My Experiences

This last assignment was the hardest for me out of the three papers we wrote throughout the semester. All this religious talk made me question my own religious ideas and values. Change is a very hard thing for me to grasp, and these essays really had me thinking that I should change the way I view the world. The experience I had while reading the Thurman essay was negative and I wanted to throw the book in his face. The Abram essay on the other hand is really what made me think otherwise. He just had a gentler way of expressing the ideas of a more peaceful and meaningful lifestyle. My first reaction to Baraka was anger. I was really upset about what they were doing to the chicks. I'm not an animal rights activist, I just don't like to watch people doing mean things to helpless animals. But after Micaela mentioned how the chicks were being compared to the humans going through the turn style, I realized that the whole movie was just one connection after another. I noticed there was lots of rituals going on within many cultures. Ya know like those guys chanting and shouting and then those other people jumping and other people painting themselves and singing in groups. In my past I really haven't been very religious or spiritual and I think that is a direct connection to my negative outlook of the world. I feel like this assignment and more specifically the Abram reading has opened my eyes to a more sententious way of living.

This site was very helpful to me by supplying tons of articles on Buddhism. It especially helped me with the concept on finding ones self (enlightenment). Check it out.

http://www.lib.montana.edu/reserves/rels202/

3 Responses

1) I didn't realize that view of the two parallel worlds. Its a good point, especially when it switches from a semi-third world country to a big city or high class scene.

2) The wordless part of the movie could have been a negative but i agree that the images, shots, and scenes made it worth it.

3) Thats an interesting point to connect the movie to Abram. All the different culture and scenes did make me think of religion and all the contrasts.

I think it was a very good wordless documentary of the worlds culture. What I got out of it was that it left everything open for you to think and come up with whatever you want it to mean. It was pretty much a bunch of random scenes of the culture from around the world. The whole movie I would just observe and see where each scene and image would take my mind. It brought out a lot of memories for me. It helped my paper by giving me a bunch of cultural examples to reference as examples.

Buddhism

The most interesting thing that i have read about Buddhism is their views on abortion they believe in rebirth so they consider you a killer if you meet there requirement that define you a killer these requirements are

From website:

• "the thing killed must be a living being"
• "you, the killer, must know or be aware that it is a living being"
• "you must have the intention to kill it"
• "there must be an effort to kill"
• "the being must be killed as the result"

these views are very interesting but not all Buddhist have them some still believe it be a choice.

Iranian Blog

When i listened to the Iranian Radio the two that i found the most interesting were the ones about the election and the Iranian oil. When they were telling us about the election the things that i thought were interesting here how the leaders got appointed which is through the Counsel of Experts then it has to be approved through the 12 Members of Guardians. I also thought it was kinda interesting that the men and women were both able to vote a fact i didn't know before and they are able to vote when they are only 15.
The info on the Iranian oil i thought was very interesting because i had no idea that they had 10% of all the oil know to man. Even though they can not do much with it because they don't have the money to invest in oil sanctions. They also have to import more than half of the oil they use. Wow how crazy is that.

Baraka Film

I thought that this film was interresting and found it unique in the sense of how portrayed a world with two parallels. It showed how one society was comparable to another and these kinds of comparisons can be found all over the world. I also liked the movie bescause it showed many different aspects of the world that are not well known. Altough there were not many words in the film, you were able to see what the film makers wanted to get across to their audience.

Baraka Talk

I thought that this film was kinda interesting but at the same time hard to want to keep watching. I thought i was really cool how the transitions from one thing to another were all intertwined. This would have been a really good movie if it had not been so long after awhile you just did not want to watch anymore. I do think it tied in with the readings very well just in the way that it showed different cultures and how they do things in a more simplistic way compared to Americans.

Baraka

The film we just watched in English i really enjoyed.  I never thought that i would like a silent film but the things that they show, then compare and contrast make the film very cool and i got really into it.  The scenery was very cool.  All in All a very good movie.

Cool Movie Man

The movie Baraka is definitely the weirdest movie that I have ever watched. However I found it to be very interesting and insightful. The images were mind blowing and very cool. The writers went on a limb with this film and made a very amazing experience.

Response to Baraka

I enjoyed Baraka, the cinematography was very beautiful. Despite the absence of dialogue, it seems to me the creators had a message they wanted to communicate. Though they left a lot open to interpretation, I think that similar to Abram, they wanted their audience to consider environmental and religious issues, and how they have changed in modern times. This is evident in their footage, from locations all over the world, contrasting scenes of religious rituals with mundane practices, and wilderness environments with modern cites.

Schuyler

Baraka

This is a very artsy movie that i feel bounces around all over the world. It shows tons of culture and amazing scenery. The only criticism i have is that it could flow between sections a bit well. It feels to me that it dives you in and builds you up for a certain area or culture and then changes. Guess we'll just wait to see the rest.

Website...

I was shocked when i read 'Buddhist teaching don't explicitly forbid slavery'. How can you be whole or selfless when you have someone serving you? Isn't that selfish? I was also suprised with 'restrictions placed on monks required them to have some form of servent'. This all seems very contradictary to me and i don't fully understand what the religion is trying to get at.

I didn't particularly like the two essays that we recently read in class. I felt that they weren't being realistic. In the United States it's hard to practice Buddhism because the US's idea of life is sucess and power, opposite of what Buddhists believe. I'm not really sure what the benefits are of becoming 'selfless', is there actually anything or is it just a feeling? Thurman didn't change my mind views of the differences of western and eastern culture differences.

Webpages Response

I read into the history of buddhism on the BBC website, and I never knew that the Buddha was an actual person who was once known as Siddhartha. He went on a spiritual journey, and eventually found enlightenment underneath a Bodhi tree. I guess i just never knew anything about Buddhism except that he was a round chubby man who was always protrayed as sitting down.

Baraka response

Apparently, Baraka is an ancient Sufi word that can be translated as "blessing." I think they're trying to capture some of the best and worse moments of humankind. Without a script or plot, they can focus on making their shots and settings more profound.

I really liked the scene with the Japanese snow monkeys in the hot springs. It made me think of meditation. The monkey looked like he had it all figured out in that warm water. It seemed almost anthropomorphic.

Buddhism Resources

Hi again,

Here are some resources I would like you to peruse through in order to gain a better understanding. I am posting the link to a BBC Buddhist homepage, and a radio program. Please click on some of the links that interest you on the homepage, and listen to the program. Post a response to what you read, heard or experienced.

Micaela

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20020314.shtml

Baraka Response

Hi guys,

I would like to get your thoughts on the film Baraka. Your response can be fairly informal as I care most about hearing your ideas and reactions. Also please visit the link below and read through "Training the Mind." I didn't want to say anything before you read the Thurman essay, but I personally had a mildly negative reaction to his approach. The Dalai Lama has a much kinder, softer, approach and I enjoy listening to him. Some of you also expressed a distaste for the Thurman approach, even though some of his ideas were interesting. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...

Micaela

http://www.dalailama.com/page.17.htm