Bodhisattvas - wisdom beings in science fiction

[eponinethen]

I thought it was kind of cool that they posted this article today cause I just read this chapter of What Would Buffy Do yesterday.

The thing about much of reality TV is how depressing it is. It often seems only to appeal to our lesser qualities: greed, arrogance, belligerence, vindictiveness, and the like. Take an average episode of "Survivor." Contestants insult each other, betray each other, and treat other like dirt in an effort for nothing more than to enrich themselves with a prize. (And that's only in the first five minutes of the show.)

The folks on these type of series don't provide much to their viewers in the way of offering their audience the idea of, "These are people I would want to try to be like." (Or, at least, I sure hope not.) Frequently, science fiction shows, by contrast, are different.

Not always, certainly, but often times, scifi series offer us something better: characters who consistently put others' welfare and even happiness above their own as a model to show all of us that there is more to life than self-centeredness.

In Buddhism, we call such people bodhisattvas, or "wisdom beings." They are people who, on the road to bringing all beings to Enlightenment, put their lives in service to others to help ease their suffering and increase their happiness, putting the fulfillment of their own cares and concerns second.

History is filled with such beings, like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Albert Einstein, and many more. Bodhisattvas, of course, need not be famous. In our lives, whether we realize it or not, we may be fortunate enough to have our lives touched by such beings.

Science fiction, too, provides many examples of bodhisattvas: Buffy and Angel, the "Stargate SG-1" team, and Aslan of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," are just a handful of examples of often-ordinary people reaching above themselves and making big sacrifices--occasionally including the ultimate sacrifice--to care for the needs of others. A growing number of scholars and writers have also noticed the abundance of bodhisattvas and other aspects of Buddhist philosophy within scifi and have authored books talking about them.

In her book, What Would Buffy Do?, Jana Riess examines "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" from a variety of spiritual perspectives, and finds that the theme of Bodhisattvas is a pervasive one.

She titles her first chapter, "Be a Hero, Even When You'd Rather Go to the Mall," and examines the power of self-sacrifice. She begins her chapter quoting the Bodhisattva Vow. Riess analyzes "Prophecy Girl," the first-season finale in which Buffy learns she is to die in battle with The Master. She initially quits as the Slayer so as to avoid her fate.

"In the space of a day, however, Buffy goes from resigning as Slayer to feeling resigned to her dire fate--a shift that happens because she cares so much for other people," Riess writes.

She changes her mind, as Riess notes, because her friends Willow and Cordelia discover the aftermath of a vampire attack.

Buffy fights The Master, and does, indeed, die. "It won't be the last time such a sacrifice is required of her," Riess writes. "It's interesting that when she is revived, Buffy comes back slightly different, stronger than before."

Angel, too, is a bodhisattva. In her book, Riess also refers to him as a "brooding bodhisattva in black leather."

Scifi bodhisattvas are not limited to the Buffyverse, however. [...]

There's more, but the article was so long so yeah, read it all here: Link

 

[goldenboy]

Huh. Pretty cool. I guess this sort of makes sense, in a semi-confusing metaphorical way.

It can get tricky because Buffy/Angel were dealing with spiritual/moral issues...but the struggle against evil was depicted in a very urgent, brutal, physical way. Like a physical war. If I'm getting it...a literal bodhisattva seems like a purely spiritual questor...consciously helping others seek enlightenment.

Seems to me that Buffy may have achieved something like bodhisattva status with "The Gift". She truly figured out what she was ("This is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles, tell Giles I figured it out."). Pure self-sacrifice"”leading the Scoobs to that insight by example...transcending even standard Slayerhood duties.

Angel is a little messier, seems like. Appropriate for a noir. I guess you could argue that Whistler got him started, but...it seems, ironically enough, like Holland Manners helped Angel on his path to possible bodhisattva status. The elevator ride to "hell", the little insight about the nature of the world, the nature of evil. It left Angel a wreck, for awhile. But then it led to his epiphany...changed the course of his struggle, all the way to the beautiful brutal ending (an ending where he convinces the rest of Team Angel to come on board with his quixotic quest).

 

[eponinethen]

Well, I honestly don't think most of the things in that book makes that much sense. Or, it makes sense but I don't really see what she's trying to say half of the time cause first she gives lots of arguements for something, then she goes "but on the other hand" and hands us lots of examples of the opposite. So, it's interesting and all, but I don't know if I agree with all her conclusions..

 

[goldenboy]

This bodhisattva concept makes me think back to that personality types stuff. I wonder if it's possible to peg Buffy as a particular "type". Thinking it might be something like this one, not sure...

INFP: "Questor". These people are idealistic, self-sacrificing, and somewhat cool or reserved. They are very family and home oriented, but don't relax well. High capacity for caring. High sense of honor derived from internal values. 1% of the total population.
http://www.personalitytest.net/types/descriptions/index.htm

The Idealist
As an INFP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit into your personal value system. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.

INFPs, more than other iNtuitive Feeling types, are focused on making the world a better place for people. Their primary goal is to find out their meaning in life. What is their purpose? How can they best serve humanity in their lives? They are idealists and perfectionists, who drive themselves hard in their quest for achieving the goals they have identified for themselves

INFPs are highly intuitive about people. They rely heavily on their intuitions to guide them, and use their discoveries to constantly search for value in life. They are on a continuous mission to find the truth and meaning underlying things. Every encounter and every piece of knowledge gained gets sifted through the INFP's value system, and is evaluated to see if it has any potential to help the INFP define or refine their own path in life. The goal at the end of the path is always the same - the INFP is driven to help people and make the world a better place.
http://www.personalitypage.com/INFP.html