From the movie ‘Precious’ –
Here
Precious: And, I never really talked in class before.
Ms Rain: How does that make you feel?
Precious: Here. It makes me feel here.
Comments: Precious experiences mindfulness of the precious here and now for the first time in class, when she communicates to the teacher and class, and they all pay attention respectfully. A teacher can only coax you to pay attention, not just to the lessons held, but to yourself, your being too. Every student has to be willing, to be present, to be a good student, to learn well. This is what Precious manages to do in the story. From ‘here’ onwards, her life as an unloved student and abused child changes.
Lights
Precious: Some folks have lights around them, shining for other people. I think maybe some of them was in tunnels, and in that tunnel, the only light they had was inside them. And then, even long after they escaped that tunnel, they’d still be shining’ for everybody else.
Comments: Precious was remarking on Ms Rain, who shines with compassion for her students, including her – despite the fact that no one else really shines with it for them in return, when all they have is their compassion for themselves. This reminds me of Bodhisattvas’ unconditional love, that continues to shower on all beings, even if it is unreciprocated. Yet, it is okay for them, because they have enough compassion for themselves too, to sustain their tireless efforts.
Halfway House
Precious: In a book I read, this lady escaped to a halfway house. And when she got there, she asked the people there what a halfway house was. They told her that it was halfway between her old life and where she wanna be. That’s kinda nice. That also means I can’t stay here forever. There’s still a way to go.
Comments: This reminds me of how I see Pure Land as a spiritual halfway house. It is halfway to Buddhahood, between Samsara and ultimate Nirvana, where I wanna be, that is not just kinda nice but supremely nice – as a school to train well, not to stay forever in, but to graduate from to be of service back in Samsara as a better equipped Bodhisattva.