A Tit for a Tat (128)

Tit: When I don’t bring my brolly, it rains; when I do, it doesn’t! I brought my brolly for nothing again!
Tat: Isn’t that what you want?
Tit: Bring my brolly for nothing?
Tat: No, that it doesn’t rain.
Tit: Yes. So?
Tat: If you believe bringing your brolly prevents rain, you didn’t bring it for nothing then!

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/brolly-for-something
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/wrong-number-yet-again-again

I don’t really understand what the film ‘The Warrior and the Wolf’ is trying to say. (I think the only thing that makes the film worth watching are the handful of picturesque stills of the wilderness. Trust me… the rest is actually quite a bore – even if this review seems to suggest otherwise.) The story tells of a time prevalent with war, where it’s a matter of to kill or to be killed on battlefields for soldiers. But why not just walk away from the needless fighting? A scene shows a lone wolf preying after a herd of sheep on the pastures. Makes me wonder why the many sheep do not use their strength in numbers to chase the wolf away. Mindless herd mentality is unwise indeed. Perhaps, the peace-loving humans, who should be the majority, should unite against endless fighting too. Then again, maybe the soldiers are representative defenders of this united vision – who are fighting against those who do not share the same outlook? Sigh… Maybe some wars are necessary evils after all? I hope this is never true.

One of the soldiers chance upon a girl from a mysterious tribe, that is cursed such that its members who fornicate with outsiders will, together with them, transform into wolves. This is not a werewolf story though – because they do not resume their human forms. Yes, against the backdrop of desolation and desperation, the soldier does it with her. Though it was lust-driven rape at first, they eventually fall in love. There seems to be too many scenes of them having sex. Then again, it’s supposed to express their indulgence in it with little restraint. With this and war as primal and central themes in the story, I’m reminded of how sex and violence often go in tandem in the movies. In fact, the intense sex was portrayed to be somewhat violent too. It’s that classic paradox of pain and pleasure… that oils the gears of Samsara. The origin of the curse is never explained, but it does make sense that increasingly animal-like behaviour does render one beast-like in mind. Karmically, one can be reborn as an animal if one behaves like one too. Maybe, the curse represents physical rebirth within a single lifetime?

Related Article:
Return of ‘The Wolfman’
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/02/return-of-the-wolfman

A Tit for a Tat (127)

Tit: Hey! Your phone is ringing yet again!
Tat: I’ll answer it this time.
Tit: Why?
Tat: To make an appointment with the caller.
Tit: But you don’t know him!
Tat: Exactly! I need to show him that.
Tit: Why?
Tit: So that he will stop believing I’m someone he knows, who is evading his calls!

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/brolly-for-nothing
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/wrong-number-yet-again

A Tit for a Tat (126)

Tit: Hey! Your phone is ringing yet again!
Tat: Ignore it!
Tit: Why?
Tat: It’s that same caller looking for someone else.
Tit: Why don’t you tell him he has the wrong number again?
Tat: I did!
Tit: Why is he calling again then?
Tat: I think he doesn’t believe me!

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/wrong-number-yet-again-again
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/wrong-number-again

A Tit for a Tat (125)

Tit: Hey! Your phone is ringing again!
Tat: Ignore it!
Tit: Why?
Tat: It’s the same number. The caller was looking for someone else.
Tit: Didn’t you tell him so?
Tat: I did!
Tit: Why is he calling again then?
Tat: I suspect he’s using redial!

Insanity is doing the same thing
over and over again
and expecting different results.

- Albert Einstein

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/wrong-number-yet-again
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/wrong-number

A Tit for a Tat (124)

Tit: Hey! Your phone is ringing!
Tat: Ignore it!
Tit: Why?
Tat: It’s not for me.
Tit: But it’s your phone!
Tat: Well, I havn’t told anyone my new number yet.
Tit: But someone’s calling your number!
Tat: It’s my right number but the caller’s ‘wrong number’!

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/wrong-number-again
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/03/another-way-to-grab

Here is an interesting dialogue from the film ‘Bright Star’, which tells of the poet John Keats’ love and life, followed by my response to it.

Fanny Brawne: Can you say something about the craft [of poetry]?
John Keats: Poetic craft is a carcass, poetry a sham. If poetry does not come naturally as leave to a tree, then it better not come at all. A poet is not at all poetical. He is the most unpoetical thing in existence. He has no identity. He’s continually filling in some other body – the sun, the moon…

Fanny Brawne: I still don’t know how to work out a poem.
John Keats: A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving into a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water. You do not work the lake out, it is a experience beyond thought. Poetry soothes and emboldens the soul to accept the mystery.
Fanny Brawne: I love mystery.

Nothing cryptic
Slightly ‘poetic’?

No rules to poetry
No need to rhyme

For love is poetry
As poetry like love

No rules for love
But only to love

To have no conditions
Is the only condition

(If Keats sounded somewhat Zenny in the dialogue, well, he was interested in Zen!)

In ‘Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?’ by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert, the newly deceased Batman says, ‘I don’t… actually… believe in an afterlife. You know that? I don’t believe there’s a place you go if you’re good, when you’re done. I’ve tried to believe, but I can’t…’ The vision of his late Mother replies, ‘… Do you know the only reward you get for being Batman? You get to be Batman.’ It’s most praiseworthy that Batman was all along good for goodness’ sake; and not altruistic for any rewards – in this life or the afterlife. Ironically in a good way, this creates more karmic rewards – whether he believes in karma or not. Not that his Mother is right, especially since she might be an apparition from his own mind, Batman could do well to see the logic of the Four Assurances listed in the Kalama Sutta:

When, Kalamas, this noble disciple has thus made his mind free
of enmity, free of ill will, uncorrupted and pure,
he has won four assurances in this very life.

“The first assurance he has won is this:
‘If there is another world,
and if good and bad deeds bear fruit and yield results,
it is possible that with the breakup of this body, after death,
I shall arise in a good destination, in a heavenly world.’

“The second assurance he has won is this:
‘If there is no other world,
and if good and bad deeds do not bear fruit and yield results,
still right here, in this very life,
I live happily, free of enmity and ill will.’

“The third assurance he has won is this:
‘Suppose evil befalls the evil-doer.
Then, as I do not intend evil for anyone,
how can suffering afflict me, one who does no evil deed?’

“The fourth assurance he has won is this:
‘Suppose evil does not befall the evil-doer.
Then, right here I see myself purified in both respects.’ “

- Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya
(Translated & Edited by Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi)

In ‘Halo: Uprising’ by Brian Michael Bendis, a captured soldier saves the Earth using the key of Osanalian, which is something non-existent, concocted out of fantasy games with his brother when they were kids, that only the duo knew of – as a key to a magical secret. The first brother tells his alien captors that they would need the key to defeat humans, and that it was situated where the second brother lives.

When this was announced, the latter catches the hint that his brother was trying to save him, by preventing the city he was at from being destroyed as the aliens would need to search it for the key. The latter seizes the opportunity to say he is the key per se, and surrenders to the aliens. He straps bombs with him and wipes out the aliens, thus turning the war around. The secret key of no key was what saved the day – a fascinating example of how fantasy can be of real use with skilful means! Then again, the true key was the combination of compassion and wisdom.

From ‘The Amazing Spider-man: Family Ties’:

Uncle Ben: Peter… you’ve never been in a fight in your entire life.
Peter: So. Have you?
Uncle Ben: A few times.
Peter: Bet you were a regular Bruce Willis, huh? Kicking butt and taking names.
Uncle Ben: I was a young idiot who learned the hard way that violence is a dead end.
Peter: What do you mean?
Uncle Ben: Peter… these stories are for fun. A way for me to put my troubles aside and spend a few hours in fantasyland. But is the real world? The world we have to deal with every day? It’s nothing like what you see in the movies. Being a hero isn’t about punching someone or blowing up the bad guy. It isn’t about revenge – or who’s got the biggest muscles. It’s about putting other people first. About trying – even when you know… that you’re going to fail. Most of all it’s about doing the right thing – no matter what anyone else thinks.

Comments: Advice totally in line with the heroic selfless Bodhisattva path!

Peter: Aunt May… What’s fear?
Aunt May: That’s a big question, Peter. Fear is a lot of things. Sometimes, it’s a protective mechanism that keeps us safe from danger. Other times, it paralyzes us – keeps us from moving ahead with our lives. People often feel fear for their lives, or for loved ones. Sometimes those fears are rational, sometimes not. It’s hard to face your fears… but sometimes, you must. Then, you can be at peace with them.

If fears are unfounded, may they be vanquished well.
If fears are not unfounded, may they be faced well.

- Stonepeace

I find it hard to understand
people who complain of gory videos,
of animals being killed
because this is the true reality TV.

I find it hard to understand
people who choose to turn away,
and continue to devour their flesh,
in spite of catching glimpses of the bloody truth.

I find it hard to understand
how people have the heart
to not listen to the cries of terror,
to not truly witness the horror of it all.

Question: A friend says my caring for stray cats is due to me ‘owing’ them karmically, though I feel that it is out of compassion, more out of empathy than sympathy. What do you think?

Answer: Instead of thinking in terms of ‘owing’ or not, what we can say is that you have karmic affinity with the cats that you help voluntarily. You know the helping is voluntary because you can choose to walk away like your friend, but choose not to, out of proactive compassion. The idea of ‘owing’ is useless. It is not helpful to the cats, yourself or your friend. In fact, it can be a dangerous idea. For example, if everyone thinks they have absolutely no obligation to help anyone in need because they don’t ‘owe’ anyone anything, how do they cultivate their compassion and how do the needy receive help from anyone? Of course, we can say good karma will find its way to be expressed if the needy truly deserve help – but why not voluntarily play a part in being the means for their good karma to be expressed? Doing so creates good karma on our part too, making it more likely for others to help us in future, though this should not be hankered after. In short, voluntary helping creates win-win situations for all involved. ‘Owing’ or not is not important at all when it comes to wanting to help and receiving help.

Animal babies, especially, are always lovable.
But since when, do they grow up,
to become eaten by humans?

Human babies, especially, are always lovable.
But since when, do they grow up,
to become eaters of animals?

Life is what happens to you
while you’re busy making other plans.

- John Lennon

From ‘Astonishing X-men: Unstoppable’ by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) says, “Everything is so fragile. There’s so much conflict, so much pain… you keep waiting for the dust to settle and then you realize this is it; the dust is your life going on. If happy comes along – that weird, unbearable delight that’s actually happy – I think you have to grab it while you can. You take what you can get, ’cause it’s here, and then… gone.”

Poignant words indeed. Fragility of it all and the fleeting nature of momentary happiness is impermanence (Anicca) itself. Prevalence of conflict and pain, with the seemingly ‘endless’ awaiting for it to be gone is suffering (Dukkha) itself. Grasping at worldly joys is ultimately futile because they come only to pass. Ours is a world of stirred up dust, of delusions, that shroud our vision, that chokes us, that rises and falls. But all is not lost. Realise Anicca and Dukkha fully as they are, and you will realise Anatta (non-self), and the bliss of liberation will be yours.

The remake of ‘Clash of the Titans’ is more fascinating than its 1981 predecessor for a number of reasons. Firstly, the monsters are a lot meaner. Secondly, the gods are a lot meaner… too! Set in an ancient time, the film paints a terrifying world filled with convoluted relationships between gods, monsters and the poor humans caught in between. The hero is Perseus, called a demi-god, because his father is Zeus the god, while his mother a human. In Buddhist cosmology, the gods are mostly kindly (though at times prideful and complacent) due to having been virtuous the life before as humans. However, the gods of Olympus are politicking super-egoistic lords, resembling warring demi-gods or asuras more closely instead.

Just how ‘bad’ did the gods turn out to be? Zeus the supposed creator of humans raped a human woman, thus begetting Perseus, who questions and rebels against the gods due to the injustice inflicted on him. The gods create the Kraken – a sea-monster who craves human flesh. So terrible is the Kraken that even the gods dread its rage and creation with some regret. And yes, Medusa’s demonisation resulted from Athena’s jealousy. Hmmm… so much for entertaining any notion of omni-benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient gods, for there are none in Greek mythology. If the gods create monsters, are the gods not monstrous too? Zeus even literally strikes a deal with Hades, the Greek version of the ‘devil’ – in order to terrorise humans.

The film suggests that the higher gods like Zeus feed on the love and prayers of human devotees, while Hades grows stronger when humans increase in fear and weaken their humanity. The first is tricked by the latter to use the threat of the Kraken for extorting humans for their devotion, while the latter secretly strengthens. What ultimate sinners they are, to turn humans against one another too! Zeus, being the main god in charge forgot to reflect on why he was losing the faith of humans – he had failed to answer their prayers. Somewhat prophetic of their future, the Greek gods did lose their worshippers in time. It would be tough to find anyone these days, who believe in the existence of any of the colourful gods of the Greek pantheon – though they still serve as useful personality archetypes.

Perhaps, instead of Zeus the god having created any humans in his image, humans created him in their image, as a super-powerful projection of their hopes and fears, with all their ‘human, all too human’ flaws intact. In sharp contrast, the most honourable character in the story is Perseus, who takes healthy pride in his humanity and refuses to become yet another god. Perseus, who is ‘neither god nor man’, takes centrestage and saves the day with some ‘divine’ assistance from a repentant Zeus, who reminds Perseus to ‘be better than we (the gods) were’! You bet! We had better! The moral of the story seems to be that every human has the power to ‘play God’ – to even subdue monsters, move and transcend the gods (like the Buddha did). Well, why not? (Incidentally, the Buddha defined himself to be neither a god nor human too, but a fully awakened being. He is also known a a ‘Teacher of humans and gods’.)