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12th century Cambodian statue of Buddha at the Walters Art Museum. Photo by April Lynn Downey.
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In a world of never-ending frustrations,
a young woman yearns for freedom from the monotony of her life. Her heart bursts forth in song, looking for
release into another place “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. Her desire to find this place creates a
chafing in her soul, a hardship of longing.
In the 1939 film The
Wizard of Oz (an adaptation of L. Frank Braum’s children’s story by the
same name) Dorothy wants more than her dull little life than the gray Kansas
farm can give her. She is suffering, as
all people do, which is Buddha’s first of his Four Noble Truths. Her path to enlightenment begins with an
altered mental state, a turning consciousness inward. Buddhists can attain this through meditation, but
for Dorothy, it is a hit to the head from a window flung about by a tornado. She wakes up in the beautiful and exotic land
of Oz. As what happens so often, she
gets what she wishes for and yet it does not satisfy her. Immediately, she wants to go home. Once she begins her journey, which is far more
difficult than she imagined, the full richness of her desire to go home magnifies. She now has the colorful adventures she
always hoped for, but realizes she needs the less colorful, less exciting home,
where her soul can be at peace. Her journey
is a process in discovering happiness is not by wanting more, but by wanting
less – a key principle in Buddhism.
Craving and desire are the root of humanity’s suffering (dukkha) and it is this lesson that is
the second of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths.
The people of Oz direct Dorothy towards the Wizard; they
say that he will be able to help her. Alas, she discovers that he cannot help
her. No one can. In Buddhism, even the gods are on their own
journeys toward enlightenment. But there
is a way; one can overcome needless desire and solve the problem of suffering:
Buddha’s third Noble Truth.
Buddha’s
fourth Noble Truth: to attain enlightenment and cease suffering one must follow
the correct path. This journey begins for
Dorothy with the Yellow Brick Road which could symbolize Buddha’s Eightfold
Path, a necessary route to reach enlightenment and Nirvana. Dorothy’s Nirvana is going home and accepting home
for what it is and becoming fully satisfied with it and not wanting more. In
Buddhism, Nirvana is the peaceful
state of not existing, of no more suffering or craving or the inevitable pain
that comes from continual cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). The way to Nirvana is letting go of all desire (tanha) which is the only thing that
binds us here, and then the psycho-physical phenomena of what is typically
considered “self” becomes undone. In the
movie, what kept Dorothy’s soul from accepting her present condition (her home
environment) was her tanha for more
and this made her very unhappy. Buddha
believed that every creature in existence feels this internal conflict and their
souls yearn to be released of the burden of life, “to go home” in a sense.
Humanity’s desires which keep us bound to samsara are also represented in the
desires of Dorothy’s friends whom she finds along her path. The Scarecrow wants
a brain because he is dissatisfied with his current intelligence. But it is not a higher wisdom he is seeking
for the sake of enlightenment; he is grasping for that which he believes will
make him happy because he feels something is missing in his life. The Tinman
wants a heart. Despite his obvious tenderness, he feels too like something is
missing; something he has been unable to find within himself. The Lion wants
courage. As with the others, his is a
worldly desire. He wants to be respected and to become the powerful King of the
Forest. While each one displays intelligence,
love, and bravery they are greatly dissatisfied with their current condition
and cannot find refuge in what is. Their tanha
propels them down the Yellow Brick Road as well.
The Wicked Witch of the West in the
movie is presented as the embodiment of evil, but she is also ambiguous. Her
sole desire for the ruby slippers is given no explanation and no description of
what makes her “wicked” is given either. However, one thing is certain - she is
providing a very great obstacle in the path of Dorothy and her friends. In the
story of Buddha, the demon Mara also tried to block Buddha on his path to
enlightenment. Mara used a variety of different temptations and distractions to
keep him from reaching his goal while Buddha meditated under the bodhi tree. Mara is defeated by Buddha, but not in a way
that one might think. In the Pali
Cannon, the Buddha dismisses Mara, ignores him until there is nothing left to
stand in Buddha’s way. Mara was not overthrown by violence, but simply melts
away, as does the Witch. It is inaction
and unconcern that tears down the illusions and distractions keeping us from
enlightenment. Dorothy’s defeat of the
Witch is similarly dismissive: there is no battle, no striving, not even a
desire to kill her enemy. All it took
was water, to quench the fire on the Scarecrow.
Evil is an illusion and for Dorothy it ended with a puddle on the
floor.
Although
the defeat of both the Witch and Mara is of supreme importance on the path, it
may seem anti-climatic in our modern world, full of actions and busy-ness and
grandiose ambitions. In our culture, nothing
is to be done passively, but everything is done with desperate agitation for
more - the beautiful body, the large retirement account, the grand vacation,
the perfect job. The solution to our problems always seems to be adding
something – more money, more programs, more activity. In Oz and in Buddhism, bliss
is achieved passively and the solution is not more, but an extinguishment.
It is interesting to note Dorothy’s undying compassion she
continually demonstrates throughout the movie.
Compassion is essential to Buddhism.
Compassion (karuna) is one of
the four Pure Abidings, basic lessons taught in all Buddhism: friendliness,
compassion, joy, and equanimity. After she melts the Witch, Dorothy is
uncomfortable about destroying her. She
says, traumatized, “I….I didn’t mean to kill her…really I didn’t!” She is horrified at what she has done, even
though the Witch was wicked and had tried to kill her and her friends. Having destroyed anything is against
Dorothy’s compassionate nature, a disposition which all Buddhists attempt to
cultivate.
When the four travelers return to the Wizard, he gives
them trinkets – an unearned diploma, a mechanical heart, an unwarranted
testimonial badge of honor, and a ride back to Kansas in a contraption he is
unqualified to operate. The reality is that they were no better off than they
once were. Nothing had changed but their perceptions. Holding their satisfying novelties,
the Scarecrow was now smart; the Tin Man had feelings, the Lion was brave; and
Dorothy was going home. All a continued
illusion. For the first three, their
journey was completed and they became satisfied (at least as much as one can be
satisfied still clinging to the impermanence of this world). However, Dorothy’s
journey, she soon realizes, is not over. For the Wizard flies back to Kansas
alone. Each must go on his own journey; enlightenment cannot be given. Another of Dorothy’s illusions slips away in a
balloon, forever disappearing beyond the clouds. She is alone in her dukkha. Those around her cannot help her
any more than the Wizard could.
Dorothy and her friends, as well as the entire Emerald
City, look to the Wizard, an unambiguous symbol of deity, for answers. Dorothy
and her friends overcame great obstacles for him – finding him, defeating the
Witch, and returning to him - all in the hopes of him handing them what they
desire. When the Witch writes in the sky
to surrender Dorothy, the citizens of the Emerald City run to the Wizard’s
palace because he will know what to do. The Wizard’s only answer is to go home
and things will all work out. The Wizard
is awesome and powerful, frightening and commanding. This presence holds all of
Oz in thrall. But Dorothy, to accomplish her enlightenment, needs something
greater, a deeper knowledge (prajna). The illusion is pulled back and one more step
towards enlightenment occurs – the Wizard is just a man with smoke and mirrors.
From a Buddhist perspective, this can be a somewhat startling allegory of one’s
dependence on God. Billions upon billions of people over the course of human
history have flocked towards one deity or another, but, according to Buddha,
they/he/she/it will be unable to help one end inevitable suffering. The deities
are caught up in the cycle of samsara themselves,
forever bound until they too reach enlightenment. The Wizard was stuck in Oz as well.
Dorothy’s salvation comes when
Glinda points out that she had everything she needed the whole time – the ruby
slippers, a symbol of truth which one can find right where they are without
needing anything else. Dorothy sums it
up well by stating “Well,
I -- I think that it -- that it wasn't enough just to want to see Uncle Henry
and Auntie Em -- and it's that -- if I ever go looking for my heart's desire
again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't
there, I never really lost it to begin with!” Right there Dorothy cuts to the quick and the
ultimate reality is revealed. Dorothy
closes her eyes and fades away. There is
no place like Nirvana!
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14th-15th century Chinese statue at the Walters Art Museum. It is Guanyin, a bodhisattva which is a being who voluntarily delays entering Nirvana to come back and help others achieve enlightenment..... Glinda? Photo by April Lynn Downey.
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REFERENCES:
- Corless, Roger J. The
Vision of Buddhism: The Space Under the Tree. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1989
- Fleming, Victor, Dir. The
Wizard of Oz. Perf. Judy Garland,
Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1939.
DVD.
- Ling, T. O. Buddhism
and the Mythology of Evil: A Study in Theravada Buddhism. London: George
Allen and Unwin, 1962.
- Morgan,
Kenneth W. The Path of the Buddha: Buddhism Interpreted by Buddhists. New York: Ronald
Press, 1956.
- Shi’an,
Shen. “The Buddha’s Victory Over A God
& Demon”. TheDailyEnlightenment.com. The Daily Enlightenment / Buddhist
Inspirations & News, 20 March 2012. <http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2012/03/the-buddhas-victory-over-a-god-demon>
- Smith, Huston and Philip
Novak. Buddhism: A Concise Introduction.
New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers,
2003.
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