Buddhism in the "Matrix" movie

[DS Star]

I read this interesting article about Buddhist concepts in the Matrix movie written by Frances Flannery-Dailey of Hendrix College and Rachel Wagne of University of Iowa.

They talked widely about the similarities of the "Matrix" and the concept of "Samsara" and how one is trapped within our own illusions, very much like in the 'Matrix world'.

They said the movie also included other important Buddhist concepts i.e. Dependent Origination (or as they called Dependent Co-Origination), the path to enlightenment and the Bodhisattva path.

http://nisargadatta.net/matrix/matrix_philosophy_1.htm

"When asked by a fan if Buddhist ideas influenced them in the production of the movie, the Wachowski brothers offered an unqualified "Yes." Indeed, Buddhist ideas pervade the film and appear in close proximity with the equally strong Christian imagery. Almost immediately after Neo is identified as "my own personal Jesus Christ," this appellation is given a distinctively Buddhist twist. The same hacker says: "This never happened. You don’t exist." From the stupa-like pods which encase humans in the horrific mechanistic fields to Cypher’s selfish desire for the sensations and pleasures of the matrix, Buddhist teachings form a foundation for much of the film’s plot and imagery.

[23] The Problem of Samsara. Even the title of the film evokes the Buddhist worldview. The matrix is described by Morpheus as "a prison for your mind." It is a dependent "construct" made up of the interlocking digital projections of billions of human beings who are unaware of the illusory nature of the reality in which they live and are completely dependent on the hardware attached to their real bodies and the elaborate software programs created by A.I. This "construct" resembles the Buddhist idea of samsara, which teaches that the world in which we live our daily lives is constructed only from the sensory projections formulated from our own desires. When Morpheus takes Neo into the "construct" to teach him about the matrix, Neo learns that the way in which he had perceived himself in the matrix was nothing more than "the mental projection of your digital self." The "real" world, which we associate with what we feel, smell, taste, and see, "is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain." The world, Morpheus explains, exists "now only as part of a neural interactive simulation that we call the matrix." In Buddhist terms, we could say that "because it is empty of self or of what belongs to self, it is therefore said: ‘The world is empty.’ And what is empty of self and what belongs to self? The eye, material shapes, visual consciousness, impression on the eye -- all these are empty of self and of what belongs to self." According to Buddhism and according to The Matrix, the conviction of reality based upon sensory experience, ignorance, and desire keeps humans locked in illusion until they are able to recognize the false nature of reality and relinquish their mistaken sense of identity.

[24] Drawing upon the Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Co-Origination, the film presents reality within the matrix as a conglomerate of the illusions of all humans caught within its snare. Similarly, Buddhism teaches that the suffering of human beings is dependent upon a cycle of ignorance and desire which locks humans into a repetitive cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The principle is stated in a short formula in the Samyutta-nikaya:

If this is that comes to be;
from the arising of this that arises;
if this is not that does not come to be;
from the stopping of this that is stopped.

[25] The idea of Dependent Co-Origination is illustrated in the context of the film through the illusion of the matrix. The viability of the matrix’s illusion depends upon the belief by those enmeshed in it that the matrix itself is reality. A.I.’s software program is, in and of itself, no illusion at all. Only when humans interact with its programs do they become enmeshed in a corporately-created illusion, the matrix, or samsara, which reinforces itself through the interactions of those beings involved within it. Thus the matrix’s reality only exists when actual human minds subjectively experience its programs.

[26] The problem, then, can be seen in Buddhist terms. Humans are trapped in a cycle of illusion, and their ignorance of this cycle keeps them locked in it, fully dependent upon their own interactions with the program and the illusions of sensory experience which these provide, and the sensory projections of others. These projections are strengthened by humans’ enormous desire to believe that what they perceive to be real is in fact real. This desire is so strong that it overcomes Cypher, who can no longer tolerate the "desert of the real" and asks to be reinserted into the matrix. As he sits with Agent Smith in an upscale restaurant smoking a cigar with a large glass of brandy, Cypher explains his motives:

"You know, I know this steak doesn’t exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss."

[27] Cypher knows that the matrix is not real and that any pleasures he experiences there are illusory. Yet for him, the "ignorance" of samsara is preferable to enlightenment. Denying the reality that he now experiences beyond the matrix, he uses the double negative: "I don’t want to remember nothing. Nothing. And I want to be rich. Someone important. Like an actor." Not only does Cypher want to forget the "nothing" of true reality, but he also wants to be an "actor," to add another level of illusion to the illusion of the matrix that he is choosing to re-enter. The draw of samsara is so strong that not only does Cypher give in to his cravings, but Mouse also may be said to have been overwhelmed by the lures of samsara, since his death is at least in part due to distractions brought on by his sexual fantasies about the "woman in the red dress" which occupy him when he is supposed to be standing alert.

[28] Whereas Cypher and Mouse represent what happens when one gives in to samsara, the rest of the crew epitomize the restraint and composure praised by the Buddha. The scene shifts abruptly from the restaurant to the mess hall of the Nebuchadnezzar, where instead of being offered brandy, cigars and steak, Neo is given the "bowl of snot" which is to be his regular meal from that point forward. In contrast to the pleasures which for Cypher can only be fulfilled in the matrix, Neo and the crew must be content with the "single-celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals" which Dozer claims is "everything the body needs." Clad in threadbare clothes, subsisting on gruel, and sleeping in bare cells, the crew is depicted enacting the Middle Way taught by the Buddha, allowing neither absolute asceticism nor indulgence to distract them from their work.

[29] The Solution of Knowledge/Enlightenment. This duality between the matrix and the reality beyond it sets up the ultimate goal of the rebels, which is to free all minds from the matrix and allow humans to live out their lives in the real world beyond. In making this point, the film-makers draw on both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist ideas. Alluding to the Theravada ideal of the arhat, the film suggests that enlightenment is achieved through individual effort. As his initial guide, Morpheus makes it clear that Neo cannot depend upon him for enlightenment. Morpheus explains, "no one can be told what the matrix is. You have to see it for yourself." Morpheus tells Neo he must make the final shift in perception entirely on his own. He says: "I’m trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it." For Theravada Buddhists, "man’s emancipation depends on his own realization of the Truth, and not on the benevolent grace of a god or any external power as a reward for his obedient good behavior." The Dhammapada urges the one seeking enlightenment to "Free thyself from the past, free thyself from the future, free thyself from the present. Crossing to the farther shore of existence, with mind released everywhere, no more shalt thou come to birth and decay." As Morpheus says to Neo, "There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." And as the Buddha taught his followers, "You yourselves should make the effort; the Awakened Ones are only teachers." As one already on the path to enlightenment, Morpheus is only a guide; ultimately Neo must recognize the truth for himself.

[30] Yet The Matrix also embraces ideas found in Mahayana Buddhism, especially in its particular concern for liberation for all people through the guidance of those who remain in samsara and postpone their own final enlightenment in order to help others as bodhisattvas. The crew members of the Nebuchadnezzar epitomize this compassion. Rather than remain outside of the matrix where they are safer, they choose to re-enter it repeatedly as ambassadors of knowledge with the ultimate goal of freeing the minds and eventually also the bodies of those who are trapped within the Matrix’s digital web. The film attempts to blend the Theravada ideal of the arhat with the Mahayana ideal of the bodhisattva, presenting the crew as concerned for those still stuck in the matrix and willing to re-enter the matrix to help them, while simultaneously arguing that final realization is an individual process."

 

By Rachel Wagner, The University of Iowa 

and

 Frances Flannery-Dailey, Hendrix College


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PS: This excerpt is from a longer article called Wake up! Gnosticism and Buddhism in The Matrix which

originally appeared in The Journal of Religion and Film

and also see the Philosophy & the Matrix section on http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com

[Big Uncle]

I was so blown over when I first watched Matrix many years ago. I think that the movie is so cool because it is sci-fi and yet it had Buddhist elements of an illusory existence. The whole concept and premise of the movie is sheer genius and the execution of the movie,  cinematography, plot and so forth was near flawless. It was such a hit and it is probably one of the best sci-fi movies of all times and sits up there with the all time classics like Space Odyssey, Aliens and so forth.

I think that the movie did great service to introduce the concept of an illusory existence that we live in. It does not speak of Buddhism directly but rather introduces it through the premise of the movie. I think that is just pure genius and I love how the plot unfolds as the protagonist of the movie chooses his path and takes the right pill (part of the plot) and wakes up into his real body. I think that this is just the same for us, we need to chose our right pill and the right medication to wake us up is the Dharma. This allegory of medication was originally used by the Buddha. The movie just modernized it into a choice of 2 pills as an escape from the illusory world.

[Matibhadra]

I think that this is just the same for us, we need to chose our right pill and the right medication to wake us up is the Dharma.

According to a Buddhist view, slavery and liberation do not depend on a mere ”choice”, but rather on understanding suffering, its causes, its cessation, and the path to such cessation.

Once one understands theses realities, also known as four noble realities, and since no one wants to suffer, one obviously chooses what is appropriate to the cessation of suffering.

Therefore, while obviously there are choices, those are totally dependent on understanding; in other words, Buddhism does not recognize such thing as a ”free will”; every act of will is fully dependent on knowledge, or the lack thereof.

The un-Buddhistic idea of choosing without dependence on knowledge, or out a supposed ”free will”, is actually an essential tenet of the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; a tenet they took from Zoroastriaism.

And so, the whole story of the Matrix has nothing to do with Buddhism, and is nothing but Judaism and the usual and crude Jewish anti-humanity propaganda. The land of freedom is ”Zion”; those who do not submit to ”Zion” are de-humanized (as ”sentient machines”); those who are not for ”Zion” are ”slaves”; Neo (anagram of ”One”) is the Jewish prophesized messiah or ”savior”, who chooses the ”right pill” according to his ”free will”; unspeakable mass murderings are proposed to ensure the victory of ”Zion”, and made acceptable by the de-humanization of the victims; Trinity (Christianity named after its main dogma) supports Neo, and thus Zion or Israel, as Christians (specially the Dispensationalist nowadays), are educated to submit to the Jewish ”God”, and thus to Israel; and so forth.

The movie just modernized it into a choice of 2 pills as an escape from the illusory world.

However, the idea of ”illusion” proposed by the Matrix story fits Judaism, and is the very opposite of the Buddhist meaning of the term.

According to Judaism, ”illusion” is non-subservience to the bloodthirsty ”god” Jehovah, and thus to Israel, or ”Zion” as in the Matrix story.

Meanwhile, according to Buddhism, illusion is the very root of subservience or slavery to any god, dogma, or people, including the ”chosen people” of ”Zion”.

[icy]

Thank you Jspitanga for your contribution here.  It does make sense.

[icy]

Is this true?

[Matibhadra]

It's possible. Abrahamic ideologies, rooted in hatred as they are, are always in a state of fighting, against humanity and against each other.

[RedLantern]

There are good arguments against The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded being Christian or Buddhist movies but if it remains undeniable that there are powerful religions themes running throughout these films.Or is it really undeniable?The presence of such themes are the reason why many believe that these are fundamentally religious movies,even if they cannot be identified with any one particular religions tradition.Yet perhaps this conclusion is not so well founded at all.

[Matibhadra]

There are good arguments against The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded being Christian or Buddhist movies but if it remains undeniable that there are powerful religions themes running throughout these films.

Western people have been brainwashed for 2000 years to call mass murder promoting ideologies, such as Judaism and Christianity (plus Islam, of course) as ”religions”. In this sense the ”Matrix” story is deeply religious indeed, but there you cannot see even the slightest trace of Buddhism.

Or is it really undeniable?The presence of such themes are the reason why many believe that these are fundamentally religious movies,even if they cannot be identified with any one particular religions tradition.

The identification of the Matrix argument with Jewish ideology and propaganda is consistent and blatant, as already shown in a recent post.

Yet perhaps this conclusion is not so well founded at all.

If such were the case, you would show why. Since you do not, it follows that not even you believe your own statement.