Daily Buddhism gets horrifying
Comic by Robert Hickman & Tony Moore
Over at the The Daily Buddhism blog, Brian gives his perspective on a question asked as to whether one is a ‘bad Buddhist’ if they enjoy watching horror movies.Be sure to stop by and provide your comments on this question and get engaged in the discussion
My perspective is that I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with watching these kinds of flicks unless you do notice that your mind gets obscured or turns towards thoughts of wanting to harm others. For some with anxiety or pre-existing mental troubles, it may do harm to watch this kind of stuff, but as is common with many things encountered on the path, you have the answer and know what’s best for your state of mind.
I’ve always been interested in discovering more about death, dying and am interested in those things that aren’t usually discussed or viewed very often. I enjoy ‘Six Feet Under’, zombie comics like “The Walking Dead”, and read ‘Rue Morgue’ magazine. I prefer my ‘horror’ to me more suspensful, cerebral and challenging than just slasher flicks. I try to see the suffering that caused Freddy, Jason, Carrie, Leatherface et al to be their scary selves.
A timely way of looking at this is to check out the brilliant documentary, ‘Global Metal’ which takes a look at the heavy metal scene across cultures. Who better to know about darkness than the very group that throw up their devil horns to the sky? In the documentary I was struck by a comment by a member of an Israeli band called ‘Salem’ who confessed that he was more afraid of being killed in the streets by a suicide bomber, sniper or random gunfire than he was of any demon or devil that could be conjured up.
My prayers go out to all those who are suffering- suffering as seen on TV and as experiences in the realms.
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