(El castellano sigue el inglés)
No "limited strikes" on the people and land of Syria or anywhere!
Whatever happened to "Do unto your neighbor as you would have him do unto you"?
Is the U.S. government (backed/manipulated by U.S.-based transnational corporations who profit from war) inviting neighbors to do "limited strikes" on the U.S. people and land because of its government's own many breaches of international agreements?
Common sense and even the Bible criticises this proposed aggressive act of "limited strikes", such as in Matthew 7:4-5 "How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will
see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
If the U.S. wants to be a "good guy" teaching the world in a paternalistic way, it can start by stopping being a Rambo-esque hypocrite and start being more Gandhi- and Mandela-esque by self-reflecting. The U.S. government needs to apologize for all the harm it has done and work hard to right its own wrongs for the well-being of everyone on our blue orb.
Here is a very partial list of U.S. wrongs that need to be addressed before criticising a "speck" in anyone else's eye:
1. Invading and occupying countries.
2. Manipulating/brainwashing its own citizens through media monopolies.
3. Mandating that corporations have to make a profit no matter how much damage they do to humans, and other living beings such as Pachamama (Mother Earth), in the process.
3. Manipulating/brainwashing people around the world through "Voice of America" radio broadcasts that were started in WWII by the U.S. Department of War and continue to this day.
4. Disregarding the Kyoto Protocol and other international summits/agreements about living more harmoniously with our Mother, the Earth.
What other wrongs would YOU add to this list?
Keep speaking out. We CAN turn the tide.
***
NO a los "ataques limitados" al pueblo y la tierra de Siria o en cualquier lugar!
¿Qué pasó con "Trata a tu prójimo como te gustaría que le hicieran a ti"?
¿El gobierno de los EE.UU. (respaldado / manipulado por las empresas transnacionales que se aprovechan de la guerra) invitando a los vecinos a hacer "ataques limitados" contra el pueblo de Estados Unidos y la tierra, porque de las muchas violaciones de su propio gobierno de los acuerdos internacionales?
El sentido común e incluso la Biblia critican este acto agresivo propuesta de "ataques limitados", como en Mateo 7:4-5 "¿Cómo puedes decir a tu hermano: Déjame sacar la paja de tu ojo ', cuando todo el vez que hay una viga en tu propio ojo? ¡Hipócrita, saca primero la viga de tu propio ojo, y entonces verás bien para sacar la paja del ojo de tu hermano. "
Si los EE.UU. quiere enseñar al mundo en una manera paternalista, tiene que dejar de ser un hipócrita Rambo-esque y empezar a ser más como Gandhi y Mandela por la auto-reflexión. El gobierno de EE.UU. tiene que pedir perdón por todo el daño que ha hecho, y tiene que trabajar duro para corregir sus propios errores para el bienestar de todos en nuestro orbe azul.
Aquí está una lista parcial de los males de los Estados Unidos que deben abordarse antes de criticar una "mancha" en los ojos de alguien más:
1. Invadir y ocupar países.
2. Manipular / lavar los cerebros a sus propios ciudadanos a través de los monopolios de comunicación.
3. La obligatoriedad legal de que las empresas tienen que obtener lo maximo utilidad, sin importar cuánto daño le hacen a los seres humanos y otros seres vivos, como la Pachamama (Madre Tierra), en el proceso.
3. Manipular / lavar los cerebros de gente de todo el mundo a través de "La Voz de América" emisiones de radio que se han iniciado en la Segunda Guerra Mundial por el Departamento de Guerra de EE.UU. y continúan hasta el día en hoy.
4. Sin tener en cuenta el Protocolo de Kyoto y otras cumbres / acuerdos sobre el medio ambiente -- cómo vivir con más armonía con nuestra Madre, la Tierra Internacional.
¿Qué otros "males" añadirías a esta lista?
Sigue hablando en voz alta. Si se puede convertir la marea.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
Native Appropriations, Fashion, and Evo Morales's 10 Commandments
Native people and friends filled the pews and stood along the walls of Reed College chapel on Wednesday, listening in rapt attention to Louie Gong (Nooksack), Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation) and Jessica Metcalfe (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) discuss U.S. companies who "are guilty of misusing Native American sacred iconography," and pointing out who is doing good work. I'll simplify the argument as good -vs- bad.
According to the panel, these shoes are good.
And this outfit is bad.
Why? They seem so similar. Both are items of clothing manufactured in factories (probably in China). What's the difference?
The shoes are good because they were painted after-market by Louie Gong, a Native Artist. But the totem pole outfit is bad primarily because it was designed by a non-Native artist.
Appropriation of Native imagery is an insult to Native people. I agree. Gong argued that we should only buy Native iconography directly from Native artists. That sounds like a good idea.
But it's not the end of the discussion. What about when Native American artists are appropriating from Native people in other parts of our Mother Earth, Pachamama?
Here's a "good" story the panel presented, which I find has "bad" hidden within it.
Back in September Paul Frank threw a racist powwow fashion event and sold tee shirts about it. Both Jessica Metcalfe and Adrienne Keene wrote blog articles protesting this appropriation of Native sacred iconography, asked for apologies and Jessica suggested that Paul Frank collaborate with Native designers in the future. To their great surprise the president of Paul Frank talked with them on the phone, apologized and agreed to hire a Native designer to its team.
Of course Metcalfe and Keene celebrated this great victory of having Native voices heard by someone in the oppressors' power structure. Perhaps it will even be co-panelist Louie Gong who will soon be designing for Paul Frank. While this does indeed seem like a cause for celebration, can it actually be a cause for concern?
What if we ask who manufactures Paul Frank products?
It turns out that at least some of Paul Frank products are made in China — most likely by oppressed Native people.
A quick look at Naomi Klein's book No Logo quickly sickens the heart of anyone who cares about our human family. The documentary "Manufactured Landscapes" shows us how we as consumers are unwillingly oppressing our brothers and sisters. Capitalist globalization (including Paul Frank) is appropriating Native people's labor in China and elsewhere to manufacture commodities for consumers to buy, and generate profits for the 1%.
Native Chinese peoples, especially young single women, are driven by desperation to go to barricaded fortresses of Free Trade Zones and offer long hours of exhausting labor in exchange for un-nourishing food, overcrowded shelter, and a mere pittance of money. Suicide is rampant in the Free Trade Zones. But China is not alone. Capitalist globalization has a domino effect on oppression. China then oppresses Taiwanese with Free Trade Zones there that demand structural adjustments, much like the International Monetary Fund demands from colonized Native peoples in Third World countries around the world. Structural adjustments that allow imports of products from more powerful countries, which will cripple then eliminate local production. This is an economic colonization that creates dependency.
Doesn't this sound familiar? How different is it from the way colonizers have treated Native people for centuries? If we didn't give in to bribes forming dependency, then we were kidnapped, enslaved, slaughtered, or relocated.
Relocated like the desperate Native people in China, Taiwan , Nicaragua and elsewhere, whose labor and bodies have been relocated into Free Trade Zones to grease the wheels of capitalism.
Is it truly something to celebrate that Paul Frank will collaborate with a Native designer? No. I argue that it is a cause to mourn — for Paul Frank now has the blessing of Adrienne Keene , which allows the company to continue oppressing Native people in Third World countries who have been driven by desperation to work in factories in Free Trade Zones.
By the way, Native designer Louie Gong suggested boycotting Pendleton because they are not Native owned and have been appropriating Native designs for more than a century. The audience gasped. Meanwhile, Gong specializes in painting Native designs on shoes, especially canvas tennis shoes. Where are those shoes manufactured? You guessed it. Most likely they are made in China.
What ethical difference is there, if any, between a non-Native appropriating Native iconography, and a Native appropriating the labor and lives of Third World Natives in Free Trade Zones to produce his or her designs? Are we unintentionally adopting the same mindset as the oppressor?
I suggest that instead of competing to get to the top of the heap on the sinking ship of globalized capitalism, we could better honor our Native Traditions by looking to the sustainable wisdom of our ancestors, like our brothers and sisters are doing in Bolivia.
President Evo Morales is the first Indigenous president in the Americas. Recently he proclaimed a new era, Pachakuti, in his December 21, 2012 speech, Manifesto of the Island of the Sun . In this speech he spells out 10 Commandments for dismantling capitalism and for living well based on ancestral wisdom.
I greatly admire Louie, Adrienne and Jessica's struggles to protect, revitalize and disseminate Native culture and identity. And I hope we will each read and reflect on President Evo Morales's speech, reconsidering what is truly worthy of celebration.
Article first published as Appropriation of Native American Iconography in the 21st Century on Blogcritics.
According to the panel, these shoes are good.
And this outfit is bad.
Why? They seem so similar. Both are items of clothing manufactured in factories (probably in China). What's the difference?
The shoes are good because they were painted after-market by Louie Gong, a Native Artist. But the totem pole outfit is bad primarily because it was designed by a non-Native artist.
Appropriation of Native imagery is an insult to Native people. I agree. Gong argued that we should only buy Native iconography directly from Native artists. That sounds like a good idea.
But it's not the end of the discussion. What about when Native American artists are appropriating from Native people in other parts of our Mother Earth, Pachamama?
Here's a "good" story the panel presented, which I find has "bad" hidden within it.
Back in September Paul Frank threw a racist powwow fashion event and sold tee shirts about it. Both Jessica Metcalfe and Adrienne Keene wrote blog articles protesting this appropriation of Native sacred iconography, asked for apologies and Jessica suggested that Paul Frank collaborate with Native designers in the future. To their great surprise the president of Paul Frank talked with them on the phone, apologized and agreed to hire a Native designer to its team.
Of course Metcalfe and Keene celebrated this great victory of having Native voices heard by someone in the oppressors' power structure. Perhaps it will even be co-panelist Louie Gong who will soon be designing for Paul Frank. While this does indeed seem like a cause for celebration, can it actually be a cause for concern?
What if we ask who manufactures Paul Frank products?
It turns out that at least some of Paul Frank products are made in China — most likely by oppressed Native people.
A quick look at Naomi Klein's book No Logo quickly sickens the heart of anyone who cares about our human family. The documentary "Manufactured Landscapes" shows us how we as consumers are unwillingly oppressing our brothers and sisters. Capitalist globalization (including Paul Frank) is appropriating Native people's labor in China and elsewhere to manufacture commodities for consumers to buy, and generate profits for the 1%.
Native Chinese peoples, especially young single women, are driven by desperation to go to barricaded fortresses of Free Trade Zones and offer long hours of exhausting labor in exchange for un-nourishing food, overcrowded shelter, and a mere pittance of money. Suicide is rampant in the Free Trade Zones. But China is not alone. Capitalist globalization has a domino effect on oppression. China then oppresses Taiwanese with Free Trade Zones there that demand structural adjustments, much like the International Monetary Fund demands from colonized Native peoples in Third World countries around the world. Structural adjustments that allow imports of products from more powerful countries, which will cripple then eliminate local production. This is an economic colonization that creates dependency.
Doesn't this sound familiar? How different is it from the way colonizers have treated Native people for centuries? If we didn't give in to bribes forming dependency, then we were kidnapped, enslaved, slaughtered, or relocated.
Relocated like the desperate Native people in China, Taiwan , Nicaragua and elsewhere, whose labor and bodies have been relocated into Free Trade Zones to grease the wheels of capitalism.
Is it truly something to celebrate that Paul Frank will collaborate with a Native designer? No. I argue that it is a cause to mourn — for Paul Frank now has the blessing of Adrienne Keene , which allows the company to continue oppressing Native people in Third World countries who have been driven by desperation to work in factories in Free Trade Zones.
By the way, Native designer Louie Gong suggested boycotting Pendleton because they are not Native owned and have been appropriating Native designs for more than a century. The audience gasped. Meanwhile, Gong specializes in painting Native designs on shoes, especially canvas tennis shoes. Where are those shoes manufactured? You guessed it. Most likely they are made in China.
What ethical difference is there, if any, between a non-Native appropriating Native iconography, and a Native appropriating the labor and lives of Third World Natives in Free Trade Zones to produce his or her designs? Are we unintentionally adopting the same mindset as the oppressor?
I suggest that instead of competing to get to the top of the heap on the sinking ship of globalized capitalism, we could better honor our Native Traditions by looking to the sustainable wisdom of our ancestors, like our brothers and sisters are doing in Bolivia.
President Evo Morales is the first Indigenous president in the Americas. Recently he proclaimed a new era, Pachakuti, in his December 21, 2012 speech, Manifesto of the Island of the Sun . In this speech he spells out 10 Commandments for dismantling capitalism and for living well based on ancestral wisdom.
I greatly admire Louie, Adrienne and Jessica's struggles to protect, revitalize and disseminate Native culture and identity. And I hope we will each read and reflect on President Evo Morales's speech, reconsidering what is truly worthy of celebration.
Article first published as Appropriation of Native American Iconography in the 21st Century on Blogcritics.
Friday, January 11, 2013
The Dragon King's Daughter; A 9-minute SGI Buddhist comedy for 6 - 7 actors
By Lynette Yetter
Inspired by The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, translated by Burton Watson, Soka Gakkai, Japan, 2009, pp 224-228.
Inspired by The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, translated by Burton Watson, Soka Gakkai, Japan, 2009, pp 224-228.
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Shakyamuni Buddha
Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulated
Fabric waver 1
Fabric waver 2 / Lotus bearer
Bodhisattva Manjushri (aka M Dude)
Fabric waver 2 / Lotus bearer
Bodhisattva Manjushri (aka M Dude)
Dragon King’s Daughter
PROPS:
-- shimmery blue fabric, approximately 1.5 yards x 3 yards
-- 2 plastic headbands with a topknot of fake hair fastened to the top of each
-- cardboard cutout of giant lotus flower with LOTS of petals, big enough to appear to be a vehicle for a person to ride on
-- a large paper (approx. 5- to 10-foot long white butcher paper, covered with images of lotus flowers)
FADE IN:
SHAKYAMUNI
In the future ages if there are good men or good women . . .
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Excuse me, Shakyamuni, what is that thing on top of your head?
SHAKYAMUNI
This protuberant knob of flesh on the crown of my head is like a topknot of hair, is it not? It is one of my 32 characteristics as the buddha.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Cool!
Shakyamuni CLEARS her throat and prepares to once again begin her speech.
SHAKYAMUNI
In the future ages if there are good men or good women who, on hearing the Devadatta Chapter of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law . . .
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
What is the Devadatta Chapter?
SHAKYAMUNI
It’s what we are in right now. We floated up off of Eagle Peak into outer space in the Ceremony in the Air that transcends the framework of time and space. You and I and everyone here are characters in the Devadatta Chapter. Does that answer your question, Boddhisattva Wisdom Accumulated?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Thanks!
(Beat)
I just accumulated some more wisdom! Or was that knowledge? Never mind. Please continue, Shakyamuni.
SHAKYAMUNI
As I was saying,
(Beat)
In the future ages if there are good men or good women who, on hearing the Devadatta Chapter of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, believe and revere it with pure hearts and harbor no doubts or perplexities . . .
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Believe with a pure heart. That’s like faith, right?
SHAKYAMUNI
Of course.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
And we can substitute faith for wisdom, right?
SHAKYAMUNI
Of course.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Then I AM accumulating wisdom, and not just knowledge, because I DO believe with a pure heart!
SHAKYAMUNI
That’s why you are Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulated. Now listen-up so you can accumulate some more wisdom.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Okay.
SHAKYAMUNI
. . . will never fall into the realm of hell, hungry spirits or beasts . . .
BWA puts his hand in the air and waves it to signal that he has a question.
SHAKYAMUNI (CONT’D)
You have a question?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Is the realm of hell, hungry spirits or beasts the lowest three of the 10 Worlds?
SHAKYAMUNI
Yes.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
But, I thought that with the Mutual Possession of the 10 Worlds and Three Thousand Realms that all of the worlds are mutually inclusive. So, even the world of Buddhahood contains Hell, Hungry Spirits and Beasts. If that is true, how can those good men and good women not experience those worlds? I’m confused.
SHAKYAMUNI
Good point. We’ll leave that to Tien Tai to sort out. For now, just bear with me, okay, so we can continue with this play?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
A play? I thought we were in the Ceremony in the Air?
SHAKYAMUNI
It’s both. We are in a play ABOUT the Ceremony in the Air. And the playwright is being creative with the tale. Now, don’t you want to know what happens next?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Sure!
SHAKYAMUNI
Okay then, there’s just a little bit more to my speech. Can you wait that long?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
I’m all ears. Go ahead!
SHAKYAMUNI
Now where was I . . . Will never fall into the realm of hell, hungry spirits or of beasts, but will be born in the presence of the buddhas of the ten directions, and in this place where they are born they will constantly hear this sutra.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Don’t those good men and good women get to do anything else beside constantly hear this sutra?
SHAKYAMUNI
This is a parable, a metaphor for the mysterious workings of life. Of course they get to do other things.
(Beat)
Remember, you promised to wait until I finished the speech.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Oh yeah. Sorry. Go on.
SHAKYAMUNI
If they are born among humans or heavenly beings, they will enjoy exceedingly wonderful delights.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Like ice cream?
SHAKYAMUNI
Even better. Now please wait until I finish.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Okay.
SHAKYAMUNI
And if they are born in the presence of the buddhas, they will be born by transformation from Lotus Flowers.
Silence. A long pause. BWA is content and mellow, enjoying listening attentively, waiting for the speech to continue.
SHAKYAMUNI (CONT’D)
That’s it. I’m done. That’s the speech.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
(Applauds) Great speech!
(Beat)
Well, I’ve got some other things to be doing. Can I go now?
SHAKYAMUNI
Good man, wait a little while. There is a bodhisattva named Manjushri whom you should see. Debate and discuss the wonderful Law with him, and then you may return to your homeland.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Okay.
Two Fabric Wavers run out carrying the blue fabric onto the stage from right to left, with Bodhisattva Manjushri hidden behind, ducking down and running along at the same speed as the Fabric Wavers. The Fabric Wavers are rippling the blue fabric as if it is the ocean. Their bodies are hidden behind the fabric. They stop. Manjushri (still hidden behind the fabric) has a giant lotus flower made from cardboard fastened to him, as if it was his chair or magic carpet or his space ship that he can zoom around on. As the Fabric Wavers continue to ripple the fabric to look like ocean swells, Bodhisattva Manjushri stands up. The Fabric Wavers slowly kneel, lowering the fabric to reveal Bodhisattva Manjushri on his Lotus vehicle.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED (CONT’D)
Wow! Bodhisattva Manjushri is rising out of the sea and floating in the air on a giant lotus flower with a 1,000 petals! Where did you come from, Dude?
The Fabric wavers drag the fabric and exit Stage Right. Off stage they set down the fabric and pick up cardboard cutouts of many Lotus flowers.
M DUDE
My real name is Bodhisattva Manjushri but you can call me M Dude. I have just come from the Palace under the sea of Dragon King Sagara.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Cool!
M Dude steps out of his Lotus vehicle. Bows to Shakymuni, then goes to side of Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulating.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED (CONT’D)
When you went to the palace of the Dragon King, how many living beings did you convert?
M DUDE
The number is immeasurable, incapable of calculation. The mouth cannot express it, the mind cannot fathom it. There will be proof. Wait a moment.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
(speaking to the audience directly in a dramatic whisper) Everyone wants me to wait a moment!
Lotus Bearer enters carrying a large paper covered with images of Lotus flowers, as if the Lotus flowers are more flying carpets carrying more people. Lotus Bearer walks around moving the Lotus flowers in a way that looks like they are flying.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED (CONT’D)
Wow! Look at those countless bodhisattvas seated on jeweled lotus blossoms emerging from the ocean and coming here suspended in the air above Eagle Peak.
M DUDE
All of these beings have been converted and saved by me. They carried out all the bodhisattva practices, which are too numerous to mention here in this short play.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
You are of great wisdom and virtue, brave and stalwart, you have converted and saved immeasurable beings. Now those in this great assembly, as well as I myself, have all seen them. You expound the principle of the true aspect, open up the Law of the single vehicle, broadly guiding the many beings, causing them quickly to attain enlightenment.
Lotus bearer EXITS Stage Right.
M DUDE
When I was in the ocean I constantly expounded the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law alone.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
This sutra is very profound, subtle, and wonderful, a treasure among sutras, a rarity in the world. Are there perhaps any living beings who, by earnestly and diligently practicing this sutra, have been able to attain buddhahood quickly?
M DUDE
There is the daughter of the dragon king Sagara.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
What is her name?
M DUDE
What?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
What is her name?
M DUDE
Her name is “the Dragon King’s Daughter”.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
But, the Dragon King has a name. You told me so yourself. His name is Sagara. What is his daughter’s name?
M DUDE
She doesn’t have a name. After all, she is female and only 8 years old and a reptile to boot. Who cares if she has a name? We’ll just call her the Dragon King’s Daughter.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Hmmm . . . I still want to know her name. If she doesn’t have a name, we should give her one - like how Nichiren Daishonin gave names to his formerly-nameless female followers. He called them nuns and gave them beautiful names. I think we should name her "Momo!"
M DUDE
Can I get on with the story?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Sure. Go ahead.
M DUDE
Anyways, the Dragon King’s Daughter has just turned eight years old. Her wisdom has keen roots and she is good at understanding the activities and deeds of the sense organs of living beings.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
What does that mean?
M DUDE
The translation is kind of complicated, what with different cultures and all. Let’s just say that she is really wise and understands everything and everybody. She is capable of achieving enlightenment.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
And she is only 8 years old? Wow! That’s hard for me to believe.
M DUDE
Why?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
When I observe Shakyamuni, I see that for a really really long time - like forever and ever, he carried out harsh and difficult practices, accumulating merit, piling up virtue, seeing the way of the bodhisattva without ever resting. There is not a speck of the universe where he has not sacrificed his body and life for the sake of living beings. Only after he had done that was he able to complete the way of enlightenment.
Before his words come to an end, the Dragon King’s Daughter (who has the prop -- a headband with topknot of hair -- hidden somewhere on her person) ENTERS Stage Right as the Fabric waver runs around her with the fabric in such a way as to make it seem that the Dragon King’s Daughter is appearing magically in the assembly. When she is in front of Shakyamuni, she bows to him, and so does the fabric bearer (as if the fabric bearer is her shadow). The fabric bearer from this point on stays near the Dragon Kings Daughter like a shadow, holding the fabric bundled in her arms.
DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER
Having heard his teachings, I have attained enlightenment -- the Buddha alone can bear witness to this. I unfold the doctrines of the great vehicle to rescue living beings from suffering.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
You know what Shariputra would say, if we had enough actors to have Shariputra present?
DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER
What would he say?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
He would say to you, and I quote, (clears throat), “You suppose that in this short time you have been able to attain the unsurpassed way. But this is difficult to believe. Why? Because a woman’s body is soiled and defiled, not a vessel for the Law. How could you attain unsurpassed enlightenment? The road to buddhahood is long and far-stretching. Only after one has spent immeasurable kalpas (that’s a really really long time like forever) pursuing austerities, etc etc etc can one finally achieve success. Moreover, a woman is subject to the five obstacles. 1. She cannot become a Brahma heavenly king. 2. She cannot become a king Shakra. 3 She cannot become a devil king. 4. She cannot become a wheel turning sage king. And 5. She cannot become a buddha.
(Beat)
How then could a woman like you be able to attain buddhahood so quickly?
The Dragon Girl cups her hands, miming holding a precious object.
DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER
Do you see this precious jewel that is worth a major world system?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Yes.
The Dragon Girl mimes handing the jewel to Shakyamuni. He immediately accepts it.
DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER
I presented the precious jewel, and the world-honored one accepted it. Was that not quickly done?
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Very quickly!
DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER
Employ your supernatural powers and watch me attain buddhahood. It will be even quicker than that!
The Fabric waver swirls the fabric around and around the Dragon King’s Daughter. Hidden by the fabric, the Dragon King’s Daughter fastens a topknot to her head, just like the topknot of Shakyamuni.
The Fabric waver drops the fabric. The Dragon King’s Daughter has her hands folded in prayer position and chants to the audience with a confidence of the entire universe in her heart.
DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER (CONT’D)
Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo.
BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED
Wow! If you, a child, a female and a reptile can become a Buddha instantly by chanting Nam myoho renge kyo, anyone can do it!
Dragon King’s Daughter looks out to the audience and says -
DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER
We all can become buddhas! Let’s do it, right now! Will you chant with us?
All the actors turn towards the gohonzon and chant in unison with the audience -
ALL
Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo.
THE END
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