Joseph Campbell - Mythos II

i"Myth comes from the same zone as dream... from the great biological ground, whatever it may be. They are energies and they are matters of consciousness."/i -- Joseph Campbell PDURING THE FINAL YEARS OF HIS LIFE, Joseph Campbell embarked on a speaking tour in which he drew together all that he had learned about what he called the "one great story" of humanity. These remarkable talks were filmed and are presented here in the order and manner in which Campbell himself intended, with enhanced images and in minimally edited form. As seen on PBS. PbThe Programs/b br1. iThe Inward Path/i—The core myths of the great Asian religions. br2. iEnlightened One/i—The Buddha and enlightenment, East and West. br3. iOur Eternal Selves/i—Yoga and transcendence. br4. iThe Way to Illumination/i—Kundalini yoga and the seven chakras. br5. iThe Experience of God/i—Tibetan Buddhism and the spiritual journey that is death. Presented and Hosted by Academy Awardreg-Winner SUSAN SARANDON

Joseph Campbell, the late mythologist who became a household name among public television viewers in the 1980s, embarked on a series of final lectures for TV audiences before his death. IJoseph Campbell: Mythos II/I is part of that effort, with a special emphasis on the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Campbell begins the five programs on this two-disc set by reminding us that the purpose of myths is to relate human beings to their world. Early myths, says Campbell, connect humans to their place in the plant and animal world; later myths relate human society to the workings of astronomical cycles. It's an evolving process. When we're in accord with nature, says Campbell, we reap nature's bounty. Hinduism and Buddhism are both efforts to relate people to their place in a cycle of existence that does not end until one transcends that cycle. Hinduism, Campbell says, is to Buddhism as Judaism is to Christianity: the older religions are traditions, while Buddhism and Christianity are "credo religions," i.e., newer, "I believe" faith systems. Campbell spends some time discussing the development of Buddhism from monastic beginnings to its later appeal to millions of people, from an era of no images of the Buddha to the creation of beautiful sculptures of him immersed in transcendent consciousness. Campbell goes on to discuss, at length, the workings of yoga and their connection to increasingly sophisticated orders of love. (He also explains why the lowest cakras--pronounced "chakras"--are ruled by Dharma.) Finally, Campbell explains why the moment of death is the moment of illumination in Buddhism, and why the Boddhisatva of Compassion (i.e,, the Dalai Lama to some people) is so important. This is a wonderful collection underscoring how unique Campbell was to a Western understanding of the role of myths in our lives. I--Tom Keogh/I