Last night I watched a movie on terrestrial TV titled 情颠大圣 (A Chinese Tall Story). It was a spin-off from the ever-famous Chinese tale of gods, demons, fairies and humans in 西游记 (Journey To The West). There had been numerous adaptations of the original … some better than others but the ultimate message being conveyed at the end was always some wisdom plucked from Buddhism about life.

The irony was that I have always had the DVD with me, which I remembered, kinda watched a little bit before, because I knew the whole movie was actually nonsensical. Nonsense being, it twisted the plot to a whole new extreme, there were UFOs and aliens in a period drama (Tang Dynasty). Now that’s stretching it a bit too much if you asked me… even for a fantasy movie. The saving grace came in the form of cameo roles by many well-known artists and the visual was beautiful at times… but mostly, it looked pretty much like scenes from some online computer games…

Okay, I do not intend to write a review on the movie itself, just some thoughts that struck me afterwhich (I finally sat through the entire movie and I’m glad I did.) There was a phrase that caught my attention at the end of the movie before the credit roll:

世界上最遥远的距离不是我站在你面前, 你却不知道我爱你…
而是明明知道彼此相爱, 却不能在一起。

Translation: The longest distance that can separate two souls isn’t not knowing I love you even when I’m standing in front of you… but when we both know we love one another and yet can’t be together.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced it before. Having feelings for someone that do not share mutual feelings towards us in return… in short, unrequited love. As a matter of fact… it’s exactly how I’m feeling right now. I’m sure we all know how torturous that is. Just like the notion above.

However, there was a defining scene towards the end of the movie where Buddha conveyed his wisdom to Monk Tong:

如来佛 : 你想跟她说什么？
Buddha: What do you want to say to her?

唐僧 : 我想跟你在一起？
Monk Tong: I want us to be together.

如来佛 :如果我告诉你 ，你们在一起的时间只有到今天黄昏而已呢？
你有没有想过，爱一个人并不一定要有结果？不追求结果的爱就不会有尽头的一日…
我相信这个女子今天上天庭是打算牺牲自己，并没有想过有机会再跟你在一起，这种不
追求结果的爱才是无限的……
Buddha:What if I told you that the time you could be together would
only last until sunset today?
Have you ever given it a thought… loving someone doesn’t
necessarily mean you must be together. A love that does not
seek an outcome will never come to an end. I believe this girl
is here today to sacrifice herself, knowing she will not have
a chance to be with you forever. This type of unconditional
and unrelenting love is endless…

I was so blown away by that. It was like I had a light bulb moment. So, I have decided. I will not force myself to forget this love I have harbored so long for my special someone… and I will not be sad if things doesn’t work out for both of us... because I know, I’ll carry this love with me till the end of time (or at least until my heart finds a home).

To quote from a phrase of another great movie that I love: Love Of Siam…
‘Thanks to all the loves that bring us to life.’


LYH…爱你一万年