Adele vs. PSY's "Daddy" (video)

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; "Adele" (Key of Awesome); PSY (psypark.com/"Daddy," WK) 12/1

Who'd win if PSY and Adele put up their works side by side for judging? Our editors decide.*

Viral pop music videos are fine and fun, but let's also look more deeply at Korea's unique form of Buddhism and the Dharma in England (glennlewisphotography/flickr.com).

.

The Dalai Lama in UK (GF)

A better comparison rather than the world's two most popular videos might be, Korean Buddhism versus Buddhism in England.

Buddhism is very popular in England -- thanks to its second most famous colony India -- and it has been for about two centuries.

Being British (theburningplatform.com)

The Pali Text Society and other prominent groups of scholars at Oxford University seem to be the first English-speaking scholars to translate, disseminate, popularize ancient Buddhist texts. Many thanks are due to the pioneering efforts of such greats as Rhys Davids, Mrs. Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids, Ms. I. B. Horner, F.L. Woodward, Wm. Stede, Maurice O'Connell Walshe, and so on.

PSY's dance influenced by Buddhism?

Christianity is waning in the UK, but for a time it was in its ascendancy in Korea with all the Presbyterian and Evangelical campaigns to take over another culture to open up new "markets" and colonies.

Military troops and militant Christian missionaries go hand and hand, and the larger purpose of both seems to be business. How can we take raw resources and ship them to Europe, and to the wildly successful British colony we affectionately call the USA?
 

"Gangnam Style" has 2.5 billion views, "Gentleman M/V" has .9 billion,
"Hangover" (feat. Snoop Dog) has 227 million. Can Adele keep up?

PSY is a phenom in Asia and worldwide.

Send soldiers on a mission to invade and religious missionaries on a mission to occupy. The businessmen will be right behind, first funding the campaign from Wall Street and/or Broad Street then getting the churches involved to put a veneer of respectability on the scheme, "civilizing the savages" and "teaching them our way of salvation" by the Strict Father in the Sky theory.

Then the Catholic institutions -- hegemony, ethnic cleansing, genocide, occupation, boarding schools like those visited on First Nations peoples in Canada, concentration camps dubbed "missions" in California -- can come in and molest the children while toughening them up for life in the West. Just ask Columbus or Saint Junipero Sera or the Vatican's special offices of evangelizing and banking.

The history of these tactics is well documented. It's just not spoken of in polite company because "we" would never do such a thing even if our institutions would, have, and will continue to do.

Crowds rushed to see the Dalai Lama in England in 2015 (glastonburyfestivals.co.uk).

 

And now let us turn to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy incarnate, The Wikipedia Universalis.

What is Korean Buddhism?

Wisdom Quarterly wiki edit

Korean Buddhism differs from Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan Buddhism (Buddhapia.com)

 

Korean monastics, Haesina (joonghijung/JJ/flickr).

Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what it sees as inconsistencies in Mahayana Buddhism.

Early Korean monks believed that the traditions they received from foreign countries [like China and Japan] were internally inconsistent. To address this, they developed a new holistic approach to Buddhism. This approach is characteristic of virtually all major Korean thinkers.

It has resulted in a distinct variation of Buddhism, which is called Tongbulgyo ("inter-penetrated Buddhism"), a form that seeks to harmonize all disputes -- a principle called hwajaeng 和諍 -- by Korean scholars (Choi, Yong Joon, June 30, 2006, Dialogue and Antithesis 2, Hermit Kingdom Press).

Korean Buddhist thinkers refined their predecessors' ideas into a distinct form. As it now stands, Korean Buddhism consists mostly of the Seon (jhana, dhyana, ch'an, zen, "meditative absorption") lineage, primarily represented by the Jogye and Taego Orders.

The Korean Seon has a strong relationship with other Mahayana traditions that bear the imprint of Chan teachings as well as the closely related Zen. Other sects, such as the modern revival of the Cheontae lineage, the Jingak Order (Korean 大韓佛敎眞覺宗, 대한불교진각종, a modern esoteric sect), and the newly formed Won, have allegedly also attracted sizable followings.

 

Korean Buddhism has also contributed much to East Asian Buddhism, especially to early Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan schools of Buddhist thought. More

Seon is Jhana

Buddha Gautama, Seokguram, So. Korea (Richardfabi)

According to Sri Lankan scholar-monk and meditation expert Bhante G (Ven. Abbot Henepola Gunaratana Mahathera, Bhavana Society, West Virginia) the term "jhana" is closely connected with "samadhi."

Samadhi is generally translated as "concentration" though a less misleading modern translations might include mental collectedness, effortless one-pointedness of mind, coherence of heart and mind, and so on.

The word samadhi is almost interchangeable with the Buddhist term samatha, serenity or tranquility (The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation).
 

In the discourses or sutras samadhi is defined as mental one-pointedness (ibid.) The great Indian commentator Buddhaghosa explains samadhi etymologically as:

The great superstar PSY made Wiki Korea

The centering of consciousness [cittas] and the concomitants of consciousness [cetasikas] evenly and rightly [one might add wholly] on a single object... the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object, undistracted, and unscattered (Path of Purification, Vism 84-85).

*DECISION

"James Bond" made Adele uber famous.

In the battle between light and airy PSY and heavy and laden Adele the editors rule...Adele. What! How? Look, PSY is like popcorn, whereas Adele is like corn on the cob. Both are junk by Monsanto, but at least when it's on the cob it seems more substantive.

PSY makes us laugh and dance, but Adele makes us cry and call our exes. You be your own judge, for the judges here have spoken (and it was mostly females voting, not that that could have had anything to do with their decision).

If we compare "Gangnam Style" to "Skyfall" or "Rolling in the Deep," PSY wins for dancing, but Adele crushes it for singing. She proves that again when her vocals are isolated from her live performances, which are so good she gets accused of lip syncing. (Adele would lose if she went up against "Gangnam Style LIVE").

• K-Pop: "Gangnam Style," History of Korean Buddhism
• PSY of "Gangnam Style" fame creates Wiki Korea

K-Pop: Gangnam Style (Korean Buddhism)

Wisdom Quarterly; Psy Jaesang (officialpsy); Studybuh.Buddhism.org UPDATED

PSY is a phenomenal force in music. See below for English translation of the hit song.

Great space king, Korean temple guardian

After a two-year break, PSY is back with his 6th album, "PSY6甲"! The album's over the top hit song, "Gangnam Style," has topped 100 million views on YouTube. The West is just noticing and adding to his phenomenal success. But super acts like FX have been around.
   
This is all the more surprising because the song and video are entirely PSY's creation from the music to the choreography, addictive beats to lyrics, to its superb production and promotion.

Teens React to "Gangnam Style" dance and genre

This is not the first time Korea has made an impact on the world. In ancient times, too, it made an impact with K-Bud, Korean Buddhism.

But what is Gangnam style? According to Treehugger.com the song is a subversive dig at conspicuous consumption. PSY is poking fun at the tinsel life of mass consumerism as any kind of route to happiness:
 

CNN's follow up feature on PSY and K-Pop sensation

  
"Appearances are deceiving. ...singing on the toilet might not just be participating in a ridiculous gag, but a nuanced critique of consumerist culture in Korea. Park Jaesang, or Psy, [is being] propelled to Internet ubiquity on the strength of [this song's] breathtakingly absurd video, strangely catchy hook, and the fact that its chorus sounds an awful lot like "open condom style.... There's some substance behind all the silliness, as The Atlantic's Max Fisher notes in his detailed explanation. The video, it turns out, is a satire about life in the wealthy Gangam neighborhood of Seoul." - Treehugger.com
  
See more at facebook and psypark.com. What else has Korea ever done for the world?
   

"Gangham Style" translated

  

History of Korean Buddhism

Taekwondobible.com

Dance ceremony Buddha's birthday 2003, Bulguksa

The history of Korean Buddhism is interesting to explore.

Introduced from China in 372 ACE, Buddhism combined with Korea's indigenous shamanism. During the Three Kingdoms period, Buddhism slowly developed. After the unification of the peninsula in 668 by Shilla, the golden age of the unified Shilla Period (668-935) was followed by the ritualistic Koryo Period (935-1392). Persecution ran high in the Choson Period as Neo-Confucianism gained the favor of the ruling families. In 1945, after 36 years, the Japanese colonization of Korea came to an end: Korean Buddhism underwent a renewal.
 

Early

Korean monks return to temple (Joonghijung)

Shamanism is the ancient practice of animism and nature-spirit worship. Its origins in Korea are unknown as in most of the world. But the core belief is that human beings, natural forces, and even inanimate objects possess or are possessed by spirits.
 
Because Buddhism is not regarded as being in conflict with the rites of nature worship, it naturally blended with shamanism. Many of the mountains believed to be the residence of spirits in pre-Buddhist times soon became the sites of Buddhist temples.

The Recluse
Korean shamanism gives three spirits special significance and reverence: The Mountain Spirit (Sanshin, usually depicted as an old man with a tiger at his feet), the Recluse (Toksong), and the Spirit of the Seven Stars, the Big Dipper (Ch'ilsong). They are similar to Japan's Yokai.
  
Buddhism accepted and absorbed these spirits, and special shrines are set aside for them in most temples. The Mountain Spirit in particular receives veneration following ceremonies honoring the Buddha -- in case the local mountain spirits, on whose land Buddhist temples stand, become angry.

Chinese Mahayana blended with shamanism to produce Korean Buddhism, which is regarded as a clarification of many Chinese inconsistencies. As in other Buddhist countries, the fundamental teachings of the Buddha remained the same, but the forms are uniquely Korean.

Three Kingdoms Period
In the 4th century ACE, as Buddhism was being introduced, the Korean peninsula was divided into three kingdoms: Koguryo, Paekje, and Shilla. Buddhism first arrived in the northern kingdom of Koguryo, gradually spread to Paekje in the southwest, and finally reached southeastern Shilla by the 5th century.
  

Koguryo
In 372 ACE a monk was invited from China to Korguryo. He brought Chinese texts and statues. Buddhism was quickly accepted by the Koguryo royalty and their subjects. Buddhism in China at that time was elementary in form. The people believed the law of causality, "As you sow, so shall you reap" on their search for happiness. This simple philosophy had much in common with indigenous shaman beliefs and may have been reason for the quick assimilation of Buddhism by the people of Koguryo.

Buddhism was carried southwest to Paekje in 384 and there, too, was received by the royal family. King Asin (392-450), for example, proclaimed that Korean "people should believe in Buddhism and seek happiness." During the reign of King Song (523-554) the monk Kyomik returned from India with new texts. He is considered the founder of one of the main schools of Buddhism of that period. Beginning in 530 Korean monks traveled to Japan to teach the Japanese about Buddhism. [And many Koreans believe that missionaries went throughout the world.] Architects and painters often accompanied the monks, craftsmen who helped construct great temples in Japan.
    

For a short time, a small, separate federation known as Kaya emerged that was invaded and was eventually annexed to Shilla, where commoners rather than royalty were first attracted to Buddhism. ...

King Chinhung (540-557) in particular encouraged the growth of Buddhism with the formation of a special training institution, the Hwarangdo. Select young men were trained physically and spiritually according to Buddhist principles so that they could govern and defend the nation. King Chinhung became a monk. (Several Shilla kings ordained, and their queens and families often followed the example). The arts flourished during the Shilla Period.
  
Won-hyo
The great scholar Won-hyo was born in a simple family. He renounced his religious life in order to better serve the people. Married for a short time to a princess, he had one son. As a scholar, he wrote many important treatises. His philosophy revolved around the unity and the interrelatedness of all things. Searching for a teacher at that time, many monks went to China to study Buddhism. Won-hyo and his close friend, Ui- sang, also set out for China together. On the way to China Won-hyo awoke one evening thirsty and searching around, he found a container... Realizing that it was no longer necessary for him to go to China to find a teacher, he returned home.
   
Won-hyo's Awakening
Master Ui-sang continued the journey. After ten years of study under a great Chinese master, Ui-sang offered a special gift to his teacher: a poem in the shape of a seal which, when written down, geometrically represents infinity. This poem contains the essence of the Avatamsaka Sutra (the "Flower Garland Discourse," a long, latter-day Mahayana text purporting to explain the universe). It is one of the greatest offerings of the Korean people to the world.

During the Shilla Period, the people were so devoted that some kings became Buddhists and took on Buddhist names for themselves and their families. Places were also renamed according to the faraway "holy land" of India at the time of the Buddha.
 
Interestingly, incense was introduced from China during this period. The people, not knowing its use, thought it magical and (successfully) employed it to cure disease!

Choson (1392-1910)
With the downfall of the Koryo Dynasty in 1392, Buddhism slowly declined as the new rulers of the Choson Dynasty adopted Neo-Confucianism. Priviously, many Buddhist monks had become overly involved in politics resulting in royal strife. The new interest in Confucianism led to the oppression and restriction of Buddhism by some Choson kings:
  
Temples could not be built near towns but instead had to be constructed in the mountains; many temples were pulled down; monks were looked down on and, for some years, they were not permitted to enter the capital city.
  
While some kings persecuted Buddhism, the commoners continued to go to the temples. At the beginning of the Choson Dynasty, geomancers were consulted in order to find the ideal site for a new capital. They chose an ancient place called Hanyang [not modern Gangnam], which was then renamed "Seoul."

It has been the center of culture and learning  on the peninsula ever since. The name means "capital" in Korean and was probably derived from the ancient Indian city closest and dearest to the Buddha, Sravasti. In Chinese, it became "Sarobol" and finally "Seoul" in Korean....
  

Modern

In 1910, the Choson Dynasty came to an end with the annexation of Korea to Japan. During the Colonial Period, Buddhism was greatly favored and supported by the Japanese government. However, the celibate sects were discouraged and monks were encouraged to take wives.

Abbots, heads of temples, were appointed by the Japanese occupation authorities. And many Buddhist art treasures were taken to Japan.  Today Buddhists, in cooperation with the Korean government, are negotiating with Japan for their return. In 1945 after liberation, celibate ordained members of the main sect of Kordan Buddhism, Chogye, superseded the married monks who had taken over the main temples during the Japanese occupation. Large numbers of men and women were ordained and there was a great revival of Korean Buddhism.

Recently, many new temples and centers have opened in the town. Programs for people of all ages include learning to chant, studying, all night meditation classes, and social gatherings. About half the population of Korea is Buddhist. Most Koreans, without calling themselves Buddhists, maintain a Buddhist view of life and the after life, this world and the world to come. More

• History of Korean Buddhism
• Korean Buddhist Kwam Um Sa Temple - LA
• What is Korean Buddhism? (extensive)

Martine Batchelor at Against the Stream

Creative Engagement

• Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, 7:30-9:00 pm
• Suggested Donation $25 (no one turned away)
• 4300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA
• (across from Los Angeles Community College)
  

Against the Stream MELROSE is pleased to have Martine Batchelor as a guest for this special evening. She will speak on how we can creatively engage with ourselves and the world. This talk will explore meditation as a process of un-grasping, releasing, and thus allowing a creative response.

Batchelor was born in France and spent ten years in a Korean monastery studying Zen Buddhism. Then she met Buddhist writer and former monk Stephen Batchelor. She is now a guiding teacher at Gaia House in England. She was a founding teacher of the Sharpham College of Buddhist Studies. With her husband Stephen, she leads meditation retreats worldwide and lives in Southwest France. Her books include Buddhism and Ecology; Walking on Lotus Flowers; Women in Korean Zen, and Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits. Her most recent book is The Spirit of the Buddha.

Did it all begin with Korea? (video)

America was once Korean territory -- as was Sumer, Egypt, and Central Asia, which includes Mesopotamia, the "cradle of civilization"? (Mash84)

Historian Rick Field's research (How the Swans Came to the Lake) establishes an Asian history of Buddhism in America -- long before Christianity. It was the first world religion to reach the Americas prior to Columbus and the Conquistadors.

It is easy to imagine Japanese or Chinese expansion, but Korea? Some Korean historians say Korea seeded Sumerian, Egyptian, Central Asian, and Mesoamerican cultures and eventual empires.

Sublime has a remake of a classic punk rock song by Bad Religion that teaches us all a lesson about expansionism, a Manifest Destiny view of the planet, and an endless thirst for fresh conquests:

We're Only Gonna Die
"Early man walked away as modern man took control
Their minds weren't all the same to conquer was his goal
So he built his great empire and he slaughtered his own kind
He died a confused man killed himself with his own mind... Go!

We're only gonna die from our own arrogance.
We're only gonna die from our own arrogance.
We're only gonna die from our own arrogance.
(That's why we might as well take our time)."

(Written by Greg Graffin, Ph.D. of Bad Religion from their debut release: "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?")

Did Korea establish Aztec and Inca empires?

Freed Korean journalists back home

Freed journalists back home
After Bill Clinton intervenes, Laura Ling and Euna Lee return to the U.S. after their ordeal in North Korea. Details of their detention

• See family, journalists reunite
• Obama hails release
• Emotional photos
• Analysis: U.S. let N. Korea save face by freeing reporters

Korean Monks Protest in Seoul

Korean monk protesting, CNN VIDEO (0:47)