Movie: Saint Young Men

I was compiling an anime list and suddenly thought of a funny screen cap I saw a long time ago, of an animated Jesus and Buddha. It looked hilarious! So after much Googling, I managed to find the film! I think there are also two anime episodes but I didn't find those. The series is originally a manga written and illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura.

Saint Young Men

(Saint Oniisan)

Overall it was a really light-hearted film that made me smile. Maybe the bigger message is that - religions can peacefully coexist with each other? The universal message of most religions is to care for one another and be kind to everyone, isn't it?

However, I'm gonna skip the live action movie, because it just looks kind of strange to me.

This is a shot from the Live Action. I feel like the live action's aesthetic and acting becomes too forced, staged and artificial, losing the carefree quality of the animated counterpart. It must be difficult to portray Jesus and Buddha too. What do you think?

I've recently been reading up on both Buddhism and Christianity, so this anime is right up my alley.

Did you know that the first church had about 70 believers in a small building? Today, there are 2.4 BILLION people who adhere to Christianity. Wow how crazy has the numbers boomed?

If I'm not wrong, Jesus was crucified cuz people didn't believe that he was the Son of God. You may think that the people of the time were cruel, but let's frame it in a modern way. You're happily going about your life, listening to the pastors and practising your religion, waiting for the . Then suddenly this new person in town comes by and people claim that he's the Son of God and that he's the Promised One who would deliver you. Does it sound rather...blasphemous? Wouldn't you raise an eyebrow?

It's not wrong to be sceptical at all! But I think Jesus at that time did manage to heal a lot of people and demonstrate his non-human skills. But I guess if you didn't see any proof it's hard to believe as well. This is estimated to happen about 30-33 AD.

One last tidbit for ya. Please take note that this is just my understanding of the story, so do your own research if you want something more solid and accurate.

So you know Buddha used to be a prince right? He married Yaśodharā, his cousin. They had a son and the prince left the palace on the 7th night of the birth.

Naturally the princess was devastated, but upon hearing that her hubby was leading a holy life, she decided to emulate him. She led a simple life and later she entered the Order of Monks and Nuns, and later attained the state of an arahat. An arahat is a person who has achieved Nirvana, but not full Buddhahood.

Her son became a novice monk as well. Buddha teaches him and Rahula gains enlightenment. Apparently, Rahula was a good example of how children are not hindrances in spiritual life, but people with potential of enlightenment. 

Yup, in every religion, there is some exclusivity somewhere. I guess a true religion accepts all who are sincere, but human constructs such as gender, race, maybe even socioeconomic backgrounds, may be cause for people in higher authority to obstruct their worship or inclusion into the community. Sounds sad isn't it? I once read a book where a Nepalese temple did not accept female worshippers to enter the ground, though it was a public space and the females helped contribute to build it, due to some power issues.

Ah well. I hope you guys have fun reading this post, and have a good Vesak Day holiday!

Vesak Day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, which are all said to have happened on the same date. (source) Ain't that cool? Naturally it's one of the biggest significant events in the Buddhist calendar.