However, this movie truly explores deep-seated issues such as "how is color equal to emptiness" and "whether to become a monk or practice at home" from the perspective of spiritual practice
Chung Liti's version of " The director of "Lust, Caution" is also a practitioner and has been preparing for this film for seven years. He made the beginning of the story point directly to human nature
One person completed it in 3 years and 3 months The lama Dashi, who "received himself" for three days, received the master's true teachings and was highly appreciated by the living Buddha, met the farm girl Pama who fascinated him and couldn't stop.
After meeting the fatal Before the temptation, you may have thought that you have seen through the world of mortals and have nothing to do with the world. You may have claimed that your practice has reached the level of peace and transcendence. However, when that temptation comes, it is within your reach and may even wink at you. When you smile, where is your practice? Where has your heart gone?
If you have never owned it, how can you give up?
Da Shi is a relatively accomplished practitioner in Tibet. All his master’s disciples follow his example, and all reincarnated living Buddhas personally confer certificates on him. This is because at such a young age, he has completed three years of 3 months and 3 days of "yidam retreat" practice every year.
It was in a transcendent cave in the high mountains of the Himalayas. Dashi did not eat or drink, and remained motionless. His practice proved that he had "transformed into a saint."
The master and his disciples used the chime to awaken the reborn Tashi, blindfolded him and took him out of the cave to the river (the river appeared three times, each time symbolizing Tashi. (a turning point in his life), he cut off his nails, trimmed his long hair, scrubbed his body, and put on monk's robes... The dogs that he had kept in captivity surrounded him and barked happily while he was wearing monk's robes.
At this time, Da Shi had even forgotten how to walk and how to eat. He opened his eyes and saw a sentence written on a stone: How can a drop of water never dry up? He looked at this sentence blankly, and the master praised him and said: Da Shi, you have gone too far!
However, after returning to the temple, this lama who had "gone too far" activated his most primitive desire as a man.
What’s even more terrible is that at the celebration after the Living Buddha awarded him the certificate, Da Shi, who was dancing and wearing a mask, suddenly stopped moving just because he saw a woman breastfeeding a child!
The Living Buddha and Master decided to let him go to the Harvest Conference for a change of fresh air, but it happened that at this Harvest Conference, he met the beautiful and generous Pama!
From then on, he was obsessed with dreams every night, and even his junior brother shed tears for his half-life practice. At this time, the master came to him and asked him to go somewhere.
This place is a high mountain. An old monk on the high mountain is guarding a picture. At first glance, this picture is an "Erotic Palace Picture". When Da Shi was at a loss, the shadow of a butter lamp flickered. According to the photo, the "Erotic Palace Picture" turned into a "Bone Picture", and Da Shi was shocked. The old monk showed him a sentence: Everything you meet is a place of practice!
Do you think that Dashi, who has seen the "Erotic Palace Picture to Encourage the World", has become enlightened and given up?
Wrong, he returned to the temple and said the following to his master:
Dashi: Sakyamuni still lived a secular life before he was 29 years old. .
But since I was 5 years old, I have been living an ascetic life after his retreat. Why?
The master was silent.
Da Shi: How do we know that his enlightenment was not directly caused by secular life? Apu (Master's name), after strictly observing the monk's precepts, where is the freedom promised to me? We take vows of abstinence, but where is the satisfaction promised to me? Gautama Buddha once said, you should not accept my teachings on hearsay unless you understand my position. Therefore, we must put aside our prejudices before we can truly learn. We must have some things before we can give up.
This wonderful line expresses the questions of how many practitioners in the world?
Note that it is not that Dashi has never practiced Buddhism. On the contrary, he has become a monk at the age of 5 and is a lama with extremely high cultivation. However, he has not seen the freedom after strictly observing the precepts; he has not seen the freedom after practicing hard in seclusion. relief.
So, he asked: Before the Buddha became a monk, he was a prince with a world-wide reputation and a harem of three thousand beauties. Didn’t he see through the world of mortals after seeing all the prosperity?
Therefore, he believes: "We must have it before we can give it up."
The director showed this problem in a naked way, and the choice of the male protagonist Da Shi in the movie was: to give up his half-life practice and step into the world of fame and color.
He came to the original river, changed out of the monk's clothes and put on the secular clothes.
Satisfy a thousand desires or conquer one?
After putting on secular clothes, even the dog that had been following him no longer recognized him. It mocked him and barked twice, and then He ran away without looking back.
Despite being uneasy, Da Shi returned to Pama's house as a farm worker and found Pama. Dashi did not expect that Pama looked at himself who had returned to secular life for her, and told him with a reproachful tone: All I did was to comfort you for a while.
The injured Dash stared into Pama’s eyes: Really? If true, I would leave before sunset.
Before sunset, Pama chose to go to the woods. In the jungle and mountains, the two hugged each other tightly...
Dash finally satisfied his first wish. One desire - lust, from then on, became an unstoppable earthly life, and it all looked so beautiful -
Despite the obstruction of his parents and the appearance of Pama's fiancé, Da Shi and Pama finally got married, and the marriage was sweet. Soon they had a son - Dashi's love was satisfied;
Dashi became an important pillar of Pama's family, and he exposed It was discovered that the grain collector's scale was false, causing the grain collector to leave angrily. Da Shi, who refused to accept his fate, went to the town to sell grain, but unexpectedly he got back the first pot of gold - Da Shi's material desires were satisfied;
Dash gradually became a farmer, hired many servants, and his life became more and more comfortable. Among the many servants, there was a young and beautiful Indian woman who fell in love with him as a farmer - - Da Shi's desire for fame is also satisfied...
However, life is impermanent, and Da Shi should have known this.
Just as the servants arrived during another harvest season, a fire broke out in the Dash family’s granary, and half of the food disappeared in the light of the fire;
Dash was found The grain collector thought he was retaliating for setting the fire. The extremely angry Da Shi hung up the grain collector's son and kicked the grain collector. Unexpectedly, he was beaten and thrown out in the end. He looked at Dashi with contempt and said: "No one here will retaliate, be mature." Dashi who fell to the ground was stunned;
The injured Dashi rested at home, and Pama went to the town to sell grain. , at this time, the Indian woman walked into the house and hugged Dash. While Dash was staring at the naked Indian woman, the sound of Pama coming home sounded outside...
Seeing this, you may ask, is this still the lama who completed the "yidam retreat" practice?
In Vanity Fair, his greed, anger, ignorance, conceit, and suspicion were all exposed, and his intensity was not "lost" to any layman who had not practiced spiritual practice.
Yes, if you doubt it, then this is the second question the director shows you: How far can you practice to prove that you will not be enslaved by desire? Or is it that the reason why you dare to claim that you have no desires or desires is because you have never truly walked through the world of mortals?
Da Shi is a "person", and "humanity" is fully demonstrated in him. This may hurt your heart, but this is a "person".
Fortunately, "impermanence" is the most important teacher in life. In "Impermanence", Da Shi lost the farm he created and saw his own naivety when he was beaten; and then he saw his own vulgarity when he flirted with an Indian woman.
Dash finally began to reflect on his life in the world of mortals. Although Pama never questioned him, he walked alone to the top of the hillside without saying a word, looking blankly at the place where he came from. At this moment, the junior brother came with a letter written by the master before his death. The words in the letter instantly made Dashi burst into tears:
I know that my karma is not over yet, I will be reincarnated again, and we will be reincarnated again. See you again. Or can you tell me then, what is more important, satisfying a thousand desires or defeating one?
"Satisfy a thousand desires, or defeat one?" This is the third question raised by the director.
Whether we are a monk or at home, how many times have we stood at a crossroads and faced this question: Take a step forward or take a step back?
Life often seems like one step forward and a long journey ahead, but who knows that once you open Pandora's box, what awaits you is not an abyss?
So, if you also consider yourself a practitioner, what would your choice be?
After reading this sentence, Da Shi finally realized that all this was just a futile effort, and his current choice was: to leave the world behind. , returned to the river again, took off the secular clothes and put on the monk's clothes.
Pursuing Buddhism is like lusting for me?
If the film ends here, then the director’s answer to many questions is: no matter how hard it is, becoming a monk is the final correct way.
But that’s wrong, the director is not like this. From beginning to end, the director did not give a tendentious answer to any question.
On the contrary, just as Dashi was on his way back to the temple, Pama appeared, and Pama's words once again made Dashi miserable and unable to make a decision.
Pama is a crucial character set up by the director in the entire film. Many film reviews, including "Baidu Encyclopedia", classify her as merely a carrier of "temptation" and a presentation of "hue". However, if that is all, she is a failure, a prop that exists only to complete the temptation.
However, in fact, what Pama shows is another way of practice, a way of practice for lay people, which is not to escape from the mortal world, not to avoid desires, not to expect redemption, and not to fantasize about perfection. The way of practice.
Regarding "love", Pama did not hide it or struggle with it from the beginning when she met Da Shi. When she found out that Da Shi actually returned to secular life for herself, she did not escape. , without fear, bravely take on the choice that parents think is "shameful".
Is love terrible? Or do our adult rules, our adult precepts give it a "terrible" symbol? The director highlighted this problem with a scene that we ordinary people often encounter:
At night, when Dashi and Pama were kissing, the young son woke up and looked at his parents. Let’s Look at the completely different reactions of Dashi who has practiced and Pama who has not practiced:
Dashi looked at his son and thought that he should not show his love in front of his son; Pama gently hugged Dashi.
Dashi tried to continue kissing, and the young son watched his loving parents fall asleep sweetly, but Dashi still stopped and looked at his son, Pama Question: Is there anything wrong with my son? Dashok replied: You shouldn't do this in front of him. At this time, the son had obviously fallen asleep sweetly.
One is a child who falls asleep watching his parents' behavior,
The other is a father who is worried about his own behavior.
In the face of human nature, Pama and the child are both natural, but this Da Shi, who has achieved spiritual attainments, is unnatural when he reenters the world of mortals.
When he was born, he was thinking about the mortal world, and when he came into the world, he was thinking about the precepts. He never felt at ease for a moment, and he never realized what true cultivation is.
Let's talk about "impermanence". Dash found that even though he had Pama, he still had lust for Indian women. He found Pama , hoping to fire some agricultural workers on the grounds that "the farm does not need so many people and costs too much", in fact, it is to get rid of the lust that traps itself, and Pama's answer can be described as classic——
She first asked Dash: "Why are you persecuting the poor workers?" Then, she ignored Dash and threw a branch into the water and asked the children playing: "What will happen to this branch?" ? ”
The children answered: It will sink. Pama asked: What if not?
The children answered: They will be tripped by stones. Pama asked: What if not?
The children answered: It will rot in the water. Pama asked: What if not?
Her own son fell after chasing a branch in the water. Pama asked him: Have you given up?
The child answered: It will fall into the waterfall and be broken. Pama still asked: What if it doesn’t?
During the rhetorical questions again and again, Da Shi kept listening and watching, but until Pama finally gave the answer, Da Shi still looked confused, and the answer was: It will into the sea.
Do you still remember the stone that Dashi saw by the river after he came out of seclusion? There was a question written on the stone: How can a drop of water never dry up?
At the end of the film, when Da Shi stopped in front of the temple and had no choice, he saw the stone again. The answer was given on the back of the stone: Let it flow into the sea!
The director has actually expressed this answer vividly through the dialogue between Pama and the children. Pama is wise. She used this method to tell Da Shi that people in this world are like duckweeds. In the torrent, we may sink, break, break, rot, or be trapped, but our destination is our destination. There is only one: flowing into the sea
Unfortunately, Da Shi did not realize it at this time. The Indian woman was still by his side, and he was still led by lust, still in desire and discipline. Constantly struggling and pretending.
Just when he was having an affair with an Indian woman, Pama came back. He hurriedly asked the Indian woman who had just finished the affair to leave immediately. However, the Indian woman picked up the wages on the ground and said to Dashi with contempt: "Anyway, she said that all this will happen sooner or later."
It was these words that made Da Shi see the wretched self and the suddenly enlightened Pama in shock, shame and guilt. The self that has sunk deeper and deeper along the way to the point of being hopeless.
Pama may have always known that Da Shi, who returned to secular life for himself, was just led by desire, so there will inevitably be desires that engulf him again and again. , and Pama chose: wait quietly for that moment to come!
So there is the most profound dialogue at the end of the film.
Dashi, who once again put on monk robes, left home. On his way to the temple, Pama appeared, and the place where the two stopped happened to be at a corner. The front is the temple, which is the renunciation, and the back is home, which is the secular world.
Pama: Yasodhara, have you heard of this name? Everyone knows Sakyamuni, but what about Yasodhara? Yasodhara married Gautama Buddha and she loved him very much. One night, Gautama left her and her son while they were sleeping, and he went to seek enlightenment and become the Buddha. He didn't say anything when he left! Yasodhara cared about the sick, she rescued them earlier than Sakyamuni, and she understood the suffering of the people earlier than Sakyamuni. Maybe his enlightenment was inspired by her! How do we know that Yasodhara was not angry after Sakyamuni left? Don’t feel lonely and painful? Who will remember her?
Dashi (knelt down): Pama...
Pama: When her son Rahula kept asking her the same question, where is his father? How did she answer? How could she tell him? How could a mother leave her son alone in the middle of the night? Only men can do it. Da Shi, only men can do it!
Dashi: Pama, take me home.
Pama (throwing the alms bowl and beads to Dashi): Dashi, if your desire for the Dharma is as strong as your love for me, you can become a Buddha in this body in this life. (Leaving in a daze)
After Pama left, Dash saw the words on the back of the stone: Let it flow into the sea.
Da Shi was in extreme pain and curled up in the corner of the ground...
The film ended here. Through Pama's words, the director threw the final question to the audience: Which way to become a monk or to stay at home? No need for arduous training? If the path that Siddhartha chose was spiritual practice, then wouldn’t that be what Yasodhara experienced?
Throughout the film, Da Shi took off his monk's clothes and put on secular clothes, and then took off his secular clothes and put on monk's clothes. He struggled for most of his life, but in the end he was at that corner, miserable;
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Pama has been in the mortal world from beginning to end, firmly facing her own desires, and calmly dealing with every "impermanence";
Who is deceived by the appearance? Who is the real practitioner?
So, in the end, Pama told Dash, and the director told the audience: If you desire Buddhism as strongly as your love for me, you can become a Buddha.
However, isn’t this the most deceptive delusion?
Did Siddhartha have love for Yasodhara? Yes, of course!
Did Siddhartha refuse to leave Yasodhara and pursue Buddhism? Yes, absolutely!
Siddhartha's love is non-sticky. Between joining the world and leaving the world, he has no entanglements, no ties, and no illusions. He just chooses and goes on firmly.
But that is not the case with Dashi in the movie. When he was born, he thought about Pama, and when he entered the world, he thought about Buddhism. He must "have it before giving it up", he must "live up to the Tathagata and live up to you", and What happens in the end?
How many people are looking forward to "coming and going calmly between joining the world and being born out of it"? And this, isn't this the most fatal "greed, ignorance and self-deception"?
Today is Chinese Valentine’s Day, the day of love, desire, separation and reunion!