~
-Buddhism Connection~
[Click Picture above to enter Official Website of the Motion
Picture]
[Note: This is a
rewritten document by Danny (aka Kato):
June 2000;
pictures adapt from movie "The
Matrix";
orginally complied & noted by Shian: 08/08/1999]
Plot of the Movie
What if reality was false and your
nightmares were true? Is the present, the past and the future
happening now? Thomas Anderson begins suspecting these questions.
Anderson is a young man trying to live his life in the hustle and
bustle of your typical modern day Metropolitan City.
But lately, he has plagued by a
nightmare, a horrific dream of himself being physically wired
against his will into a vast futuristic computer system. As the
dreams continue, his life suddenly being taking a strange turn.
Anderson now begins having doubts about reality. Is he really
here in a present day city, or is he wired up with millions of
others into the massive 'Matrix' in the future - all blissfully
unaware of where they really are? If the latter is true then how
and why is he there? Who is he really? Is everyone else around
him trapped like he is, or are they just computer projections?
And most important of all - Who put him there and what will they
do if they realize he suspects the truth?
[Noted: The purpose of making this
movie "The Matrix" is not to base on Buddhism teachings. There are
just only some connections with this movie and Buddhism
teachings.]
Main Characters
NEO: New, in a different way. Neo can also be rearranged to
spell the word "One". Neo in the movie is described as
the One that will Awaken, similar to being Enlightened, such that
he will save all Mankind. Neo is akin to disciple to Morpheus,
who is like is guru, initiating him into reality.
MORPHEUS: In Greek mythology, god of dreams, the son of
Somnus, god of sleep. Morpheus formed the dreams that come to
those asleep. He also represented human beings in dreams.
Morpheus in the story plays a Buddha-like fatherly figure, till
Neo overtakes him in mastery of the Matrix.
Neo Meets Trinity 
TRINITY: And when I found him
(Morpheus), he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was
looking for the answer. It is the question that drives us. It is
the question that brought you here. Do you know the question?
Morpheus is like a somewhat enlightened and
mysterious figure who knows more than most people. In this sense,
similar to the Buddha. All who seeked the Buddha discover that it
isn't Him that they were really seeking. They were seeking the
Truth from Him. The question that drives one to seek the
enlightened is about the world we live in and what it means to us
as an individual.
NEO: What is the Matrix?
TRINITY: The answer is out there. It is
looking for you. And it will find you if you want it to.
The Truth is always there- and all it takes
is for us to embrace and see it.
Neo Talks to his Boss 
BOSS: Every single employee understands
that they are a part of the whole. Thus, when an employee has a
problem, the company has a problem.
This statement actually relates to the nature
of the Matrix, or rather, to the world, where everything is
interdependent, each part affecting the others. This is a gist of
the teaching of Dependent Origination.
Trinity brings Neo to Morpheus 
TRINITY: Let me give you one piece of
advice, be honest, he knows much more than you can possibly
imagine.
Before those who knows more, it is always
wise to be true, to be humble, or one will fail to learn. This is
an attitude that Buddhism encourages.
Neo Meets Morpheus 
MORPHEUS: Do you believe in fate?
NEO: No.
MORPHEUS: Why?
NEO: Because I just don't like the idea
that I'm not in control of my life.
MORPHEUS: I know exactly what you mean.
Buddhism does not subscribe to the idea that
we do not have full control of our lives. While we are dealt a
hand of cards (by ourselves in the past), how we choose to play
our cards determine whether we win the game.
MORPHEUS: We are trained in this world
to accept only what is rational and logical. Have you ever
wondered why? As children, we do not separate the possible from
the impossible which is why the younger the mind is the easier it
is to free while a mind like yours can be very difficult.
NEO: Free from what?
MORPHEUS: From the Matrix. Do you want to
know what it is, Neo? It's that feeling you have had all your
life. That feeling that something was wrong with the world. You
don't know what it is but it's there, like a splinter in your
mind, driving you mad, driving you to me. But what is it? The
Matrix is everywhere, it's all around us, here even in this room.
You can see it out your window, or on your television. You feel
it when you go to work, or go to church or pay your taxes. It is
the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from
the truth.
The feeling is analogous to the nagging
feeling of dissatisfaction we have pervading our lives - the
First Noble Truth.
NEO: What truth?
MORPHEUS: That you are a slave, Neo. That's
you, like everyone else, was born into bondage...kept inside a
prison that you cannot smell, taste or touch. A prison for your
mind. Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You
have to see it for yourself. Remember that all I am offering is
the truth. Nothing more.
The Matrix is analogous to Samsara in nature.
Neo Breaks Free of His Cocoon 
When Neo woke up from his cocoon, he looked
around and discovered that there are thousands of other similar
cocoons. It is as if each of us in a prison that feels like home,
living separate deluded realities linked by collective karma into
one "reality". His discharge from the system was like
rebirth from a womb, where he was unplugged from from the
"source" that had been sustaining him, much like
cutting of the umbilical cord. His painful and shocking
experience during the discharge is somewhat similar to birth
pains of a child.
Neo Wakes Up into the Real World 
NEO: What is the Matrix?
MORPHEUS: Have you ever had a dream, Neo,
that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake
from that dream, Neo? How would you know the difference between
the dream world and the real world?
What is real? Is a real nightmare or real
dream? How is the experience different from real life? Or is
reality all in the mind only, ultimately?
Neo Enters the Loading Program 
MORPHEUS: This is the Construct. It is
our loading program. We can load anything from clothes, to
weapons, to training simulations. Anything we need. Sit down.
NEO: Right now, we're inside a computer
program?
MORPHEUS: Wild, isn't it?
NEO: This isn't real? Right now, we are
inside a computer program?
MORPHEUS: Is it really so hard to believe?
Your clothes are different. The plugs in your head and arms are
gone. Your hair has changed. Your appearance now is what we call
a residual self image. It is the mental projection of your
digital self. What is real? How do you define real? If you're
talking about your senses, what you feel, taste, smell, or see,
then all you're talking about are electrical signals interpreted
by your brain...
(Turn on TV) This is the world as you know
at the end of the twentieth century. This world exists only as
part of a neural-interactive simulation that we call the
Matrix...
NEO: I can't go back, can I?
Once one has awakened to some aspect of
reality, it is impossible to "unawaken".
MORPHEUS: No, but if you could, would
you really want to? When the Matrix was first built, there was a
man born inside that had the ability to change what he wanted, to
remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was this man that freed the
first of us and taught us the secret of the war; control the
Matrix and you control the future. When he died, the Oracle
prophesied his return and envisioned an end to the war and
freedom for our people. That is why there are those of us that
have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix, looking for
him. As long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be
free.
The first man to break free is analogous to
an ancient Buddha, who set the example of the possibility of
breaking free of Samsara with the power of understand. The
prophecy is analogous to the prediction of a future Buddha's
arrival. As long as Samsara exists, all sentient beings can never
be free.
Neo Learns to Fight and Jumping Roof
MORPHEUS: (Training dojo) Some of these
rules can be bent. Others can be broken. If you can break free
your mind, the body will follow. You have to learn to let go of
that anger. You must let go of everything. You must empty
yourself to free your mind... If there are rules, there are
limitations. If there are none, there are no boundaries.
What are you waiting for? You are faster than this. Don't think
you are - know you are. Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit
me...
(Top of roof) I'm trying to free your mind.
But I can only show you the door. You are the one that has to
walk through it...
You have to let it all go - Fear, Doubt and Disbelief. Free your
mind...
These statements refer to the way our minds
trap ourselves, and the importance of setting it free, it being
the source of our true power, itself being all powerful if
utilized correctly.
NEO: (When he came out of the training program, bleeding) I thought it wasn't real.
MORPHEUS: Your mind makes it real.
NEO: If you killed in the Matrix, you die?
MORPHEUS: The body cannot live without the
mind.
Even if the mind is in illusory or deluded
state, it can still cause real harm or even death if not taken
care of. Thus, mastery of the mind is of utmost importance in
Buddhism.
Neo Enters Another Program 
MORPHEUS: The Matrix is a system. That
system is our enemy. When you are inside, you are inside, you
look around and what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers,
carpenters - the very minds of the people you are trying to save.
But until you do, they are still a part of that system that they
will fight and to protect them.
Ordinary people's mind are who the
enlightened beings aspire to save. But as long as these beings
are deluded, there is a chance that they might pose as their
enemies, not understanding their intentions to save them from
delusion, which many are still comfortable in - to the extent
that they might die for their delusion.
MORPHEUS: If you are not one of us, you
are one of them. What are they? Sentinel programs. They can move
in and out any software program still hardwired to the system.
This means that anyone that we haven't unplugged is potentially
an agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and no one. We are
survived by hiding from them, running from them. But they are the
gatekeepers they are guarding all the doors and they are holding
all the keys. Someday will have to fight them.
If one is not enlightened, one is deluded -
there is nothing equivocal about this. Sentinel programs are
analogous to "demons of Mara", who can easily slip in
and out anywhere in Samsara to confuse and endanger the Wisdom
Life of sentient beings. As long as sentient beings are
unenlightened, each of them has the possibility of manifesting
anymore, even if just for an instance, as the demons of Mara in
terms of negative qualities of Greed, Hatred and/or Ignorance.
Thus, they can be everyone, yet to one in particular, us all
being "connected" to Samsara. We survive
"attacks" from Mara by first escaping them - but is a
matter of time when we have to face them to win them once and for
all. Our personal demons are gatekeepers in the sense that only
when we conquer them with our understanding, do we have the key
to Enlightenment or liberation?
Cypher Talks to Agent Smith 
CYPHER: (Pausing, he examines the meat skewered on his fork) You know, I know that this steak doesn't exist. I
know when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain
that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, do you know
what I've realized? (He pops it in, eyes rolling up,
savoring the tender beef melting in his mouth) Ignorance is bliss. I don't want to remember
nothing. Nothing! You understand? And I want to be rich. Someone
important. Like an actor. You can do that, right? All right. You
get my body back in a power plant, reinsert me into the Matrix
and I'll get you what you want.
Ignorance might seem to be bliss at times.
But it is a form of escapism and can never offer permanent bliss.
An illusion is after all, just an illusion. No matter how long it
might be sustained, it will end, bringing suffering. The nature
of Samsara is such that remaining in it as a deluded sentient
being can never bring True Happiness. Because of this, we all
should be enlightened to the reality of all things.
Mouse Talks to Neo 
MOUSE: To deny our impulses is to deny
the very thing that makes us human.
Human beings have none and base impulses - it
is the following of our noble impulses that make us great, that
bring forth Enlightenment; not vice versa.
The Psychic Boy Talks to Neo 
BOY: Do not try to bend the spoon.
There is no spoon. Instead, only try to realize the truth, that
there is no spoon. Then you would see that is not the spoon that
bends - it is only yourself.
This is a way of teaching the oneness of all
things with our mind that relates to all in perfect synchronized
harmony.
The Oracle Talks to Neo 
ORACLE: Being the One is like being in
love. No one can tell you are in love - you just know it. Through
and through...
Being destined for Enlightenment or being an
Enlightened One is something that one knows beyond all doubt.
ORACLE: You got the gift - but you are
waiting. Your next life maybe. That's the way these things go.
We all can be the One, as in Enlightened
Ones, as we all possess the perfect Buddha-nature, or potential
to be Buddhas. However, we procrastinate our spiritual
advancement again and again.
Agent Smith Talks to Morpheus 
AGENT SMITH: Every mammal on this
planet instinctively develops a nature equilibrium with the
surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an
area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource
is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to
another area... There is another organism on this planet that
follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus.
This reminds us of the Buddha's teaching that
all life on Earth is interdependent. Thus, we should live as one,
in balance, according to the Middle Path. When out of Greed we
step off the Middle Path, we are in conflict with our own nature
and Mother Nature, us becoming a threat to the planet - to other
humans, the environment and ourselves.
Neo Saves the Day
When Neo resurrected from his death, it was
as if he underwent a spiritual rebirth, believing in full the
power of his min, becoming "fully Enlightened". He saw
the Matrix in its underlying digital reality, akin to having
attained penetrating insight into the true nature of all things.
With that, he had total control of his environment, stopping
bullets coming at him, morphing the walkway, subduing the
agents...
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