Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Individual
Group Discount
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews December 7, 2023 November 30, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan - Group Discount
Qty: 00
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
The most accessible and most popular elucidation of these beliefs relates to the spoon parable a young boy tells Neo in the Oracle’s waiting room. The story is specifically contrary to Christian belief systems and refers to an old Zen Buddhist koan (paradox) about freeing yourself from the logical mind and entering the “Buddha-mind”:
The wind was flapping a flag at the temple. One monk said the flag was moving, the other monk said it was the wind that was moving. They argued and pondered, but could not come to a conclusion. An elder passed by and they asked him which was moving. “It is neither the flag nor the wind that moves, but your mind.”
When Neo visits the Oracle for the first time, she jokingly gives him a cursory doctor’s exam. Even this action has a mythic dimension, as a certain sect of Buddhism believes that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama will be proven by a set of markings on his body.
The Matrix trilogy refers knowledgeably to certain aspects of Eastern religions while ignoring or contradicting others. Not many practicing Buddhists would carelessly fire any type of automatic machine gun. Similarly, true Buddhists, practicing proper virtues, have no enemies, though Morpheus clearly tells Neo that not only are the Agents enemies, but since Agents can turn into anyone in the Matrix, everyone is a potential enemy.
No one religion or spiritual discipline forms the backbone of the Matrix trilogy. Instead, parts of many religions are fused into a patchwork quilt of ideas and references that deepen and enrich the films.
Please wait while we process your payment