Arj Barker Is The Sickest Buddhist

Arj Barker, aka Dave from Flight of the Conchords, kicks some Buddha-butt in this music video parody. The clip originally made it’s way around the web in late August, but now that it’s back online, it’s worth sharing for a Friday laugh (hat tip to Casey for sending the link):

Clever? Yes. But does it feed an inaccurate perception of spiritual materialism? Ethan Nichtern, commenting for Beliefnet, writes:

It’s funny, but it’s not the kind of humor that requires much mentally, and is super easy to achieve (yes I do think I could’ve written it better), and ultimately I think it plays into a dark and inaccurate view of mind/body practitioners.

He believes judging others for their materialist trappings betrays our own inability to understand:

…until we are enlightened, a personal mixture of awakened compassion and selfish confusion forms the basis for everything we do. The contemplative path is about working directly with this mixture, not rejecting it in self or others. The path is to notice our selfish confusion and slowly massage it away through repeated attention.

At the same time, the path is to notice our already-present positive intentions and habits, and slowly cultivate and amplify these until they infuse everything we do.

Ultimately, Ethan believes it’s not about avoiding spiritual-materialism entirely.

Spiritual materialism is not something to reject. Noticing spiritual materialism is the path.

What do you think of the smoking sage by the pound? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Community Connection

Need more Buddha’s rapping? Check out Lama Boy’s music video – then visit MatadorTV for more great Buddhist clips like What is Nirvana?