a lot of people live like this without realizing it. I am one of those people, or at least I have been. This "I'll die without you!" sentiment can be applied to any kind of addiction. The "You" could be food, it could be alcohol, it could be sex, it could be attention from others, etc. The sentiment behind the Other Mother's words can be related to any pattern of compulsive thought or behavior. But in this movie, and in my own life, that theme most often plays out in relationships with other people. Codependence is a key word to describe the pattern, at least the way I understand it.

I'm trying to develop the inner strength and acceptance of reality, to move beyond that way of existing. It is really painful to live like that. And I found myself feeling sad for the Other Mother, who is trapped in a world (resulting at least in part from her lack of "right view") where she never has enough, is never satisfied, and is never happy. Things change, and everything is impermanent, so clinging and controlling is only ever going to end in heartbreak.

There is a concept in Buddhism of the hungry ghost. They are ghosts who are stuck in a state of constant craving and dissatisfaction, and they can be extremely destructive as a result. I think that the Other Mother is a perfect, almost textbook example of a hungry ghost. I mean, she would literally consume children because she was craving their love so much.

The word "love" here is interesting to me. The cat in Coraline says that the Other Mother loves Coraline and wants to be loved in return. But the word love in this context indicates an unhealthy, all-consuming obsession, rather than mutual respect and care. A really helpful and succinct explanation is actually right in the book (which the movie is based on). Neil Gaiman writes: "It was true. The other mother loved her. But she loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold."

Now, turning my attention to Coraline herself: I see this movie as a story about how Coraline developed "right view" after undergoing a process of reckoning with her previous approach to life. She was unable to accept reality as it was. She was unhappy, and craved a different life with different parents and different friends and different material possessions. She wanted more. And in this way, she was very like the Other Mother.

As a storytelling device, the Other Mother is useful. Characters are useful for illustrating dynamics of growth and change over the course of a narrative. But I think that ultimately, the Other Mother was inside of Coraline, and a part of her. Just as she had been a part of all the other people living in that house who were dissatisfied with their lives. She is a symbol of the attachments and cravings that all people have, taken to their extreme but logical conclusion.

In the first part of the movie, Coraline resists change. She has just moved to a new place, and she has not accepted her new reality. She has trouble connecting with the people around her, who are either overworked and exhausted (her parents), or who she barely knows at all. Because her material and social conditions are not acceptable to her, and she does not yet have "right view," she develops cravings. She lives out those cravings in the fantasy world inhabited by the Other Mother.

Sometime in the early to middle part of the movie, Coraline goes to a shop with her Mom and asks for some colorful knitted gloves. She wants them because nobody else will have them and she thinks they look pretty and interesting. Her Mom says no. This makes Coraline angry, and causes her to go even deeper into the world inhabited by the Other Mother, because that is a world in which she believes her desires can be fulfilled.

Over time, she begins to understand that the Other Mother (this dissatisfied aspect of herself) is not a good person to hang around, and that her perspective on life is warped. She begins to see the dangers of living in delusion, and clinging to sense pleasures. She becomes a firsthand witness to the instability and violence this way of living can create.

Funny and not really that far off from the real 4 Noble Truths, which are…

There is suffering in life

This suffering arises due to our craving and attachment

The way to end suffering is to end craving and attachment

The Four Noble Truths

the fact of suffering: life is change, and change never satisfies desire.

the cause of suffering: it is not life that brings sorrow, but the demands we make on life. selfish desire causes suffering

suffering that has a cause also has an end: when the mind is free of selfish desire

selfishness can be extinguished by following the eightfold path

The Eightfold Path

right understanding: seeing life as it is: knowing that happiness cannot come from anything outside, and that all things that come into being have to pass away

right purpose: wiling, desiring, and thinking that is in line with life as it is

right speech: speak kindly

right conduct: act kindly

right occupation: do not earn your livelihood at the expense of life or support those who hurt other creatures

right effort: the constant endeavor to train oneself in thought, word, and action

right attention: keeping the mind where it should be; give attention to one thing at a time, be mindful, focus on positivity and kindness