Anger and Focus in Dragon Ball
Pain sharpens focus. Comfort dulls it.
Anger and pain narrow the mind. Compassion and tolerance broaden the mind.
Pain and anger drive one to take immediate actions. Comfort and pleasure pacify the mind to linger in non-action.
In Dragon Ball, villainous forces run amok. Different beings vie for power and control of planets.
Both the Guardian named Kami and North Kaio are passive deities, wrapped in idyllic comfort. They are supposed to protect the people within their domain, but most of the time they don’t do anything.
Placed above the living world in stations of authority, they look out with a broad view at the sentient beings below. Yet they are more dedicated to watching events unfold then changing them. They pass time with voyeurism.
They do not use their vast powers and supernormal abilities. Laws are in place that state how they can interact with the lesser beings. Thus, with restraint in their heart and a broad long term perspective that things will work out on their own, they do not act. They only lament the current state of affairs. The beings below are left to fend for themselves.
Goku’s life is uncomfortable. Whether under attack or in training, Goku is forced to become angry in order to ascend. Goku is a genuinely nice person, but when he is pushed to the limit he becomes filled with rage. He is a true spiritual warrior who directs short term anger in explosive waves.
There were only a couple cases in Dragon Ball when Kami became angry enough to act.
Goku’s Simple Life
Goku lives a simple life.
Like a wandering pilgrim, Goku’s only possessions are a martial arts uniform and occasionally the nyoi bo staff.
Goku is almost single mindedly focused on his martial arts cultivation.
Chi-Chi handles all of the domestic affairs, including the caring of their house, the monetary concerns, and the raising of children.
This reminded me of my own life and how it is a bit too complicated.
By an average person’s standard my life may seem rather simple: An average guy with an apartment and some stuff. There are also career, family, social relationships, time, personal projects, and trying to achieve many things simultaneously. Perhaps too many.
In regard to physical stuff in particular, at times all of the external content can feel a little heavy, because each one of those items is connected to my emotions. Each material item, when picked up, transports my memory back 5, 10, in some cases even 15 years. They all carry emotional weight. An outsider cannot see or feel this.
I recently read a book called The Power of Less, by Leo Babauta, and it emphasized the importance of simplifying our lives.
I also read a blog post on Man vs. Debt that presented the idea of taking inventory of all the items in your possession, one by one, and the benefit of the process.
So that’s what I did.
Suffering Succotash
Ignorance is suffering.
To remedy ignorance one desires knowledge.
One suffers to achieve knowledge.
Yet knowledge is complex and burdensome.
Truth without attachment is ease.
One lets go of the attachment to knowledge.
Free of suffering.
Filled with emptiness.
Overthinking Dragon Ball
Goku Thinks Deep Thoughts
I prefer to write all of my own content and create original posts. That’s why sometimes it takes a little while for a new article to find its way to the blog. But I just discovered some gems of Dragon Ball related philosophy that had to be shared.
These beauty’s are from the Overthinking.com site:
- Why Overthink Dragon Ball?
- On Chosen Ones and Super Saiyans
- Metonymy and Metaphor
- Dragonball Abomination Z
All the articles are written by the same author, Fenzel, and they each explore a different aspect of the Dragon Ball series.
They are also poignant because sometimes I am accused of over thinking Dragon Ball. Now I know there is at least one other person out there willing to take the time to write articles like this. I’m not alone!
On their podcast he said there would be 48 posts, but so far there are only 4. Luckily they are well written and thought provoking.
Why Overthink Dragon Ball?: Fenzel discusses the inherent value of the Dragon Ball series and how it does so many things well that are often overlooked.
On Chosen Ones and Super Saiyans: The “Chosen One” story path and the concept of determinism are discussed in light of pop culture stories like Star Wars, The Matrix, and why Dragon Ball is a prime example of how to do it right.
Metonymy and Metaphor: An educational lesson on advanced literary techniques espoused through the lens of DBZ.
Dragonball Abomination Z: Here Fenzel analyzes the Dragonball: Evolution movie and talks about the ways he felt it failed.
All of them are worth reading for a deeper look at the series.
Unfortunately their comments are disabled on older posts. So, if you feel like sharing, then please do so in the comments below. There’s certainly a lot of fuel for the fire.
What Does Dragon Ball Mean to You?
Goku asks, "To train, or not to train?"
I would like to pose an open question to the Dragon Ball community.
The question is… what does Dragon Ball mean to you?
Is Dragon Ball meaningful in your life? Has it changed your life in some way? Maybe Akira Toriyama’s art, world or message of the series inspired or still inspires you. Perhaps it is important to someone you know. Did you connect with Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo or another character throughout the series?
Or is Dragon Ball not meaningful at all?
This is an open ended question with no specific criteria. Your reply can be as short or as long as you like.
Please reply in the comments below. If your comments are longer than a few hundred words, then please email them through the contact page.
If I decide to add your comment to the book, then I will contact you to let you know and will provide a special thanks in the final version.
For me, it changed my life by leading me into the martial arts and the path of the spiritual warrior, which then lead to other things, such as a bachelors degree in East Asian Studies, a study abroad tour in Beijing where I trained with the Shaolin monks, and much more.
Please speak freely and describe what Dragon Ball means to you.
9 Divine Aspects of Dragon Ball Z
Goku with Angel Wings and Halo
Have you noticed divine aspects in Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z or GT? How about similarities between Goku and a certain spiritual teacher? Or perhaps the way in which good always triumphs over evil?
If you did notice these it’s because they’re in there! If you didn’t, then read this to learn more.
Here are 9 specific ways in which the divine shows up in Dragon Ball:
1. Mythically Buddhist Origin’s
Loosely based on Journey to the West, a Chinese tale of pilgrims on a holy quest for the Buddhist sutra’s of India, Dragon Ball is rife with spiritual references of an East Asian perspective. Sun Wukong (Japanese: Son Goku), The Handsome Monkey King, is the character that Goku is based on, and Sun Wukong himself is most likely based on Hanuman, the Indian deity and warrior.
King Enma, lord of the afterlife, is based on a Chinese and Japanese deity that weighs the amount of virtue and karma on a person’s soul to determine where they should be sent, Heaven or Hell, and we find that same character in Dragon Ball.
There are a multitude of other examples and references to the Buddhist stories that Japanese children like Akira Toriyama (the creator of Dragon Ball) would have been taught while growing up.
2. Heaven and the Afterlife
Heaven plays a big part in Dragon Ball Z as Goku spends a lot of his time up there!
After sacrificing himself to save his son’s life (and the planet itself) Goku is sent to the afterlife where his soul is judged by King Enma. The King determines that he is pure hearted enough to ascend up to Heaven, but Kami requests a special favor of the King and asks for Goku to be trained by North Kaio, Lord of the Northern Galaxy. King Enma agrees and allows Goku to keep his physical body, now tricked out with a super spiffy halo. continue …
How to Change Others for the Long Term
Piccolo and Gohan - Master and Disciple
You cannot force someone to change their heart. The most effective long-term way to change others is to change oneself.
A common way to change someone is to directly inform, persuade, or force another person to align themselves with the way in which you desire them to change. Barring any personal reasons for resistance, a willing and intelligent person will usually comply with the requirements of the request.
However, this direct method is primarily one of short-term change, because it is only the external behavior that has changed, not the underlying mindset or mechanisms that led to such a behavior. Usually it will take 3 or more applications of such a method for it to ‘stick.’
In order for a person to truly change for the long-term they have to change their mindset, be willing to let go of their current notions or methodologies and make a conscious effort to change on their own behalf because it is what they want, for themselves and for others. continue …
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