Kung Fu Panda Gospel lessons
Image by Hiperpato
“Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail”
One lesson taught in “Kung Fu Panda,” is we can overcome evil if we do what’s right. If we’re on the Lord’s side, evil cannot prevail against us.
In “Kung Fu Panda,” Po (an overweight panda), is told he’ll become the Dragon Warrior who’ll save China from evil and restore peace to the land. Po thought Oogway (the village’s spiritual leader- a turtle) made a mistake in choosing him. When the most dangerous Kung Fu master, Tai Lung (a tiger), escapes from prison and heads for China, Po begins to doubt his potential.
Not only did Po doubt himself- those Po looked up to doubted him (The Furious Five- Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Mantis and Crane and Master Shifu- Po’s trainer). Despite his doubts, Po perseveres, and eventually believes in his prophetic mission as the great Dragon Warrior. Once Po resolves to give his all to protect China, he experiences incredible success and eventually defeats Tai Lung.
Throughout “Kung Fu Panda,” we learn several Gospel principles.
Gospel lessons taught in Kung Fu Panda
Gospel lesson #1- Don’t let your past limit your future.
Po: Maybe I should just quit and go back to making noodles.
Oogway: Quit, don’t quit? Noodles, don’t noodles? You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the “present.”
Gospel lesson #2- Everyone is special.
Mr. Ping: The secret ingredient is… nothing!
Po: Huh?
Mr. Ping: You heard me. Nothing! There is no secret ingredient.
Po: Wait, wait… it’s just plain old noodle soup? You don’t add some kind of special sauce or something?
Mr. Ping: Don’t have to. To make something special you just have to believe it’s special.
Gospel lesson #3- Humility is a great strength.
Shifu: You have done well, Panda.
Po: Done well? Done well? Ha, I’ve done awesome!
Shifu: The sign of a true hero is humility. But, yes, you have done…awesome
Gospel lesson #4- Obedience is a great strength.
Tai Lung: I rotted in jail for 20 years because of YOUR weakness!
Shifu: Obeying your master is not weakness!
Tai Lung: You knew I was the Dragon Warrior! You always knew! But when Oogway said otherwise, what did you do? What did you do? NOTHING!
Shifu: You were not meant to be the Dragon Warrior, that was not my fault!
Tai Lung: Not your fault? Who filled my head with dreams? Who drove me to train until my bones cracked? Who denied me my destiny?
Shifu: It was never my decision to make!
Gospel lesson #5- Pride can make us overlook danger.
Tai Lung: All I ever did, I did to make you proud! Tell me how proud you are Shifu! Tell me! TELL ME!
Shifu: I have always been proud of you. From the first moment I’ve been proud of you. And it was my pride that blinded me. I loved you too much to see what you were becoming, what I turned you into.
Gospel lesson #6- Eventually we’ll be tested alone.
Oogway: My time has come.
Shifu: What? What are you…?
Oogway: You must now continue your journey without me.
Shifu: No! WAIT! You cannot leave me, Master!
Oogway: You must believe…
Gospel lesson #7- You can uniquely bless others.
Po: They’re five MASTERS, and I’m just ONE me!
Shifu: But you will have the one thing no one else has!
Gospel lesson #8- God guides many “coincidences.”
Oogway: There are no accidents.
Shifu: [sighs] Yes, I know. You’ve already said that twice.
Oogway: That was no accident either.
Gospel lesson #9- God will take care of what we cannot.
Oogway: My friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny, nor you yours until you let go of the illusion of control.
Shifu: Illusion?
Oogway: Yes. Look at this tree, Shifu: I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time.
Shifu: But there are things we *can* control: I can control when the fruit will fall, I can control where to plant the seed: that is no illusion, Master!
Oogway: Ah, yes. But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Shifu: But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!
Oogway: Maybe it can, if you are willing to guide, to nurture it, to believe in it.
Shifu: But how? How? I need your help, master.
Oogway: No, you just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu, promise me you will believe.
Gospel lesson #10- We ought to seek the Lord’s will.
Oogway: One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.
“ Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
- Marianne Williamson
Personal Notes: I love “Kung Fu Panda.” It’s entertaining and engaging without graphic violence, immorality or profanity. This may seem silly, but after watching “Kung Fu Panda,” I felt inspired. I desired to go forward in faith to accomplish good in the world…Inspiration can come from unexpected places.
This is also one of my favorite movies. I especially love movies with gospel related messages in them. It is a testament to me of the truthfulness of the gospel when even movies that aren’t exactly religious coincide with gospel principles. I believe that because we are all God’s children and have the light of Christ, we can feel when something is true, such as the lessons you pointed out above in Kung Fu Panda. That is why I don’t think it’s silly at all to feel inspired by good movies like this. Thanks for pointing out these lessons.
Hey no problem- thanks for reading the post! As you can tell I’m passionate about applying Gospel principles to a lot of different topics. It really makes me happy to see people reading the articles and contributing their thoughts. Thanks!