Tri-Svabhava-Vada : Yogacara Buddhist theory applied on film

Abstract: A ‘religion means Christianity’ equivalence seem to be predominant within the academic publications on religion and film. If a ‘philosophical’ film does not fit within the Christian doctrine, secular philosophies are usually applied to it. This paper tries to do a Buddhist analysis of the film Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999). The Yogacara Buddhist doctrine is used as a base for the thematic analysis, its vocabulary is applied on the narrative progression of the films protagonist. Structure: The paper starts with an introduction on how Buddhism came about through the life story of the Buddha, and then goes deeper into the Buddhist doctrine of thought. It concludes by using Yogacara Buddhist theories and vocabulary in a thematic analysis of the film Fight Club.