Buddhism in The Matrix (the movie)

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Buddhism in The Matrix

 

When asked by a fan if Buddhist ideas influenced them in the

production of the movie, the Wachowski brothers (the directors)

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.

 

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 AI

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.

 

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.

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. AI'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.

 

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. "

 

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.39 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.

 

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.

 

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.41 Alluding to the Theravada ideal of the arhat, the film

suggests that enlightenment is achieved through individual effort.42

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. " 43 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. " 44 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. " 45 As one

already on the path to enlightenment, Morpheus is only a guide;

ultimately Neo must recognize the truth for himself.

 

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.46 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...

 

 

Frances Flannery-Dailey & Rachel Wagner

 

 

ps. this post is an excerpt from a longer article from

 

http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/new_phil_wakeup.html

 

which is the part of the Philosophy & the Matrix section on

 

http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/.