Holly's Secret Garden

It’s so much easier to choose to love the things that you have. And you have so much, instead of always yearning for what you’re missing - - - or what it is that you’re imagining you are missing.

(Meryle Streep in One True Thing)

One True Thing, a 1988 American film, explores the subtlety of family relationship. The one true thing refers to the devoted mother who lights up her family’s life at the cost of her health. It’s touching because the three major roles reflect part of us, as a father, mother or kids. This article will examine three aspects of family relationship: father/daughter, mother/daughter, and husband/wife

民視專訪陳樹菊，不少人受到激勵與感動。在熱血沸騰之餘，我不禁沉思，她怎麼做到的?所有勵志的故事，總能撩撥我們的情緒，但一時的慷慨激昂總敵不過長久養成的怠惰習氣，我們無法如故事主角般的精進不懈。陳樹菊的慷慨義行是布施的最佳典範，這篇專訪讓我們學習到布施的真諦和方法。

很多人行過布施，捐贈物資是最普遍的做法。有愛心似乎就做得到布施，但問題是能持續多久? 質有多純?量有多大?有閒錢，心血來潮，為響應某個救災活動，或是企業為節稅的捐贈，這些都是布施的表相。它真正的內涵，是要在任何時、處都能生起才算。每天的心念緣著它，為利益一切眾生廣行布施，不論是有形的物資或無形的精神。陳樹菊做到了這些。她為何能做到?因為她的見解正確。布施不能光靠一時的情緒，它能長久的關鍵在於念死無常的觀念深植於心。所以說「知難行易」一點也不錯。所謂知難，指的是正確觀念的建立並不容易。對於某個信念深信不疑，不再動搖後，照著它去做其實並不困難。問題是信念要達到不動搖的程度，必須親自去實證體會後才可得。

Introduction

Black Swan, a 2010 psychological thriller, explores the binary conflicts in human life---reason/unreason, love/hatred, repression/passion, hetero/homosexuality. The warring of the two turns out tragic in the film, for the latter overwhelms the former and leads to the death of the female protagonist.

James Thurber, (1894-1961), was an American writer best known for his humorous stories. As a celebrated wit, Thurber highlighted the comic frustrations and eccentricities of ordinary people in his works.

The following essay is about the ways to sustain a happy marriage. Although its tone is hilarious, it reveals the naked truth of marriage characterized by the twists and turns of confrontation and conciliation. The ten rules, nothing less than the manifesto of Thurber’s idiosyncrasies, are intended to amuse rather than preach.

First of all, he mentions the motive for this writing is the fight between a couple in his neighborhood:

The idea just came to me one day, when I watched a couple in an apartment across the court from mine, gesturing and banging tables and throwing objects d’art at each other. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was obvious, as the shot-put followed the hammer throw, that he and/or she (as the lawyers would put it) had deeply offended her and/or him.

Witnessing the exciting battle, Thurber began brooding on the subject of marriage. Here come the ten unique rules for the maintenance of a happy marriage:

Introduction:

Life of Pi「少年P的奇幻漂流」是李安導演的最新3D作品，預定11月在台灣上映。本文要探討的是原著小說中的主題，如封面所寫:一位擁有三種信仰的印度男孩，一隻450磅重的孟加拉虎，一場船難，一艘救生艇，以及太平洋。乍看之下，它是海上版的魯賓遜漂流記，或浩劫重生之類的電影，一個人獨自存活於災難之後，靠著毅力、智慧及信仰，度過重重難關重回人世。相較於魯賓遜在荒島耕種，自力謀生並對抗野人，少年Pi在太平洋上只靠救生艇維生，再加一隻老虎的威脅，情勢更是艱難。兩者在孤立的環境中都有一個主要同伴，不管是人是虎，這充分說明人無法完全孤立而存活。馴服者與被馴服者的關係是主與僕，兩者間尊卑之意識型態在魯賓遜中被合理化，但在Pi中卻另有深刻的反省。儘管劇情的發展結構一致------船難發生，主角存活，勇敢對抗惡劣環境，最終得救，但我試著以佛家的思想角度來讀少年Pi, 卻有另外一番體悟。

「BJ單身日記」不只是一般的愛情喜劇，它是經典文學「傲慢與偏見」的現代版，更確切的說，是向經典文學致敬之餘，又不忘加入現代顛覆元素的戲謔仿作(parody)。劇中女主角神來一句，”It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces. “(當你的生命中某部分開始順遂，另一部分就會全盤崩壞，這是眾所承認的事實) 已昭告其戲仿經典之意圖，因「傲慢與偏見」開宗明義的第一句話就是: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” (黃金單身漢必缺一個老婆是眾所承認的事實) 前者提到生命無常起落的事實，後者則是千古不變的婚姻法則，有錢的男人必定成為眾家閨女覬覦獵取的目標。

前言

我們習慣分享彼此不幸的遭遇，以為把它說出來，心裏會好過些，至少從別人那裡，得到些許的鼓勵或安慰，或者聽到別人也有類似遭遇，自己的苦就不顯得特別。這篇散文告訴我們，不能用訴苦的方式處理苦難，緘默堅忍以對才是良策。

In this short essay, British novelist and journalist Mark Rutherford (the pen name of William Hale White) encourages us to deal with our misfortunes by practicing "the art of self-suppression."

Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side, all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths are strait, the trees regular, the sun shaded; escorted by gentlemen, protected by policemen, wedded and buried by clergymen, she has only to walk demurely from cradle to grave and no one will touch a hair of her head. But on the other side all is confusion. Nothing follows a regular course. The paths wind between bogs and precipices. The trees roar and rock and fall in ruin. There, too, what strange company is to be met---in what bewildering variety!                                                                

Virginia Woolf, “Harriette Wilson”

This time, it’s not the vulgar prima donna, Harriette Wilson, that will be discussed. Instead, it’s Christabel LaMotte, the female protagonist in the movie, Possession, that steps across the borderline.

繼「正義」一書後，Michael Sandel教授再度出擊，在「錢所不能買的東西」(What Money Can’t Buy) 這本書裡，直指金錢入侵民主社會各種領域後，對思想行為所造成的衝擊。

延續前書的論點，作者認為市場邏輯(market logic)已滲入社會各個層面，幾乎無所不在。這種邏輯根據自由派(libertarian)經濟思想而來，強調個人有權利自由買賣所擁有的東西；在買賣雙方達成交易後，兩方各得其利，有效率地讓物品得到適當的歸屬，發揮最大的用處。簡單來講，支持市場邏輯的兩個主要觀點是個人自由(individual freedom)和功利思想(utilitarian)。而反對市場邏輯也正好由此兩點下手。自由非真自由，而功利思想最終將腐蝕腐事物本質。歸納起來，反市場邏輯的主要論點，一是公平(fairness)，二是腐化(corruption)。公平者反駁個人自由之論，強調買賣雙方若在經濟不平等的條件下交易，賣方往往因經濟拮据，在不得已的情況下出賣擁有物。在被迫、利誘下做出的抉擇，不是真正的自由交易。另外，腐化之論在破除功利思想的迷思。容或金錢的買賣可以有效率的分配物品，但物品不見得就能適得其所，反而本質會被汙染，內在價值也隨之腐敗。整本書用市場邏輯和反市場邏輯的兩種論調，反覆檢驗社會發生的實際案例，逐一剖析市場價值的弊端，提醒我們建立正確的價值觀，共造美好的民主社會。以下簡要陳述書上所提及的案例，並引用這兩種思考角度來分析批判。

An Indecent Proposal (桃色交易)caused much discussion back in 1993 when materialism was rampant in American society. Today, it still remains a powerful criticism of market values. It is significant not only because it predicts the irresistible invasion of money in life, but also it caters to the ideal romantic sentiment. Altogether, the movie attracts the audience with two immortal topics: money and romance.