Buddhist interpretation of Hush

VisionGirl

VisionGirl

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Goby, check it out!
Buff with Silence "” Zen Rhetoric in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

koan "“ [noun] a fundamental part of the history and lore of Zen Buddhism. A nonsensical or paradoxical story, dialogue, question, or statement presented by a teacher to a student; the meaning of which cannot be understood by rational thinking, yet it may be accessible by intuition or meditation. See Koan on wikipedia for more info.

Growing up, I was a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Each week, during its seven season run, also the greater part of my adolescence, Buffy's creator, Joss Whedon, brought to life an exciting world that not only entertained, but challenged me to dig deeper into many of the moral questions teenage and young-adult life present. Buffy battled monsters as metaphor for the problems of everyday life. Although Buffy was "created by an avowed atheist" the show attempted to honestly and respectfully portray various religions' and spiritual practices' approach to said problems.
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Read the entire article: http://www.brandonney.com/2011/05/20/buff-with-silence-zen-rhetoric-in-buffy-the-vampire-slayer/
 
Goby
Goby
I am!!!! Thanks!!
Wow, that was a very interesting article.

In one sense, Buffy and Angel are Bodhisattvas. A Bodhisattva is one who has achieved enlightenment, yet rather than go to Nirvana/Heaven, he or she chooses to stay on earth or in hell to help others.

A very popular Bodhisattva, and one that my son and I have a special bond with, is Jizo. Jizo achieved enlightenment, yet chose to reside in Hell, and vowed to never leave Hell until the last being leaves (Buddhist hell is not forever). Only then will he go to Nirvana. Jizo's main characteristic is equanimity. Regardless of how different life is, no matter how great or terrible it is, one should remain calm. And regardless how great or terrible it is, it shall change. Nothing is permanent.

Angel "touched" Nirvana in BtVS Season 2 when he made love to Buffy. He also touched it when he became human. Yet like Jizo, he knew he had a greater purpose. He had a duty, and vowed to continue on with his duty.

Buffy did the same when she could have gone to "heaven" by going to Brown University (or the others where she was accepted). She fought her duty in Season 1, but by the end she knew what she needed to do.

And like Jizo, they never got too excited when they were victorious, or too sad when they failed. They knew more demons would appear. And that is the brilliance of the Angel series finale.

Angel and Buffy were not very Buddhist when it came to violence. How many times did she get into a disagreement with Spike, only to punch him. It's actually kind of funny how many times Buffy punched Spike when a nice calm discussion would have worked.

I disagree with:

Although Buffy was "created by an avowed atheist" the show attempted to honestly and respectfully portray various religions' and spiritual practices' approach to said problems.

I find Buffy to be very anti-Christian. If I was Christian I would be very offended by Caleb.

BTW, Tibetan Buddhism is the "Catholicism" of the Buddhist world. There are tons of rituals, and many deities. That was a good point.

I really enjoyed the article and appreciated the references to zen.

Thank you!
 
Goby said:
I disagree with:

Although Buffy was "created by an avowed atheist" the show attempted to honestly and respectfully portray various religions' and spiritual practices' approach to said problems.

I find Buffy to be very anti-Christian. If I was Christian I would be very offended by Caleb.

BTW, Tibetan Buddhism is the "Catholicism" of the Buddhist world. There are tons of rituals, and many deities. That was a good point.

I really enjoyed the article and appreciated the references to zen.

Thank you!
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I'm so glad you commented on this Goby, I was wanting to hear your thoughts.

As a Catholic Christian, I am not offended by Caleb. Sure Joss attempted to trade in on the "evil, perverted priest" image. It would have been much more upsetting if Caleb had been an actual human priest, rather than someone/thing hiding behind that appearance (& to be honest, I'm still not sure whether Caleb was "human" or not). I do see some references to Christianity in Buffy/Angel, most notably Buffy's sacrifice in The Gift (arms outstretched & everything!). But ideas of sacrifice of oneself for the good of another (even to the point of death) are not owned by Christianity only. I would say that neither show demonstrates a large amount of antipathy toward religion (with the exception of Buffy's "Note to self: religion? Freaky"). And Angel's "if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do" certainly typifies a humanist point of view, but the same could be said for Christian Existentialism.

But, I didn't mean to turn this into a sidebar about Christianity when the article was indeed about Buddhism LOL. I certainly always love reading analysis of Hush especially!

---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:44 PM ----------

And at the moment I'm reading that the Catholic League objected to the character of Caleb when season 7 was originally aired. I, however, am not the Catholic League LOL. I am quite liberal.
 
Another thought is that Buffy was quite "Jesus-like." Jesus did not hang around with rich folk.... He hung around with the dregs of society (or so I'm told). Buffy could have killed EVERY demon and werewolf that she met, but she didn't. She knew there was good in almost everyone, even demons and werewolves.

BTW, you'll notice that Buddha is frequently seen in Buffy. There was one in the Magic Box, and others throughout the series.

Oh, congratulations on being quite liberal. 😉
 
Goby said:
Another thought is that Buffy was quite "Jesus-like." Jesus did not hang around with rich folk.... He hung around with the dregs of society (or so I'm told). Buffy could have killed EVERY demon and werewolf that she met, but she didn't. She knew there was good in almost everyone, even demons and werewolves.

BTW, you'll notice that Buddha is frequently seen in Buffy. There was one in the Magic Box, and others throughout the series.

Oh, congratulations on being quite liberal. 😉
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From you, that's a compliment. 😉 I think.... 😛

What other Buddhist themes do you see in the shows? I think religion/faith/spirituality is explored more overtly in Firefly, despite Buffy/Angel being shows about supernatural beings & events. I love that one of the main characters is a minister of a Christianlike religion, and another is an esteemed prostitute who follows a Buddhist-like belief system. I also like that they have great respect for each other. I know that's getting off-topic....

---------- Post added at 08:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:20 AM ----------

ETA: Other Christian/religious themes I see in Buffy: quest for redemption, mercy/forgiveness, the importance of the soul, existence of an afterlife.
 
VisionGirl said:
From you, that's a compliment. 😉 I think.... 😛
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SEASON 5-7 SPOILER ALERT!!!

Of course that's a compliment. 😉

I posted this quote from Buddha in the quotes thread:

Be quick to do good
If you are slow
The mind, delighting in mischief
Will catch you


What it means is that when the urge/realization that you should "do good" hits you, don't think about it... just do it! If you think about it, your mind will give you a million reason why you shouldn't do it.

I think that quote sums up Xander. Xander is an amazing character (although I do take issue with Nick's acting abilities). But Xander is ready to fight, ready to save Buffy, regardless of the risk, and without thinking it out. He is a noble person, although he has his faults, like making out with my beloved Willow in Season 3. (But who can fault him.... it was the beautiful, alluring, charming, brilliant Willow:love08🙂

Buddhists are preoccupied with death. We know it will come, so we try to live each moment as if it was the last. Buffy knows death is always near (at least she does until "Choosen"), continues to fight evil, and has died twice. Buffy continues to be mindful of the battle, and lives each moment like a true champion.

I have to go to work now, but the more I think about it, the more Buddhist thought I see in BtVS. 🙂
 
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