Yoga

               This past week I took a yoga class at the studio where I work, Solid Ground Yoga.  I have taken classes in the past but had not taken one since we did our lectures on the different yogas.  After listening to the information gone over in lecture I went into the yoga class with a different view of what I was about to do. 

                Since I have practiced yoga in the past I have always been aware of the benefits that it provided.  In addition to the physical benefits that yoga gives you, there are many other things that a practice provides.  One of the main things that yoga is known for is stress relief.  With the combination of the stretch that the poses provide, peaceful music and pleasant lavender aroma it is easy to see how stress could just melt away.  The one thing that Solid Ground Yoga is known for is ending each session with savasana, deep relaxation.  This is a wonderful five to ten minute period in which you lay peacefully with a lavender eye pillow over your eyes.  When this period of relaxation is over you feel amazingly refreshed and rejuvenated.

                One of the other things that yoga helps with is grounding.  It is easy for people to get caught up in the crazy world that we reside in.  With the demands of life (work, family, etc.) it is easy to get out of touch with reality.  In addition, it is easy to put emphasis on the things that do not really matter and stress out about them.  This takes us away from the present moment and makes us feel like we are never fully connected and in touch with things in our lives.  Yoga helps center you through breathing and really connecting the breath to the movement and the posture itself.  It is amazing that something so simple as breathing can bring you back down to earth and make you feel in the present. 

                Overall, yoga is a wonderful practice and has a ton of benefits.  From increased endurance and flexibility to stress relief and the connection to the present it is clear that yoga is wonderful for you.  I know that I will continue to practice and feel the benefits of yoga.

Experiential Field Trip - Zen meditation at Ekoji Buddhist Sangha

           Today I visited the Ekoji Buddhist Sangha and practiced Zed meditation.  I decided to bring a friend with me so we could experience this together.  As we were pulling up to Ekoji I was shocked that it was in the middle of the Fan in a house that looked just like the others surrounding it.  The only thing that set it apart from the residential houses was a little sign over the front door.  I thought it was interesting, and kind of great, that they do not advertise with a huge sign like a lot of other worship centers do. 

            As we walked up to the building we were not really sure what to expect.  The moment we stepped through the door it was like we had entered a different world.  The noise and stress of the outside world seemed to melt away into something more simple and quiet.  We were told to take our shoes off and wait for someone to come over and explain the process.  We were led upstairs and were shown the different meditation rooms.  We ended up at the Zen room and were given some instruction about Zen meditation.  We ran through the postures and how the meditation is done so that we would have a clue as to what we were doing when we went downstairs and did the real thing. 

            I am VERY glad that we had the instruction before going to meditate!  Once downstairs, we were led to a cushion, sat facing the wall, lowered our eyes to a 40 degree angle and started the quiet seated meditation… which lasted 30 minutes! Now, it might seem like it would be easy to sit still and do nothing for that amount of time but it sure is NOT.  The whole point of Zen meditation is to connect with the current moment and only feel what you are feeling in that exact moment. 

            After the seated meditation a bell rang and we all stood up and did a standing meditation for 10 minutes.  The standing meditation required that we walk slowly around the room in a circle.  Okay, by slowly I mean that I moved 12 feet (at the most) in 10 minutes.  It was SLOW!

            The overall experience was very positive.  The instruction we had before the actual meditation was extremely helpful and informative.  The meditation in and of itself was like nothing I had ever experienced.  I do not think that I have ever felt that at peace and quiet.  Overall, it was a great adventure and I will definitely go back to do Zen meditation in the future! 

Shinto

For this post I watched "Sunshine Through the Rain."  This section of the film "Dreams" was about a boy who disobeyed his mother and was therefore given a grave punishment for his actions. 

In the first part of the clip a boy is seen walking outside of his home.  As he walks toward the gate of his house it starts to rain.  At this point the boy's mother runs outside to gather things so that they do not get wet in the rain.  She then tells her son that he is to stay home since foxes like to get married in this weather and they do not like to be watched.  Of course, being told that he could not do something made the bot want to do it even more.  He took off and is next seen in the woods wondering about.  He comes across a passing with think fog and hides behind a tree.  The boy then sees that there are people in costume (the foxes supposedly) that are parading around in a very organized and strange manner.  The boy in intrigued by this and stays to watch them for a little while.  When the boy returns home he is greeted by his mother outside of the gate to the house.  She said that they (the foxes) left something for him.  When the boy looks at what was left he finds that it is a dagger/knife.  He looks at his mother and she tells him that he mist kill himself since he has seen something that he should never have seen.  She then says that he has another option which is to go to the foxes and ask for their forgiveness.  The boy says he does not where they live and his mother tells him to look under a rainbow.  The boy sets off and is last seen walking toward a rainbow with hopes of finding the foxes and getting their forgiveness.

I think that there are a few different ways in which the Shinto religions is expressed.  First of all, honor is one of the most important things in the religion.  When the boy went against what his mother said he dishonored his family.  In order to pay for what he had done he had to kill himself.  This can also be seen as being impure and then purifying himself when he hills himself.  Honor, in the Shinto religion, is one of the most important things by far. Dishonor is seen as much worse than death and is clearly seen in the film.  In this case, it is better for the boy to kill himself than to go on being shamed by his family and dishonored.  Overall, this film clearly represents qualities of the Shinto religion.  

Buddhism in American Pop Culture

image courtesy  of Google images
image site

                I believe that the image posted above shows a common stereotype of Buddhist monks.  The stereotype that I am referring to is that of Buddhist monks being middle aged, dressed in orange or red and meditating in a group.  Although many Americans see Buddhists in this way, it is not the reality of many practicing Buddhists.  

                Yes, some Buddhists dress in this manner and meditate in a similar setting, but that is not the norm.  There are millions of practicing Buddhists around the world and they do not all take on this stereotype.  Buddhists come in all shapes and sizes, colors and ages.  It is common to see a Buddhist monk in his 80’s meditating next to one that is years his junior.  In addition, not all Buddhists dress in orange and red robes.  Although Buddhists are often depicted in this way, only a small portion of the Buddhist population dress like this. From my experience, Americans also see Buddhists as people who sit around and meditate all day.  This is clearly not realistic.  They are active members of the community and they live fairly “normal” lives.  

                Brad Warner explores Buddhism in his book, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate.    In his book be talks about his experience with Buddhism.  Warner went through a though time in his life and he turned to Buddhism to help him find his way.  He took the teachings of Buddha and applied them to his life and in the process of doing so he proved many Buddhist stereotypes wrong.  It is interesting that Warner takes the opposite view that most people do on Buddhism.  He does not view it as the greatest thing in the world and at the same time does not see every teaching to be true. In fact, he often takes some of the teachings and blatantly says that they are not realistic and do not apply in the manner in which they were meant to be taken.  The way that Warner does this is neat in that he uses his own experience when he talks about his relationship with Buddhism.

When I first started researching songs about ‘worldly success’ and ‘liberation’ I thought that it would be easier to find songs that fulfilled the worldly success aim.  However, it ended up being the other way around.  Although this might seem strange since it seems that we are always surrounded by messages of money, fame and power (the things that we, as a culture, have defined as the things that bring worldly success), it was easier for me to connect with the message of liberation.

            To me, liberation comes in many forms.  The area I focused on was the liberation of certain groups (sex, gender, race, etc.).  There have been many movements in the past that have focused on some of these issues.  Naturally, since we are a culture of free expression, the issues at hand have been made lyrical and turned into songs that openly play on the airwaves. 

            To me, liberation is simply the act of being liberated, or set free, from something.  There have been many equal rights movements that have taken place throughout history.  These movements are powerful in that they often change the way that people are thought of and act towards one another.  For me, the one equal rights movement that hits home the most is that of equal rights for women.  From the start of recorded history women have had a stereotypical image and role that they must play.  For a long time this worked for women and they did not feel the need to push for change.  However, this has changed.  Now, women are acting out against what is considered the ‘norm’ and are demanding that things change in all facets of life.  A song that captured this well is India Arie’s Video.  She sings about only doing things if and when she wants and only doing things that make her feel good.  She is sending the message that it is not only okay, but good to push for change and not fit into the little box that women have always had to fit tidily into.  Her reason for doing certain things is to make her happy, not anyone else.  Isn’t that the point of life?

            As far as worldly success I chose to focus more on the peace aspect.  Although these songs were harder to find than songs about power and wealth, I wanted to express what worldly success means to me.  I think that peace, love and unity are more important and bring more happiness than money and power.  Four of the five songs I chose for this aim have to do with the more humanitarian aspects of worldly success.  ‘Money,’ however shows what I think most people attribute worldly success to. 

            Just as I did in my previous post, I found that the pop culture meaning of ‘worldly success’ and ‘liberation’ differ from the Hindu meanings of the paths.  In Hinduism, achieving worldly success means attaining wealth, power and fame.  This is much the same in the current pop culture understanding of worldly success.  However, I think that there is still some difference.  On the other hand, the Hindu meaning of liberation is seeking freedom from limitations.  The classic example of this in Hinduism is getting out of the cycle of samsara.  This is the ultimate act of liberation that one can experience. 

           

Liberation

Frank Sinatra, "My Way,' 1968, easy listening

India Arie, "Video," 2001, R&B

India Arie, "Strength, Courage and Wisdom," 2001, R&B

India Arie, "I Choose," 2006, R&B

India Arie, "There's Hope," 2007, R&B