Three Pieces of Asian Wisdom

Right before I quit my job, I attended a lecture by a Buddhist monk on the subject of meditation. I was curious because all of my training in meditation is taken from Hindu traditions, and I wanted to know how the Buddhists roll. Buddhist meditation, as it turns out, is complete weaksauce. Buddhists totally suck at meditation. However, I still remember that lecture to this very day, because of a story the monk told about a Buddhist master finding his guru.

The master was supposed to meditate in a cave until the guru appeared, but kept giving up and leaving, only to encounter typically Buddhist moments of inspiration which would draw him back. On one particular occasion, he journeyed from the cave until he encountered an old man rubbing an anvil with a feather. He stopped and asked the old man what he was doing.

"See how the feather leaves a trace on the anvil as I draw the feather against it," said the old man. "If I continue as I have, I will BREAK THIS ANVIL IN HALF."

I love that story. I was reminded of it in the process of researching Lobsters vs. Butterflies, which contains a couple pieces of Japanese wisdom. The first is a Japanese proverb:

Nana korobi, ya oki. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

Pretty good, eh? I'm still trying to figure out where exactly to insert that nugget of sage advice. The second comprises one of my favorite monologues in the movie, and it's taken from the Hagakure, the book of samurai wisdom that was an inspiration for things like the attack on Pearl Harbor and the rape of Nanking.

"Young men should discipline themselves rigorously in intention and courage. This will be accomplished if only courage is fixed in one's heart. If his hands are cut off, he will strike with his hands. If his hands are cut off, he will press the enemy down with his shoulders. If his shoulders are cut away, he will bite through ten or fifteen enemy necks with his teeth. Courage is such a thing."

Of course, these aren't just proverbs and folk tales I'm putting in the script I'm writing.

They are allegories for my career.