The Forbidden Kingdom: Last Quote

When Lu Yan is deadly wounded and confesses that he is not an immortal, Jason is shocked, but Lu Yan does not seem to be so unhappy about this fact and says:
  
"If one does not attach himself to people and desires, never shall his heart be broken. But does he ever truly live?"

I love this scene , because the character played by Jackie Chan suddenly gets so much depth, you feel, there is a long and interesting story that can be told about him. The amazing thing: Jackie can only create this with his face and voice, as he is lying motionless on the bed.

The first time I saw it in the cinema, it gave me goosebumps. And every time I hesitate to leave the safe path of my comfortable life to embark on some adventure, I hear Jackie's voice speaking these words. Yes, it is safer not to open myself to a new friendship, not to allow my heart to love, not to try something new, because I cannot be disappointed and hurt.  But if I  act like this, do I truly live ?

It took me many years to grow courageous enough to adopt this attitude, but now I have reached the point where I am aware that there is only one short life for me and that I should live every moment of it. And accept everything it has to offer...

(Photo: JC Group 2007, www.jackiechan.com)

"Empty your cup!"

Jason, the Boston teenager who has been transported into a mythic world, has met Lu Yan who helps him to return the magic staff to its rightful owner, but Jason must learn to fight. Lu Yan decides to teach him Kung Fu.

So in the scene I am talking about they sit at the campfire after a day of travelling, Lu Yan has made some tea and Jason is very enthusiastic about  learning Kung Fu. He has seen so many Kung Fu movies, he is looking forward to learning the "Buddha Palm Technique" and the "Shadow Kick". Listening to Jason's talk, Lu Yan fills his cup with tea and keeps pouring even when the cup is full. When Jason protests, he explains:  "How can I fill your cup when it is already full? How can I teach you Kung Fu when you already know everything? Empty your cup !" Jason pours the tea into the fire  - and Lu Yan is quite desperate about his new student.

I first heard this story from my own martial arts master who had got it from a book where the author got it from his master.For most of us the idea to completely forget anything we might know about a subject and start learning from the start is probably  strange. In our Western culture we are encouraged to learn with a critical mind, to question what the teacher says and to draw our own conclusions. Eastern martial arts teach you to submit yourself to your master as he has undergone years of training and knows best.

So I was curious what my students would say to this quote. Amazingly, they understood the  meaning at once. There are teachers and students. Students have to learn, teachers have to teach. It is a tedious fight if you question everything your teacher says, first you have to learn the basics and advance in the topic,  and only after some time of learning are you able to judge yourself.

One student added a further idea: we should be open and curious to learn something new and not let our learning be influenced by preconceived opinions. When you go to a foreign country, for example, it is best to be curious and experience the strange culture with a free mind, not tinted by what you may have heard or read.

So I think, sometimes it is good to empty your cup and give a new point of view a fair chance.

(Photo JC Group, 2007,  www.jackiechan.com)

"Don't think. Just do !"

Recently I did a project with my 11th year English group and as they wanted to see a Jackie Chan movie, I chose "The Forbidden Kingdom", which came to the cinemas in 2008 and united the action stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The plot is a typical story of initiation: Jason, a Boston teenager, is thrown into a mythic world by a magic staff, where he has to fulfill a task and learns how to become a man.

One thing I did in class was take some quotes from this movie and discuss them with the students. The quote I want to talk about here is taken from the beginning of the relationship between Jason and the Drunken Scholar, Lu Yan, played by Jackie Chan. In a tea house they are attacked by the soldiers of the evil Jade Warlord and have to flee. At one point Jason is standing on the roof top, in front of him darkness, behind him the soldiers, but he hesitates. Lu Yan shouts: "Jump!", but Jason replies: "I don't think so." Lu Yan's order : "Don't think. Just do!"

Now Jason is torn between two evils: he can be killed by the soldiers or he can be seriously hurt or even killed by jumping down the roof. In the end he jumps, is caught by Lu Yan and they fall together, both surviving and making their escape.

I thought that life is sometimes like that. Like my first jump from the three-meter board in the local swimming-pool: it scared me to death, but the thought of all these people seeing me climb down again was even more scary, so I stopped thinking and jumped. My students gave another example: falling in love.It can give you happiness, but it can also cause you a broken heart. You can try to reflect and think about it for ages, trying to eliminate every risk, in the end you still have to "just do". Or remain lonely and wonder what you might have missed.

There definitely are situations in life when too much pondering means not going forward, when you have to stop thinking and jump. In the end it might be better than just standing there paralyzed and being killed by the soldiers. At least you have the chance to be caught and saved...

(Photo JC Group, 2007, www.jackiechan.com)