Sunday, December 26, 2010

Everything is Kung-fu !!!

I saw a beautiful movie yesterday - "The Karate Kid 2010" which stars Jackie Chan and Will Smith's son-Jaden Smith. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Karate_Kid_(2010_film)

What captured my imagination was how the movie has managed to capture the subtle intricacies of Kung-Fu. There is an instance in which Jackie Chan says "Everything is Kung-Fu". This one phrase has captured the essence of Taoism,Zen and Hinduism. In Taoism, the only reality that exists is the present moment. And to live fully and focus completely in the present moment is salvation itself. Zen itself means waking up to the present moment. In Hinduism, Karma-Yogam or "yoga through action" elucidates that verily the work or activity we do "now" is worship itself. In other words, whatever we do should be done as worship. It also goes one step further and says that the result is not the ultimate aim.This has also been captured in a beautiful Zen phrase "The reward is not in the destination. The reward is in the journey itself".And to focus one-pointedly on the present moment requires a still and a calm mind. All forms of martial arts and meditation practices ultimately aim to achieve this. Many western self-help books also extol the importance of living completely in the present moment and doing one thing at a time.

There is a beautiful Zen story wherein, a young man finds an old monk picking weeds from a garden. He sees him doing this same "mundane" routine everyday. He grows curious and asks the old monk as to what he is doing. The old monk says " I am picking weeds" and then the young man asks "For how long will you do this"? The old monk replies with a smile " As long as there are weeds in this garden". A simple story with a profound and deep inner meaning.

This is also from a very practical perspective: complete attention and love to the task at hand results in perfection. At the same time results of the action may not always be in our hands.We can only perfect the effort we put in the task at hand. So the only thing to do is to do what we do in the best possible way without worrying about the result. In fact the same principle applies to not just work, but to every action we do and that includes every moment of our existence.If we can live by this principle every moment,then whatever we do and everything we do becomes kung-fu !!!


7 comments:

pilgrimhawk said...

good attempt..but i feel you can expand it a bit >>>

you will love these clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK5wwG7iN-E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3BKnmtlMco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BSKfFTCiZM

also you will love the movie > Hero [Ying.xiong]

Unknown said...

Dear Karthi,

It was a good one.

Aftet that I went scrolling down and then realised How a Mom influences a Progeny's Career either by doing something directly on a day to day basis ( as many many in this World do){which was obviously not mentioned in your Message} or wait and watch from the outside, giving opportunity for the Child to Swim to Safe Shores when let into the in Water.

Best regards,

Sree uncle

AravindS said...

Hey karthietta,
good one! It is indeed a very encouraging article for people like me who are in a career phase in pursuit of excellence.

Thanks!

Ram Iyer said...

you didnt mention where u saw the film!!!
and i knew ajay sir would say that!!!
excellent observations, especially the encongruation of the three religions..

|| aakashaath patitham doyam, yada gachati saagaram , sarvadeva namaskarah sree kesavam pratigachhati ||

Purne Shiva said...

this is more or less like 3 idiots..."Dont run behind success put ur heart and soul and work for Ur own satisfaction and one day sucess will follow U .. very well said... finally its all in the hardwork we do with full heart and passion ;) Nice One..

Krishna Sruthi Srivalsan said...

I liked (especially) the story of the Zen monk. Very interestingly, last semester when I did the module on World Religion, my prof had recommended us to watch a clip from Peter Brook's Mahabharatha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B4Z1PB97KY

It never fails to inspire me :)

Umai said...

Hi Karthik,

Good one. Its true.. Concentrating on whatever we do at present is everything. This is what is said in Isha Yoga also. Great to know that Hinduism, Zen and Taoism also says the same.