Ryan Larson: The Monomyth and Rebirth

 Recently, we've been talking in class about rebirth and the implications thereof. I thought it'd be interesting to see what Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces says about the subject, seeing as it's one of our course materials.

The concept of rebirth, one could argue, is a central part of the human psyche. Nearly every religion has some form of it- from Christian baptism to Buddhist enlightenment to the emergence of the Greek gods from Kronos, it seems that the goal of a person is to become more than just a person; that we are called to join some higher structure or order just outside of our observation.

One could say that Campbell's section on The Ultimate Boon has some parallels to the concept of rebirth. Often in myths the hero reaches his or her goal and then comes upon some sort of new conclusion or outlook on life. They have some sort of revelation, like in Rumi's poem, that their goal is not what they supposed it to be. This mental shift is a sort of rebirth-- now that their motivation and way of thinking is different, they are a 'new' person-- born again, you could say. 

Campbell gives an example of the Original Buddha: 

"With the sword of his mind he pierced the bubble of the universe-- and it shattered into nought. The whole world of natural experience, as well as the continents, heavens, and hells of traditional religious belief, exploded-- together with their gods and demons. But the miracle of miracles was that though all exploded, all was nevertheless thereby renewed, revivified and made glorious with the effulgence of true being."

This shows a rebirth not of a person, but of the entire universe. It's important to note here that in order to be reborn, the universe first had to be destroyed. You can't have it both ways, I suppose-- either the former life or the latter, but not both.

A modern equivalent of this is The Matrix-- once the protagonist realizes that he lives in a simulation, he gains control of otherworldly powers and abilities. (On a side note, there seems to be a lot of overlap in The Matrix and the story of the original Buddha. I may look further into this at some point.)

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