The Japanese folktale of the selfish scholar - Iseult Gillespie
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- Dive into the Japanese folktale of a scholar’s quest to purify his body and mind, and the spiritual secret he discovers along the way.
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In ancient Kyoto, a Shinto scholar found himself distracted from his prayers and sought to perform a purification ritual that would cleanse him. He decided to travel to the revered Hie Shrine; walking the path alone, ignoring any distractions in his quest for balance, and never straying. But setting out for home one day, he hears desperate pleas for help. Iseult Gillespie shares the tale of mercy.
Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by Amir Houshang Moein.
Animator's website: vimeo.com/user35291637
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"He felt that his neighbors were polluting his soul"
I felt that..
Qq
K
You were already polluted you just now realized how deep it really was
My neighbor doesn't believe in mufflers and catalytic converters
Lmao same
City: *exists*
Shinto Scholar: Shut up, I’m trying to pray.
As Joey Tribianni put it-"Face it Pheebs, there's no such thing as a selfless good dead!"
'Shut shhut shhut' -Dani
lmaoo
Shorten it in 20 words or less!
-Saitama to Genos
shuddup
Moral: True peace can be achieved only by helping to reduce the suffering of others in this world
Reduce the suffering of humanity in this world by legalizing human euthanasia around the world. If people can have free or affordable access to euthanasia at any age they want. They have the right to live, they have the right to die as whenever they wish. If that would be possible in the nearest future, I'd be signing up in a heartbeat 🥺😭😒 I have no courage to jump on a train or from skyscraper or tie my neck. It would be painful. At least gimme a nice calm departure without pain.
nope
This is the best moral.
@@romella_karmey Do you really think that's the best option? I kinda feel like reducing human suffering simply by reducing humans is in the same category of reducing COVID-19 cases by reducing the amount of testing. Sure, you are technically reducing human suffering, but the way you're doing that is just eliminating humans, you're not actually helping them. Also you might actually be increasing human suffering due to the large amount of sorrow and physcological stress that will be heaped upon the friends and family of the euthanised, the sucide of the person will probably lead to the suffering and sorrow of the living, so you're idea may be ineffective. Also, I am sorry to hear that if you had the option of a quick, painless death you would take it, I do not know what you are going through and I do not what you have experienced, but please hang on. There are people who care about you, and there is a better future out there, so please just stay a bit longer.
@@romella_karmey I hope you can find help in this life either through counseling, medication, prayer or whatever way you see fit. While I don't think that euthanasia in itself would be bad in controlled circumstances, if you die, you can't improve anything, I think. Whatever happens after death whether it's non-existence or an afterlife, will happen and you won't have control of your circumstances. But as long as you're alive, things can always improve in small steps each day. And I hope you can live to a point that you are happy in life.
“After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.”
- Italian Proverb
So true!
Wait really? I'm Italian and I've never heard that lol
I guess there are lots of proverbs out there
You can be a king or a street sweeper but everyone dances with the grim reaper
I thought it was Turkish
What does it mean btw
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”
-Malcolm S. Forbes
Well put.
Yup. I get it.
how about a society that has everything but does nothing for him?
Great insight thank you
I just don't agree with this entirely. Sure you get some insight. But character is much more dynamic than the quote leads you to believe.
"Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge" Indeed
What does that mean.
What does that mean ?
Mercy=noble
Being able to forgive is the mark of a true noble
Did you just quote a quote.... That's why it is called a quote ! MIND BLOWN 🤯
"It doesn't matter what your belief is,helping others in need is always the best deed you can do in your life" is what I've learned from this video.
私もそう思います。
誰かの助けになりたいです。
❤️
helping ppl is also not help, if you see coruption u fell dysfunctional
What are you doing sitting around?! We need you in that Eva NOW!
It does not matter which path we go. The only thing that matters is what kind of people we become as a result of our journey.☀️
I'm bored.
TedEd: don't worry, we've got you!
Always!
@@TEDEd WaS tHaT a HaRrY pOtTeR rEfErEnCe?
@@TEDEd YOUR VIDEOS ARE AWESOME!!!!!
THANKS A TON FOR MAKING THEM...
@@janhabibarat7271 I thought the same thing ❤️
@@TEDEd Yes continue the myths, especially the greek ones, I subscribed to support you
"People could only truly understand harae on their on journey"
And so it is true for everything......
What is harare???
@@sdla690 ahh... the irony
@@chrisd4058 Dear Chris, it is up to you to explain to SD LA that this video is not about the capital of Zimbabwe. I would attempt it myself but I can't resist the jokes.
That's the only line thats kinda sus, you can teach people to be kind and lead a noble life, but it can be difficult
People in the world : *exists
Shinto Scholar : *And I took that personally.*
He was clearly the King of Introverts.
He was clearly the King of Introverts. 🤣
I love how true spiritual enlightenment can only stem from humanism and persistence. Keep up the good work of inspiring teded!
Very well said
@@asanokatana I only wanted to share my general emotional impression. However, if it might have been inaccurate from a philosophical or religious point of view I appreciate the input all the more as it improved my understanding ☺️
So true. We need each other
This story comes from the book _”Hosshinshu”_ (発心集 Tales of Awakening) which is a collection of Buddhist tales compiled by Chomei KAMO (鴨長明) in the 13th century. The original title is _”Vol. 4 - Ep. 10: How a monk who visited Hie Shrine buried a dead person”_ (日吉の社に詣づる僧、死人を取り棄つる事).
In this video the protagonist is described as a Shinto scholar but actually he was a Buddhist monk. His clothes in the animation is not accurate too. This kind of off-shoulder stole belongs to Indian and Southeast-Asian Buddhists.
Some explanations about Kegare and Harae were added into the video by the scriptwriter. And some details of the original were translated freely into English. Most importantly the monk was not depicted as selfish at all on the original. Avoiding kegare was quite natural behavior for monks in midieval Japan.
However the outline of the video is same as the original. Anyway I like this beautiful animation and thank to the TED-Ed creators who introduce this story.
I suppose that this story is not so well-known in Japan (Though the compiler is a highly well-known author). I’m Japanese but didn’t know about the story at all! (^^;) I tried to search where it comes from and finally found it.
"Devotion without sympathy is like a song without a feeling, both maybe perfect but always remain incomplete without the other."- Unknown
@Tony Tran Compassion only towards those who have gone through the same thing, but that's where it stops?
In that case, I feel as though it's only devotion in that scenario.
Faith without works is dead, being alone.
The story is so beautiful.
As much as one tries to separate themselves from the pollution of humanity, they will always be able to feel the compassion and sorrows of others. Only through kindness and love, can we truly help clean the world.
I love these stories
This story changed my day from sorrowful to a cheerful,
"Mercy is the greatest virtue {even for a monk}"
“Contamination and corruption are 2 very different things.”
This was the best line.
Yes exactly!
I did not truly understand it. Is it meant to say that the monk is able to contaminate others with his kindness without letting himself be corrupted?
@@ChristianMeyer how I interpret this is, the monk was under the impression that if he helped people and showed his kindness to them he would get contaminated, like he'd lose his position as a monk and become one of the common people and hence be corrupted. But later he realises that even if he contaminates his monkery with the common touch, that kind of contamination isn't necessarily bad. It willn't lead to the corruption of his monkhood. Contamination is not a bad thing, corruption is. So, the takeaway is we can be saintly even without losing the common touch.
Contamination is on the surface and is only temporary, and is worth ignoring to accomplish a higher objective, while corruption is within.
@@a-rue-nima Shintoism shared some core beliefs with buddhism, that the world we see around us is but a reflection of the true spirit of things, the kami, or '10,000 gods.' If you were trapped within the reflection of these gods, in the physical world, you could never see the truth of the world around you- this is the contamination/corruption of 'ikegai' the monk worried about, the concept of becoming wrapped up in the physical world and thus separated from the kami, and why monks shut themselves off from the physical world- it was to see the 'real world' beyond. The moral here is that contamination- touching the physical- does not equate to corruption- the loss of access to the spiritual. It's a bit of a cultural shift if you're not used to the basic concepts of Shintoism, and they could have explained that a bit before the myth.
Man, this really hits home if you were born into an abusive or narcissistic household. You take in all the drama and darkness and it creates a lot of problems as you develop. From the outside no one could tell I was contaminated, just assumed corrupt and to keep a distance.
"My religion is kindness." - Dalai Lama
The beauty is in it's simplicity.
Except when promoting caste system and enslaving people.
Except when turning a blind eye to the Rohingya.
"People say that time goes by; time says that the people go by."
--Vietnamese Proverbs
Wow that's really good, are you from Vietnam btw?
Intelligent wisdom
I'm going to remember that
"People say that floor is made out of floor;floor says that the people are made out of people."
-American proverbs
Deep!!!
A beautiful story depicting a deep message that the 'ultimate peace' can neither be achieved by seeking material pleasures nor by diving deep into the sea of spirituality. The path is in between. Thank you TED-ED.
Pharisees: He sits and eats with sinners.
Jesus: The physician goes to the sick, and not to the well... But come back when you understand, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."
Exactly right! I also thought this had a lot of parallels with Jesus
@@firstname405 Agreed, this is the part of Jesus' teachings we completely ignore in USA. It seems to go against our "pull yourself from your boot straps" ideology.
❤️
@@chrisguevara How is that? Christian charities do a tremendous amount of work both in the US and worldwide of relieving suffering and lifting out of poverty - Samaritan's Purse, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, etc. The fact that the government now takes a larger role in that is only because the government excessively taxes in order to do it. Faith-based organizations can accomplish the same goals as government programs with just a fraction of the money - and recipients are grateful for the gift - not expecting something they "deserve".
Don't confuse lack of support for inefficient and corrupt government programs with a lack of heart. I ask you, which is the more Christlike pattern of behavior: freely giving and freely receiving? Or authority forcefully taking and the receiver having an attitude of "I deserve this"?
The New Deal wasn't a way to lift people out of poverty... it was a way for government to indirectly slash the influence and capabilities of the Church.
@@grantjohnson5785 Christ asked us to be preachers of truth, so you should probably stop spouting your Fox News propaganda :)
We’re learning about the Japan culture, and then you posted this! What a score!
It's amazing isn't it! I'm always so pleased when we're shown TedEd videos in class!
"...Contamination and corruption are very different things!"
How so?? Corruption will lead to contamination and contamination is the source of corruption!
@@nameisrango Causal fallacy. One is not always the other and vice versa.
@@ZatchZXman Strawman fallacy. Don't give counter argument and say anything after "it's not always"..
@@nameisrango contamination means making something impure.
In the story, the terms refer to the mind and soul of the scholar.
With that in mind,
Contamination is something from the outside world that intends to corrupt your mind.
Corruption of one's mind and soul is not possible until one allows it.
So they are not same.
The subtext here is in terms of one's mind and soul.
@@minaldixit7887 thank you, I got it..
Contamination is like getting the virus but it will corrupt you only when your body shows the symptoms cuz the body allowed the virus to harm the body by not forming antibodies.
"Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs, and do whatever it takes to protect the world."
So basically Yangchen's advise to Aang points to being contaminated by doing whatever it takes. Good thing the lion turtle provided better insight to Aang, though the outcome would be far worse if he did not succeed, corruption.
I remember that line from ATLA, but I forgot where it came from...
@@ARandomSpace @Random Page Season 3, Episode 16 (Book 3, Chapter 13: Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters). Aang wakes up atop the giant lion turtle and summons past Avatars for advice on how to deal with Fire Lord Ozai until at last he summoned Yangchen, the last Avatar from Air Nomads before him who gave that last words before disappearing.
@@tofhei yeah, the other commenter told me.
Is that really Japanese. The similarity is unnerving, Bhagvat Gita says the same thing. Maybe there's really just one truth, only many ways it can be said or manifested.
"His neighbors were poisoning his soul"
Said everyone living in an apartment during quarantine!!
Said everyone with loud neighbours.
God I hate our neighbors they are all karens
Can't identify. That seems like a apartment problem. I always lived in a house haha
@@Hug0Pro how lucky
@@klake5375 I do feel blessed. I can always do all the noise I want and play music as loud as i want and my girl can make as much screaming as she wants.
To me, the moral of the story is that, while going through a sacred journey of enlightenment and understanding can be important, helping others in need is very important.
"Contamination and Corruption are two entirely different things."
Thank you for this useful lesson. I am grateful that this video showed up on my feed and thankful to everyone who helped produce it.
"..to shirk his most important rule and corrupt his divine journey?" , his divine journey would've been corrupted if he hadn't push away his rule for helping that lady.
Pure beauty is in the imperfections. A life completely devoted to prayer is of little use. A life of prayer and providing aid for fellow beings is worth pursuing.
TED-Ed never fails to impress, from the narration to the message put forward
“Contamination and corruption are two very different things"
So the difference of being poisoned and becoming poisonous?
Ahh thanks. This makes more sense now. English is not my native so I thought the two words are synonyms.
Ah, I like that! Good way of putting it!
Me : trying to MEDITATE
Road and traffic : HORN! HORN! HORN!
Me : FINE! lets get that monk's address
Noice
So relatable...
The voice actor is brilliant in this video, as always when it comes to these TedEd videos!
I found it kind of dry, for a story and animation like this a calmer more soothing voice would have fit better
@@nil-8026 really? i thought he sounded like a prudent teacher of sorts...
TED animations are always interesting. Calming souls with the stories.
Nice pfp
The eye-catching animation, the production, the beautiful story and the soothing narration all make this video deserving of atleast a million views.
"Lessons worth sharing"
Indeed
"You will have never truly lived unless you have helped someone who will never be able to pay you back"...
The mental clarity that results from seclusion/meditation is truly of great help in anything science related!
Ted Ed is my favorite they have such wonderful wholesome content
The art is really impressive not gonna lie, the animation also smooth and beautifully well made.
The editors and animators of Ted Ed are the most talented people I’ve scene in years.
Ted ed always has the greatest animations! They really complement the story and help spread the message :))
I think this is a really wonderful folktale with a beautiful message. ❤️
This story for some reason it brings tears to my eyes. So much light, it can break the walls around my heart.
It has such a positive moral lesson that I wish to be myself but fear I could never be as good as the scholar.
Oh! It's been a while since we've seen these! Glad to have the Myths back in the channel again! 😁💖
That's so wonderful because that's exactly what I was thinking a day or two ago, about how everyone must learn about things through a journey of their own. Thank you TedEd for you amazing videos! :)
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
~James 2:14-18
Such a beautiful story, and such great animation and voice! TED-Ed is truly something else.
This animation is beyond gorgeous. I absolutely love the tale, and how it was represented. The inspiration from traditional Japanese ink drawings is amazing, and I adore it to no end. Wonderful, as always.
This is a fascinating story, obviously the theme is empathy, but it's subtle in its acknowledgement that although empathy is something almost anyone can develop, self awareness is a key part of it and is something that is difficult to teach directly.
This is probably at the top of my list for TED-Ed short clips. It was exactly what I needed to hear at this exact time. Thank you.
Thank you Ted.Ed for these enormous, well-informative videos I haven't learned from our school. More power to the crews!!!
"He resolved to do the pilgrimage another 99 times"
Well, that went from 0 to 100 quick... *_wink wink nudge nudge_*
I se what you did there wink wink nudge nudge
That's what she said
Sir Exilon
Nice profile pic
@@oracle372 Thx. It looks a bit sleep deprived and depressed tough.(And I'll probably change it soon anyway)
Scholar: i don’t have time for you. I need spiritual balance
This was incredible! I have been going through some issues but I still choose to be kind to everyone. Great job, TED-Ed. I really appreciate this.
Thank you for making this video, TED-ED
"Once you experience pure solitude, you'll never leave it"
- Master Oogway
Oogway never said that tho
"Spitting straight facts"
- Albert Einstein
"Some people don't think it be like it is. But it do." -Winston Churchill
@@elderlyoogway
"Exactly"
- Master Oogway
This animation absolutely impresses upon my mind the truest resemblance of Japanese art.
This had an amazing message
And I totally love it.
What a beautiful story and animation. Much appreciated...
The animation is really beautiful... suits the atmosphere of the story so well. And can we appreciate how the voiceover pronounced the Japanese words accurately?
Beautiful. One is reminded of Christ healing on the Sabbath.
That was a beautiful story! Thanks TedEd!
This hits so hard .. the animation and the story narrative is very soothing
As I listened to the speaker I suddenly felt tears coming down my from my eyes. That was a beautiful video.
So he had been selfish the moment he thought the world only belonged to him and he was the only enlightened soul in the world and all other humans were undeserving souls. How could an enlightened soul ask others to follow his way of life against their will? Loved the message of this video 👏💕
The animation in this video had me spellbound. Amazing story, thank you.
Love the way they Speak about different topics and this one will be very dear to me.
Ted ed, oversimplified... And time flies awayyy
Ted-ed's Animation is of another level...
Beautiful. Thanks for the post
I was really excited when you posted this because you made me subscribe to your channel by watching these myth videos and other videos so thank you for making them!
My family is Buddhist and they always taught me to live life as truthfully as one can and be compassionate. Some things considered KEGARE by them are drinking, smoking, lying and though I agree that people are better off without these things, I also think that a person should do whatever they find happiness in and live a fun life as long as no other person is negatively affected by it. #jpneflu
Growing up in a Buddhist household I'm glad there aren't any things that are considered kegare in my family. The concept of kegare has been familiar to me from the stories I've read but what I realize is that it's our own guilty deeds that makes us think of such things that sit heavy on our conscience. Empathy can heal any soul so to speak #jpneflu
“What I realize is that it’s our own guilty deeds that makes us think of such things that sit heavy on our conscience”
Please correct me if I misunderstand what you actually said, but your remark reminds me of something Paul (a Christian saint) wrote in his letter to another Christian named Titus: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted...nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.”
@@derekyong8878 hi ,this comment was actually a part of an assignment my sensei gave me. 'What are your thoughts on kegare? ' something like that. I think I just wrote what came to my mind and what I believe in. And yes you did comprehend my comment properly.
@@aditibhawate thanks for letting me know :)
I needed this, now. Thank you.
Absolutely gorgeous video, as always!
This scholar is basically me trying to do my online classes while my mom keeps on giving me the household chores.
There is a similar concept as KEGARE called 'maila' or 'mailu' in Andhra pradesh, India. It is a bit similar to kegare as maila is also associated with Death, menstruation,diseases, childbirth, etc. It is also associated with eclipse. It is interesting to find the similarities in the cultures.
#jpneflu
Wow, You put forward an amazing point. This put forth a greater understand of Kegare and this video and of how the moral of it stands true.
God, what art. Beyond beautiful artwork and animation, Ted-Ed team! And of course, what a wonderful story.
Every story has its own lesson
Thx for such a great folktale!
4:01
“Contamination and corruption are 2 very different things.”
Unless you’re talking about politics.
1919helio1919 thank you
How?
john pijano contaminating water sources and stuff like that.
Not necessarily different, it takes a special person to rise above the petty squabbles of political intrigue and remain unscathed. For Americans especially, the accusations of corruption have made people wary of politicians. So much so that the mantra growing up for me, “you can tell when a politician is lying because his lips are moving” sets people’s teeth on edge. A similar passage in the scriptures refers to a parent eating sour grapes and their children’s teeth are set on edge, it illuminates a bitter sentiment among the young when exposed to such prejudice.
I don't know why but after seeing this animation I remembered shadow fight 2 starting video
Am I the only one or do you felt the same too ?
I just wanna praise the artists responsible for this exceptional illustration!!! It was really engaging.
I really love ted-ed's videos.... So informative and inspiring. Keep going
It remained me of a Tamil movie "Anbe sivam"(Love is god).
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"
-Jesus of Nazareth
The world needs more videos like this. Keep up the good work.
Thank you. I needed this today. ❤️
This is such a beautiful and thoughtful story
Reminds me of A silent voice I don't know why
The anime ?
@@siddharthsharma7481 yes
I can't wait to share that with my children... they're a little too young to understand, yet, especially the attempted suicide.
I love Ted Ed
They pronunciationis spot on!
A beautiful story that nearly moved me to tears...
I came across this for a reason. The pain of other people's burden hurts but to help the fellow spirit when they are in need is a divine purpose in itself.
"Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali
What's this got to do with anything lmao
@@sebastianelytron8450 lol
Yayy, more myths! I love these! Can you guys do some Hindu mythology too?
Yes a good idea
That sounds good
Yes please, I'm sooo proud of my hindu anscestors and heritage🙈
See I'm non hindu but I love there stroy a lot
🙏🙏🙏
Truly lessons worth sharing
I literally shared this to almost everything and everyone I know
Love the animation, makes it easier to understand everything, even including STEM topics related
Being contaminated and corrupted are two different things.
I love this moral so much and I don't even understand why.
I don't really know what to comment so I am gonna go with this quote
"You can often count the number of seeds in a orange but you can't count the number of oranges in a seed"
😅😅🙏🙏🙏🙏
These videos provide me inner peace. Keep up the good work.
Wow, beautiful 😄 Thanks, Ted-Ed 🙏🏽