Can a TV show really be this deep?

In Buddhism, The Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakra) is thought to be the most important of the auspicious symbols and represents the Teachings of Buddha; also known as Dharma. The eight spokes represent the eightfold path that Buddhists follow on their path to enlightenment. The Buddha is known as the only Wheel-Turner, the one who sets a new cycle of teachings in motion, which have the power to change the fate of the Universe.

In Lost, John & Ben have both turned the wheel at some point. But, at the most recent turning, Christian specifically said that Locke had to turn the wheel and not Ben. Benny (not creepy Benjamin Linus, but the other one) mentioned that Locke was a Buddha figure a few posts back, and I think he's right on. Apparently, Ben also used to be Buddha. Is it possible for them to both exist at the same time though?

The wheel also represents the continuous cycles of reincarnation. Buddhist tradition states that one will continue to be reborn until they are no longer ignorant or suffering or lost; in other words, until they are enlightened/become aware. There is a Buddhist term Bardo, which means transition; it is often used to describe the time or gap in between lives or state of awareness. There are six Bardos and there are six seasons of Lost.

Without lining up dozens of parallels or lamely attempting a lesson in Buddhism-the conclusion I come to, is that everyone on the island is having or had a near-death experience, so they are all in different Bardo states. I don't know. I'm starting to think that I could draw parallels to this show and just about anything you put in front of me.

Another thought that popped into my mind is that Faraday insisted that you can't change fate or something that already happened (or something like that). However, since the wheel has been turned (literally), does this mean that the destiny of the Universe has been changed? Will the Dharma Initiative be able to 'save' themselves from the mass killing that was their future now that they have the knowledge (that Ben will kill them) to do something (kill Ben?) about it?

The smoke monster,visions, flashing lights and ear piercing sounds, among other things are themes explained in Bardo teachings. I apologize if I confused anyone; I'm having a little trouble organizing my thoughts here.

This is a documentary on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, if you want to learn more about Bardos and the afterlife. It's over an hour long.

Leap of Faith

Finally, an episode that didn't make my head ache from the flashing lights & high pitched sounds. This was one of my favorite episodes ever. I noticed quite a few religious references once again. The title of this weeks episode was 316, which immediately made me think of bible verse John 3:16:"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

This week we saw the survivors head back to the Island because Ben and Eloise told them that they should. As Ben mentioned, they took a big "leap of faith" that doing this would somehow 'save' them. The 'suicide' letter John left for Jack read "I wish you had believed me." Jack never believed in anything, since he is a 'man of science.' Since Jack took a "leap of faith" and headed back to the island, does this mean he's starting to believe and will have eternal life?

We learned that John sacrificed his life in order to save the island and from next weeks previews we learn that he will be 'resurrected'. Sounds a little bit like the story from the bible to me, not only that but Ben also referenced Jesus' resurrection, as well as the apostle Thomas. Thomas doubted that Jesus could/would be reborn unless he touched the wounds of a reborn Jesus. John's body was 'stored' at Simon's Butcher shop. Simon was also one of Jesus' apostles. Also known as Peter, Simon was the first one to declare that Jesus was the messiah. He was also the one who later on denied Jesus.

When we first saw Desmond back in season two, entering the numbers out of fear that the island would explode or everyone would get sick if he didn't, it looked like some sort of religious ritual to me. Desmond had no scientific proof that anything would happen if he didn't enter the numbers, but he did it for years. He didn't do it because he enjoyed it or even believed in it, he did it out of fear. Not only that, but he was able to convince others to do the same. Now Desmond has turned his back on the Island. He told Eloise (who was perhaps a pastor of some sort?) that he was done with the Island and that she lied to him and told him that the Island was his purpose. He was upset for giving up so many years of his life to it.

Joe and I also had a theory that Ben hurt/beat himself up to 'test' the island and/or himself, to see if returning to the island would heal him and therefore he would be declared "the one." A few seasons back, Ben developed a tumor on the island, which coincided with him losing faith in the island. The verse clearly states his one and only son and there has clearly been some 'rivalry' going on between Locke & Ben.

Eloise told the Jack, Kate & Sun to get back on the plane and to recreate the original flight as closely as they could. Sayid & Hurley also ended up on the flight. Not only that, but Sayid took on Kate's original role, being handcuffed to an officer. Hurley had a guitar this time, as Charlie did the first time. Did they get the same message or was it just a coincidence? I think this points to the fact that the Island (like Eden) is basically a test of/between fate and freewill. When Jack asks Kate how she thinks it (Sayid & Hurley being on the plane) happened, she simply says: "They bought a ticket." (freewill).

Forgive me but...

"Forgive me but the day I start trusting him is the day I would have sold my soul."

That is what Sayid said to Locke about Ben when they were in the Barracks after Locke took Sayid prisoner. Now that we know that Sayid does eventually trust Ben... enough to kill for him; Does that mean that Sayid "sells his soul" eventually? And who is it that you sell your soul to? Usually, the devil. Does that mean that Ben is the devil? Since his main strength is that he can manipulate people with his words, like the devil does in the Bible, it would make a lot of sense...

Why does the bad guy have to have such a great name?

Spiritual References

Christianity

• Jacks father's name was Christian Shephard,
  
• Jesus Christ was known as a Shephard


• Charlie was an Altar boy & made the sign of the cross before he drowned


• Eko was a priest and he & Charlie began building a church on the island


• Claire named her son Aaron, after the brother of Moses
  

Eastern Religions

• There are 108 (the total of 'the numbers') beads on a Buddhist rosary


• Buddhism teaches of the four noble truths & the eightfold path


• Dharma is the teachings of Buddha


• The Dharma initiative symbol resembes a Tao symbol, and the Swan forms a yin yang symbol inside.
  

Other Ideologies

• Claire went to a psychic who told her to take her baby to LA (via Oceanic flight 815)


• Hurley had tarot cards read to him by a fortune teller/psychic, who told him that he would come into money & that it would be 'bad'.


• The recurrance of the numbers & thier power suggests a belief in numerology

I'm sure there are references to Islam, Judaism, and a gazillion other things I have no clue about.