Soulful Peace
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Sep 10, 2020
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
Loud drilling sounds.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, the unit above is doing renovation work.
Noise pollution continues.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So disturbing and stressful. When will it stop?
Noise pollution continues.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Come on!
Drilling sounds dying.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is it stopping? At least for now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There's real comfort in a quiet environment.
Act 2
INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
FLASHBACK
EXT. BANNAJI TEMPLE, ASHIKAGA, JAPAN - DAY (2019)
Electric cutter noise. Peter walks past a gardener and enters the temple area.
PETER (V.O.): The farther away from the noise, the better I feel.
Having captured a photo of the temple environment, Peter checks the image.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Without the noise, it looks so tranquil and full of colours.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I am not fond of religious institutions. But I became a Buddhist when I was about 10.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was studying in a Buddhist primarily school. When asked to become a Buddhist, I had thought about whether I should be drawn towards the faith.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I thought Buddhism was compassionate and wasn't meant to do harm to anyone. Then, I believed in reincarnation.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I even had a Buddhist name called: 釋靜輝, meaning Siddharta-Quiet-Glory.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While the religious surname is standard, they changed my middle name to Quiet, which I didn't like.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I assumed loud was strong and quiet was weak.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But now, I've thought more about the wisdom of being quiet.
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Buddha says: Whatever isn't full makes noise. Whatever is full is quiet.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Have I become full now?
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I'm not just making noises. I'm a system actor and have roles to play - as a lawyer in court or as a council member in university governance.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I contribute my part to make institutional developments better.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But it seems that there is no way humanity can have perfect order and harmony.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Humans aren't robots. They like to choose their lifestyles. They're what they're and no one can live lives for them.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But have I been doing my best to cope and survive, not knowing that I've been starving my soul?
Drilling sounds resume.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh my Buddha!
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No, it's a training for me that I should get used to being in a state with less disturbing emotions.
Act 3
INT. PARK - DAY
Peter is running and sweating.
PETER (V.O.): Mind sharpness and positive spirit aside, I must keep my body reasonably healthy.
INT. SITTING ROOM - NIGHT
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.): I must try to achieve inner peace.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe it's like the temple photo that I captured - with only the sounds of silence.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To quiet my mind, I shouldn't be disturbed and feel stressful about earthly issues. Only I can nourish my soul better.
Peter looks enlightened.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, I'm enough. Let me endeavour to have more soulful peace.
FADE OUT.
THE END

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