Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★★★☆☆ ‘Side Effects’ opens at a crime scene with much blood on the floor of an apartment. Intriguing? Yes. It’s also got a whole lot of surprises for you near the end, so try to stick around till the truth is finally revealed. The prerequisite is, however, you mustn’t be so clever of an audience. Just go flow with the plot. Don’t be predicting anything. Then you’ll be shocked, but not really convinced after all that Jude Law’s Dr. Banks could be that determined, calm and brilliant, or like it’s said in the film, be of such a genius to be able to solve an almost perfect puzzle set up by other geniuses. He’s indeed more like an intimidating detective than an ordinary psychiatrist, especially when he starts to intentionally stir up mistrust between the criminal minds. I doubt if there’s a genius like that in life. Like it or not, everything has a side effect on you if you go too far for it. Say, money can keep us alive in such a materialistic world we live in, but it, too, can g...

★★★★☆ 又因（偶然的）工作關係，看了這部電影。通常因工而看的電影，十之八九都是不值一提的，這部是例外！ 台灣電影〈白天的星星〉，在台灣北部的泰雅部落山區取景，畫面極富美感，但毫不賣弄。演員演技自然，特別是飾演阿免姨的林美秀，她對著心目中外國的神（也就是耶穌）懺悔那段，更是催人淚下。至於她那個隱藏了 30 多年的秘密到底是什麼，就留給大家自己去看了。導演透過淡淡的故事，道出暖暖的人情。剛開始看的時候，覺得有點悶，耐心看完之後，心靈彷彿被洗滌了一番。現代人往往就是沒有興趣和耐心去欣賞這種東西。在人們越來越喜歡「重口味」的今天，這類「清泉」更顯久違珍貴！ 白天的星星？沒錯，無論白天黑夜，天上的星星都沒有離開過，只是白天它們被陽光所蓋，我們看不到罷了。我想這是所有人都明白的，除了小孩子吧，因為他們未必懂得「看不到不等於不存在」的道理。但其實，在對佛性的認受上面，或者說在自淨其意的修行層面，我們又何嘗不是小孩子一個？你是否傾向覺得「貪嗔痴」是「實」，而「佛性」是「虛」呢？你何時真的「看到」自己的佛性？又幾時真的覺得自己本來就是「佛」呢？ 懺悔的力量是強大的，它可以改變一個人本身，接而影響他人。真誠的懺悔甚至可以讓你頓時一窺自己的佛性。《華嚴經普賢行願品》當中就有懺悔一門，是菩薩修行的重要功課。印光大師也勸勉我們要「常生慚愧心及懺悔心」。唯有經常反省懺悔，我們才能逐漸淨化心靈，改變自己、改變他人、改變環境，才有指望證入本性，如果只是一味推卸責任，責怪他人，那你將永遠生活在痛苦之中。阿免姨之所以叫阿免姨，是因為她覺今是而昨非，把心裡的愛擴大，不求回報地去佈施助人，人家所欠她的，她都說「免了免了」，因此她居住的環境是美麗的，圍繞在她身邊的人也都是善良的。 難忘那片幽靜的山區；難忘那種簡單的生活；難忘那份溫暖的人情；也難忘以下這首感人的歌曲：

5月11日，星期六，和媽媽一同去屯門妙法寺參拜。大家可以乘搭鐵路或巴士前往，在藍地鐵路站下車便可。 一下車，就看到遠處的妙法寺了 就是前面那座蓮花狀的玻璃建築物 無上甚深微妙法，百千萬劫難遭遇 佛法確實很深，也可以很淺 就看你肯不肯真的去幹了 什麼是佛教？這四句話說明了一切 最重要的，是第三句 要自淨其意，才能超越三界，永得安樂 新落成的佛殿，好像一朵大蓮花 感覺很現代 和其他佛寺一樣，妙法寺也有老人院 位於新佛殿入口兩旁的鐘和鼓 所謂暮鼓晨鐘，其實是提醒修行人要時刻精進 大家可以看看暮鐘偈，理解當中的含意 入口周圍兩旁有很多這類羅漢松 老媽又不小心出場了，右上角那位是也 少見的金蓮花 新佛殿入口處的彌勒菩薩和護法神韋陀 新舊佛殿模型 其實我覺得規劃設計有點亂 感覺怪怪的 四大護法天王 他們手中所持的器具都是有代表意思的 目的都是希望大家能證入不二法門，放下自在 觀世音菩薩普門品經文 後面是一個舉行法會的場所，地方很大 位於新建築最上層的蓮華大殿 殿內供奉的釋迦牟尼佛 很大很壯觀，我和媽媽初看到都嘩的一聲 坐落在新佛殿一旁的舊萬佛寶殿 門口處依舊供奉彌勒跟韋陀 萬佛殿內的佛尊 萬佛殿對面的魚池 石碑上刻的是心經 一部很深、很深的佛教經典 佛說法分聖義、世俗二種 心經講的是一種聖義的境界 不是我們此等世俗凡夫能理解的 妙法寺看似很大，其實不到半小時就可參觀完畢。可能當天正值佛七法會，很多地方都沒有開放吧。近來重看佛學家沈家楨居士的演講集，讀到有關攀緣心和覺知性一段的時候，頓時有種「叮一聲」的感覺，但維持的時間非常短暫。我想，修行的目的，無非就是把這種「叮一聲」的感覺儘量延長，但恰如沈先生所說，那是非常非常困難的事。要想消除攀緣心，坦白說，在這個五濁惡世是絕對辦不到的事。我們所能做的，就只是儘量透過（無相）佈施和（信願念佛）修定，好讓自己逐步放下種種貪戀跟執著，倒靠阿彌陀佛，求生淨土。無論你相信與否，這是我們唯一的指望！

★★☆☆☆ This film’s more about the crime lord Gabriel Cortez than the sheriff played by Arnold Schwarzenegger who roughly takes up 3/1 part of the film only. The rest is how Mr. Cortez escapes from the chase of the FBI in a madly fast Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1. Right, it’s got a ‘Fast & Furious’ feel, and is well paced up, but still there’s something that doesn’t seem to make any sense: why there’s no one to pick up Cortez at the borders as he’s got big guys, literally an army to help clear the barricades set up by the FBI on his way to Mexico? And some of the actions are choreographed only to make Arnie look cool and tough again but honestly, they’re very stupid and insane. What can I say? A bunch of schmucks doing schmuck stuff! I miss Arnie in ‘Commando’, ‘Predator’, ‘The Terminator’, ‘ Terminator2: Judgment Day ’ and all the other goodies that made him a super action hero back then, but just like he says in the film, he’s old. What do you expect from a guy who hasn’t do...

★★☆☆☆ First off, I don’t think they need 5 years’ time to locate a crashed car and a nearby cabin where Mama lives. 5 days or even 5 hours will sure be enough in such a modern, hi-tech world nowadays. Still, why 5 years? So Mama has enough time to raise the girls to be spooky characters. You might’ve guessed what Mama is. She’s a go-through-wall-not-touch-floor dark spirit with a disfigured face and body. Yes, this is a horror film. Same as many others, there’s a lot of make-no-sense stuff in it, like the characters are always bold enough to go alone in the dark, be constantly frightened and still stay there trying to find out what’s going on. Mama’s not at all scary. She doesn’t earn my sympathy either. She’s nothing but a crazy woman not believing that she should’ve indeed let go. Jessica Chastain’s Annabel is not convincing in any way. No idea why she insists on playing a good mama to the girls after being seriously threatened by Mama. Her husband that’s the girls’ uncle, ...

★★★☆☆ Jack Reacher is a fictional character created by British writer Jim Grant. This piece of detective drama’s based on a series of books he wrote about this super human being. Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher is super intelligent, super witty, super skilful, super insightful, super self-disciplined, almost too super to be called a human being; too mysterious and perfect to allow us to feel about him. This film is a slight version of the latest action-packed Sherlock Holms films but, with no stunts or explosions or special effects, there’re all down-to-earth actions that I quite appreciate in fact. Thing is, it feels like a rough cut from a probably much more never-wracking, thrilling picture. I don’t know. There’s a lot left unexplained. Those who’ve read the books may be okay with it, except for Tom Cruise’s height that’s certainly a problem, but for those who haven’t, it may get rather confusing about who’s gotta do with who and what! Jack Reacher says he’s not a hero, but a dr...