The ingenious film that is ‘Inception’ begins with the assumption that it is possible for multiple persons to enter someone’s dream, that can even be designed without that person knowing, thus digging out deep secrets from his sub-consciousness, or even implanting ideas which eventually shape one’s decisions. Thank goodness this doesn’t seem technologically viable at [...]
Dharma@Cinema: The ‘Inception’ of Illusion or Reality?
By shian under Movies/TV |
10 Comments | Tags: Anicca, death, delusion, dream, illusion, mantra, meditation, perception, reality, Samsara
Dharma@Cinema: ‘Aftershock’ of the Human Heart
By shian under Books, Movies/TV, Relationships |
Your Comment | Tags: choice, communication, compassion, death, guilt, koan, rebirth, sacrifice, Threefold Refuge, Triple Gem, wisdom
(Thank you, Scorpio East, for the premiere tickets!) Though ‘Aftershock’ retells the terrible tragedy of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which killed 240,000, it is not a typical disaster movie. Its focus is on its tear-jerking aftermath – of the subtle yet sure spiritual aftershocks, of how it tore one family apart, before reuniting them. [...]
Cause for Alarm
By shian under Odds & Ends |
7 Comments | Tags: death
When the fire alarm went off,
right after the film ended,
the folks within took their time
to saunter out of the theatre.
Why do we not rush to get out?
Isn’t the alarm already cause for alarm?
Or do we need to know the cause for the alarm?
Of what use is the alarm by itself then?
Reminds [...]
Is Being Asleep Being Alive?
By shian under Odds & Ends |
2 Comments | Tags: death, mindfulness
Would you rather sleep longer and live longer,
due to having improved health,
or sleep less and have more waking hours,
and in effect live and do more?
Am not sure myself,
though I’m inclining towards the latter.
What do you think?
The enlightened sleep little, if at all,
probably because they have better control of their energy,
and because there is [...]
Some Terrifying Thoughts
By shian under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: Amitabha Buddha, death, mindfulness, rebirth
I lost a good idea…
It just slipped my mind,
as suddenly as it arrived.
The very next thought…
that it may never return
terrifies me absolutely.
The thoughts after this…
are even more terrifying
that the previous…
What if…
I pine ‘endlessly’ for a thought
that isn’t there anymore…
What if…
this happens
on my deathbed?
What if…
this disturbs me so badly,
that my last [...]
The Plastic Bag Scene
By shian under Books, Movies/TV |
Your Comment | Tags: Anicca, beauty, benevolence, death, Dukkha, mindfulness
One of the most memorable films ever is a film in a film – in the movie ‘American Beauty’ called by fans as ‘the plastic bag scene’. As commented by the young filmmaker in the story, who shot it…
Ricky Fitts: You want to see the most beautiful thing I’ve ever filmed? It was one of [...]
The Whole World is Running Out of Time
By shian under Movies/TV |
Your Comment | Tags: Anicca, death
Another wonderful short dialogue from ‘Flash Forward’:
Mark: We’re running out of time!
Dyson: The whole world is!
With or without a flash forward or backward,
we are all running out of time, due to impending death,
whether you are old or not, sick or not.
Related Articles:
Fate and Free Will
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/03/fate-free-will
The Most Amazing Thing
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/04/the-most-amazing-thing
The Most Amazing Thing
By shian under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: death, Pure Land
Q: Of all things in life, what is the most amazing?
A: That a man, seeing others die all around him, never thinks he will die. – Yudhisthira (Mahabharata)
Q: Of all things in life, what is the most fortunate?
A: Knowing how to transcend death in the most skilful way, by mindfulness of Buddha.
Two Monks Too Different
By jianxie under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: Anicca, death, humility, pain, sickness
Thus have I heard, the below poignant and hilarious accounts are based on actual concurrent incidents…
The old abbot of a temple
had a terrible toothache.
So bad was it that it was debilitating…
affecting his nerves literally.
The hospital stay was humbling to him.
It made him reflect
about the importance of spiritual cultivation
before his time in this life ran [...]
Monsters & Heroes Defeated Alike
By shian under Comics & Graphic Novels |
Your Comment | Tags: arrogance, death, monster, sickness
In the ‘retelling’ of ‘Beowulf’ by Gareth Hinds, King Hrothgar tells Beowulf the following after they slays Grendal and the monster’s Mother:
‘Take thou, therefore, good heed, O Beowulf,
against pride and arrogance.
Choose the better path: profit eternal.
Now, indeed, thou art in the pride of thy strength and the power of youth;
but there will come [...]
keep looking »
















