Holly's Secret Garden

「深夜加油站遇見蘇格拉底」: 佛陀智慧的再現

「深夜加油站遇見蘇格拉底」這部電影改編自Dan Millman (丹米爾曼)的原著小說，內容敘述一位優秀的體操選手，如何在智者蘇格拉底的教導下，學會如何看待生命，過有意義的生活。值遇蘇格拉底之前，主角Dan一直是被幸運之神眷顧的天之驕子，他擁有富裕的家庭背景和體操的天賦，但是內心卻無法感到平靜與滿足。於是在某一個深夜被一場惡夢驚醒後，他來到明亮的加油站，遇見了改變他一生的心靈導師---蘇格拉底。

The ceremony of pardoning a turkey dates back to Lincoln’s time. It was in 1863, when he set aside Thanksgiving as a holiday for the American people. When his cook came for the turkey for the Thanksgiving feast, his son wept loudly to beg for its life, for the turkey had then become his pet and friend. Lincoln did spare its life to show his mercy. So the tradition goes down in history. In this annual ceremony of turkey pardoning, President Obama emphasizes the American spirit---compassion, ingenuity and strength besides the traditional parting words for the turkeys. The following is his speech in 2009:

a true love story

    “Christian the Lion”is a story about true love. It illustrates the spirit of compassion, which involves concern for others’ needs. As an expression of true love, compassion knows when to let go of others while attachment holds firmly onto others.

     Dalai Lama has also given instruction on this.  We often confuse the emotions of compassion and attachment, mistaking one for the other. What we call compassion is true sympathy for others without any projection or expectation on our parts. But attachment is another thing. It is motivated by our desire for gaining something in return from others. It is easy for us to show good will to our close friends or family. By doing this, we get some feedback from them. But it’s difficult for us to show benevolence to our enemies because we may get nothing but hostility in return. So, what we do most often in our daily life is attachment instead of compassion. And it takes a subtle mind to distinguish between the two.

What is best about Jane Austen is that her description can always be manifest in people around you. Lizzy’s mother in Pride and Prejudice fits my grandma so well: “she was a woman of mean understanding, little information and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous.” And Mrs. Norris in Mansfield Park is the exemplar of the dominating and snobbish middle-class women: “---trying to be in a bustle without having anything to bustle about, and laboring to be important where nothing was wanted but tranquillity and silence.”About the deep and eternal happiness, Austen also gives us some light. It’s  solitary walk, reflection, and appreciation of the beautiful nature that tranquillize our minds! And no quote on marriage is more famous than this: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

The nature of reflection is sadness. For a happy memory, we lament over its transitory existence ; for a sad memory, we experience again its heart-piercing pain. So, what’s the use of reflection? We reflect, as Roland Barthes claims, in order to be unhappy instead of being enlightened. Reflection is like vomiting; we throw up what is inside us, and then we calmly resume eating. And this is life!

戲仿(parody)一詞，顧名思義，指的是對原作品採戲謔式的模仿，通常是用誇大的方式以達到好笑的目的。就它的內涵來講，它是以舊瓶新裝的手法，用另外一種角度審視原作品中的人物或情節，藉以解構原作品的意義。而戲仿的價值所在，是它的破壞動力，可以讓舊的故事又活出新的面貌。本文擬探討「史瑞克」這部影片中，如何戲擬中古的騎士文學，將這種文本的要素，逐一引用又逐一解構，在召換神聖性的同時，又賦予它世俗化的新生命，這兩極之間的擺盪，正是它最精彩之處。

中古騎士文學的要素，就主角而言，有高貴的國王、英勇的騎士、及美麗的落難公主[1]。就結構而言，圍繞著追尋(quest)這個主題。騎士為表達對國王的忠誠，從家鄉出發，展開冒險之旅，一路歷經種種磨難，最後總憑藉著過人的勇氣與智慧，打敗敵人完成任務。騎士所追尋的目標，都是神聖而純潔的，不外是宗教或淑女。宗教指的是為捍衛基督教的神聖性，必須擊敗異教徒，尋回聖杯之類的宗教聖物；淑女指的是遭惡勢力囚禁的公主或皇后，要將她拯救出來，所象徵的意涵是對聖母瑪麗亞的崇拜。騎士的完美典範，屬亞瑟王傳奇中的第一武士Sir Lancelot。Lancelot武藝超群，冒險進入敵國，救出被綁架的皇后Guinevere，自此展開一段永恆忠貞的愛情。 英勇與真愛，便成了騎士文學的必要條件。「史瑞克」所戲擬的對象，正是騎士拯救落難美人的愛情典範。以下茲就其戲擬的情節，逐一闡釋。

由小說改編的「追風箏的孩子」一片，所探討的主題不僅是兩個阿富汗男孩深厚的友情及最後的背叛，更有原作者對其祖國的複雜情結。這其中包含有懷念、憐惜及喟嘆，全部投射在哈山(Hassan)這個角色上。也就是說，作者的童年玩伴哈山，代表的是阿富汗祖國美好的一切；反襯的是敘事者阿米爾(Amir)叛離祖國，投向美國的懦弱虛偽。

阿米爾和哈山是主僕關係，身分地位懸殊。有錢階級的阿米爾能夠在蘇聯入侵時逃到美國，融入其資本主義的社會；而哈山窮其一生，只能留在阿富汗，靠自己掙脫文盲的宿命。兩人的主僕身分，首先反映出美國及阿富汗兩國的經濟懸殊。此外，哈山的正面特質也處處反襯阿米爾的負面性格。哈山是放風箏，也是追風箏的高手。他只憑風向，就能判斷風箏會掉落何處。他也不須抬頭看著風箏，就能讓風箏高飛於天際。風箏象徵著阿富汗的傳統文化，而哈山的嫻熟技巧對稱出阿米爾的平庸。一段唸故事的插曲，也表現出哈山的樸質和阿米爾的虛矯。阿米爾擅長編寫故事唸給不識字的哈山聽。當哈山聽到一段為收集淚滴致富而殺妻的故事時，困惑地質疑主角為何不聞洋蔥。當阿米爾陶醉於殺妻情節的淒美虛矯時，哈山的洋蔥無異是當頭棒喝。這也暗示著資本主義的華麗包裝，未必勝過平實無華的中東文化。哈山的忠誠，最能代表祖國阿富汗的美好。為了搶回風箏大賽中擊落的風箏給阿米爾，好讓他能贏得父親的讚賞，哈山犧牲了自己，承受被雞姦的凌虐。而當時的阿米爾，為了得到更多的父愛，寧可袖手旁觀，讓這殘酷的事件發生。誠如作者在訪談中提到，雞姦的情節有著深層的意涵。它反映的是蘇聯入侵阿富汗時，很多人只在一旁觀看，他們不曾基於道德勇氣挺身而出，為國家奮戰。就像阿米爾，只能眼睜睜看著哈山被欺凌，而自己卻軟弱地逃離，終其一生，都為此感到愧疚不安。友誼的背叛從較深的層面看，就是對祖國的叛離。阿米爾對雞姦的袖手旁觀，無異於軟弱的阿富汗人，任由祖國被蘇聯蹂躪。儘管可以在美國過著安定舒適的生活，阿米爾的心中卻永遠承受著這份罪惡感。這也反映出逃離阿富汗的有錢移民者，對祖國的不捨愧疚之情。

阿米爾和哈山是兩個對照的主體，互為表裡般的唇齒相依。祖國與移民，主與僕，兄與弟，忠誠與背叛，樸質與虛矯。哈山反映的是善良美好的阿富汗，而阿米爾顯露的是移民者的罪與罰。阿米爾是負面的主體，反襯出哈山的正面。沒有移民就不能體會祖國文化的美；沒有背叛就顯不出忠誠的可貴。

「贖罪」這部電影改編自Ian McEwan的原著小說，所探討的主題包括了社會階級、愛情、戰爭的衝擊以及文學作品中的虛與實。小說中對於主角的內心世界多所著墨，Ian以細膩的筆調，刻劃主角們感官所觸及的一切事物，讓其意識隨之飄遊於過去、現在及未來。要用影像來捕捉如此複雜的心靈活動，又要兼顧說故事的流暢是不容易的，而這正是本片最具特色之處。

片中有兩場主戲表現原著的意識流風貌。第一是水池畔打破花瓶的那一幕；第二則是在家中陰暗的圖書室角落。Briony 從她的房間無意中窺見姊姊(Celia)在僕人的兒子(Robbie)面前，脫衣服跳下水池。這個不尋常的舉動引起了她的不安與揣測；Briony從Robbie抬起手臂指向水池，和Celia慍怒的表情研判，她姊姊受到Robbie的脅迫。鏡頭隨後跳離Briony的觀點，而以Celia 和Robbie的角度切入。兩人是青梅竹馬的至交，但上了三年劍橋大學後卻變得生疏。Celia對於Robbie因階級意識而刻意保持距離十分惱怒，因此兩人言行中處處掩藏真實的感情而衝突不斷。Celia脫衣服入水池為的是撿花瓶碎片，但同時也是向Robbie宣告: 她不需要他的幫忙，也無視於他的存在，離家再去念六年的醫學院她也不在乎。而此刻的Robbie，一方面為自己的魯莽感到抱歉，另一方面，當他伸手撫平波動的池面時，不禁遐想Celia的憤怒是否意味著愛戀? 鏡頭重複了兩次水池場景，為的就是讓觀眾深入不同主角們的內心世界。

另外家中的圖書室一幕，也是先由Briony的觀點來看。首先從Robbie請她代傳的信中，她認定Robbie對姊姊有非分之想。接著她發現Celia掉落在圖書室門前的髮飾以及裡面傳來的耳語。而當她看見兩人交纏在幽暗的角落時，她的直覺是Celia受到攻擊，而她的闖入是即時的救援。鏡頭隨後轉到Robbie來赴宴。兩人到圖書室談話後，終於釋放了彼此的武裝，把多年的情感宣洩出來。Celia恨自己的矛盾焦躁，懊悔當天下午在水池的不雅行為；而Robbie瞭解了Celia的情意後才敢表達自己的愛意。Briony所認定的肢體攻擊成為她後來指證Robbie為強暴犯的重要憑據。而這一幕兩情相悅，對於Robbie和Celia而言，卻是改變彼此關係的轉捩點；從那一刻起，他們不再是兩小無猜的童年友伴，而是相愛相守的伴侶。

這兩個重複的場景，代表本片企圖忠於原著的努力。同時也給觀賞者一個重要的啟示: 境由心生。面對同樣的情境，不同層次的人會有不同的詮釋與感受，不要堅持只有自己的知見才是對的。像Briony因自己主觀的判斷，讓親人承受重大的傷痛，也耗盡了自己的一生來贖罪。

Morrie, a spiritual mentor in this book, says wise words as a parting gift to his student. Those are valuable lessons from someone who has lived a meaningful life. They are worth memorizing and pondering over again and again!

"Aging isn’t just decay; it’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die. It’s also the positive that you understand you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.”

He also mentions the essence of happy love and marriage: “If you don’t respect the other person, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don’t know how to compromise. . . . If you can’t talk openly about what goes on between you. . . . If you don’t have a common set of values. . . “ 

I came across a passage by Kant, an inaccessible philospher in my view. I used to keep his writings at a distance, for they are too difficult for a simple mind like me. But this passage is so surprisingly comprehensible: “There is many a person whom one esteems much too highly to be able to love him. He inspires admiration, but is too far above us to approach him with the familiarity of love.”How true it is when I reflect on the love affair in my old school days. The boy I fell in love then has become a scholar now. He was, is and will be so far above me that I dare not appraoch him with love. No wonder Kant remains single all his life, for fear of the pollution from love?