{"id":2381,"date":"2020-01-22T18:02:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T18:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2020-01-22T18:07:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T18:07:42","slug":"zen-through-the-cameras-lens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=2381","title":{"rendered":"Zen Through the Camera’s Lens"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he film <\/span>1917<\/span> <\/span>tells the story of two British soldiers in the trenches of France who are <\/span>ordered<\/span> by their superiors to travel on foot to a distant part of British-held territory with written instructions from the General in charge of operations to not attack the Germans the following morning. The Germans have set a trap. If the British attack, it will be a slaughter and a defeat for the allies. <\/span><\/p>\n

The two soldiers leave immediately and travel overland, through an encampment the Germans only hours previously abandoned, through disputed territory where <\/span>lone German soldiers <\/span>hide<\/span> and <\/span>skirmishes between bands of Germans and British<\/span> <\/span>are a constant threat<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The audience watches as the<\/span> two men<\/span> negotiate <\/span>many<\/span> dangers, from rats to explosions to<\/span> enemy <\/span>bullets<\/span>. We see them stumble, run, fall, creep and claw their way through <\/span>varied terrain, all of it scourged<\/span> <\/span>by the horrors of war. As day becomes night becomes morning, the men continue on, their primary objective to keep going, in the right direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

This ever-changing panorama of challenges and dangers was <\/span>filmed<\/span> in one <\/span>continuous camera shot. The camera never stops rolling through the <\/span>two hour<\/span> drama, the lens <\/span>never break<\/span>s<\/span> from <\/span>its<\/span> <\/span>singular <\/span>focus on <\/span>the two soldiers <\/span>moving, always moving<\/span>. <\/span> <\/span>It is a<\/span> breath-taking<\/span> feat of cinematography and film production.<\/span> <\/span>T<\/span>his <\/span>no-stop <\/span>approach to filming <\/span>gives the <\/span>story <\/span>an essential <\/span>and potent immediacy. <\/span>Along with the camera itself, n<\/span>either t<\/span>he audience<\/span> nor <\/span>the two <\/span>young <\/span>soldiers<\/span> ever <\/span>shift focus <\/span>from the <\/span>moment they are in. <\/span> There is no time for such indulgences, there is only<\/span> NOW\u2026NOW\u2026NOW\u2026and NOW<\/span>. <\/span> <\/span>There are no flashbacks to the childhoods of the characters, or to the families that wait for them<\/span>, no <\/span>cutting forward to <\/span>old men <\/span>as they remember <\/span>their <\/span>long-past<\/span> heroics<\/span>. <\/span>No <\/span>secondary story tak<\/span>es<\/span> place in some other part of the war-torn landscape. <\/span>T<\/span>h<\/span>e <\/span>ever-changing scenery through which <\/span>the two men<\/span> <\/span>trave<\/span>l<\/span> in <\/span>their quest to complete the given task<\/span> <\/span>the only truth. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The effect <\/span>of the film <\/span>on this student of Zen was to <\/span>highlight<\/span> and honor <\/span>t<\/span>hat <\/span>which <\/span>can be easy to <\/span>overlook as<\/span> we walk through<\/span> the varied terrain of<\/span> our lives: <\/span>Each moment of <\/span>time and space<\/span> <\/span>we inhabit <\/span>is a dynami<\/span>c creation in which everything is <\/span>arising<\/span> and falling away. <\/span>The continuity of time and space are an illusion and <\/span>1917<\/span> shows us this in stark relief.<\/span> <\/span>When we keep attention <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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focused on this universal principle<\/span>, as does the film, we can see more clearly that n<\/span>othing stays <\/span>the same, nothing lasts, every moment is new, brand new. <\/span> <\/span>E<\/span>verything<\/span> <\/span>the two soldiers <\/span>experience dissolves to make way for the next experience. <\/span>They can only <\/span>remain pres<\/span>ent, <\/span>keep moving <\/span>in the right direction and <\/span>keep their wits about them.<\/span><\/p>\n

O<\/span>ur minds, <\/span>not nailed to the present by life-threatening dangers<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>can <\/span>grow complacent<\/span>, <\/span>causing us to <\/span>grasp at experiences<\/span> <\/span>to <\/span>opine about them<\/span>, yearn for more of them, <\/span>get angry at them, <\/span>evaluate our performance of them<\/span>, grieve for the losses within them<\/span>\u2014and in doing so, we lose the moment <\/span>that<\/span> <\/span>has newly arisen <\/span>before us. <\/span> <\/span>W<\/span>e, like the soldiers<\/span> and like all sentient beings<\/span>, <\/span>exist <\/span>solely <\/span>in t<\/span>he present, <\/span>but <\/span>our <\/span>internal <\/span>camera lens looks backward and forward, at this and that, here and there, always veering off, <\/span>steal<\/span>ing<\/span> our <\/span>attention<\/span> and veil<\/span>ing<\/span> this truth<\/span>. <\/span>Over and over again, we find we <\/span>are<\/span> no longer <\/span>here. <\/span><\/p>\n

1917<\/span> <\/span>shows us <\/span>life being fully inhabited in the now<\/span>. <\/span>Through its <\/span>continuously trained <\/span>camera lens, i<\/span>t offers a view of life as a<\/span> journey in which the<\/span> imperative <\/span>is <\/span>to see <\/span>the<\/span> threats and opportunities <\/span>arising in this moment <\/span>with a singular focus so that one can <\/span>navigate <\/span>them <\/span>with wisdom.<\/span> <\/span>T<\/span>o <\/span>indulge in reactions to <\/span>th<\/span>at which has come before or that which lies ahead <\/span>are <\/span>delusions and as such they lead us toward <\/span>dangerous distractions<\/span>. <\/span>The young Brits know their lives and their mission depend on this <\/span>such clear <\/span>concentration. <\/span><\/p>\n

Zen students too are <\/span>on a <\/span>quest to complete a given <\/span>task;<\/span> we too are running for our lives. We too must remain aware of the dangers lurking everywhere as we <\/span>encounter <\/span>life, for we <\/span>also<\/span> <\/span>have<\/span> enemies<\/span> that threaten our task\u2019s fulfillment<\/span>. <\/span>Our<\/span> enem<\/span>ies <\/span>are not sentient beings <\/span>but conditioned beliefs and feelings<\/span>, old habits of body, speech and mind<\/span> that can catch us in their cross-fire, that <\/span>hide<\/span> in dark corners to <\/span>kill and maim. <\/span>We too must keep going<\/span> in the right direction<\/span>, <\/span>toward the possibility of freedom and safety, paying <\/span>full attention to <\/span>the moments when <\/span>these internal enemies<\/span> show their shadowy faces. They lie in wait <\/span>for <\/span>our attention to flag<\/span>. I<\/span>nattention creates the perfect conditions for the traps they set. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Emotions and thoughts, all conditioned behavior <\/span>thrives on our <\/span>mind\u2019s <\/span>undisciplined flights of fancy into <\/span>yesterday and tomorrow<\/span>, likes and dislikes<\/span>, distant lands and dramas. <\/span>It is so easy to forget! <\/span>It is so easy to relax into <\/span>self-satisfaction that <\/span>feels like p<\/span>eace<\/span>. <\/span>Before we know it, <\/span>some deep <\/span>discord within us is <\/span>explod<\/span>ing forth<\/span> <\/span>and <\/span>we <\/span>are again <\/span>at war<\/span>. O<\/span>ur inner world<\/span> and the outer <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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world it <\/span>reflects<\/span> are<\/span> both<\/span> battlefield<\/span>s<\/span> where the delusions of winning and losing, love and hate <\/span>play out <\/span>their <\/span>dark story of opportunity lost<\/span> and<\/span> truth <\/span>mired and muddied, buried in the trenches <\/span>of <\/span>suffering and <\/span>ignorance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like the two young Brits<\/span> in <\/span>1917, <\/span>our task is to keep going, pay full attention and remain vigilant, knowing that our lives depend on it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Humming<\/h4>\n

Lao\u00a0<\/span>Huo<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Shakya<\/span><\/p>\n

ZATMA is not a blog.<\/p>\n

\u00a0If for some reason you need elucidation on the teaching,<\/p>\n

please contact editor at:\u00a0yao.xiang.editor@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Credit<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The film 1917 tells the story of two British soldiers in the trenches of France who are ordered by their superiors to travel on foot to a distant part of British-held territory with written instructions from the General in charge of operations to not attack the Germans the following morning. The Germans have set… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1729,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2381"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2387,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions\/2387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}