The main purpose of this class is to help you learn how to think critically and analytically. Most of us do not like to think and we look for the easy way out. Remember, no one gets paid to copy someone or something. This class will challenge your thinking and creativity. Your creativity will be pushed outside its habitual thinking box and into the world of inspiration, potential and originality!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Siddhartha
Please watch and analyze the video clip we watched in class.
Analyze the last part of the clip, especially when Siddhartha meets with Mara. What does he mean by calling him architec? What is the real illusion?
As Siddhartha is meditating searching for himself and nirvana, Mara intends on tempting his spirit. Siddhartha is spiritually strong, therefore Mara fails. The hardest part for Siddhartha was facing his own illusion. His wise mind and strong spirit allowed him to be his true self by denying what Mara portrayed in front of him. Siddhartha's spirit had removed the fake Self he had inside because he learned to manage his emotions. Siddhartha called his ego architect because he constructed wrong desires and ambitions inside of him, and they always stayed inside as if it were a home. By allowing this to occur, Siddhartha wouldn't be able to reach his goal. His ego is described as an illusion because an illusion plays with your thoughts and making one a projection over your true Self, thus not allowing the true Self to overcome spiritually.
In the video, Mara is a separate personification or spiritualization of what is foolishness of the Self. It gives a person the illusion that it is the inner self and is the "lord of the ego," meaning that it is what controls the nature and character of the human being. The Mara is the weakness of the human being and is what brings suffering from desire and feelings, and is symbolized with a long bushy beard and dirty hair, and is also naked, while the Buddha is clean shaven and wearing clothes. The Mara is the "architect" that builds a "house" around the spirit, preventing the spirit from coming to realization and preventing the human being from being who he really is. In the video, the Buddha knows that the Mara is "pure illusion" and commands it to not rebuild the "house" again, allowing his spirit to be free and enlightened.
I can see what you are getting at with the whole appearance of Siddhartha and Mara. This way it is easier for people to distinguish the "good" and the "bad".
Yeah I'd have to agree with Amairani on the visuals of both Siddartha and Mara. I never even payed attention to that aspect of the video and in a strange way, it makes sense.
Siddartha's last encounter with Mara was a symbol of strength when he pulls himself up out of the water just to tell the Mara within him that he is strong enough to keep his "house" up. He doesn't need an architect to design his true self. If he let Mara be the architect of his home("Self"), then he is only fooling with himself because he is hiding from the Self and that will make things harder for him to really find his the secret to finding his self. There are vast choices to make that he can lose his way. The real illusion is the Mara that is trying to tempt him, but he cannot be deceived because even if he does what Mara is tempting him to do, he will only deceive himself that he has gotten rid of the old self, but really Siddartha himself is the only one that can do so which he has realized.
I'm going to redo this, i totally confused myself when i read it.
Siddartha is in control of himself after conquering Mara. He has the freedom from the "house" Mara is talking about because when he was in that house, he was not himself. With him being in control of his own ego, he is now the architect rather than the Mara from within which he has conquered. The real illusion is Mara from within Siddartha because he was not really the true Siddartha that he himself recognizes.
Mara wanted to distract Siddhartha from reaching Nirvana and killing his Self because if he did, then Mara would have no control over Siddhartha, since he controlled his Self. This is why Siddhartha called Mara architect. Mara would control his Self, just like how an architect controls the construction of a building. The "house" Siddhartha is referring to is the veil that is preventing him from seeing his true Self. By killing his Self, he is released from Mara's control and temptation and is able to reach a state of peace. The illusion is Mara disguised as Siddhartha, trying to fool him by making him believe that he, himslef decided everything he is now and make him want to stop his journey of reaching Nirvana.
After Mara has tempted Siddhartha, with the objective of leading him away from his goal, he calls his ego “architect” because it is the weakness inside of him. If Siddhartha does not remove Mara from his inner self he will never reach an end to suffering or realize who he truly is. That is why Siddhartha commands Mara to leave and not to construct this veil of blindness again. The real illusion is the ego that does not allow Siddhartha’s spirit to see who he is behind all his weaknesses. The ego produces a sense of false reality and, therefore, prevents Siddhartha from seeing the world in its true and pure form.
The Mara's failure to tempt Siddartha occured because Siddartha was in a state of meditation. This state of meditation created a barrier, so to speak, that blocked off the Mara. Siddartha refers to Mara as an "architect" because Mara built this "home" that is also mentioned, preventing Siddartha from conquering his Self. Mara had been, for a short time, the whole illusion in Siddartha's head that kept pulling him back from what his goal was: conquering Self and achieving Nirvana or a peace. Mara was shut down and eventually Siddartha took grasp of his own being now fully allowing himself to destroy Self.
Siddhartha tries to meditate into finding his Self but evil tries to avoid it. Evil can make a total different person who you think it's you but in reality its just a reflection of what you could be.Temptation touches Siddhartha but his heart and strong believe fights against it to defeat it.He faces the evil side of himself which Mara made him think it was the real him.It's always scary and risky facing the real you when you have had a total different view of yourself.He calls Mara architect because it has build the side that tries blinding Siddhartha on finding his Self.The real illusion was to be wise and have courage facing the fake you to realize the real you.
Mara tried several times and ways to tempt Siddhartha, but each time Siddhartha would not give in. He kept getting closer to reaching Nirvana and Mara became angry. Mara did not want Siddhartha to get rid of his Self, because that was the one part that Mara controlled. Finally Siddhartha had to face his own Self. When he touches his reflection in the water his Self grabs him. Siddhartha calls him an architect ,because his Self used to control him and had built this person who wasn't really him. The real illusion was Mara who looked like Siddhartha's Self. His Self kept preventing Siddhartha from finding himself and finding peace.
While Siddhartha is trying to find nirvana, Mara is trying to prevent it. Mara sends temptations that he thinks Siddhartha will fall for, but fails. As he fails, the rise of of the moon symbolizes a new begining in Siddhartha, and that is the monent in witch his vail of illusion falls. When he is pulling Siddhartha from the reflection, it is as if he were getting rid of his ego. Siddhartha calls Mara "Architect" because Mara is building an image to make Siddhartha believe it is Siddhartha. This way Siddhartha is living in the "house" Mara has built for him, trying to make Saddhartha believe in this illusion of himself.
When Siddhartha meets Mara, he calls him an "architect" because Mara was showing him only his physical self. Siddhartha was also indicating that the "house" was an illusion because it is not Self. Mara also tempted him w/ an illusion of several arrows which symbolization Siddhartha's struggles, but still Siddhartha was strong. All Mara's energy into tempting/challenging Siddhartha had failed.
Since Siddhartha has already removed Mara from his body and is at peace,Mara has tried many times to disrupt Siddhartha and tried to avoid him reaching enlightment/Nirvana. Mara has no control over Siddhartha because he is at peace spiritually and whats to disrupt him during his meditation to get back in his body.Siddhartha calls Mara his architech because he had constructed a weakness in him and wants to get back in. Siddhartha is at a state that he can notice that Mara is the real illusion and he is not afraid because he nows he is just messing with him and is only an illusion.
While Siddhartha was meditating to find his true self, Mara tried to prevent it by tempting him. Mara tried to succumb Siddhartha to temptation and desires, but Siddhartha overcame all of them because his spirit and his true self was stronger than the illusion. Siddhartha calls him an architect, because Mara built Siddhartha's fake self around his true self through temptations and desires to make him believe that his fake self is his true self. The illusion is Mara because Mara tries to tempt him into his fake self through desires, but Siddhartha knows that it is just an illusion and that it's not his true self. Siddhartha then overcomes his fake self and finally reaches his true self.
When the narrator speaks during the next attack of Mara, Mara could be considered the dukkha. The dukkha is part of Buddhist teachings in the "First Noble Truths" the meaning of dukkha is the suffering/stress of oneself. The fourth noble truth "Noble eightfold path" which describes the conquering the dukkha. Referring to the link you see that the Buddha sees his reflection and reaches out to it. Calling his reflection the "architec" means that his reflection shows the suffering part of himself which is the dukkha. He conquers the dukkha in the “Noble eightfold path” stage where he destroys it as the Earth as his witness and his sufferings will never exist again. The real illusion is what he seeks in his life are being used in his teachings in Buddhism.
I think in a way Siddarthas meditation make a barrier between him and the Mara. It showed strength in the way that he is trying to lose his own self and Mara is just trying to attack him in a way trying to look for some of his weaknesses, but Siddartha will not fall in such temptation. This video in a way represents the constant battle we have in our own mind everyday.
when Siddhartha finally defeats Mara he shows that he is mentally and spiritually strong. Mara several times tries to stop him from reaching nirvana. Siddhartha called Mara his architect because Mara was his ego which controlled him and built his "home." The true allusion was Mara because he was just the ego that was in his way of reaching nirvana. As Siddhartha told Mara you will not rebuild your self he showed that Mara was just an allusion.
im sorry i commented the nest day but i was busy with some things........ Siddahartha was showing mara that he has already conquered him spiritually and mentally. His meditation would create some kind of border between eachother showing he is no longer weak in the mind and being able to control him like an "architect". When the kids were seeing, its like they were watching an illusion come to life, as mara was just the ego to Siddahartha, proving mara tries to control us but siddahartha has now shown he can't control everything.
As Siddhartha is meditating searching for himself and nirvana, Mara intends on tempting his spirit. Siddhartha is spiritually strong, therefore Mara fails. The hardest part for Siddhartha was facing his own illusion. His wise mind and strong spirit allowed him to be his true self by denying what Mara portrayed in front of him. Siddhartha's spirit had removed the fake Self he had inside because he learned to manage his emotions. Siddhartha called his ego architect because he constructed wrong desires and ambitions inside of him, and they always stayed inside as if it were a home. By allowing this to occur, Siddhartha wouldn't be able to reach his goal. His ego is described as an illusion because an illusion plays with your thoughts and making one a projection over your true Self, thus not allowing the true Self to overcome spiritually.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the analysis! I like how you put that Sidd constructed the wrong desires...maybe we should educate our desires better!
DeleteIn the video, Mara is a separate personification or spiritualization of what is foolishness of the Self. It gives a person the illusion that it is the inner self and is the "lord of the ego," meaning that it is what controls the nature and character of the human being. The Mara is the weakness of the human being and is what brings suffering from desire and feelings, and is symbolized with a long bushy beard and dirty hair, and is also naked, while the Buddha is clean shaven and wearing clothes. The Mara is the "architect" that builds a "house" around the spirit, preventing the spirit from coming to realization and preventing the human being from being who he really is. In the video, the Buddha knows that the Mara is "pure illusion" and commands it to not rebuild the "house" again, allowing his spirit to be free and enlightened.
ReplyDeleteJorelle I think you nailed it on the analysis, however, I am not too sure about the dress up of Sidd and Mara.
DeleteI can see what you are getting at with the whole appearance of Siddhartha and Mara. This way it is easier for people to distinguish the "good" and the "bad".
DeleteYeah I'd have to agree with Amairani on the visuals of both Siddartha and Mara. I never even payed attention to that aspect of the video and in a strange way, it makes sense.
DeleteSiddartha's last encounter with Mara was a symbol of strength when he pulls himself up out of the water just to tell the Mara within him that he is strong enough to keep his "house" up. He doesn't need an architect to design his true self. If he let Mara be the architect of his home("Self"), then he is only fooling with himself because he is hiding from the Self and that will make things harder for him to really find his the secret to finding his self. There are vast choices to make that he can lose his way. The real illusion is the Mara that is trying to tempt him, but he cannot be deceived because even if he does what Mara is tempting him to do, he will only deceive himself that he has gotten rid of the old self, but really Siddartha himself is the only one that can do so which he has realized.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you said "He doesn't need an architect to design his true self." ...Good explanation of why he calls him an architect.
DeleteI'm going to redo this, i totally confused myself when i read it.
DeleteSiddartha is in control of himself after conquering Mara. He has the freedom from the "house" Mara is talking about because when he was in that house, he was not himself. With him being in control of his own ego, he is now the architect rather than the Mara from within which he has conquered. The real illusion is Mara from within Siddartha because he was not really the true Siddartha that he himself recognizes.
Mara wanted to distract Siddhartha from reaching Nirvana and killing his Self because if he did, then Mara would have no control over Siddhartha, since he controlled his Self. This is why Siddhartha called Mara architect. Mara would control his Self, just like how an architect controls the construction of a building. The "house" Siddhartha is referring to is the veil that is preventing him from seeing his true Self. By killing his Self, he is released from Mara's control and temptation and is able to reach a state of peace. The illusion is Mara disguised as Siddhartha, trying to fool him by making him believe that he, himslef decided everything he is now and make him want to stop his journey of reaching Nirvana.
ReplyDeleteI think you did great in explaining why Siddhartha called Mara an architect.
DeleteI liked the way you said Mara has control of Siddhartha just like an architect has control of the construction of a building.
DeleteAfter Mara has tempted Siddhartha, with the objective of leading him away from his goal, he calls his ego “architect” because it is the weakness inside of him. If Siddhartha does not remove Mara from his inner self he will never reach an end to suffering or realize who he truly is. That is why Siddhartha commands Mara to leave and not to construct this veil of blindness again. The real illusion is the ego that does not allow Siddhartha’s spirit to see who he is behind all his weaknesses. The ego produces a sense of false reality and, therefore, prevents Siddhartha from seeing the world in its true and pure form.
ReplyDeleteHmm...the last sentence of your comment makes sense to me and actually helps me to understand the video better.
DeleteWell thank you.
DeleteThe Mara's failure to tempt Siddartha occured because Siddartha was in a state of meditation. This state of meditation created a barrier, so to speak, that blocked off the Mara. Siddartha refers to Mara as an "architect" because Mara built this "home" that is also mentioned, preventing Siddartha from conquering his Self. Mara had been, for a short time, the whole illusion in Siddartha's head that kept pulling him back from what his goal was: conquering Self and achieving Nirvana or a peace. Mara was shut down and eventually Siddartha took grasp of his own being now fully allowing himself to destroy Self.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Mara was the illusion. Your explanation of that is easy to understand.
DeleteSiddhartha tries to meditate into finding his Self but evil tries to avoid it. Evil can make a total different person who you think it's you but in reality its just a reflection of what you could be.Temptation touches Siddhartha but his heart and strong believe fights against it to defeat it.He faces the evil side of himself which Mara made him think it was the real him.It's always scary and risky facing the real you when you have had a total different view of yourself.He calls Mara architect because it has build the side that tries blinding Siddhartha on finding his Self.The real illusion was to be wise and have courage facing the fake you to realize the real you.
ReplyDeleteMara tried several times and ways to tempt Siddhartha, but each time Siddhartha would not give in. He kept getting closer to reaching Nirvana and Mara became angry. Mara did not want Siddhartha to get rid of his Self, because that was the one part that Mara controlled. Finally Siddhartha had to face his own Self. When he touches his reflection in the water his Self grabs him. Siddhartha calls him an architect ,because his Self used to control him and had built this person who wasn't really him. The real illusion was Mara who looked like Siddhartha's Self. His Self kept preventing Siddhartha from finding himself and finding peace.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWhile Siddhartha is trying to find nirvana, Mara is trying to prevent it. Mara sends temptations that he thinks Siddhartha will fall for, but fails. As he fails, the rise of of the moon symbolizes a new begining in Siddhartha, and that is the monent in witch his vail of illusion falls. When he is pulling Siddhartha from the reflection, it is as if he were getting rid of his ego. Siddhartha calls Mara "Architect" because Mara is building an image to make Siddhartha believe it is Siddhartha. This way Siddhartha is living in the "house" Mara has built for him, trying to make Saddhartha believe in this illusion of himself.
ReplyDeleteI really liked teh part of teh moon symbolizing a new beginning.
DeleteWhen Siddhartha meets Mara, he calls him an "architect" because Mara was showing him only his physical self. Siddhartha was also indicating that the "house" was an illusion because it is not Self. Mara also tempted him w/ an illusion of several arrows which symbolization Siddhartha's struggles, but still Siddhartha was strong. All Mara's energy into tempting/challenging Siddhartha had failed.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSince Siddhartha has already removed Mara from his body and is at peace,Mara has tried many times to disrupt Siddhartha and tried to avoid him reaching enlightment/Nirvana. Mara has no control over Siddhartha because he is at peace spiritually and whats to disrupt him during his meditation to get back in his body.Siddhartha calls Mara his architech because he had constructed a weakness in him and wants to get back in. Siddhartha is at a state that he can notice that Mara is the real illusion and he is not afraid because he nows he is just messing with him and is only an illusion.
ReplyDeleteUriel i agree with you 100% that Mara was the illusion inside him.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhile Siddhartha was meditating to find his true self, Mara tried to prevent it by tempting him. Mara tried to succumb Siddhartha to temptation and desires, but Siddhartha overcame all of them because his spirit and his true self was stronger than the illusion. Siddhartha calls him an architect, because Mara built Siddhartha's fake self around his true self through temptations and desires to make him believe that his fake self is his true self. The illusion is Mara because Mara tries to tempt him into his fake self through desires, but Siddhartha knows that it is just an illusion and that it's not his true self. Siddhartha then overcomes his fake self and finally reaches his true self.
ReplyDeleteWhen the narrator speaks during the next attack of Mara, Mara could be considered the dukkha. The dukkha is part of Buddhist teachings in the "First Noble Truths" the meaning of dukkha is the suffering/stress of oneself. The fourth noble truth "Noble eightfold path" which describes the conquering the dukkha. Referring to the link you see that the Buddha sees his reflection and reaches out to it. Calling his reflection the "architec" means that his reflection shows the suffering part of himself which is the dukkha. He conquers the dukkha in the “Noble eightfold path” stage where he destroys it as the Earth as his witness and his sufferings will never exist again. The real illusion is what he seeks in his life are being used in his teachings in Buddhism.
ReplyDeleteI think in a way Siddarthas meditation make a barrier between him and the Mara. It showed strength in the way that he is trying to lose his own self and Mara is just trying to attack him in a way trying to look for some of his weaknesses, but Siddartha will not fall in such temptation. This video in a way represents the constant battle we have in our own mind everyday.
ReplyDeleteiiiiii brayan 1 minute!!
Deletewhen Siddhartha finally defeats Mara he shows that he is mentally and spiritually strong. Mara several times tries to stop him from reaching nirvana. Siddhartha called Mara his architect because Mara was his ego which controlled him and built his "home." The true allusion was Mara because he was just the ego that was in his way of reaching nirvana. As Siddhartha told Mara you will not rebuild your self he showed that Mara was just an allusion.
ReplyDeleteim sorry i commented the nest day but i was busy with some things........ Siddahartha was showing mara that he has already conquered him spiritually and mentally. His meditation would create some kind of border between eachother showing he is no longer weak in the mind and being able to control him like an "architect". When the kids were seeing, its like they were watching an illusion come to life, as mara was just the ego to Siddahartha, proving mara tries to control us but siddahartha has now shown he can't control everything.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete