A summary and Reflection: There is no Spoon: A Buddhist Mirror

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A summary and Reflection: There is no Spoon: A Buddhist Mirror

There is no Spoon: A Buddhist Mirror is a story about Buddha and his son Rahula who wanted to get solution to the question that lingered in his mind that there was a problem with existence. Buddha was more interested in the way the mirror’s reflection and this made it (mirror) a common metaphor in Taoist and Buddhist teachings (Irwin 101). Buddhists are required have a clear mind like the mirror’s and avoid negative things that interferes with their purity. There are also other uses of mirror that have been highlighted such as the reflection in the Matrix where Rhineheart argues that the window washers normally make something that resemble matrix.

According to Irwin,The Matrix turns dramatic when Morpheus offers Neo red pill and swallows it (101-104). Neo is literally thrown in to the matrix when he finds himself immersed in to illusion. There is another incident of mirror reflection taking place in the oracle’s apartment where the Buddhist monk bends spoons and Neo’s reflection appears in the spoon. Buddhists seem to believe so much in the power of the mind in such a way that even a movement caused by the wind is believed to be a movement of the mind(Wachowski and Wachowski Film). They believe that the world is an illusion and this explains the many images reflected on the mirror and in some Buddhists believe that the illusionary nature of the world is deepening into the knowledge of the world (Grau 258-260). According to the Buddhists, the most important thing is the mind because it interprets things and therefore it should be freed.What is reflected on the mirror when we look at the mirror says nothing about us because the image is not an independent entity and this concept is called anatman in Buddhism. Mirrors can only be used in reinforcing the illusion of self and in the inauthentic world; it reaffirms the illusion of self-separateness (Irwin 103-108).

Moreover, Buddha believes that mirror helps in symbolizing the mental act of reflection, examination, thinking things through by arguing that careful reflection requires an action. He cautions that any action precedes careful thought on the impact. An action should neither harm oneself nor cause any harm to others. Buddhists teachings also entails a lot of warnings including the fact that mind can be an individual’s worst enemy. Buddhists believe in freeing the mind because detaining the mind may lead to disaster (Irwin 104-109). The mind is only regarded as helping in thinking but does not know anything and therefore may make someone indulge in negative things. Freeing mind simply means controlling oneself and saying no to what the mind thinks. All reasoning and logics should be halted and reflections need to be stopped as a means of freeing the mind.

Irwin argues that there is a belief that life is filled with suffering that is triggered by the state of the mind and that the only way to come out of the challenges is through redemption of the same mind (107-110). The film entails a lot of Buddhists’ teachings and a few of things such as violence that contradict the Buddhist teachings. It appreciates several issues regarding Buddhism and treats violence as the destruction of bad things affecting the mind. The film also points out at what culture is more interested in making it a less strict Buddhist film(Wachowski and Wachowski Film).

Reflection

The allusions r.............