You, Me, the Buddhas and Bruce Lee
One of the first people to bring Eastern ideas West in the form of stunning entertainment was Bruce Lee. There probably isn’t a child of the '70s or '80s who hasn’t indulged in a bit of pretend Kung fu and the mind blowing noises he used to make dispatching the enemy.
One of the most famous scenes takes place in a traditional Japanese training hall. He is completely surrounded by the enemy in a circle, and one assailant after another attacks. Of course Bruce Lee, with power and ease, dispatches them one by one with a blur of hands and feet in every direction. Front, back or side, Bruce sees them coming, keeps centred, keeps cool, deals with the situation.
Those of you who have been to Asia may have seen the statues of a multi-armed Buddha (see picture), sometimes with eight arms, sometimes with a 1000. This is the Buddha of compassion Avalokitesvara (Kannon), who has vowed to help all beings. The other Buddha most of us remember is one called Acala (Fudo), who usually sits or stands at the gate to a temple, with fangs and a terrifying look in his eyes, and holds a sword to cut material attachments and a rope to bind demons. He is known as ‘The Immoveable One’.
I was chatting to my friend Peter recently, and he told me he’s been working two jobs, doing an MA, playing in a band, trying to keep in shape, and keeping in touch with friends - and still keep a little time to do things he loves to do, play music, read, etc. He said it dawned on him while doing all this, that you, me, the Buddha and Bruce Lee are the same.
In our lives in the City, we try to stay centred and stay calm as we stand in the middle of a room of multiple assailants - our jobs, finances, bosses, co-workers, friends, children, lovers husbands/wives. Realising that we are all the same is very empowering. Realising we have the capacity within us to deal with our lives, which is what these buddhas represent, is too.
When it’s all getting a bit too much, you could even try saying "I am the Immoveable one!" to yourself and feel your powers surge...
Those of you who have been to Asia may have seen the statues of a multi-armed Buddha (see picture), sometimes with eight arms, sometimes with a 1000. This is the Buddha of compassion Avalokitesvara (Kannon), who has vowed to help all beings. The other Buddha most of us remember is one called Acala (Fudo), who usually sits or stands at the gate to a temple, with fangs and a terrifying look in his eyes, and holds a sword to cut material attachments and a rope to bind demons. He is known as ‘The Immoveable One’.
I was chatting to my friend Peter recently, and he told me he’s been working two jobs, doing an MA, playing in a band, trying to keep in shape, and keeping in touch with friends - and still keep a little time to do things he loves to do, play music, read, etc. He said it dawned on him while doing all this, that you, me, the Buddha and Bruce Lee are the same.
In our lives in the City, we try to stay centred and stay calm as we stand in the middle of a room of multiple assailants - our jobs, finances, bosses, co-workers, friends, children, lovers husbands/wives. Realising that we are all the same is very empowering. Realising we have the capacity within us to deal with our lives, which is what these buddhas represent, is too.
When it’s all getting a bit too much, you could even try saying "I am the Immoveable one!" to yourself and feel your powers surge...
Here Is The Writer : MonkintheCity
Monk in the City works for a large investment bank. He went to Asia in his 20's for a bit of jaunt, realised he knew very little about anything useful, stayed a lot longer than expected, and returned with sore knees from meditation and a head full of quirky ideas. He has a soft spot for dance music and a pint, and suffers from karaoke flashbacks.
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