Zhuan Falun (Turning the Law Wheel) - by Li Hongzhi

Li Hongzhi : the author of Zhuan Falun

Excerpts from the book "Turning the Law Wheel" :

This nature, to be True, Good, and Endure, is the standard that determines what is good and bad in the universe. What’s good? What’s bad? You use this nature to tell. The same goes for the idea of “virtue” that people used to talk about. Of course, now society’s moral level has changed, and even the moral standard has been perverted. Nowadays, if somebody models himself after that good Samaritan, Lei Feng, people will probably say he’s crazy. But in the 1950s or 60s, tell me, who would have said he’s crazy? Mankind’s

moral standard is on a big downslide, the world is going to the dogs, people are just controlled by greed, they harm others just to benefit themselves a little, and people just compete and fight—they go at it by hook or by crook. So think about it, could this be allowed to continue? When some people do bad things and you point it out to them, they don’t even believe you—they really can’t believe they’re doing something wrong. Some people size themselves up with the fallen moral standard, and they think they’re better than other people. That’s because even the standard for measuring has changed.

But it doesn’t matter how mankind’s moral standard changes, the nature of the universe doesn’t change, and it is the only standard for determining who’s good and who’s bad. So to be a cultivator you have to take the nature of the universe as your guide for improving yourself. You can’t go by ordinary people’s standards. If you want to return to your original, true self, if you want to raise your level by cultivating, you have to live by this standard. For anybody here, only if you can follow the universe’s nature, to be True, Good, and Endure, only then you can call yourself a good person. And a person who goes against this nature, now that’s somebody who’s truly bad. Maybe when you’re at work or out and about, someone will say that you’re bad. But maybe you aren’t really bad. Or maybe someone says that you’re good. But, turns out, maybe you aren’t really good. And for a cultivator, if you assimilate to this nature you’re someone who has attained the Tao. The truth is really just that simple.

Confucius quotes

Donnie Yen  in  the movie  Ip Man - 2 (2010)

Wise People 

Wise people are troubled by their own lack of abilities, not by the failure of others to appreciate those abilities.

Wise people hope to be remembered for what they were ; foolish people hope to be remembered for what they did.

Wise people seek goodness within themselves ; foolish people seek goodness in others.

Wise people are aware of their own wisdom, but do not treat foolish people with contempt. They like to associate with other wise people, but do not form cliques.

Wise people do not judge the abilities of others by what they say about themselves, but by their actions.

Wise people do not try to impose on others what they do not desire for themselves.

Wise people take pleasure in praising those who deserve praise. But they do not condemn people who deserve condemnation.

Wise people know what is right. Foolish people know only what is profitable. 

People may be educated, and they may be able to write with fluency ; but it does not follow that they are wise.

Taking pleasure in your own eloquence, and in your ability to influence others will undermine your virtue. Lack of self-control will undermine all your plans.

Han Yin-chieh  - actor/ action-director  of   the movie  Big Boss (1971)

 Five Qualities

In serving your employer you should perform your duties to the best of your ability; your salary is of secondary importance.

Do not strive for eloquence, but speak plainly . Concentrate on conveying your message, not dazzling your listeners.

All human beings are similar, so they are naturally friendly towards one another. Antipathy and hostility are un-natural.

The most intelligent people are suspicious of change. The least intelligent people are bemused by change. People of ordinary intelligence welcome change.

Benevolence manifests itself in five qualities : respect for others; tolerance towards others; honesty in speech; promptness in action ; and generosity in word and action. If you are respectful, you will not be treated with insolence. If you are tolerant people will feel comfortable in your presence. If you are honest, you will win people's trust. If you are prompt, you will achieve results. If you are generous, people will love and admire you.

- from the book  366 Readings From Taoism & Confucianism 

Life of Lee

Ang Lee :  the Spielberg  of  the  East

The celebrated Taiwanese film-maker Ang Lee bagged this years Oscar for best director for his brilliant 3D-movie Life of Pie. Ang Lee can be aptly called the Steven Spielberg of the East. Like Spielberg, Ang Lee and Oscars seems to be made for each other. Like Spielberg, Ang Lee has proven that he could make movies in any subject or any genre with a fine blend of both artistic and commercial value. Like Spielberg, Ang Lee made movies on versatile topics - such as Sense and Sensibility(English drama), Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Wuxia-epic), Brokeback Mountain (western drama), Taking Woodstock (music/drama) and ofcourse Life of Pie(3D/adventure).

When an 'unfilmable story' such as Yan Martel's Life of Pie was announced a few years ago, many critics had their misgivings (including me). Infact I was certain that Life of Pie could only be made in animation. Yet, Ang Lee proved all that wrong. Just as a good cook can make delicious dishes in any cuisine, or a good artist can paint brilliantly in any style, good film-makers such as Ang Lee or Spielberg could make fine movies in any topic or subject.

Ang Lee's success in the international arena also brings into limelight the cinema of Taiwan - a small country, yet a power-house in East Asian entertainment industry. Before Ang Lee, Taiwan was most renowned for the art-house movies of Hou Hsiao-Hsien and also the macho action-star Don Wang Tao ! (Interestingly, Wang Tao also acted in a 3-D movie in 1978 called Tiger Man!) 

Wang Tao  starred  in the 1978 3-D  movie Tiger Man

Anyway the success of Life of Pie, with its largely Indian cast and crew, came as a small consolation for Indian cinema which is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. In all these years, Bollywood - reputed as the largest film industry in the world - could not  produce a film or film-maker of true international quality. (Ofcourse, the great art-house film-makers of India mostly came from Bengal and Kerala).While the current Bollywood is mired in nepotism and plagiarism, it took an Ang Lee or Danny Boyle (in case of Slumdog Millionaire) to unearth the potential of original Indian talent. Certainly the success of Ang Lee and Life of Pie is an occasion to celebrate for Asian cinema. Congratulations again to Ang Lee ! 

Leonard Crow Dog - the medicine man

Excerpts from the autobiography of Mary Elizabeth Thunder

The first time I met Leonard Crow Dog was in the 1970s, when he was in federal prison in Ft.Wayne, Indiana. He had been arrested for holding a Pipe for the people at the Wounded Knee stand off, where the (American) Indian people were protesting injustice, abuse , and the outlawing of their sacred traditions.

I went down with a Medicine Elder and some other supporters to visit Leonard in prison. Through the glass separating him from the world, he was like a god - grand, proud, magnificient, and humble, all at the same time. 

As he talked with the Elder by telephone, he looked directly into my eyes and said, "Please help my family back home ..." He was like a proud lion in a very tiny cage. He thanked us for coming and told us not to worry, because he was going to the greatest school ever. He said we must sacrifice to know what this American Indian Movement is all about.

Some of us waited for several hours while the Elder did ceremony. When he came out, he told us to write letters to the people to help free Leonard. A lot of thoughts, energies, and prayers went out for this beautiful man. 

  ******        ***********        ****************    ****************   ********  ********    

I next saw Leonard in 1980, when he came through Indianapolis on the Second Long Walk for Survival. I was in the midst of yet another typical family crisis. It was Richard's sixteenth birthday. He had decided to run away from home , and had managed to get himself arrested and detained. He spent his birthday in Juvenile Hall eating bologna sandwiches and tomato soup. Richard was not pleased with either of his parents at that point, and he was particularly angry with me.

Then Leonard came into the scene, immediately sized up the situation, and announced, " I think he should come with me." Richard travelled with Leonard for some time, and finally Leonard flew him back from Pennsylvania. We went to meet the plane not quite knowing what to expect. My son came up to me, dropped to his knees, and started to cry. He told me how ungrateful he'd been to me, that I was his mother and I had given him life, and he wanted me to thank for that. I had known Leonard could work miracles, but this is amazing ! I thanked Leonard for that , as for so many gifts. 

Richard and I met up with the Long Walk in Greenbelt Park, Pennsylvania, and went on into Washington D.C. There, I helped the advance people get food and money and fix cars, and do whatever else needed to be done. When we got into Washington, we had a huge ceremony led by a Zen Buddhist who was over 100 years old. He blessed each one of us. Then we walked into Washington D.C. Dick Gregory, Marlon Brando, Muhammed Ali, Buffy St.Marie, and all kinds of other celebrities were there. 

from the book : Thunder's Grace - Walking The Road Of Visions With My Lakota Grandmother by Mary Elizabeth Thunder

Carlos Santana - Shaman

album : Shaman (2002)
song  : Aye Aye Aye
written by  : Michael Shrieve,Carlos Santana,Karl Perazzo & Raul Rekow
produced by : Michael Shrieve & Carlos Santana
lead vocals : Andy Vargas
background vocals : Carlos Santana,Karl Perazzo & Raul Rekow
acoustic & electric guitar : Carlos Santana
keyboard : Chester Thompson
bass  : Benny Rietveld
percussion & drums : Karl Perazzo
congas : Raul Rekow

All the details of this song, I got from my own copy of this album, which I bought about 10-years ago.Santana's Shaman came out in 2002 after his multi-Grammy winning album Supernatural(1999). I thought Shaman was as good as Supernatural though it didn't win any grammy. Those who have regularly watched MTV back then will be familiar with its songs.   

When the word 'Carlos' and 'shaman' combines, one may think about Carlos Castaneda and his neo-shamanism. Surely Santana must be familiar with teaching of his fellow Latin-American celebrity of the hippie-era. Santana was always interested in spirituality and mysticism (like many other musicians, including me). He explored Eastern religions in the 70s and was a one time disciple of Sri Chinmoy . His later albums such as Supernatural and Shaman marks the journey to  re-discover his roots. In the elaborate & colorful album-cover of Shaman features typical Mexican art and some brilliant pictures of Santana, posing with his guitar, in a desert with cactus in the background. 

In a caption Santana says, " Shaman is a spiritual healer who brings balance to mind, body, heart and spirit with colors, sound, herbs and song, creating unity and harmony in the world."

Blowin' in the wind (chords & lyrics)

by  Bob Dylan


[C]How many[F]roads must a [C]man walk [Am]down

[C]Before you [F]call him a [G7]man ?

[C]How many[F] seas must a [C]white dove [Am]sail

[C]Before she [F] sleeps in the [G7]sand ?

[C]How many [F]times must the [C]cannon balls [Am]fly

[C]Before they're [F]forever [G7]banned ?

The[F] answer my [G7]friend is [C]blowin' [E7]in the [Am]wind

The [F]answer is [G7]blowin' in the [C]wind.



[C]How many [F]years can a [C]mountain [Am] exist

[C]Before it's [F]washed to the [G7]sea ?

Yes,[C] how many [F]years can some [C]people [Am] exist

[C] Before they're [F]allowed to be [G7]free ?

Yes,[C] how many [F]times can a [C]man turn his [Am]head

[C]Pretending he [F]just doesn't [G7]see ?

The[F] answer my [G7]friend is [C]blowin' [E7]in the [Am]wind

The [F]answer is [G7]blowin' in the [C]wind.



[C]How many [F]times must a [C] man look[Am] up

[C]Before he can [F]see the [G7]sky ?

[C]How many [F] ears must one[C] man [G7]have

[C]Before he can [F]hear people [G7]cry ?

Yes,[C] how many [F]deaths will it take [C]till he [Am]knows

That [C]too many [F]people have [G7]died ?

The[F] answer my [G7]friend is [C]blowin' [E7]in the [Am]wind

The [F]answer is [G7]blowin' in the [C]wind.

R.I.P Michael Winner !

Michael Winner

 The renowned English filmmaker Michael Winner passed away at the age of 77 in London. He is one of my favourite Hollywood filmmakers of action/thriller genre and I grew up watching his movies.  The name Michael Winner may not be as familiar as say, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg or James Cameron. Yet if you go through the list of his movies, many movie-fans could recognise them - esp. if you are a Charles Bronson fan. His famous movies include The Mechanic(1972) Chatos Land (1972) Law Man (1971) The Stone Killer (1973) Scorpio(1973) The Sentinel(1977)Fire Power(1979) and of course, Death Wish- 1,2 & 3. As a hardcore Charles Bronson fan, I've watched most of these movies (esp. during the VHS-era of late 80s and early 90s) over a dozen times!  

Like most action/thriller movies of 1970s, Michael Winner's movies too depicted brutal and graphic violence. Keeping with rebellious spirit of that era, his movies had the existentialist/nihilistic hero - a sort of American Raskolnikov - out to finish off the baddies who had wronged him. Despite its dark and gloomy themes, Michael Winner could often create poetry out of his frames. The brilliant cinematography and music-score (often by Jerry Fielding) came as a bonus.

Winner was a prolific filmmaker who also dwelled into other genres like comedy and drama. But it was his action/thriller movies that achieved greater success. His action sequences were innovative, spectacular and even bizzare. For instance - the (in)famous final scene of Death Wish 3 - the villain (head of street punk gang) was advancing agressively towards Bronson and the only weapon Bronson could lay his hands was a rocket-launcher! The brutal annihilation of that cruel and loathsome villain was exactly the audience wanted to see so badly !

Like some other prominent filmmakers of his era, Michael Winner clearly understood the audience psychology well and often played with it. Even his non-action sequences  had a calm and soothing effect - as if to give viewers a respite from the big bad world of crime & punishment. Just as Fyodor Dostoevsky did with his novels, Michael Winner (and some other film-makers of the 70s) did not glorify violence, but portrayed its ugly side, where there are no permanent winners and losers. The graphic and brutal depiction of violence was used infact to promote the concept of an alternative world - an utopia where there is no crime, no violence and no exploitation.

Guru Dutt : A Life In Cinema

Excerpts from Guru Dutt's biography by eminent film scholar Nasreen Munni Kabir 

Guru Dutt won a five-year scholarship of Rs.75 a month to study at the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre in Almora. Uday Shankar's father was a diwan (minister) in the service of the Maharajah of Jhalawar. When he retired, a pension permitted the family to live in Benaras while Uday Shankar moved to London with his father who practiced law but also staged musical productions in the mid-twenties. Uday Shankar had initially wanted to be a painter, and studied at the Royal College of Arts in London; but soon his passion for dance overtook his other interests. He lived in London for ten years, during which period he worked for a while with the celebrated Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. In 1929, Uday Shankar returned to India to form a troupe of dancers and musicians whom he took back to Europe to live and perform in Paris. The troupe included his younger brother, Ravi Shankar.

In 1938, Uday Shankar  returned to India to stay, and realised his

dream of opening a cultural centre forperforming arts. Uday Shankar's Centre attracted many talented musicians such as the great Ustad Allaudin Khan together with two promising disciples : his own son, Ali Akbar Khan, and Ravi Shankar, who both spent a short time at Almora. Many talented dancers also worked at the Centre, including Simke from France and Uday Shankar's wife, Amala. Madame Simkie is wellknown in Bombay for havingchoreographed the magnificent dream sequence in Raj Kapoor's Awaara(1951). The style of dancing in this dream sequence is clearly inspired by Uday Shankar's own choreography in his film Kalpana(1948). In Ravi Shankar's autobiography titled My Music, My Life (1969) Ravi Shankar describes his brother's Centre :

Uday Shankar

Uday started this culture center on almost twenty acres of land, and he constructed modern studios for dance, drama and music, with built-in stages, costume rooms, workshops and rehearsal halls. He brought in  the best known gurus of India, among them Shankaran Namboodri, the great Kathakali dancer, from whom Dada (Uday Shankar) received his own dancing training and the only real guru Dada ever had in his life. There were also Kandappan Pillai, one of the notable Bharatanatyam teachers, Manipuri guru Amobi Sinha, and even Allaudin Khan to supervise instrumental music. The center was an ideal combination of the old ashram type of school plus the modern workshop atmosphere one finds in some of the open-air institutions in the West. The teachers and the students were all very close, and Uday , with his magnetism and strong personality. kept the entire complex funtioning.

The Culture Centre attracted students from all over India, and Uday Shankar made sure that it was also possible for students of modest means like Guru Dutt to join. Uday Shankar's main criterion of selection was that a student should be genuinely interested in dance. Many students at Almora became well-known in their own right, and not only in dance but also in other disciplines. 

book : Guru Dutt : A Life In Cinema  by Nasreen Munni Kabir