Hello, My name is Mark - I'm a first-time contributor this group. I think the intertwining of Zen concepts into Star Wars was no accident. I remember reading an interview with George Lucas several years ago. He said that living in Marin County, CA, it's hard NOT to soak up Zen Buddhism. Anyway, this page from a Star Wars fan website talks about it: http://www.starwarz.com/tbone/guest_editorials/drdave_zen.htm
A book was recently published, called "The Dharma of Star Wars" by Matthew Bortolin. A Newsweek article (May 9, 2005, p. 14) has a brief mention. Bortolin is a member of Thich Nhat Hahn's community. Here's the Amazon.com link to his book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0861714970/qid=1115991000/sr=2- 1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-8369453-9352143 Regards, mark --- In [email protected], "ventouxboy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- Yes, i've had a simiiar situation. Sometimes it makes me wonder > if the directors are intentionally writing a Zen subtext into > movies; Fight Club comes immediatly to mind. But the caveat is that > many other religious folk see their religions in movies too. I > remember having Southern Baptist ideology shoved down my throat as a > child and being given a book on the parallels of Christianity and > Star Wars. Now I know where all the leftover qualudes went from the > seventies. I guess the point I'm trying to make here is not to read > too much into things and just enjoy them for what they are. Peace, > Guy. > > > In [email protected], "Francisco Garcia Scherer" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Folks, > > > > Hi, how are you all? > > > > Sometimes, I wonder how much my worldview (and religious > > beliefs) have been influenced by the film industry. Yesterday, the > > FOX channel was broadcasting "The Empires Strikes Back" (which is > the > > 5th chapter of the Star Wars saga), and I had the opportunity to > see, > > again, the scene in which the main hero (Skywalker) meets Yoda > (which > > becomes his instructor). The words "zen" and "buddhism" are never > > mentioned, but the similarities between Yoda�s lines and the > > classical zen buddhist speech is interesting ("A Jedi must focus > his > > attention in the present", and so forth). Another interesting > movie > > is "Black Rain", directed by Riddley Scott, in which, again, there > is > > no direct and obvious reference to zen buddhism. Yet, the japanese > > culture and the country are presented in a very elegant, > misterious > > way, which, in my opinion, resembles the Zen worldview. > > Later, when I was 16 years old, and I had the opportunity to > > attend my first lecture on buddhism, presented by a member of a > local > > zen center, I not only felt identified with that "new" worldview, > but > > I also experienced a clear feeling of familiarity. In a way, I > > already was a zen buddhist since a very early age. > > > > I wonder if anyone else also had this experience. > > > > Regards, > > > > Francisco. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers. At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide! http://us.click.yahoo.com/hjtSRD/3MnJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
