In recent years, many Buddhist films have emerged
There are also many films that contain Buddhist culture
Recently, there was such a movie that attracted the attention of Zen Fengjun
I would like to share it with you
"Night Peacock" is a Sino-French co-production of literary and artistic love movies. It tells the story of several encounters between Elsa, a French-Chinese girl, from Paris to Chengdu, and the plot and elements that promote the development of the plot in many places in the film reflect Buddhist ideas...
Buddhist Dharma Instrument: Shakuhachi
One of the important props that run through the plot, shakuhachi, was made by the director to solve one of the difficulties of life, playing for innocent and dead silkworm pupae, playing for sick children... The deep and long melody of shakuhachi echoes in the film, symbolizing a kind of relief.
The encounter between the male and female protagonists in the movie begins with shakuhachi. When elsa first met the heroine Ma Rong, he was playing shakuhachi for the silkworm chrysalis.
Because to get the silk intact requires the silkworms to end their lives by baking before they break out of their cocoons, the process is undoubtedly cruel. Therefore, Ma Rong used the ancient musical instrument shakuhachi to play a song for these silkworm pupae who were about to go to the "execution ground", and the tune was gentle and sad, as if there was reluctance for life, and there was also respect for life.
During this process, Ma Rong knelt in the center, surrounded by white cocoons, full of sacrifice, much like the Buddhist transcendence of the soul. It was this respect for life that deeply shook Elsa. The shakuhachi sound is empty and deep, although it is not thick, but it has a vigorous and powerful tone.
Shakuhachi is a wind instrument similar to Shaw. It originated in China during the Eastern Han Dynasty and became the main court instrument during the Sui and Tang dynasties. During the Tang Dynasty, the Tang envoy Juexin monk brought shakuhachi back to Japan, and since then, shakuhachi has become a part of Japanese culture.
Later, Elsa found a shakuhachi in the temple, what is the relationship between shakuhachi and the temple? Shakuhachi was first used as a means of dissemination by Buddhist dharma instruments, and the music of shakuhachi and Buddhism are inseparable.
When shakuhachi was first introduced to Japan, whenever there was a major ceremony in the temple, it was necessary to perform shakuhachi in front of the Buddha, and the monks believed that this was the way to provide for the Buddha, which was part of the ritual.
This tradition is still maintained to this day, and in the Shoso-in temple of Todaiji Temple in Nara, Japan, there are eight Tang-style shakuhachis passed down from China's Tang Dynasty.
The Sacred Silk of Buddhist Rituals
The movie "Night Peacock" takes its name from a moth with a very short life cycle. The silkworm of the Ailanthus tree, after coming out of the cocoon, turns into a moth, which is called the night peacock.
▲In the film, the two look for a night peacock cocoon on a Ailanthus tree
The film uses this image to tell the theme of Buddhist compassion and compassion through the description of the heroine. When Elsa learns that Ma Rong is playing the Transcendental Sound for cocoons that are about to be killed by the silk thread, she begins to search for shakuhachi.
When she came to the temple to look for shakuhachi, she found an ancient shakuhachi in the temple, and there was a silk scroll in the shakuhachi. It's written like this—
"At the beginning of the second year of BaoYuan, the scribes pierced their tongues with iron needles every day, and copied the Diamond Sutra with gold powder mixed with the blood of the tip of their tongues for a total of three years. This silk veil is made of the cocoon of the Ailanthus tree, because it does not need to be killed by pupae, and it is the sacred silk of Buddhist rituals. ”
The Buddhist family needs silk thread, and the silk is easy to find and not used, but the silk thread of the night peacock moth is found to weave the brocade used in the Buddhist ceremony. Why? The answer is found in this passage.
The night peacock is not only praised by many as "the most beautiful moth in the world", but more specially, the silk drawn from this cocoon does not need to kill pupae. Because the Buddhist family does not kill, the brocade used is not stained with blood, so the silk made by the ailanthus cocoon is specially sought to weave the silk veil.
The image of the "night peacock" embodies the Buddhist compassionate heart, and also affects the development of this plot, implying the good nature of the heroine's heart.
Look at the film aside
What is the production process of silk veils?
Buddhism requires that there be no killing
So can people who study Buddhism use silk products?
Further reading:
Can Buddhist students use silk and fur?
I believe that everyone has heard an idiom "stripping away the cocoon", and the familiar verse "Spring silkworm to the end of the dead silk, wax torch into gray tears began to dry", although this ancient poem is now used as a metaphor for loyal subjects or teachers, the dedication of the heart and blood.
▲The process of roasting silkworms is described in the film
But from silkworms to silk products, it is indeed a cruel process, it can be said that a silk is the life of a silkworm pupae in exchange. Do you know? To make a garment weighing about 1 kilogram, the silk needed comes from about 3,000 cocoons.
In ancient times, it is recorded that when it comes to reeling silk, the cocoon is first placed in an iron pot filled with water, and the pot is burned under the pot to make the cocoon expand and soften, dissolve the sericin, and then draw the silk.
The so-called reeling is to put the complete cocoon in hot water to boil, the cocoon silk water temperature is generally above 80 °. In this way, the gum on the surface of the silk is dissolved to find the silk head.
The scene of reeling is that under the spinning winch there are thousands of cocoons "purring" in the hot water. Several strands of silk are combined into a strand, wrapped around the winch, and the cocoon is stripped to make raw silk for weaving satin.
Why? Because if the cocoon in the cocoon becomes a moth, bites through the cocoon and drills out, the silk will break into many pieces and is worthless. Therefore, a large number of new cocoons purchased by the silk factory are generally steamed first and the pupa is killed.
Silk products, like fur and down, are made at the expense of innocent animal lives, so more and more people are beginning to reject these clothes made from killing.
A furry piece of fur may take up to 30 minks to complete. Placed in the window, it looks so noble and elegant in the spotlight. Yet most people don't know that beneath that gorgeous exterior, there is more blood and cruelty.
Many vegetarians say, "In this world, there are so many fabric types to choose from, why do you have to choose fur and silk?" When I realized the cruel persecution of animal life behind these fabrics, I never wore these things again. ”
Zen Fengjun also wants to appeal here
▼
Winter is coming
Fur coats you may only wear a few times
But they used their whole lives
For those who study Buddhism, for all people
We should all be compassionate and reject fur
Stop letting the lives of animals fulfill your momentary desires
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