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enjoyed the film hero today and found an interesting philosophical comment during the climax. the king contemplates a calligraphy of the world “sword” drawn by an assassin. he’s wondering if the calligraphy demonstrates the swordsmanship skill of the artist, but decides it shows the assassin’s deepest ideals. he says with admiration:
In the first stage, man and sword become one and each other.
Here, even a blade of grass can be used as a lethal weapon.
In the next stage,
the sword resides not in the hand but in the heart.
Even without a weapon
the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred paces.
But the ultimate ideal is
when the sword disappears altogether
the warrior embraces all around him.
The desire to kill no longer exists.
this reminds me of the three kayas in tibetan buddhism; an outer physical manifestation, an inner emotional manifestation, and an ultimate mirror-like awareness and openness free from dualism. kudos to director yimou zhang for making an action film with a higher view: that ultimate warriorship is to transcend the need for aggression altogether.
i wonder if those principles can be applied to relationships in general. the physical to relate to others with dignity, precision, and decorum; the emotional to be touched and to touch the hearts of others; and the ultimate to appreciate the relationships completely as they are. so the warrior’s ideal is to relate with others at all three levels simultaneously. without all three the relationship is lacking. to forget the ultimate is to live in poverty which breeds aggression and jealousy. to forget the physical leaves one sloppy and careless and hurtful. and without the emotional we lack the desire to relate properly in the first place. but with all three we can appreciate things as they are and have a desire to relate fully and precisely and skillfully as well.
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it’s amazing how much i’ve sped through life so far, rushing from one activity to the next. i’ve found over time that i definitely need some space thrown in there as well to recharge. often one day out of twenty was a down day for me, to just sit and relax.
my recent meditation retreats are ‘filled’ with space though and over the last year the contrast between being busy and having unstructured space has been easier to see. sometimes i wonder if that’s all meditation is really, creating a contrast so it’s easier to see how we live and how the mind works - simply by making our experience more pronounced and then really noticing it.
this summer and fall has especially had a lot of space for me, intermixed with activity, and as a result more opportunity to see and contemplate the basis of my motivations and the nature of my mind and emotions. instead of resulting in a particular goal or direction so far, though, it’s just inspired me to do more intermixing - to continue to practice with the contrast and see how my mind and emotions work in more detail.
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it’s amazing how much i’ve sped through life so far, rushing from one activity to the next. i’ve found over time that i definitely need some space thrown in there as well to recharge. often one day out of twenty was a down day for me, to just sit and relax.
my recent meditation retreats are ‘filled’ with space though and over the last year the contrast between being busy and having unstructured space has been easier to see. sometimes i wonder if that’s all meditation is really, creating a contrast so it’s easier to see how we live and how the mind works - simply by making our experience more pronounced and then really noticing it.
this summer and fall has especially had a lot of space for me, intermixed with activity, and as a result more opportunity to see and contemplate the basis of my motivations and the nature of my mind and emotions. instead of resulting in a particular goal or direction so far, though, it’s just inspired me to do more intermixing - to continue to practice with the contrast and see how my mind and emotions work in more detail.
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with the madhyamaka retreat complete, it’s time to get on with life and back to work. though i must admit all the meditation and philosophy this summer has left me questioning exactly what i’m doing. perhaps it’s healthy to ask ‘why’. why do we work so hard, why do we stretch and labor? what merit do selfish pursuits have, and how can we be more beneficial? and what did the buddha mean by ‘right livelihood’?
sitting monkey is place where