(posted to alt.fan.starwars 5/25/99. )
Dear Starwars Fans,
Here is some information for you on the new movie from a Buddhist
perspective. As you know there have always been strong religious
themes in the Star Wars movies, from a wide variety of spiritual
traditions, and TPM is no different. Since not that many of us Star
Wars fans are familiar with Buddhism, some of us may not have
apprciated some of the the possible connections & implications in the
movie. So I offer the following observations to you in the spirit of
the Force.
WARNING: The following should not be read if you have not seen the
movie yet. It contains "Spoiler" information. NOTE: If you are not
interested in the spiritual/moral aspects of Star Wars, you need not
read any further.
-Chris McCarthy
10 Buddhist References in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
1.) The whole Jedi order has many of the trappings of the various
Buddhist monastic orders around the world, as has been known for
years. However in the beginning of TFM we get to see the student-
master relationship which is so important in Buddhism and in (both
Sides of) the Force. NOTE: this could also be said of many other
religions, or training practices, eg. martial arts.
2.) The term "mindfulness" is perhaps more important to Buddhists
than anyone else. It is associated with being aware of the present
moment. Qui-Gong keeps telling Obi Wan to be mindful. (To understand
"mindfulness", perhaps you may wish to try this experiment: talk to
your friends for 5 minutes about any topic you like, BUT, without
any reference to the past or the future...its not so easy!)
3.)
"Fear Leads To Anger,
Anger Leads to Hate,
Hate Leads to Suffering"
-Yoda
"There is Suffering
There is a cause of Suffering
There can be an end to Suffering
The 8-fold path brings about the end of Suffering"
-Buddha (the Four Noble Truths)
4.) The selection of new Jedi's is very similar to the selection of Tibetan
Tulkus, or Incarnate Lamas: A.) Both Must be selected when they are
very young. B.) Both must pass a series of tests. Anikin had to "see"
what was on the hand-held video screen. Tibetan Lamas must, among other
things identify the possessions of their predecessors. See the movie
"Kundun". (Incidentally, I'm not the first to notice this; see the end
of this
article)
Which brings us to the Biggest Buddhist Connection of the Movie:
Queen Amidala represents The Dalai Lama
5.) First, the name. When she takes on the persona of her servant,
she is named Padme. This word is taken from the most famous Tibetan
prayer/chant: Om Mane Padme Hum. Also, Padma means Lotus, which is
the Symbol of Enlightenment in Buddhism. Why would Lucas chose a
Tibetan name for a character? Also, the name Amidala has all the
letters of Dalai Lama. In fact you can anagram: DALAI LAMA into:
AMIDALA-LA ("LA" is the Tibetan honorific for respected people, much
like "SAN" in Japanese culture)
6.) As you hopefully know, in 1949 the Red Army of Communist China
invaded and annexed the independent nation of Tibet, subsequently
killing 1.2 Million Tibetans via war, torture, and mass starvation.
In the movie, the The Trade Federation (T.F.) represents the Chinese,
as indicated by their accent & some of their mannerisms.
7.) The T.F. forces a treaty onto the Amidala's People. This
represents the 17-Point Agreement forced onto Tibet by China after the
invasion. (which the Dalai Lama never signed and in fact repudiated
upon his departure) By the way, in so far as Palpatine is someone who
Amidala was initially trusted to protect her people,
he represents Mao Tse Tung. (again see "Kundun")
8.) Amidala was a Teenager when she came to power, as was The Dalai
Lama. As such they were somewhat naive to the machinations of
international politics. Both were then faced with the dilemma of
whether or not to flee their home country to plead for help from the
international community, or stay behind and suffer the same fate as
their repressed people. Both chose to flee.
9.) Stopping the Trade Federation's Oppression of Naboo = Stopping the
Chinese oppression of Tibet. At the end of movie the Galactic
Republic will cancel the Trade Agreement of the T.F. In real life,
the U.S. has often discussed canceling China's Most Favored Nation
(MFN) trade status, as a result of China's massive human rights
violations. It was only cancelled once (after the Tien-an-men
massacre) and has since been reinstated. The vote in Congress is
always close, and so far China is still has MFN status, all its
attendant financial benefits, in spite of the deaths of 1.2 million
Tibetans.
One other Buddhist Reference in TFM (there are probably more which
I missed):
10.) The Hidden Swamp area of Jar-Jar's people is built on the ruins
of an ancient temple which was patterned after Ankgor Wat, Cambodia,
the capital of the ancient Khmer Empire, a Buddhist kingdom in
S.E. asia around the 8th century AD. There are even huge statues with
trees growing around them both at Ankgor Wat and in the movie.
Here are some other sources of information if you are interested.
May the Force be with you.
The Offical Homepage of the Tibetan Gov't:
http://www.tibet.com/
The Tibetan Independance Movement:
http://www.rangzen.com/
Students for a Free Tibet:
http://www.tibet.org/sft/
Ankgor Wat Photos:
http://www.weblatitudes.com/multimedia/camb1.html
The Four Noble Truths:
http://tunglinkok.ca/9605/sources/teach7.htm
Om Mani Padme Hum:
http://dharma-haven.org/tibetan/meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hung.htm
http://dharma-haven.org/tibetan/prayer-wheel.htm