[Terry's Tale] Yielding and Receptive to be in Harmony with Living

My storehouse has burnt down,

Nothing obstructs the view of the bright moon.

                   -      Masahide as translated by Miyamori

It is often possible to see in others the philosophy I try to follow.  However, a bit of digression first.  South Korea has the best internet system in the world and I have been adapting to it, though at a rather moderate pace having been more or less of a ‘luddite’ for many years.  The internet is a great place where one can go and see the programs of yesteryear if you are in a nostalgic mood.  I, for example, have caught several episodes of “My Favorite Martian”, “Get Smart”, Rod Serling’s “Night Gallery” and Twilight Zone”, bits and pieces of “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”, “Max Headroom”, Boris Karloff’s “Thriller”, and some others.  You can even find videos from the NASA space programs of the 1960’s that expanded the world of man all the way to the moon.  I can remember that one means of how people might describe something as being impossible was to compare that ‘something’ to how often man has been on the moon (in short, the answer at that time was always never).

Yet, probably most short films that are ever made also wind up on ‘YouTube’.  So, getting back to my original point, as I have seen many films, I sometimes see something very appropriate to my philosophical thought.  One short German film entitled “Immer Nummer Eins” brought that home to me.  For those who do not speak German you can find versions containing English subtitles.

The film is short, roughly fifteen minutes in length, and I realize very idealistic, because it is a play about morals and ethics.  The story centers around a boy who is, both intellectually and athletically, at the head of his class.   One day, a new child arrives at his school and, as you might expect, his skills surpass the first child’s.  The first child quickly takes offense at this new situation and begins playing mean tricks on the new child.  While these tricks do not endanger anyone they do pose problems of harassment for the second child.

The new child does not seek revenge as would so many, nor does he simply turn the other cheek and ignore these misdeeds pointedly aimed against him.  Instead, he reaches out to the first boy by turning these nasty situations into ones that decidedly favor the first boy.  In so doing, he is not only yielding and receptive, but he is showing that he respects the first boy despite the tricks.  This is basic Buddhist philosophy in action, and ultimately, this works to the advantage of them both. The first child soon becomes regretful of his deeds, though, we can understand by the behavior of the second child throughout the video that he will probably not take future advantage of those regrets.

Bamboo in Snow by K'uo Pi

I chose this picture because bamboo is extremely flexible in the face of adverse conditions thus it survives.