Shinto and Sunshine through the rain

In the sunshine through the rain portion of Kurosawa's "Dreams" a young boy sees a secret fox ritual that he is not supposed to watch. He goes even though he knows he is not supposed to be there and has been warned to stay away. The foxes are angry with him and think he should commit hari kari as punishment for his intrusion on their sacred ceremony. This expressly shows the Shinto opinion of dishonor, to which death is is an encouraged alternative. The fox marriages only occur on sunny days with rain and can be found under rainbows on said days. This is an example of kami because sunshine through the rain is an impressive weather occurrence and rainbows seem almost magical. The Shinto emphasis on harmony with nature is portrayed in this clip through a focus on the surroundings of the foxes and of the young boy. At first you wouldn't expect to relate this excerpt to much of anything but after learning of the ideals and practices in Shinto, the video makes so much more sense. It makes me want to watch more of "Dreams" to see the other instances of Shinto influence in the film.

Western stereotypes of Buddhism

                                               Image from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
   In this part of the film, Ace is in a state of bliss at a Buddhist temple surrounded by peaceful animals. He considers himself "one with nature" and feels as though he is far along on his path to enlightenment.  The movie makes this task seem quite easy, as though true enlightenment could be reached within a matter of days. This stereotype is fitting with Brad Warner's explanation of enlightenment fallacies.  He says that "general trends in Western Buddhism are pretty dire. One of the worst is the idea that there are ways to speed a person to enlightenment." The process can take years if reached at all and there are no short-cuts.
   Once Ace has attained this enlightened state, he then proceeds to go elsewhere and continue his previous habits. He fails to follow all the precepts and does not appear to be anything like a zen master. Again, this is something that Brad talks about in the book. He states that "Enlightenment is not a cool experience that you have, which you then file away with all your other cool experiences." It changes your life and is not just something you brag about at parties. If it is indeed reached then the enlightened will have no need for bragging or anything of the like.

Worldy Success vs. Liberation

I'm not sure there was much of a difference in the prevalence of songs about these aims. I did, however, notice that many success songs are about money, power, and fame. I think that for some people, those things are the markings of success, but for others success can be described very differently. It can be getting a promotion, receiving an award or something completely personal.  The songs I found about liberation tended to be more concerned with freedom from harmful or negative situations. Some also dealt with simply being on one's own.

Worldly Success

Barenaked Ladies "If I had a million dollars" Alternative Rock 1992
MA$E "Feel so good" Hip Hop 1997
Janis Joplin "Mercedes Benz" A Cappella 1970
T.I. "Whatever you like" Electrohop 2008
Coldplay "Viva la Vida" Baroque Pop 2008

Liberation

Jodi Benson "Part of your world" Soundtrack 1989
Janis Joplin "Me and Bobby McGee" Country 1971
Queen "I want to break free" Rock 1984
Gloria Gaynor "I will survive" Disco 1978
Dixie Chicks "Wide open spaces" Country 1998

Pleasure vs. Community Service

As we all have figured out doing this assignment, songs about pleasure are significantly more prevalent than those about service to the community. This is because most people are far more concerned with their own pleasure than the overall good of society. The average person is too self-centered to show concern for his or her fellow man. I noticed that quite a few blogs have songs in common but they were almost exclusively in the community service portion. In Hinduism, the four aims have equal importance and they are pursued in order. In the U.S. community service has a much lower priority for most individuals than pleasure (or worldly success for that matter. )

Community service songs

Dion "Abraham, Martin & John" Pop 1968
Dixie Chicks "Not ready to make nice" Country 2006
Edwin Starr "War" Funk 1969
Flobots "Rise" Rock 2007
Infant Sorrow "We've got to do something" Fictional 2008