The Buddha’s Eight-Fold Path
Throughout my spiritual journey I have been subjected to the opinion and judgment of others with regard to The Buddha. Many Christians would like to equate him with evil. I once gave my former secretary a statue of the laughing Buddha, which represents good fortune (and why you see him in many Asian establishments), and her father, who was an Episcopalian minister, in his spiritual ignorance, made her throw it away. In spite of all of the heat I have taken about The Buddha, I will stand strong in support of him as much as I do in Jesus of Nazareth. If those that judged really took the time to explore The Buddha’s philosophy, they would realize that these two spiritual masters taught the same thing. One thing I do know for sure, is that followers of The Buddha would never be found standing on a street corner protesting Proposition 8, which is probably why I personally gravitate to this Eastern philosophy more than traditional Western philosophy even though I was raised a very strict Catholic. So for those who are interested in why I love The Buddha as much as I do, here is an abbreviated version of a paper I did for a philosophy class a few years back.
Let’s start with a little bit of history. The Buddha was born, according to scholars, around 563 B.C.C., as Siddhartha Gautama in a small kingdom called Kapilavastu in India, which today would be in southern Nepal. The king knew Siddhartha was unusual and because of this the king consulted an astrologer to predict Siddhartha’s future. He was told that Siddhartha would be a great renunciate or Buddha. So to protect his son from this destiny his father gave Siddhartha many riches in the form of three palaces, all the material possessions he could ever want, and beautiful women. He had everything a man could ever want, yet he was still curious about the outside world. So at the age of 29 he took a chariot ride through the city, and after exploring the city several times, he eventually left the palace, his family, and everything he owned, and wandered in the forest for six years. He joined a band of ascetics and survived on one grain of rice per day, all in order to seek enlightenment which he finally accomplished one day under a Bodhi tree. This is when he became The Buddha, which means The Awakened One, and it is also why the Bodhi Tree became known as the Tree of Enlightenment.
The D’harma is a collection of The Buddha’s teachings which was written down many years after he passed in 486 B.C. His 45 years of teachings were meant to be read, recited, copied, and explained to others. One of his teachings, known as the EIGHTFOLD PATH, was an outline for others to be able to attain happiness through the elimination of suffering. Although it was written 2,500 years ago, this path can still be used as a guideline for spiritual growth today. These are the eight parts of The Buddha’s Eightfold Path:
- Right View or Understanding speaks to seeing things as they really are in order to be set free from the cycle of pain and suffering. We are the only one in control of our thoughts and our behavior, so if we choose to think negatively, or we choose to behave negatively, then we have no one to blame but ourselves for the suffering we feel which may be in the form of hurt feelings, sadness, loneliness, or loss. If we change the way we think about a situation, or the way we react to a situation, we can put an end to our own self-inflicted suffering.
- Right Thought or Purpose speaks to freeing ourselves from attachment as well as hatred. Being attached to someone else in a toxic way is not healthy for us or the other individual. People sometimes feel they cannot survive without the other. This kind of attachment is what causes jealousy if someone else gets too close to someone we love (that we think we own), and it also perpetuates the fear of losing that person as well. Hatred is negative in any form whether it’s toward someone we love or someone we don’t even know. It causes a negative vibration that flows outward into the universe and causes others to withdraw from us as well as returns back to us in another form (this is what is referred to as karma….which can be both negative and positive).
- Right Speech speaks to abstaining from lying, idle gossiping, slanderous talk, harsh, rude, impolite, malicious, or abusive language. If we speak with kindness to others as well as about others we will be respected and trusted. This is probably one of the hardest guidelines to follow in the eightfold path because it encompasses swearing and being verbally unkind to others. We all feel the need to let off steam now and then, present company included. I personally know only one person that I can put into the category of speaking to others with kindness at all times. This spiritual practice requires a great deal of awareness and discipline to master but it can be done.
- Right Behavior or Conduct speaks to reflecting on what we do or how we behave as well as our intentions behind our actions. The Buddha outlined five precepts for us to follow which was no killing or inuring of another living creature, no stealing, no lying, no unclean or excessive sex, and no drinking of intoxicants. Thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not steal are both part of the Christian-based Ten Commandments and probably not a surprise to anyone. However, I believe The Buddha was including animals when he spoke of killing others. Although many would say we don’t personally “kill” animals in order to eat them (someone else does) we are participating in this negative act by the purchasing of the meat that we bring to our dinner table. The meat industry is extremely violent in nature and many I feel certain, if they took the time to watch films or read books that have exposed this industry, would modify their food choices. With regard to excessive sex, The Buddha was not stating that we should not have pre-marital sex, as many religions teach, but more that one should not be promiscuous or obsessive about sex because that is when it transforms from being a beautiful spiritual act to an act based in primal need and impulsive desires. Although prohibiting the drinking of intoxicants may seem a bit archaic, I believe The Buddha set this guideline forth because of its addictive quality and the detrimental deterioration of the body when one consumes excessive alcohol. One of the more subtle parts of this guideline is intention. Sometimes people do good things for others because they want something or expect something in return. It is important to examine our intentions closely to assure that they are pure and that we are not attempting to manipulate or take advantage of another because of the power we may hold or because they have something that we want.
- Right Livelihood speaks to choosing a profession that does not harm or hurt others or take advantage of others for our own personal gain. It means making a living through honest, ethical choices. This guideline has surely gotten lost over the last 2,500 years as we have engaged more in consumerism and corporate greed. What about our military? These jobs require their enlisted to kill others in the name of war which at times is corrupted at its roots. What about selling cigarettes or alcohol? These are products that definitely harm the health and well-being of others yet if there is money involved, people will participate in the production and promotion of these products. A prime example of a good profession would be to become a teacher where one can serve others in a positive way.
- Right Effort speaks to having a strong will and abandoning negative thoughts such as greed, anger, selfishness, lust, or delusion which are unloving. The objective is to focus on our good qualities and nurture them so that we are doing our best at all times and having good will toward others rather than wasting our effort on things that harm ourselves as well as others. These negative emotions are not only toxic to us and our bodies, but to those in our environment as well. It is not to say that we should never be angry. This is one of the most common myths about being a religious or spiritual person (that you shouldn’t get angry). Anger is a normal human emotion that we are born with because in a flight or fight situation we may need to use it. It is what the everyday person does with their anger that becomes destructive whether it be vindictiveness, blaming others, or abusing others in a physical or verbal manner causing harm to them. Anger, if used positively, will help us to draw boundaries for others so as not to place ourselves in a situation where we can be harmed. There are times when we need to be selfish like when we need to take care of ourselves physically or emotionally. The type of selfishness that becomes destructive is when we have little to no regard for others in order to obtain what it is we are after.
- Right Mindfulness speaks to focusing on one’s body, feelings, and thoughts much like an athlete in training. The objective is to become aware of our negative thoughts and then learn how to restrain and control the mind so we can overcome hatred and ignorance. Being mindful is all about being in the moment, as opposed to your mind being caught thinking about your past and what you did right or wrong, as well as being caught up thinking about your future conversations, actions, wants, needs, or desires. Spiritual teachers stress living in the moment because if we are caught up in the past or the future, we cannot enjoy the present moment and that part of our spiritual journey.
- Right Concentration speaks to meditation which is a trance state that prepares the mind for understanding. As we quiet the mind negative thoughts are discarded and replaced with positive thoughts as well as awareness, detachment, and peace of mind. Meditation is not only a trance state, it can be practiced in a variety of ways, but the end results are the same. It can be done sitting quietly as we stare into the flame of a candle or a fireplace, or it can be done while we’re walking through the park breathing in the fresh air and taking in the beautiful blue sky and the lush green grass with flowers of all colors along our path. It is only when we quiet our mind that we can really become aware of our innermost feelings and the truth of who we are.
The Eightfold Path is a process of spiritual purification and following it can be compared to the nurturing of a garden. The mind is the ground and the thoughts are seeds. Positive thoughts and good deeds are like water and fertilizer and the best way to care for a garden. Negative thoughts and negative deeds are like weeds that we need to pull out much in the same way that we do in our garden. In the end, harvesting our spiritual growth is the only real path to inner peace and lasting happiness.
EAT PRAY LOVE
Last night I ventured to the movies to watch the highly anticipated EAT PRAY LOVE starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem.
I actually remember the first time I was exposed to Elizabeth Gilbert’s story. She was on Oprah when her book Eat Pray Love was soon to be released in 2006. I had drifted from my spiritual path because recent life events had been extremely unkind. But I also know without challenges we would never grow as human beings. I recognize now it was just cynicism at its best, but I distinctly remember thinking “Oh just what we need, another book about spirituality. So what she had a spiritual awakening? So what she found herself through her spiritual journey? Some of us found ourselves back in the 80’s.” However, once my spirit had time to catch up to my cynical mind I realized that everything happens for a reason and there must be some reason why someone of Oprah’s caliber was endorsing this book. That endorsement still wasn’t enough for me to run out and buy the book at that time, but it was always in the back of my mind that someday I might.
In 2008 I knew I’d be riding the commuter train to work and was looking for things to read for the 40 minute ride to and from. THAT is when I finally picked up a copy of this book and read it. Mind you, I’ve read zillions of spiritual books by some of the best authors on the planet – Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Neal Donald-Walsch, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Jack Canfield, Gary Zukov, and many many MANY more. However, right into the first chapter I realized that Elizabeth Gilbert had a style of writing that was quite unique and fresh compared to everything I had read previously. Her authentic self intertwined through her hilarious sense of humor about her very personal and poignant spiritual journey, kept me captivated from beginning to end. It still took me a long time to finish this book because my eyes have grown weary over the years, and between working on a computer all day and then having to read textbooks for school, I rarely have the inclination to read a regular book if at all. If I do read a book I do so by purchasing the audio version so I can listen while driving. You also cannot read as many spiritual books as I have and not find the redundancy of concepts a bit disappointing. For the most part if I buy a book it sits on my bookshelf unread indefinitely and 95% of the time when I begin reading a book I never finish it. That was not the case with Eat Pray Love. It took me 18 months but I finally finished it and when I was done I still wanted to read more. Truly, it was one of the best books I have ever read.
Needless to say, as an actor, a spiritual seeker, and spiritual advisor, the release of the film version of this book excited me. I was even more excited when I entered the theater last night and saw how many people were in attendance. I’m sure the casting of Julia Roberts had a lot to do with its box office success, but you could hear a pin drop during this film. I do believe everyone was as enthralled with it as I was. Every frame was beautifully done and the film captured the essence of the book and Elizabeth’s compelling spiritual story. In interviews Elizabeth would remark that this was “everyone’s story” and I have to agree. How she found herself, through the pain of several relationships, is familiar to many of us. However, very few of us have traveled to Italy, India, and Bali to expedite our healing process the way that she did. She learned in one year what it took me 10 years to learn and that is what is so different about her story.
The actors in the film, Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem, did not disappoint, and Richard Jenkins also deserves an honorable mention for his work in this film as well. I believe the true success of a film has to do with how it makes us feel as the viewer. In my opinion, if a film can make us feel, laugh, cry, and more importantly, think, then it has surpassed mediocrity in its purpose. Eat Pray Love is the best spiritual film I’ve seen since Avatar and definitely one I would see again, which is not something I can say about most films these days. I’m sure this is the reason why Brad Pitt signed on as executive producer. As one of the more “evolved” celebrities in Hollywood, he was fully aware of its powerful message.
If you haven’t seen the film yet do so. If you haven’t read the book yet, do so, even if you’ve seen the film. There is obviously so much more to Elizabeth’s story that cannot be captured in two and a half hours so it is still worth the read. I take my hat off to Elizabeth Gilbert and I sincerely apologize for judging her book by its cover. It’s just another lesson in humility for me and one that I graciously honor and accept.
My next read, without a doubt, will be Elizabeth’s latest book COMMITTED – A SKEPTIC MAKES PEACE WITH MARRIAGE. The title alone makes me feel like she may have written this personally for me.
“Everyone You Meet Is Fighting A Hard Battle”
About six months ago I joined Twitter. I’m still not sure if I like it but what I do know is I met this very talented writer and instantly connected with her. Please take the time to read her last blog because I couldn’t have said this better myself! Thanks Karla Bryant for allowing me to post! And for those looking to read all of her blogs and those she will post in the future, there is a link available down below.
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Plato wrote those words over 2,300 years ago. An interesting footnote to history may be that Plato had once been a wrestler, but we all know that’s not the kind of fight he was talking about.
We read those words and know exactly what is meant. We are familiar with the lay of our private battlefields. We have our strategies, our victories, and our losses. Our scars are usually invisible to everyone other than ourselves. And, we’re never quite certain when the battles will rise up again. We only know that they will.
Plato believed there were three levels of of human nature: passion, courage, and thinking. His proposed goal was, through thinking, courage would overcome passion to bring one to a higher level. Later, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, among others, would expand on the idea. Yet, aside from philosophical discussion, aren’t these the components of so many of our personal battles? Right vs. wrong, what we want vs. what is best, what must be done vs. the easy way out.
It’s all familiar to us. But what we forget is that everyone around us, from the stranger in line in front of us at the post office to our closest friends and family members, are just as vulnerable, just as battle-weary at times.
One of the clearest examples I’ve seen of this was when my late mother-in-law was in an assisted living facility. The residence was lovely, the employees compassionate. Yet, the battles of the individual residents were less hidden than they are with the rest of us. One woman would work so hard to maintain a conversation, trying to mask her bewilderment at the rush of words that were somehow so difficult to follow now. A man, a veteran from a distant war, struggled to keep his dignity while trying to walk on his own to the dining room, where he’d feed himself with a trembling hand.
It took little effort to exchange a few words with them, to offer them a smile and nod. The challenge is remembering to do that with everyone we encounter. No one deserves less.
http://www.karlabry.blogspot.com/
I Am The Music
Another poem found in my daughter’s room while cleaning. It’s hard for me to believe that at 14 this is what goes on in her mind.
I am the music, the soft sweet melody.
The bluebird’s song, the lion’s roar.
The blues of the saxophone, the beat of the drum.
The everylasting note simply touched on the piano.
The chime in the wind, the whistle in the air.
The classical violin plays my sorrow, my depression and despair.
The melancholy ballad sways with woe.
But the electric guitar is strummed with an ecstatic motion.
The notes and chords are abundant with joy.
The drum is my anger, a powerful rythym, a strong and fierce pound.
But the voice is my expression.
Words and lyrics form and travel from my soul to the public.
My scream, my song, my poetry…..my voice.
I am the music.
The Rose
I wish I could take credit for this but I can’t. My 14-year old daughter, Samantha Jo Polverari, wrote it and while cleaning her room I found it amongst the chaos.
She started out as nothing but a seed.
With love and care she sprouted.
But still only a small stem of green.
Time passed and she began to bloom.
She is a flower.
A beautiful, delicate rose.
Her beauty is breathtaking.
You feel a force around her.
You are pulled closer.
But beware of her thorns.
A prick on the tip of your finger is all it takes.
She is small, but of great value.
Appreciate her for who she is, and she will show you love.
Show her no care, and she will parish.
Her stem will curl and her petals will fall.
She is a flower.
A sensitive creation, a gorgeous masterpiece.
She is a rose.
The Rise & Fall Of Corporate America
Corporate America. There was a time when the ideal job would be found here. I was raised in the late 50’s. Back then you did one of two things when you graduated high school. You either attended college or you got a job. My parents didn’t have a lot of money and I was their 6th child, so college was not an option. While I was in high school I participated in a work co-op program where I would attend school until noon and then went to work at Insurance Company #1 in Hartford for the remainder of the day. This led me to my first real full-time job working in Corporate America.
Over the past 35 years I have spent the majority of my time in the insurance industry. I did extremely well for myself at Insurance Company #2 considering I had no college education. I started as a secretary and a year later transferred into their training program for computers where I spent the next 11 years working my way up from trainee to a team leader role in Information Technology. I have always been a high achiever so working hard and holding strong to a solid work ethic have always paid off for me. Until now.
Working in a corporate job in the 70’s and 80’s meant job security, fair pay for a day’s work, solid raises and bonuses for those that excelled, and the best benefits one could ask for such as life and health insurance and paid time off. But something changed along the way. Corporate greed has become the status quo for not only companies in the U.S., but companies all over the world. Most are now driven by profits and the bottom line and very little regard is given to the people who get them there, whether it is the employees who work hard or the customers who purchase their products or services.
The first time I noticed this “change” was in the late 90’s. I had departed the corporate insurance industry in 1992 and owned my own video store while simultaneously performing as a professional actress in New York. My second divorce, however, forced me to make a change and I once again returned to the insurance industry for the financial stability it offered. Although I joined Insurance Company #3 as an experienced systems analyst, I didn’t realize until I was through the door that the salary offered to me upon employment was extremely low compared to what other system analysts were making at that time. I shrugged it off and told myself that I was used to working hard and rising up the ladder quickly, so no harm was done. In a matter of four years I was promoted to an Associate Director position with 16 direct reports. That was the last job I held in Massachusetts before migrating to California.
During my tenure as a manager at Insurance Company #3, I was appalled at the bureaucracy involved even at that level. I was extremely frustrated that I could not do for my direct reports all that I wanted to in return for their dedication and hard work. Again, being the optimist, I chalked it up to the company itself rather than the industry as a whole. For that reason alone I could not wait to get out of Insurance Company #3 because I didn’t want to be part of the problem.
Fast forward to my migration to California in 2004. I attempted to work at a non-profit job after my arrival, because I wanted to hold a position with a higher purpose than I was accustomed to. Unfortunately it did not work out because the CEO of this non-profit (and I use that term loosely) was a psychopath and spent most of his timing screaming at his staff and degrading the gay people in our office on a regular basis. As his Executive Assistant I grew tired of such a toxic environment rather quickly. I went on to working for myself as an Office Manager for a well-established CPA in Oakland. I loved the work and the woman I worked for, however there wasn’t enough work to keep me busy, and it is not in my nature to work more slowly to take advantage of an employer. I was paid hourly, I had no insurance benefits, and 25-30 hours a week was not enough to maintain my very high mortgage at that time so I was forced to move on.
Where did I end up? Back in an industry I knew only too well. This time I returned to Insurance Company #2. Since this was an organization that I loved and respected because they always seem to care as much about their employees as the bottom line, I figured I was home free until retirement. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Now that I’ve been back for five years, combined with everything I have read or watched on the news, I have finally come to the conclusion that it is Corporate America as a whole that has completely deteriorated. I don’t have to read about it anymore because I’m living it.
At the end of the first quarter all employees received an email from one of the COO’s of the company and here is a small portion of that email: “I am pleased to announce that Insurance Company #2 has reported yet another quarter of successful results. As a whole, the company delivered first quarter net income of $319 million and core earnings of $545 million. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, not only have we generated another quarter of strong results, we have in many respects outperformed some of our strongest competitors in the marketplace.” Note: This is the kind of money they made during a recession!
It would be nice to share in their excitement, but it is difficult to do as I watch employees who are working hard and are dedicating themselves to these companies that give little to nothing back. Raises and bonuses are small to non-existent and are only given out to the men and women at the top. Downsizing, lay-offs, and outsourcing continue to occur placing a heavier burden on those that remain. Even those that boast about giving “flexible” work arrangements do not communicate that those kinds of perks are only given to higher salaried positions and not those on the front line who are doing the real work to make the company’s profits.
I remember reading a couple years ago in Working Mother that Insurance Company #3 was rated in the Top 100 employers because of the benefits and flexibility they supposedly offer their employees. Say WHAT? What I want to know is WHO is rating this company? It certainly is not the disgruntled employees that are breaking their backs to keep the place running. Oh, and speaking of being disgruntled….you’re not allowed to grumble about the work conditions or how much you’re disrespected anymore. Thanks to the recession (and even prior) the attitude from higher level positions are “If you don’t like it, leave. There’s 500 other people out there waiting for your job who are willing to do the same job for less.” I just don’t understand this way of thinking. What happened to motivating employees to do their best and being a great company to attract the best talent? Does anyone do this anymore?
So this what my 35 years of hard work and dedication have come to for me as well as a number of my friends and family members who have given of themselves in the same way. We are de-valued on a regular basis and are treated like nothing more than a number. Every day these companies find creative ways to pay us less, work us more, give us less benefits, and cheat us out of our retirement. We can also forget about job security, as that is a thing of the past. Never have I seen so many incompetent de-motivating managers who have bought into the “bottom line at all cost” mentality, which includes sacrificing you, the day-to-day worker, in the hopes that they will get the promotion that they’re after. It is a sad state of affairs and I’m glad that I’m close to retiring. Becoming a Walmart greeter is more and more appealing to me every day.
But let me also say one last thing which is the whole point of this blog. I strongly feel that the laws of the Universe are always at work and there is a quickening occurring on our planet right now. Karma appears to be relentless and God is holding us accountable for our actions more than ever before. People are not able to get away with the kinds of things that remained secret for so long. Whether it’s sexual misconduct of a politician, a racist comment by a celebrity, or an abuse of power by a local police officer, everyone is at risk of being exposed and I do believe that large corporations are not exempt. Just ask Toyota who, according to Forbes Magazine, has fallen from #3 to #360 ranking of the world’s leading companies for 2010. One thing I know for sure is that unlike our judicial justice system, spiritual justice is ALWAYS served and those that have earned it, and continue to earn it, are going to reap what they have sown in a large financial hit or even a great fall as the rest of us, the employees or the customers that made them who they are today watch.
Eating Crow
Eating crow is not an easy thing for me to do, especially since I try to eat vegetarian as often as possible. :) But I went to sleep last night eating crow and woke up this morning to still feel the tickling of feathers in my throat so I figured if I wrote a blog about it I could let it go and set myself free from the self-inflicted bondage I am currently feeling.
When I lived on the east coast I started my own church (The First Church of Diversity & Empowerment) and ran it for two years. It was a small congregation, but I truly enjoyed that kind of intimate setting where I had the time and the energy to teach others all that I had learned through the years not only collectively every Sunday, but on a one-to-one ratio as it arose as well.
However, one of the things I discovered about myself that I did not like about having my own church (and the title of ordained minister) was the expectation placed on me by others to always be an angelic and perfect individual that does not make mistakes or is not flawed in some way. Even now, without the church, it sometimes comes to my awareness that the expectation is still there based on my title alone. So let me address that first.
Being an ordained minister simply means that you have been authorized by a church or religious organization to perform clergy functions such as weddings, baptisms, funerals, and preaching or teaching. Nowhere in the definition will you find the words angelic, perfect, or unflawed. A more accurate definition for that type of individual would be a saint which is someone who is considered exceptionally virtuous and worthy of that honorable title. Ordained Minister does not = Saint.
It’s not that I did anything that horribly wrong. In fact, when people comment on how much I swear relative to my title, I usually deflect their judgment with humor by telling them I do not molest children or run a mind-controlling cult, so I’m way ahead of the pack, and that usually does the trick in silencing them. By the same token I’m here writing because I do feel bad about what I did.
In the last few days one of the parents at my daughter’s school was sending out emails in an attempt to collect money to purchase gifts for the theater teachers who went above and beyond this year with hard work and dedication to give our kids the best experience possible. One of the parents decided to hit “reply to all” and began to publically scathe the parent who was trying to collect on behalf of the teachers. No one was demanding we contribute, but that is how this one defensive and emotionally volatile parent interpreted the email. I was taken aback by her anger but also remained quiet as I did not want to be pulled into what was quickly turning into a confrontation. The receiving parent of the scathing email (while we all watched) apologized for offending anyone and tried to clarify her intent with the original email. That seemed to add fuel to the fire and the reaction to the apology was an even more intense verbal assault on the perpetrator. That is when I stepped in because it is my tendency to always defend the underdog in this type of situation. So in the best calm voice I could muster (through email) I communicated that this parent’s hostility was totally uncalled for and went on to thank the original parent for her efforts in collecting funds because her heart was in the right place. I also asked to be removed from the mailing list.
The reason I asked to be removed from the mailing list is because I know myself too well. I was raised in an Italian/Sicilian home (which translates to an “angry” environment), and no amount of spiritual knowledge, training, and growth has completely obliterated my ability to be argumentative and hot-tempered at times. There are certain buttons, when pushed, cause me to go to that place of no return just like everybody else. Unfortunately I was not removed from the mailing list, the confrontation continued, and it got uglier by the minute as another parent involved herself as well. What I should have done was just deleted the emails as they came in and not responded, but the dialogue started to involve my 14-year old daughter and that is when my protect-my-kid-at-all-cost button was pushed and I lost it.
So there you have it. A humble acknowledgement and of my error in judgment and an apology for not doing what I teach others to do, which is to take the high road. Although venom feels great when it leaves your lips, the after-effects in ones heart once the anger has passed is extremely uncomfortable. As I finish up eating the crow on my plate I will leave you with this:
“He who angers you…conquers you.” ~ Elizabeth Kenny
New Martial Arts Film Legend of Black Lotus Shuns Typical Hollywood Stereotypes
The following was not written by me, but I feel it is important enough to post on my website.
The article was written by Cathy Crenshaw Doheny and was posted on www.asianfortune.com. The film, Legend of Black Lotus was written by my dear friend Angelo Bell.
Legend of Black Lotus, an epic fantasy martial-arts project written in the spirit of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Gladiator, will begin filming this summer. Set in a fantasy kingdom in ancient China, the story serves as a re-imagining of the classic Mulan fairytale.
“It’s about a child who is born because of the supernatural powers of an enchanted forest, and with the specific purpose of reuniting a divided kingdom,” says Angelo Bell, the genius behind Legend of Black Lotus and veteran independent film maker who has written, directed and/or produced 14 films since 2002.
“Legend of Black Lotus came from a story by my good friend, Nicole Sessions. Nicole is an actress and worked on two of my previous films. She had an idea for a script, and we met over lunch to discuss it. I had no idea her story would be so grand…so epic! I gave her notes, and we drafted a 10-page treatment. Then it was up to me to write the script. It took two years before I had a chance to start, but when I did, the experience was a writer’s dream.”
The project will begin in July with a short film that will be used to show potential investors the look and feel of the proposed $4 million feature film. First, however, Bell must raise $9,500 to make the short film. For this, he is utilizing fan funding, also known as crowdfunding, a way for fans to support films they care about early in the production process.
Fans may donate to the project in denominations as low as $1 and, in turn, receive a variety of perks, which include anything from a “Special Thanks” in the film and acknowledgment in an online “Thank you” by the cast (in exchange for any donation greater than $1) to an All-Access Pass during production, 2-Day Private Script Consultation with writer/director including lunch and dinner; and a visit to Disneyland with up to four kids and Bell & his family (in exchange for donations over $2,500.)
Asians and Asian Americans may be particularly interested in supporting Legend of Black Lotusbecause it shuns typical Hollywood stereotypes.
“Over ninety percent of the on-screen cast will be of Asian descent,” says Bell. “In my research it was hard to find another American-made film with similar demographics, other than The Joy Luck Club. I’m still in the process of casting, but I have already hired two young girls to play the role of sisters in the film. It’s interesting that I imagined finding child actors would be extremely difficult, but it was simpler than I thought. Julia Kubo and Jade Doheny have been hired to play the roles of Daiyu and Mingzhu. Clint Jung and Victor Chi have been hired to play feuding emperors. Anne Lee Mako joins the cast as the Spirit Wife and voice of the magic forest. Other actors are yet to come.”
Movie goers of Asian descent may also find the visual concepts of the project appealing.
“It’s important to note that Legend of Black Lotus is the short film I’m producing to illustrate the look and feel of the feature film version, which will be grander in every way. In the short film, we’re using a hybrid costuming process incorporating the best of Chinese, Japanese and medieval England wardrobes. This wardrobe fusion includes cheongsams, kimonos, embroidered cloaks and capes” says Bell. “For fight sequences I’m focusing on two styles, Wing Chun and Wushu. Wing Chun is an up-close fighting technique, while Wushu is cinematically elegant. There is a dance in the film, and it will adhere to traditional Chinese Ribbon Dance choreography. Ultimately, I hope to shoot the feature film in Hong Kong or China.”
Bell is also anxious to launch this project because of the rich history it will share with others like it within the genre.
“The impact of Asian cinema has always influenced Hollywood. I grew up in New York, and, as a child, I traveled to Times Square to see Shaw Bro’s films. Some of Clint Eastwood’s best work is based on American interpretation of Asian Classics. One of my favorite films, The Magnificent Seven, is the American adaptation of Akiro Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Martin Scorcese directed the award-winning film, The Departed, but even it was based on the brilliant work in the Hong Kong series, Infernal Affairs.”
With an impressive list of credits already to his name, fans can rest assured that Bell will complete his latest and most ambitious project with equal success.
“Two films I produced won ‘Best-in-Fest’ awards. My short film, Renounced, won ‘Best-Director’ and also made it’s way to the top 100 finalists for Steven Spielberg’s reality show, On The Lot. My feature, Broken Hearts Club, starring Maya Gilbert, played at film festivals worldwide, aired on AMGTV and will be televised in Europe and Africa this year. I’m currently in post-production for Resurrection of Serious Rogers, a neo-noir action thriller starring Cooper Harris,” says Bell.
“When fans support a film they also support the director, and my previous works illustrate how committed I am to storytelling. I hope fans of the film visit the campaign athttp://www.indiegogo.com/blacklotus and show their support.”
If you haven’t already done so, please use the link above to make a small (or large) donation to Angelo Bell’s film. I was fortunate enough to read the entire script early in the process and I can tell you not only is this an important piece of work, it’s an awesome story that I can’t wait to watch on the big screen!
Imagine No Religion
Last week one of my co-workers and I engaged in a conversation about her religion (Christianity), and during that conversation she quoted that all-too-familiar phrase “But the Bible says…..”, which always sends me off to a place of frustration. I swear if one more person says this to me as an argument to defend what their belief system is I’m going to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Although I am an ordained minister, and I do believe that Jesus walked the earth, it is not as easy for me to come to such a rigid and narrow-minded acceptance of all of the dogma that is fed to and regurgitated from the followers of this religion. I also want to point out that I am not singling out Christianity, but because it is a major religion, I am using it as a prime example for the purposes of this blog.
I guess the reason I don’t accept dogma at face value is because I have taken the time to study the history of religion as well as the fundamental core beliefs of many major religions. Knowledge truly IS power and the conclusion I have come to is that they all teach the same fundamental values. So when I continually encounter people who quote Biblical scriptures as if they were absolutes for everyone on planet Earth, that is when my frustration rears its ugly head.
When people come to me for guidance because they are confused about their religion, which is in direct contradiction of how they desire to live their life, or they are starting to have a lot of questions, to which they cannot find any answers, this is what I tell them. Go to your local college and take a history class on religion. When you’ve completed the class, and you realize how and why religion began, it may be difficult for you to put any real value in any of these man-made belief systems.
I am not saying I want to discount or dismiss religion entirely because I do believe it had and still has a divine purpose, which is to create a moral code that governs the conduct of human behavior in our society. By the same token, spirituality can, and often does, accomplish the same results. Many people ask me what the difference is between the two and the best answer I can provide is that religion is a set belief system declared by someone else that you must buy into and follow to be part of that particular specific spiritual community. On the other side of the coin, spirituality allows you to explore the divine connection to God or a higher power in your own way, thus creating your own personal truth or belief system.
Obviously the latter is a bit more empowering to the individual, which could be why traditional spiritual leaders go to great lengths to denounce and diminish any contemporary belief system they are not in agreement with. If everyone bought into spirituality as a means to maintain their connection to God and keep their human behavior in check, there would no longer be any use for organized religion. Let’s face it, that would not only put a lot of people out of work, it would reduce the amount of power that organized religion has over people. Where there is power there is usually money or political gain. Need I say more?
Spiritual belief systems not only existed prior to Christianity, they existed even during prehistoric times and it wasn’t until the invention of writing (5,000 years ago) that its documentation began. Hinduism, which is the third largest religion in the world, existed around 3000 BC. An awareness of Abraham, the patriarchal figure in Judeo Christian and Islamic religions existed quite a few years later around 2000 BC. Zoroastrianism started around 1700 BC and by 1250 BC the first books of the Torah, the sacred scripture of Judaism were composed. This was followed by Jainism, an Indian religion that existed in 877 BC and Confucianism, a Chinese religion which existed around 500 BC.
Prince Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha, and also one of my personal favorites, walked the Earth teaching his wisdom around 563 BC, long before Jesus was even conceived 600 years later. I find it extremely fascinating that people can so easily negate the Buddha’s existence (or somehow connect him to “the Devil”) simply because they were born on the western side of the planet and only learned about Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure in Christianity. But even with really cool dudes like the Buddha and Jesus, that did not cease the creation of new religions like Gnosticism which was created by the prophet Mani around the year 140. Muhammad was the founder of Islam, and the sacred text of that religion, the Qur’an was completed around the year 650.
Christianity obviously took on a life of its own. Although it began around the year 301 in the near east, it became the state religion of the Roman Empower around 380 and went on to be the largest religion ever. But then political and cultural differences got in the way and so it split into Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy around the year 1054. In the early 1500’s theologian Martin Luther reformed the teachings of the church and the Protestant religion (Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Calvinism) were born. In the 1700’s the Baptist and Methodist religions were formed. Here’s a fact I’m sure most do not know. During slavery, many were stripped of their African belief systems and were denied free religious practice. Slaves managed to hang onto some of their practices by integrating them into Christian worship in secret meetings. These practices (dancing, shouting, and music) remain a large part of worship in the African American church today. Before and after emancipation racial segregation prompted the creation of African American denominations, the first of which was the AME Church founded by Richard Allen in 1787.
Some of the more contemporary religions are the Bahai Faith which was founded in the early 1800’s around the same time as Mormonism. Then Rastafarianism and the Nation of Islam were founded in the 1930’s. We can now fast forward to 1952 when Scientology began followed by the New Age Movement which started in the 1960’s. All of these newer religions are condemned by those that practice some of the older more archaic religions, but honestly I do not understand what all the fuss is about. So some guy decided that Scientology was the only way to worship. That is exactly how MOST religions were formed. One person who was courageous enough to disagree with a religion that was already established founded their own religion based on voices they heard in their head that they assumed were God, or simply by their own egotistical need to have some kind of power over others. Either the religion took off or it didn’t. But does that make one any more legitimate than the other? I don’t think so.
So with all of the knowledge I have acquired about how religion was formed, I personally don’t see it as something that can be documented as an absolute. I also don’t see it as very useful, especially in light of the fact that it seems to cause more divisiveness, hatred, judgment, condemnation, and wars than anything else in the world. In my opinion, and it is only my opinion, religion is for the non-thinker or lazy spiritualist who wants to be told what to believe so they don’t have to take the time to really explore their divinity within. A few weeks ago Deepak Chopra put out a post on Twitter asking his followers what they thought about organized religion. I responded to the tweet “I think all religions are cults.” Deepak quickly responded “Agree. Religion is a cult with a large following.” Within minutes people were re-tweeting my tweet, something that has not happened with any of my tweets since. I believe it flew threw the Twitter universe so quickly because many feel the same way that I do. That religion is used to brainwash, control, and abuse others, which is pretty much the definition of a cult.
I’ll leave you with this last thought. If your religion is working for you, meaning it provides you with inspiration and you are uplifted, energized, and fulfilled on a spiritual level, then by all means keep doing what you are doing. But if it makes you feel guilty, ashamed, condemned, or oppressed, then I suggest you begin the journey of soul-searching so that you can connect with God in your own way, a way that works for you. What you will find is that your spiritual journey will excite you rather than weigh you down.
Namaste (The Divine In Me Honors The Divine In You)!
Through The Eyes Of A Child
I didn’t write what you are about to read. My 14-year old daughter wrote this as a writing exercise for her theater class at Oakland School For The Arts. Each student had to write about what they would do IF THEY RULED THE WORLD. This only took her about seven minutes to complete.
Not a single living being would be homeless. Not a single living being would be any more privileged than another. That is not to say that one wouldn’t collect more earnings – but no one would have more rights than another – not because of their gender, color, appearance, emotions, or thoughts. Too many people nowadays are spoiled. The human race in my eyes is pathetic.
On to global warming. From my perspective, we are past the time period where the Earth was changeable. Animals are extinct, glaciers are melting, seasons aren’t the way they used to be. Recycling and conserving can slow down the process, but because of what we’ve done in the last few millenniums, we have slowly destroyed mother nature. Careless wasting and selfish actions have put us in this place.
If I ruled the world I would unite every country into one. Not physically but we would all help each other and all be under one government. It’s all or nothing. If a country refused to join us, so be it – to each his own. But don’t cry to us when a natural disaster strikes. Your country can struggle by itself – but my nation will be filled with peace, fair rules, harsh punishments for the ones who do wrong, honesty, and LOVE.
If a 14-year old can think along these lines with regard to unity (in less than seven minutes), why is it so difficult for adults to comprehend?????
