Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Naruto: Part 1

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Naruto: Part 1
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Zplsl6dgw - 14:49
https://1anime.to/episode/52529-fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood-episode-62_52276-english-dub - 16:45 to 21:30

https://1anime.to/episode/52531-fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood-episode-63_70995-english-dub - beginning to 16:35
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is an anime series that is essentially about two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric and their adventures of seeking truth with the use of the science of alchemy (my interpretation anyway). In their first one of trying to use alchemy to bring back their dead mother, they learn about The Law of Equivalent Exchange the hard way from a character named Truth, who is believed to be God in this series. Their first attempt at alchemy results in Ed losing his leg and Alphonse his entire being. Ed also sacrifices his arm to restore the soul of Alphonse, but it needs a body, so he puts this soul into a suit of armor. Despite what happens to them, both Ed and Alphonse continue using alchemy, which involves The Law of Equivalent Exchange.

Like I said, The Law of Equivalent Exchange is controlled by the character Truth, who is the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood version of God. In the first video in this reflection, we learn more about the character Truth, specifically the role of Truth in the Law of Equivalent Exchange, as well as the importance of the Law of Equivalent Exchange in general. When using alchemy to gain knowledge, something must be given for it. This is the Law of Equivalent Exchange that is controlled by Truth. There are other examples of the Law of Equivalent Exchange seen in this anime, and videos, and examples can be seen in our own lives, with the help of answering the following questions, then the ones in the next reflection, as well as understanding the next reflection.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1. What is your understanding of The Law of Equivalent Exchange?
2. What about Truth, both as a character and a trait?
Naruto: Part 1 - Teamwork - Give up what you want for what we need: The Bell Test
https://1anime.to/episode/175650-naruto-episode-4-english-dub - 23:36
https://1anime.to/episode/175651-naruto-episode-5_19703-english-dub - 21:35
In our school, we have a morning assembly called Convocation everyday.  This assembly starts with attendance, continues with prayer, and ends with announcements.  An important part of doing all this in a timely fashion is for cooperation from the students and adults for this to happen.  Of course, this doesn’t always happen, and reasons for this involve something that is brought up a lot in this assembly.

This something that is brought up a lot in this assembly is the idea of giving up what you want for what we need.  This idea is seen in many important ways, like in the Rule of St. Benedict, which is a rule that helps guide Benedictine communities (specifically, in Chapter 3 of it), and is something that needs to happen at this time.  Why it isn’t involves the same reasons it isn’t seen in the example of teamwork in Naruto.

In the anime Naruto, the main character is a kid named Naruto who wants things for himself (more about this anime will be seen next week).  In the videos we see, he has to work with his friends Sakura and Sasuke, who also want things for themselves, to do what they need to do, which in this case is pass an exam together.  The problem they face, which is similar to the problem in our Convocation assemblies, is that they have to give up what they want for themselves in order to get what they need.  We all want and need things for ourselves, and this causes us to do things based on these wants and needs, but what happens when what we want and/or need is what other people want and/or need too?

This is when someone needs to come in to explain this.  This someone is usually an adult, or someone who knows how to do this.  In our Convocation assemblies, this is usually our headmaster, who is also a monk, or one of the other adults who is there at the time.  Students also try to do this too because we stress student leadership.  In Naruto, this someone is Kakashi, who attempts to teach this to Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke with The Bell Test.

In this Bell Test, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are assigned to take a pair of bells from Kakashi, their new squad leader, in order to pass their exam to continue their progression as ninja.  They think they have to do this themselves in order to pass, but as Kakashi tells them, teamwork is what they need in order to pass, not just think about themselves.  It’s not all about them, as Kakashi says, and Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura need to realize this in order to work together to pass, which is what they want for themselves in the first place, so why wouldn’t they work together if one of the things they all want is the same?

The answer is also true for us in our Convocation assemblies, as well as everyone else.  When we all want the same thing, it is usually for different reasons.  Even when the reason is the same, the person with the reason isn’t.  What makes one person saying they want something, and another person saying they want the same thing different is the person saying that.  We are all different, even if we come from the same community.  Even if we want the same thing as what someone else wants, we can’t see past this because of the other things that we individually want.  Why can’t we see past this?

The answer to this question is seen in the Naruto videos when Kakashi mentions that a ninja must see through deception.  This is not only important for ninja, or people learning to be ninja, like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, but also for everyone else.  The biggest deception in our lives is thinking we are all different (this comes up in Avatar actually when Aang trains with a guru, which I have a video of in my Avatar post), which is the source of our problems.  We can’t help each other because we think we are different, and therefore, think that we wouldn’t be able to without helping ourselves.  In looking past this deception is how Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke pass The Bell Test and is how we can give up what we want for what we need.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

1. Reflect on a time when you had to give up something you wanted for what everyone with you needed.  What did it feel like?  Was it easy or hard for you?  Explain.
2. When is it most difficult for you to see through deception?  Explain.