FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. TOILET - DAY
PETER is reading a question on his phone.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, in March, a televangelist ordered the coronavirus to go away and declared US was well. But that doesn't seem to work. Should he try again?
Peter smiles.
INT. STUDY - DAY
Relaxing on a sofa, Peter is glued to his phone again.
PETER (V.O.): It's really interesting to study the history of China's relationships with countries bordering it on land, from Vietnam, North Korea, Russia to Mongolia, India and Nepal.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Nepal seems relatively insignificant to China and me.
Peter discover something interesting on his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): There're arguments between Nepalese and Indians regarding the origin of Siddhartha Gautama. Who is he?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Oh my God! That's the name of Buddha! I only know of his other name as Shakamuni or the sage of Shakyas.
FLASHBACK
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY (1964)
Peter (10) is studying a booklet.
PETER (V.O.): The Buddha was born around 567 BC in a small kingdom below the Himalayan foothills. His father is a Shakya clan chief. It was prophesied that he would become a great sage.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although he had everything, he changed after seeing a sick man, an old man and a corpse. He decided to leave everything behind in search of the answer to the problem of human suffering on his own.
Act 2
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): He learned how to discipline his mind to enter the sphere of nothingness, and to be in a state of neither consciousness or non-consciousness.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): He ate very little, focusing on his mind rather than his body. He self-enlightened himself to become Buddha at the age of 35.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He realized that all human beings were characterized by lack of satisfaction, pain and suffering.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He recognized that the origin of human suffering was their crave for pleasure and continued existence.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He walked through the villages and towns of India, doing the knowledge transfer and begging his own meal.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He didn't heal any dead, but let people know that death was universal. He himself died at the age of 80.
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My primary school in Hung Shui Kiu is a Buddhist school. Endorsing Buddha's insight, I once thought of the possibility of shaving my hair and leaving home to become a monk.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But as a young boy, the thought of eating very little wasn't appealing; and I hated the thought of begging for meals all the time.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the my secondary school years, I began to study the Bible and read about miracles. I found the biblical stories incredible.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Even so, I sat the Biblical Knowledge pubic exam five years later. I answered the questions like commenting on fiction and got a bare pass.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I began to study philosophy in 1976 as an external student of London U, I was particularly fond of the subject on religion.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I realized that one's religious belief was linked to culture. And if God existed at all, it had many names.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I did very well in that subject and got an honours degree through enlightening myself.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So, before I learned any history about the British colony of Hong Kong, Chinese history and world history, I had learned the religious history of Siddhartha Gautama.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Well, I don't know what I know.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Whether Buddhism originated from the modern Nepal or model India doesn't matter to me, but only to the countries concerned.
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Buddhism is the world's 4th largest religion, after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There are around 520 million followers or 7% of the world population.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Officially, I am one of them. When I was young, I appealed to Buddha's blessing whenever Hong Kong was having a typhoon.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now, Siddhartha Gautama has become significant as his birthday is a general holiday in Hong Kong, China. The British monarch's birthday has long become irrelevant.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Times have changed. To improve is to change. To be perfect is to change often.
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I just can't imagine how life would be like for me if I was a monk.
Inserting an image to his blog post, Peter smiles.
INT. TOILET - NIGHT
Peter is using it.
PETER (V.O.): People can get ideas in the process.
THE END
FADE OUT.

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