Why East?
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Mar 7
- 3 min read
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM - 08:30
Sunlight streams onto a cluttered desk. PETER sits scrolling his phone.
PETER (V.O.): Facebook. The great digital vanity fair. I usually just scroll past online tutorials.
He stops. His expression shifts from mild boredom to intense focus.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A post about a woman named 施娣 Si Tai. A name from the 19th century...
He taps. On screen, we see 施娣 was the maternal mother of Sir Robert Ho Tung...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Ho Tung was a person of high social rank, power and influence in the old Hong Kong.
The screen changes. We see the Wikipedia search bar. Peter types Ho Tung 何東.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I do what I need to know something. I go to the source.
Peter scans the text.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Ho Tung's secondary wife was Cheung Lin-kok 張蓮覺...
The pieces click into place in Peter's mind.
Act 2
MONTAGE
A. Shan Kong Road, HK. Days ago. Peter drove past Tung Lin Kok Yuen Po Kok Primary School 東蓮覺院寶覺小學.
B. Tan Kwai Tsuen, NT. 1960-1966. Peter (6-12) studied at Po Kok Branch School 寶覺分校.
END MONTAGE
In the Wikipedia search bar, Peter types 張蓮覺. He then studies the text.
PETER (V.O.): She built Tung Lin Kok Yuen 東蓮覺院 in 1936 through her educational charity. That wasn't just a temple, it was a school.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And her daughter, Victoria, who married into the Lo family...found the Branch School in 1958, making educational use of her chalet.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For six years, the Branch School was my world.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was exceptionally different from the ordinary structure I called home.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And the name... Tung Lin Kok Yuen 東蓮覺院. I knew it meant something like "Garden of Eastern Lotus Awareness"
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I could never figure out the "Eastern" part. Why East?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Why not South, West, or North?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was a mystery that buzzed in the back of my mind for decades.
FLASHBACK
INT. POK KOK BRANCH SCHOOL - DAY (1964)
Inside a castle-like temple. A SIFU in robes speaks to a group of PUPILS.
SIFU:..and so, you'll all receive your Buddhist names. A name to guide you on the path.
Sifu moves from pupil to pupil, giving a card to each pupil. Peter (10) opens the card and sees 靜輝 Quiet Radience.
SIFU (Cont'd): You'll take the surname of the Buddha himself, 釋 Shaka, to show you're part of his family.
Peter's lips form the silent name.
INT. PETER'S CHILDHOOD HOME - NIGHT (1966)
Peter (12) is carefully filling out an application form. The letterhead reads: Shun Tak Catholic College. He gets to a line: "Religion". He pauses. The pen hovers. He bites his lips.
PETER (V.O.): Would the headmistress accept God has many names?
He bites his lip. Then, decisively, he writes: "Nil".
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I kept 釋靜輝 to myself. I was a boy navigating worlds, and silence felt like the safest bridge.
Peter turns from his phone to look out the window.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And now, this morning, I finally understand. The mystery of the name. The Tung 東 in Lin Kok Yuen 蓮覺院...it wasn't a direction at all.
He turns back, scrolls up to the top of the Wikipedia article on Ho Tung 何東.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 23:30
Peter uploads a photo of a sunflower standing against a clear blue sky, partially illuminated by a heart-shaped fluffy white cloud to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): Thank you 施娣 Si Tai. The East 東 finally dawns on 靜輝 Quiet Radience.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I looked for East on maps. I should have looked in history. In her heart. In his name. East was never lost. It was just waiting for me to understand.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Why East? Because someone built it. Because someone loved. Because a boy walked through. That's always the answer.
The END
FADE OUT
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