The Inspiring Death
The Distinguished Master Richang had passed away already when I wrote the
previous post a week ago thinking he was merely "not well". When we gathered and prayed for his recovery, the day was the "first seventh day" after he closed his eyes. Nobody knew (normally), but himself. In fact, he had prepared everything for some time already by then, apparently knowing when exactly the date would come. (Yes, we believe after a long time, a really long time, of spiritual practising, one could know/control even the time of death. No magic, but a revelation of the capability of the
heart, which used to be blinded by mundane phenomena or even our own mind.)
He had been planning all the details discreetly, just because he did not want to cause any trouble to anybody or the group as a whole (with about some 20,000 members in Taipei who would have rushed to his death bed sending all kinds of consolation if only one single ear heard the news). So, at the age of 73, just a few days before he let out his last breath, he left the developing Educational District in Taiwan he had been constructing for years, and went to an unknown place in Mainland with two disciples.
We knew only within this week how many he had been doing even lying there suffering from illness... those profound teachings through his acts- how he constantly thought for the others' good even when dying, and how he obtained the true happiness through that, even in the torture of the physique. (We were told how he helped the two young disciples to "practise" moving his body from the bed to a trolley in the previous evening, without letting them know what they were actually doing, and another time reminded them about the meaning of "
impermanence" through daily experiences, and many others.)
I am proud of the group after all, for the reaction which is far from emotional or sentimental, though we still cannot hold our tears whenever the
tune of praising masters rises. We have been discussing intensely what the last "lesson" of Master could mean to us in different levels and how we could improve ourselves through the experience, keeping in mind it's his teaching, or the
dharma, that is important to us, rather than a bodily presence. Well, we do expect to witness the moment of his return, in another "form". And it's my wish now to have longer life, and an true altruistic life, for this desired reunion.
Honourable Humbleness
Being affected by the news that our Buddhist master in Taiwan is sick, quite severely this time, I have been in waves of melancholy.
I've met him in person not more than 10 times, mostly in Taiwan, but my life since 4 years ago has been blessed by his grace. No, not in any inexplicable experience, but pragmatically the tutorials of
Lamrim he started and teaches, and the philanthropic initiatives he leads. Not just in transcendental terms can his altruistic heart and incessant efforts be justified, but also in various secular aspects. He's got my total respect since his visionary belief is living on earth, than in dogma teaching.
In his old age, he still tries very hard to finish what he considers crucial for the happiness of humankind, in a deteriorating body, in areas like
education,
environment and spiritual practice. His achievements and influences are almost miraculous, with the assistance of a group of "non-professional" volunteers, the students scattered from Mainland China to the US. However, he is still compassionately and courageously humble, like a piece of crystal hidden in a smooth cobble, soothing and enlightening.
I was ashamed when Toby reminded me by email that I have been writing a lot of "me-so-superiors" in my recent posts. Eno used the word "commanding" in another occasion. "Bad mood" is not a relevant excuse at all. I am just grateful to have these friend-gurus who remind me truly and constantly when it's time for me to reflect on the teaching of my respectable master. Thanks also to my philosophical French tutor's remark: "Quand l'élève est prêt, le maître apparaît."
Bad Education
Responding to the upcoming reform of secondary curriculum in Hong Kong which will likely further sideline Art and other marginalised subjects, Oscar Ho comments on Saturday in
SCMP the general ignorance of "visual arts training as part of a holistic education" and remarks that "rather than just the acquisition of certain skill, (art education) develops an understanding of cultural values."
Trying to illustrate the critical role of contextual study of visual arts in a knowledge-based society, he puts the
exhibition of Picasso's
Parade now at IFC as "an example of art diplomacy by the French government". It's discouraging sometimes: you just have to mention terms like "cultural tourism" and "creative industries" in order to justify the value of art nowadays. Yes, strategy, I know. In fact, there is still a huge gap between having a huge crowd visiting a masterpiece and common respect to art and cultural assets. Well if they have my superman bedsheet shown in
the tallest building and claim "it will not appear publicly for another 20 years", probably the crowd won't miss it too. Good to know at least they have organised guided tours for the public. I hope they will not talk about the "priceless insurance".
World Youth Peace Vigil
I do not like the idea of lighting candles (which means anything you can think of by now probably from birthday to democracy to peace), but I agree ritual is helpful, not by its nature but in response to the unsustainability of people's will... About the choice of 28 Oct with
the full moon and a total eclipse - well, a pinch of symbolic catalyst. That's how images, visual or mental, become powerful. (No, I don't mean exactly the design of the poster of the
Peace Vigil.)
Remind ourselves peace is just about how we treat your neighbours, then if you'll hold a candle or not while waiting for the eclipse may not be as crucial as spreading the message:
In my hands I hold a candle
whose flame is small to see
And if I give but one light to you
my life is filled for me.
But...
In your hands you hold a torch
for many eyes to see
So hold it high that they may light
their candlewicks from thee.
By Faye quoted from
The Prophet's Candle (via
WYPS)
Revisiting Fisher King 3
It was the first time I talked again with Chan Ping Chiu after the performance of
Fisher King 3. We seized the chance to meet once more tonight before he flies to Singapore for staging the piece
there.
I have been thinking the new approach he adapts for this version resembles recent 20 Beans' shows to certain extent, with its focus more indulgently set to explore possible means of visualization of literary theories and intentionally ignore other usual dramatic elements (not theatrical elements), such as plots, transitions, emotional release, contexts, etc. Perhaps except the two playful badminton scenes which give a mental break from the rich but hardcore "lecture". Being built on the director's previous experience of telling the same story, it is difficult, I imagine, for the new audience (who have not watched any of the last two versions) to perceive the depth of significance out of the developments. Some clever audience would swift to look into the "energy" and "poetry" of the performance. It is attractive after all for its clean staging and video images.
I told Chiu I felt most resonance at the end of the "diagnosis" scene, with its reference finally grounded on the notion about wound (experience, (hi)story, etc.) and means of expression. An artist's reflexive reference. I confessed that it was probably a desire of an ordinary audience: to find out
why you are telling me all these abstractions and leading me through this intellectual exercise instead of
what they are. In another word, a logic/reasoning, a story (still), a connection to "our" lives.
One thing Chiu has mentioned tonight is pertinent for my learning: experiments and refinements. He realized the problematic areas - about the ten preceding segments composed of abstruse codes from various philosophers' theories (like Lacan, Nietzsche and Freud's). Then he tried to adjust by juxtaposing the loaded voice-over with visuals and actions. "Sometimes there were too many images which totally subdued the text and sometimes vice versa. Then I readjusted... throughout the three evenings. I observed the subtle changes of my emotional engagement immediately as an actor also."
Myth is no longer available for contemporary theatres to contain ideas, Chiu mentioned. (How interesting this utterance remarks the treatment of the tale of Fisher King by himself.) I think we have to turn inside, for artists in any era, to search for the form in question... (Subsequent dialogues on Directors' Lab planning to be continued.)
Technichybrid Sculpture: Eli Gur-Arie
My Israeli friend sent me a catalogue filled with hybrid-looking yet highly decorative creatures, along with an unfamiliar name:
Eli Gur-Arie.
A folded shark, a mouse-faced toad, an octopus tongue (on mushroom soup)... An uncanny feeling comes from a little conflict between the fantastic presence and their high-tech finishing that resembles any computerised products at home. The consistent theme conveyed through the ambivalent combination of natural and unnatural elements is obvious and asserting. Some details, like the peeled arm of a
sea star, or an exposed brain in the stomach of a
frog, manifest a puncture of the deceiving vision of a "pleasant integration" of the nature and...(hmmm)...civilisation.
Adapting an appearance of a bio-laboratory, the presentation almost likens
Damien Hirst's (below). The Tel-Aviv artist may be less bold and
controversial in a way, but certainly he gives a more personal and eloquent touch to his creation, with a richness for vision and poetry for imagination. Thanks, Adi.
In Search of a Silent Audience
Telegraph:
France silences cinema mobiles:
"Patrick Devedjian, a trade minister, said the measure was long overdue. Public annoyance at telephone noise was an important factor in the decline of cinema audiences."
Great news (for the French). Funny it comes with the remark of a trade minister rather than culture. Anyway, can we have jamming system for silencing those lovers' additional voice-over too?
Explode your blog
Admit it, we
are jealous of those who actually have an audience... Let your work be read. After all, it looks a fair deal: "You read other blog sites and they in return visit your blog." -
Blog Explosion
And it seems working while I post this. No, boosting my ego is the last thing I want, and I don't believe in
harvest from no work as we Chinese say. The essential thing is still: write, write better, and write what's worth a readership.
In Memory of Derrida
Jacques Derrida died of pancreatic cancer on Friday in Paris... Actually I do not have particular "memory" of the Algeria-born French/Jewish philosopher, nor the in-depth meaning of Deconstructionism, of which he has been called
le père. While Derrida himself refused to give a definition, News.Telegraph, announcing the
news, displays its professionism by explaining:
"The deconstructive approach argues that all writing has multiple layers of meaning which even its author might not understand and which leave it open to an endless process of reinterpretation."
Except a few articles he wrote on other writers and literatures, I have not even finished a book of his besides one or two chapters of
Of Grammatology and
Writing and Différance, while I was struggling with my thesis a few years ago. I won't remember ... for "the trouble with reading Mr. Derrida," his deconstructed philosophy in deconstructed signifiers, "is that there is too much perspiration for too little inspiration." (The Economist, 1992)
The long
obituary on New York Times (via
Eamonn Fitzgerald) reviews his prolific life not without something you can digest with more pleasure, like:
As a young man, Mr. Derrida confessed, he hoped to become a professional soccer player. And he admitted to being an inveterate viewer of television, watching everything from news to soap operas. "I am critical of what I'm watching," said Mr. Derrida with mock pride. "I deconstruct all the time."
Longtin has suggested to set up a reading group of Derrida's works as a tribute, not forgetting to remark that no one in Hong Kong understands. See if a group can devour the inheritance of our age. This resourceful
Derrida Online may be a starting point.
Alarming Sex Trafficking
A not-so-surprising news with stunning figures quoted, circulated by the
WYPS network:
The United Nations Children's Fund says South Asia is facing a boom in child trafficking, with increasing numbers of minors forced into the sex trade. UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia Dr. Sadiq Rasheed made the comment in Colombo."The situation is nothing short of, I would say, a modern-day slavery," said Rasheed. "It is one of the blights of South Asia. The situation is getting out of hand."
The UNICEF official said there should be no hiding place for those selling and trading children for sex. He stressed that the problem could be stopped immediately if men in South Asia simply said "no" to child sex.
Around 500,000 women and children are trafficked each year in Asia, with a majority of them in South Asia, Rasheed added. That compares to a worldwide figure of 1.2 million.
The question is: how can we make the men say "no", while desires of all kinds are being fanned in every corner in the form of ever-flourishing consumerism. UNICEF reports some more practical
urgent measures agreed at the
Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, which, for me, are still not revolutionary enough for the alarming phenomenon. I am no saint, but believe that every individual can do a little something in daily life to change a current....e.g. try to say "no" to any
temptation?
G5: A Temptation
I never have a desktop actually... My notebook was bought 4 years ago, that's
really old... and it's recently badly infected by some mysterious virus... and I can't really get on-line stably... which affects my blogging... The CDRom has broken down for too long... Actually I worked happier on an Apple a few years ago... Maybe it will save some of my time to syncronize my palm via bluetooth... and I
am starting to work on the video documentation of
20beans, seriously... Well, after all, Andy Budd has
taken back his original comments... and justified "when he saw one in person" both its outlook and functions... In fact, my flat is so small and I have
nothing to hide... just like
it...
Boxers in New Fittings
An invitation bringing some vibrancy to the day comes from
Silvio Chan for his upcoming fashion show. The publicity looks more fanciful than his other works with subtler concepts, yet I am certain the "violent" spectacle will not lack its elaborated details. Silvio is the kind of artists who will make sure the drops of syrup as the fake blood on the make-up are painted in a convincing angle, and that they will sparkle with the right lighting, before he lets you in. You are right, they may be golden or any colour but red.
Information:
Boxing Room
Alernatif Show
Sat, October 16th
5:30pm
By invitation
A Simple (National) Day
A simple day, with subtlety like pretty patterns:
The sunny greetings to the Nation's pinky pink,
Some moisty blue, says the pours in rhythmic tempo.
The smell of chocolate melts the city, hugs the green.
(Thanks to Mandy.)
A playful day with sun in there but up above.
The friends surround a tree and cheer for dreams
Beware Madame! Wishes in orange are falling again,
But try once more, my love, my wish is yours.
(To Sweet Ivarts.)
A cozy day bears foolish act in childish games.
Laughters in violet, rings the bell for casual gourmets.
The clever cook tells who is friend with onion,
With BBC fire, or Christmas lights in summer time.
(For Ming and her recipe.)
