The Spiritual Core of “Kung Fu Panda”

Introduction

The Dreamworks Animation Studio masterpiece, Kung Fu Panda, tells the intricate story of Po, an adopted Panda in a world bereft of his kin. Unwilling to see himself as a victim, Po dedicates himself to helping his adopted father (a goose) run his restaurant while nursing a fascination with Kung Fu and the Furious Five. Po is eventually chosen by the great master Oogway (turtle) as the next Dragon Warrior, and begins to develop the innate gifts of his passion. Over the course of the three films, and the many side stories which delve into the mythology of the characters, perennial spiritual truths are developed alongside a strong sense of humor and play which knits the esoteric with the mundane until the journey of the Dragon Warrior comes full circle in his saving of the valley. The spiritual lessons in this animated series have lost none of their essential nature, and if anything take on freshness and verve through the anthropomorphic embodiment in colorful animals.  

Passion is the Guide

One strong theme running throughout the Kung Fu Panda series is that whatever your passion is becomes the fuel and the guide for your life’s purpose. For Po, besides eating, Kung Fu is his chief passion in the world. He is often told that he is too fat to be a kung fu master, and while this does discourage Po it does not stop him from imagining a future in which he is a great defender of the valley. Over the course of the story Po’s largesse comes to be one of his strengths, not only in actuality, but in how opponents make the mistake of underestimating him and not being prepared for his attacks. As the first film emphasizes, “Tai Lung: You can’t defeat me! You… you’re just a big… fat… panda! Po: I’m not a big fat panda. I’m THE big fat panda” (Soul & Spirit Magazine). While Po is not exposed to other pandas and their lifestyle until the third film, that does not stop him from indulging his panda playfulness, appetite, and propensity to sleep. Reviews have seen this, praising the film;

Let me just start off by saying this: Kung Fu Panda 3 is the best of the trilogy. It has everything we already expect: kickass, unstoppable A-grade humor, absolutely gorgeous 3D animation, amazeballs action sequences and a meaningful, heartwarming story. But this one stands out on its spiritual intensity alone; while the first two had some beautiful things to say about identity and self-awareness, this one is a soulful haiku on finding one’s place in the universe, and being okay with whatever you unearth. There is endless wisdom here, and proof that a great film is never just a film. (Filosphere)

Power Comes from Being the Best You, You Can Be

In the third Kung Fu Panda, just released on DVD/Blu Ray, Po and his estranged father reconnect, and Po travels to the secret panda village in the mountains to learn to master Chi, and to learn what it means to be a panda. He must master the practices of 1) Sleeping like a panda (including napping and the magic of the hammock); 2) Eating like a panda (can’t eat multiple dumplings at once if you are using chopsticks); 3) Roll like a panda (panda’s don’t walk, they roll), etc. 

One story telling element of this part of the journey of Po is that he is under pressure to learn how to relax. The spirit warrior, Kai, is stealing the Chi of every kung fu master in his attempt to be the supreme warlord of China, and Po is the one destined to stop him. Because of how peaceful, removed, and full of panda excellence the hidden village is, Po is able to master the art of being a panda, but when he is told that Kai is on the way to steal his and every other panda’s Chi, he believes himself unprepared.

In the distant past all pandas were masters of Chi, but they have since lost the art. Po’s father lied to him when he said he could teach him to be a master of Chi out of the desire to protect him. This and any decision to lie is based out of fear, and as it has been said, “Fear is the mind killer.” 1  While Po is afraid, he has the courage to confront it when fighting Kai. His greatest passion is to be a protector of the valley, and his newfound family. This passion which overcomes fear enables him to defeat Kai, sending him back to the spirit realm with the Wu-shi finger trick. However, Po has to take Kai there by using the move on himself, and out of his great love for his friends and family he makes the ultimate sacrifice. 

The Power of Chi

When he makes it to the spirit realm, his friends and family understand that they must send their love and support to help him overcome the spirit warrior who is just as powerful in both realms. In this moment of need they overcome their fear and find the masters of chi in their own hearts out of love for Po. In the spirit realm it is the gift of love and chi which enables Po to discover his essence as the dragon warrior, and allows him to overcome Kai. There is a twofold spiritual lesson here. Love is the expression of chi, and being in relationship with others allows this expression to become a life giving cycle. Where Kai wanted to take chi, Po overcomes him through the force of giving him his own chi, which grows much stronger in the act of giving than taking. Kai’s body could not withstand the gift of chi which Po gave him, and dissolved into the elemental photonic light which forms the matrix of chi. 

It is a paradox of love that one grows stronger by giving, a concept which is in contradistinction to many contemporary values, but remains life-giving and true. After Po defeats Kai all the chi he had stolen from the other masters is released, and they return to their lives. Po meets up with master Oogway in the spirit realm after this where they discuss how awesome each of the other are. “You are super shiny,” Po tells Oogway. “And so are you” Oogway responds (Kung Fu Panda). This shine is the light of their aura glowing out from their non-physical elemental selves. Oogway honors that he chose rightly naming Po the Dragon Warrior, and he passes on his scepter telling Po he is the rightful successor of his school. In the spirit realm it appears much easier to accept gifts and responsibility for Po than in the material realm, but this may be because he has finally connected with his highest truth, and in this knowledge of self he finally believes he has something to give (Hu).

Oogway informs Po that now he has a choice to make, stay in the spirit realm or return to the land of the living. Po is surprised, “You mean I can go back?” Oogway replies, “I don’t know. I’ve never tried” (Kung Fu Panda). There is a school of spiritual belief that one never dies without the soul’s consent, and that every time the soul is confronted with the reality of death they are giving the choice of whether or not to return. 2 It is Oogway’s desire to stay in the spirit realm meditating on inner peace, while it is Po’s desire to return to the land of the living to experience the joys of his family and friends. 

He does so, drawing a yin/yang symbol in the water with his scepter, and holding the desire to return in his heart without fear. When he reappears his two dads (and everyone else) are so relieved and excited to see him. He goose father cries, “Don’t you ever go disappearing into petals again!” (Kung Fu Panda). Po is so happy to see his former master, Shi-fu who he freed from Kai, and when Shi-fu asks where he got that scepter, recognizing it, Po responds “Master Oogway gave it to me in the spirit realm” and Shi-fu responds, “Of course he did” with exasperation. Po reveals “I think I mastered Chi,” and Shi-fu responds again in kind, “Of course you did…Can you teach me?” (Kung Fu Panda). This moment is a powerful message because Shi-fu has been training for much longer (and with much more discipline than Po) but spiritual attainment does not rest upon doing, but upon understanding which can come in an instant’s inspiration (Inqisitr). 

Po was always an underdog, and starting off from an apparent lack (the empty cup of Zen) enabled him to seize the way of power when it became clear. For those who deeply study spirituality, sometimes this can get in the way of authentic enlightenment which comes from an unguarded relationship with being aware in the present moment. This principle is expressed most humorously when in Kung Fu Panda 3, Shi-fu is looking for information on Kai from within the Jade Palace where the wisdom of the masters is stored. Hundreds of scrolls litter the floor, and Shi-fu complains as he searches, “There is so much wisdom in here I can’t find anything” (Kung Fu Panda 3). That is often the way of the mind which is full of wisdom, what the mind thinks it knows can sometimes get in the way of what is. After all, it is only in the present moment that wisdom can be applied, and when it is hoarded it can become as much of an obstacle as foolishness. 

To honor the Chinese roots from which Kung Fu Panda gets its inspiration, directors Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni have had the third film completely translated into Chinese (Keegan). Which entails a second troupe of actors voicing the characters, a second script, and a second version of animation for the mouthing to match up. This incredible gift of consideration was done to help the film reach as many people as possible with its positive message (Meason). 

Conclusion

The artistic beauty and holistic storytelling of the Kung Fu Panda franchise brings spiritual truths to life in an entertaining fashion for the young and old alike. Authentic spirituality transcends age, connecting with the core of each person’s heart which is ageless. This is how Oogway can feel so comfortable with Po and visa versa even though there is hundreds of years of age difference between them. The soul is ageless, the soul all humanity shares in part. The journey to transcendent inner peace begins with finding one’s chief passion, and “Becoming the best you you can be.”

Notes

1: “Fear is the mind killer” was written in the Dune series by Frank Herbert, and refers to the fact that fear makes the mind frozen, and unable to be creative. One must master one’s fear to go beyond the limitations of the known into the unknown where new solutions await to be discovered. 

2: In “Home with God: In a Life That Never Ends” (2006) author Neale Donald Walsh goes into detail about the freedom and intimacy humans have with their creator, emphasizing that whatever belief system one holds in life will be made manifest upon the transition of death as a means to translate the experience.

Works Cited

Filmosphere. “Kung Fun Panda 3 and Spiritual Awareness.” Filmosphere, 2016. Retrieved from: https://bhatiayash60.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/kung-fu-panda-3-and-the-arrival-of-spirituality-in-mainstream-animated-cinema/

Hu, Elsie. “Six Lessons on Faith Taught in Kung Fu Panda 3.” China Christian Daily, 2 Apr. 2016. Retrieved from: http://chinachristiandaily.com/2016-04-02/culture/six-lessons-on-faith-taught-in-kung-fu-panda-3_879.html

Inqisitr. “Kung Fu Panda 3’ Reveals Ancient Chinese Secret Within a Great Animated Movie.” Inquisir.com, 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.inquisitr.com/2750154/kung-fu-panda-3-reveals-an-ancient-chinese-secret-within-a-great-animated-movie/

Keegan, Rebecca. “'Kung Fu Panda 3' directors made sure every word translated into English and Mandarin -- 'Skidoosh!'” The Los Angeles Times, 4 Jul. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-kung-fu-panda-directors-20160203-story.html

Kung Fu Panda. Dir. Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni. Perf. Jack Black, J.K. Simmons, Bryan Cranston, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman , and Jackie Chan. 20th Century Fox, 2016. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Panda_3

Meason, Clayton. “Why Kung Fu Panda 3 is a Game Changer.” Beacon Transcript, 29 Jan. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.beacontranscript.com/why-kung-fu-panda-3-is-a-game-changer/4917/

Soul & Spirit Magazine. “10 things Kung Fu Panda taught us about inner peace.” Soul & Spirit, 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.soulandspiritmagazine.com/10-things-kung-fu-panda-taught-us-inner-peace/