I’ve seen a lot of references to meditation and/or Buddhism in advertising over my past few years of tracking them. Some, arguably, have been inspired. Some have been funny. Some have been perhaps unfortunate, or even inappropriate.

As for what word might best describe this new commercial… all I’ve got, at first blush, is “weird.” *

Reader Sam DeWitt — who spotted the commercial and sent it on — playfully writes:

Who would have thought that the real reason we should cultivate wisdom and compassion via meditation is so that we can create skins for our iPhones?

I might have to re-think this whole thing!

What do you think?

Do you think there’s room for such idealized, hyperstylized, depictions of meditation — even when they’re put to use for moving product rather than, say, inspiring us to honestly look at the contents of our minds, as they are, in the present moment?

Or do you think such co-optation is in some way harmful?

* Note: having now watched it a few times, I’m still not totally sure what I think of the ad but I do have to say that A) that seems like a LONG way to go to sell such a simple thing, and B) If I said I didn’t enjoy watching it, I’d be lying.

It’s in Japanese. I don’t speak Japanese. But I do have a pretty good awesomeness detector.

Click the image above or here.

I’m a little confused just how much Buddhism there is or isn’t in this movie — see a review here — but it looks and sounds kinda promising as-is:

It’s apparently premiering at the Japan Society in NYC tonite, so check it out and let us know what you think if you can.

Heidiminx — the very model of the punk-rock dharma activist — rules. But you knew that, right? Well, if you didn’t, check out her new video, “Tattoos and Tibetan Ex-political Prisoners.”  In it, she interviews a member of the Tibetan ex-political prisoners association, GuChuSum.

As Heidiminx writes, “While there are numerous sites and TV shows dedicated to the meanings of tattoos, the tattoos of Tibet’s ex-political prisoners have not been well documented. Their experiences are crucial to understand the human rights violations China commits on a daily basis.”

Support and follow Heidiminx’s work here. And visit GuChuSum here.

Huge thanks to the mighty Konchog Norbu for a heads-up on what looks like a must-see film (at least for this Worst Horse):

“Journey of a Dream is a feature-length documentary that will take audiences on a global journey into heavy metal music, exile, Buddhism, and Tibetan roots. How one man is trying to find solace and self-realization through Buddhism, living the life of a refugee, and playing death metal.

I am IN. Are you? Watch the trailer here.

…and I don’t meant that as in “BFF.” It’s more like, we watched Lost — and now we’ll stay lost. That finale was — say it with a rolling Johnny Rotten R — crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrap. (Or, wait — was it?)

Seems everything we thought was meaningful was a red herring. Seems the theory most of us had when the show started — that the key survivors of Oceanic 815 were in some sort of limbo/purgatory/bardo state — was real. Even though JJ Abrams long ago specifically said it wasn’t:

Okay, so everything on the island was true, and it was the “sideways world” that was the intermediary state. WHATever, I say. We smelled purgatory, we cried purgatory, and we pretty much got it.

I was feeling bitter about this. But then I read this fantastic appreciation of the finale — including detailed thoughts on the bardo connection at Jezebel.

(True/Slant has more on the bardo/afterlife argument here. And EW points out that the finale’s imagery was, above all, Christian.)

Still, bardo or not: What was the planned meaning of the Dharma Initiative? Of the appearance of “Dogen”? And of most of the many non-Buddhist spiritual references the show made too? …It seems it was all pretty much nothing.

But, as Jeff “Doc” Jensen writes in his near-final write-up on the show:

It’s funny that so many people cynically bitch about Lost not having ”a master plan” — the Lost story is all about the folly of ”master plans.” Anyone who has ever had a master plan on this show has failed catastrophically. Mother. Jacob. The Man In Black. Ben. Charles Widmore. Jack. Sawyer. The best we can do is live our lives with enlightened improvisation — to be so self-aware and fearless that we can live fully in the present and redeem our every moment and every human connection.

Well, that’s something, isn’t it?

If you’d like to take a trip back to when things that didn’t mean anything on Lost did seem to mean plenty — at least through the Buddhism-and-pop-culture lens — here’s some of the Horse’s coverage. (Thank goodness there wasn’t more; I was probably too busy religiously watching and reading all about Lost to write about it. The blog Breathe has some more on all this, as does the bawdy fave, The Reformed Buddhist. And Jezebel has a whole new post going deep into bardos.)

Dogen: Tuesdays at 9/8 Central on ABC

Lost Sneak Peek: Tibetan-Style Prayer flags?

Don’t I feel silly.

Check it, gamers — via Vice comes the story of “totalitarian [former] Buddhist” and Koyaanisqatsi fan Vincent Ocasla:

Vince guy spent four years wallowing in equations and graph paper building a totalitarian Sim City hellscape called Magnasanti, racking up a population of six million and claiming to beat an otherwise unbeatable game. Watch this and get scared:

Even if it weren’t somewhat sinisterly inspired by the Buddhist Wheel of Life, this is still something to see.

Read the rest over at Viceland.

…and on South Park, too. Here’s Jon Stewart defending Trey Parker and Matt Stone, complete with a reel of some of the Daily Show’s many jokes at religion’s expense. Thank goodness Buddhists have a sense of humor. (Usually.)

Thanks to my friend Sam DeWitt, who sent news of this video clip with the message “Here is Josh Korda (our teacher at NYC Dharma Punx) interviewed on CBS Doc Dot Com. America will never be the same!”

CBS’s own caption for the clip: “Dharma Punx in New York City mixes the tradition of Buddhism with the ideology of punk rock. Dr. Jon LaPook talks with teacher Josh Korda about how the seemingly different connect with the help of meditation.” Check out the video, after the jump. (more…)

[April 20 update: looks like the end is nigh for the Hitler Meme.]

No matter what side you take in the debate as to whether or not Theravadan nuns should be ordained — is it progress, or is it a bending of rules that have time-tested reasons? — you have to admit: the fact that it’s now been addressed in an update of the infamous (and often funny) “Hitler Meme” is remarkable. (And sure to offend some.) Watch it here:

[It IS worth noting that in the Hitler Meme, having a particular stance assigned to "Hitler" does not necessarily equate the holder of said stance with Hitler, but with being unreasonable. Some further examples: here, and here. There's a ton of 'em.]

So, where do you stand? Check the ongoing conversation at SunSpace for more.

BIG thanks to the great Sumi Loundon Kim for pointing this one out.

What’s next, “Rick-Rolling” critics of the Dalai Lama?