BUDDHISM AND ‘B’-MOVIES
There are a few instances in Doctor Who where religion is treated positively. 1965’s The Romans features a clandestine Christian, whose morality is confirmed. In the very first Doctor Who story 100,000 AD, the TARDIS crew encounter cave men attempting to rediscover fire. This tribe is divided. One faction recognises fire as a great boon- a representation of progress; the other faction fears this new discovery. In a pleasant reversal of the norm the sun-god, Orb, is on the side of progress.
In The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve[1] the Doctor, posing as his dopplegänger the Bishop of Ambrose, states “We are all God’s children… it is not by war nor bloody deeds that His Kingdom shall be attained, rather we should look to our own hearts.”[2] Is the Doctor not abusing his position, however? -Using the religious beliefs of others to manipulate them? With episode titles like The War of God and The Priest of Death and a plot revolving around a famous sectarian slaughter it is a stretch to consider it ‘pro-religious’. Likewise, Couch et al. see the Doctor’s use of Gwyneth’s faith in The Unquiet Dead[3] as positive[4]. Again, the position is questionable.
The Masters of Luxor is an unmade Doctor Who serial which was intended to be the second story in the series[5]. Thacker states: “Religion in Doctor Who could have developed in a rather different way.”[6] Dealing with highly complex themes of transhumanism and ontological ethics, the TARDIS crew cross the path of a robot liberator god ‘The Perfect One’. Descending into a tomb, the Doctor and Ian awaken Tabon, the old scientific master of the planet. Filled with regret at his past experiments on human beings, he “Insists that they pray… to the God whose existence he once discounted, on the holy books he once burned. “[7]
Gridlock
Initially, the use of ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ in Gridlock could be seen as a classic Russell T. Davies swipe. Trapped on the never-ending road, believing in the myth of a destination that they will never reach, the passengers aggressively defend what they know may be a lie. The tawdry road traffic reports and the communal singing of hymns are an opiate for the people.
The plot twist shows that, though the Doctor thought these people trapped, they were in fact saved from a virus that destroyed the rest of the poulation. The immortal Face of Boe dies, giving his life force to set the people free, opening the roof of the under-city and allowing daylight to flood in. ‘The Old Rugged Cross’, it seems, was a genuine expression of hope, albeit a humanist one.
Dharma
Doctor Who’s strongest links with any religion are with Buddhism. Unlike any other religion, Buddhism is alluded to in almost every era of the show. The wheel of dharma turns throughout the programme’s forty year history. This is not merely a case of Doctor Who’s ideals being vaguely in line with Buddhist teaching. The Doctor is a Zen teacher transmitting dharma. This becomes explicit in the early ‘70s under Buddhist producer Barry Letts, reflecting growing western interest in eastern religions[8]. In The Time Monster[9], the Doctor relates a profound story from his childhood:
Doctor: Well, when I was a little boy, I used to live in a house that was perched half way up the top of a mountain. And behind our house there sat under a tree an old man - a hermit - a monk. He lived under this tree for half his lifetime, so they said, and he learnt the secret of life. So, when my black day came, I went and asked him to help me…
Jo: Well, what did he say?
Doctor: Nothing. Not a word. He just sat there silently, expressionless, and he listened whilst I poured out my troubles to him. I was too unhappy even for tears, I remember. And when I'd finished he lifted a skeletal hand and he pointed. Do you know what he pointed at?
Jo: No.
Doctor: A flower - one of those little weeds. Just like a daisy it was. Well, I looked at it for a moment, and suddenly I saw it through his eyes. It was simply glowing with life, like a perfectly cut jewel…
Jo: And that was the secret of life - a daisy? Honestly Doctor.
Doctor: Oh yes, I laughed too when I first heard it. So later, I got up, and I ran down that mountain, and I found that the rocks weren't grey at all. Well, they were red, brown, purple and gold. And those pathetic little patches of sludgy snow -- they were shining white -- shining white in the sunlight.
Are you still frightened, Jo?
Jo: No, not as much as I was.
Doctor: That's good.[10]
This intentionally mimics the story of the flower sermon, and the silent transmission of dharma from the Buddha to Mahākāśyapa[11]. Later, we meet the Doctor’s mentor and discover that he has retired to Earth to run a Tibetan meditation centre in England. In this way, the Doctor literally stands in the Zen line of authority.
Planet of the Spiders
In what is arguably Doctor Who’s most theologically resonant story, writer and producer Barry Letts skilfully combines his Zen interests with classic pulp elements such as giant spiders and mind-control to deliver the Buddhist allegory Planet of the Spiders[12]. The Doctor’s mentor exhorts him to face his fear and take up the path of self-denial. The Doctor must overcome his greed for knowledge, represented by the blue Metabilis crystal, (the removal of which from its home-planet set the events of the story in motion.) The Doctor returns the crystal, apparently overcoming his desire, but comes face with a much larger enemy -the Great One, Queen of Metabilis III -a gargantuan, imperious Spider:
"All praise to the Great One. All praise to me. Bow down before me planets, bow down stars, bow down all galaxies and worship the Great One. The Me, the great all powerful Me..."[13]
The Doctor’s greatest enemy is his ego -like the spider- swollen to elephantine proportions under the influence of the crystals. Returning the crystal destroys the Great One, and the resulting radiation wave ravages the Doctor’s body. In perhaps the most moving death scene in the programme’s history, the Doctor achieves the Buddhist ideal of extinguishment. Whether rebirth as the boisterous Fourth Doctor displays successful extinction of ego is open to debate.
Kinda
The 1982 story Kinda also draws heavily on Buddhist imagery amongst other things[14]. Written by Buddhist Christopher Bailey, Kinda has the TARDIS land on the paradise planet Deva Loka (‘celestial region’ in Sanskrit). Falling asleep near some wind chimes, companion Tegan’s mind becomes infected by the demonic Mara[15], personified in Dukkha[16]. Other Buddhist allusions are Anatta[17], Anicca[18], Karuna[19] and Panna[20].
The Buddhist allegory is not complete, however. The Mara takes the form of a giant serpent. This is not Mucalinda who protected the Buddha from the elements; rather it is the Judaeo-Christian tempter invading Eden. Paul Cornell[21] writes “The Buddhist articles also obscure the fact that the story is a Christian parable.”[22] Certainly, Kinda is influenced by Buddhism and Edenic imagery as well as many other things. Ultimately, to claim that it is allegory or metaphor for any one story or teaching is to depreciate its many-layered nature. Kinda is explored in-depth in the first scholarly work published on the subject of Doctor Who: Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text by John Tulloch and Manual Alvarado (1992).
[1] (1966)
[2] cited in Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 43
[3] (2005)
[4] Couch, Steve; Watkins, Tony; Williams, Peter S. Back in Time: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Doctor Who. Damaris Books, Milton Keynes. 2005. Pg. 152
[5] It was replaced by The Daleks.
[6] Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 44
[7] Dixon, Cameron. Synopsis: The Masters of Luxor. Doctor Who Reference Guide. http://www.drwhoguide.com/luxor.htm (11/5/2007)
[8] Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was published in 1974, the same year that Planet of the Spiders was broadcast. Likewise, Fritjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics was published in 1975.
[9]Sloman, Robert (writing with Barry Letts uncredited) The Time Monster (1972)
[10] Curtis, J. Buddhism in Doctor Who: A detailed analysis. Earthbound Timelords. 1998. http://homepages.bw.edu/~jcurtis/Z1R0_3.htm (05/04/2007)
[11] “It is not expressed by words, but especially transmitted beyond teaching. This teaching I have given to Maha-Kashapa.” Koan. http://www.cafenox.net/vox/koan4.html (11/5/2007)
[12] This story replaces The Final Game in which the Doctor and the Master would have been revealed to be the id and ego of one being.
[13] The Great One in Sloman, Robert (writing with Barry Letts uncredited) Planet of the Spiders (1974) in Plot Soundbite Quotes. Gabriel Chase’s Saturday Teatime Guild. http://members.fortunecity.com/tylorhan/Index.html (11/5/2007)
[14] Carl Jung, Pandora’s box and Alice in Wonderland are a few other major influences.
[15] ‘Temptation’ in Sanskrit.
[16] ‘Pain’ in Sanskrit.
[17] ‘Egolessness’ in Sanskrit.
[18] ‘Impermenance’ in Sanskrit.
[19] ‘Compassion’ in Sanskrit.
[20] ‘Wisdom’ in Sanskrit.
[21] Doctor Who writer and critic, who describes himself as ‘Christian Pagan’.
[22] Paul Cornell, cited in Doctor Who Episode Guide - Kinda - Details. Doctor Who. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/kinda/detail.shtml (10/5/2007)
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