Myth as Metaphore

[The Curly Lead]

Most world religions have a "Holy Book" which acts as a blue print for the faith. Christianity has the Bible, Islam the Quran, Hinduism the Bhagavad Gita  and so on. We have a movie.

I once read that the Bible and it's various stories are best understood as a metaphore (myth) outlining mans evolved understanding and relationship with the Divine. That way all the difficult bits can be swept aside and the "truth" revealed. What do y'all seee as tye "truth" in Dudeism? Do we have any difficult bits?

[The Curly Lead]

I mean "the truth" and "see". The Bordeaux speaketh.

[meekon5]

Most world religions have a "Holy Book" which acts as a blue print for the faith. Christianity has the Bible, Islam the Quran, Hinduism the Bhagavad Gita  and so on. We have a movie.

I have to disagree with this statement.

The film is not a blueprint. The character of the Dude is just one example. Dudeism is about honesty with yourself. Making an attempt to just "be" in this ever overcomplicated, ever over organised, ever more computerised, world that seems to judge value by how many friends you have on facebook, how clever you are by how many followers you have on twitter.

Dudeism in that one phrase "Fuck it lets go bowling!" rejects the material, and does not need a "blueprint".

Please don't take this personally, this is of course purely my personal opinion.

[Reverend Al]

I find my opinion on the first issue to be in line with that of Meekon5.  Almost every great idea or concept begins with some form of inspiration and, in the case of Dudeism, that inspiration came in the form of a movie called The Big Lebowski.  Jeff Bridges himself has said that others have called The Dude a Zen Master, but it took The Dudely Lama Oliver Benjamin to weave elements of Chinese Taoism, Zen, Buddhism, and wisdom/philosophies from just about any source deemed relevant, into the rug that ties Dudeism together.  Without the Dudely Lama's epiphany, the movie would continue to exist purely as what it is--a movie, nothing more.

Difficult bits?  You bet.  I think the biggest challenge continues to be getting people to understand, and truly believe, that Dudeism is more than just a joke religion/belief/philosophy to us.  Yeah, we have fun with it, but that's sort of the point.  Let the other religions condemn and berate their believers into leading a rigidly controlled life filled with stress and guilt in the hope that the rewards will be received in the afterlife.  Dudeism is about making this life more rewarding, regardless of whether the rewards come in the form of an easier life, a happier life, having a few more laughs, or simply enjoying your burrito.

I think the second biggest challenge comes from the fact that Dudeism is considerably more "free form" than any other religion, and "Truth" is a subjective term.  I mean, we essentially have two tenets:  Take it easy, and Abide.  Those are both pretty vague, and can mean very different things to different people.  For example, I personally believe wisdom and enlightenment are valid and valuable whether they come from the Bible, the Quran, a line of dialogue in a movie, or something someone scrawled on a cocktail napkin or the wall of a public rest room.  But what's relevant and enlightening to me may not be relevant or enlightening to you.  So it's virtually impossible to create a single summary or "mission statement" that encompasses exactly what Dudeism means to each individual.  On the other hand, that's the good thing about Dudeism--nobody here is going to tell you that you have to live your life in a specific way in order to be a Dudeist...except, of course, for the two tenets I mentioned above.

That said, I imagine Dudeism isn't much different from any other religion/belief/philosophy in their earliest days.  There's sure to be a great deal of discussion, disagreement, debate, and dissension, as we all try to define and explain what Dudeism is.  But that might just be the wisest thing the Dudely Lama has ever done--he planted the seed, then stepped back to see what would grow.

[BikerDude]

The landscape of Lebowskian interpretation is vast and multifaceted.
In one sense it can be seen as the latest version of "The Story of The Three Bears" an old story handed down in the oral tradition that has been extended multiple times including the familiar "Goldilocks and the three bears" version.

In Southey's tale, three anthropomorphic bears ? "a Little, Small, Wee Bear, a Middle-sized Bear, and a Great, Huge Bear" ? live together in a house in the woods. Southey describes them as very good-natured, trusting, harmless, tidy, and hospitable. Each of these "bachelor" bears has his own porridge bowl, chair, and bed. One day they take a walk in the woods while their porridge cools. An old woman (who is described at various points in the story as impudent, bad, foul-mouthed, ugly, dirty and a vagrant deserving of a stint in the House of Correction) discovers the bears' dwelling. She looks through a window, peeps through the keyhole, and lifts the latch. Assured that no one is home, she walks in. The old woman eats the Wee Bear's porridge, then settles into his chair and breaks it. Prowling about, she finds the bears' beds and falls asleep in Wee Bear's bed. The climax of the tale is reached when the bears return. Wee Bear finds the old woman in his bed and cries, "Somebody has been lying in my bed, ? and here she is!" The old woman starts up, jumps from the window, and runs away never to be seen again.

Maria Tatar in The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales (2002) notes that Southey's tale is sometimes viewed as a cautionary tale that imparts a lesson about the hazards of wandering off and exploring unknown territory. Like "The Tale of the Three Little Pigs", the story uses repetitive formulas to engage the child's attention and to reinforce the point about safety and shelter.[17] Tatar points out that the tale is typically framed today as a discovery of what is "just right", but for earlier generations, it was a tale about an intruder who could not control herself when encountering the possessions of others.[21]

Well there's not a literal connection...

What was the question?
Oh yeah something about Central Truth or something.
I wouldn't grind your gear to hard over all that.
Fuck it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y1ApD20trI

[Hominid]

THAT is a hoot - a fucking real pinball machine.  I left them a message asking if they plan on a software-only game version.

[Reverend Al]

...Well there's not a literal connection...

Well, Dude, we just don't know.  But if you think about it, Walter would be the big bear, Dude would be the medium-sized bear, and Donny would be the wee bear.  Maude Lebowski is the female intruder who enters the house (in this case, the Dude's bungalow) and...okay, so she doesn't eat the Dude's food, but she does take his rug and, in the end, winds up in the Dude's bed. 

[BikerDude]

...Well there's not a literal connection...

Well, Dude, we just don't know.  But if you think about it, Walter would be the big bear, Dude would be the medium-sized bear, and Donny would be the wee bear.  Maude Lebowski is the female intruder who enters the house (in this case, the Dude's bungalow) and...okay, so she doesn't eat the Dude's food, but she does take his rug and, in the end, winds up in the Dude's bed. 

Yes but if it's the Goldilocks iteration then we have Bunny as Goldilocks.
Lotta ins and out in there. "Ranger" vs "Stranger". We just don't know.
Check out the Ranger's intro around 1:35
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKEhWZc9M24

And the Ranger's epilogue at around 5:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgx5x6cyzgo

The episode features an extended story based on the events of the original fairytale, where Goldilocks' visit to the Bears' home is only a small portion of the overall plot.

The story is being told by a Ranger , who relates to the audience the incident of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks is introduced as a pretty young girl with golden curls who likes to play tricks on others and tell wild stories.

In the nearby wood, a family of bears consisting of Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Cubby Bear wake up from hibernation in their little cottage. One day, Mama Bear cooks some porridge, but it turns out to be too hot, so the family goes out for a walk to let it cool off.

At this time, Goldilocks happens to be out exploring when she stumbles upon the bears' house. She invites herself in, helps herself to their porridge (Cubby's is the only bowl that is good), sits in their chairs (Cubby's breaks under her weight) and lies down in their beds (Cubby's is the most comfortable and she goes to sleep). As she is sleeping, the bear family returns and sees the result of Goldilocks' tampering. Papa Bear wakes Goldilocks up, and when she sees the bears in the bedroom, she screams and runs off. When she reaches home, she goes into a frenzy telling her parents about the bears, but they don't believe her.

The next day, Goldilocks' father punishes her by ordering her to pull all the weeds from their house's front lawn. When the Ranger walks by, Goldilocks claims she has no idea what to do and sweetly asks him to demonstrate. When the Ranger gets to the job, Goldilocks sneaks off to her secret hiding place in the woods.

As she's playing, Cubby Bear accidentally finds her. At first, Cubby is angry at Goldilocks for what she did the day before, but Goldilocks spins another tall tale that she's an orphan and was so desperate for food and a place to stay, and that was why she broke into their house. Cubby believes her story and, feeling sorry for her, invites her back to the bear home. When Mama Bear and Papa Bear hear her story they welcome her in, but Papa Bear advises her to learn to respect other people's property and not repeat what she did. Goldilocks agrees, and jumps on their invitation to stay with them, believing that her father is still angry with her.

That night, Goldilocks doesn't return home, and her parents are filled with worry.

The days pass with Goldilocks spending time with the bear family, having fun and playing games. But then one day, the Ranger arrives at the house, and when he describes Goldilocks' physical description, Papa Bear pulls her out from her hiding place in the bedroom. At first, Goldilocks starts to tell another lie that she was kidnapped by the bear family, but she cannot go through with it because she has become genuinely fond of the bears. Goldilocks apologises for her mistakes in the past and returns home, where her parents embrace her.

The Ranger then gives an epilogue explaining that Goldilocks has changed her ways, continued to be friends with the bear family, and eventually had a daughter of her own with identical golden curls.

[Reverend Al]

Yes but if it's the Goldilocks iteration then we have Bunny as Goldilocks.
Lotta ins and out in there. "Ranger" vs "Stranger". We just don't know.
Check out the Ranger's intro around 1:35
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKEhWZc9M24

And the Ranger's epilogue at around 5:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgx5x6cyzgo

Okay, now the parallels are just getting scary.