With a few exceptions, my current Buddhist self prefers to watch slow, contemplative TV shows like “The White Lotus.”
One of my former selves, however, used to like violent action films. But even then that fascination was mostly prompted by the cinematic artistry rather than the violence itself. That’s why one of my top picks in this category is “Kill Bill,” which stars two of my favorite actresses, Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu.
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Here’s a quick plot summary for youngsters who haven’t seen Tarantino’s masterpiece and those who need to refresh their memory (if you’re that old and watched the film at the time of its release):
Nothing hurts more than the bitter betrayal of a soulmate. Hell-bent on getting her bloody revenge on the murderous vipers that left her for dead on her wedding day, a hay-coloured bride returns from the dead four years and six months after the brutal El Paso Massacre. Yet she stands alone. But with cold Japanese steel thirsty for justice, nothing, not even an army of crazy assassins, can take them off her death list. However, the question remains: Will the blue-eyed executor kill Bill? — IMDB
Suffice to say, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen while the Bride, played by Uma Thurman, took her time to cross all the wrongdoers off her hitlist until she finally confronted Bill, her mortal ‘enemy.’
Now, thinking about this film reminded me of a book co-authored by Uma Thurman’s father and Buddhist monk, Robert Thurman, titled “Love Your Enemies.”
In the introduction, Robert Thurman writes:
I often get asked, “Why should I practice lovingkindness for people who hate people like me?” If someone has hurt us badly or doesn’t think people “like us” should have agency or freedom in our lives, it causes a lot of pain. But ultimately, why should we suffer even more through abiding resentment or a wholesale giving over of our life’s trajectory to the wrong actions of another? On a certain level, it doesn’t seem right to have lovingkindness for a political figure or family or community member we believe is causing real damage. But how does holding tight to anger serve us or others?
[…]
A path of love doesn’t mean we disregard or discredit our angry feelings. It doesn’t mean we take no action. We might decide to act strongly, even fiercely, but without being fueled by persistent rage. And at the same time, we may begin to explore an expansive sense of what we are capable of as a human beings.
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Then he reveals a surprising reason why your enemies hate you:
The thing about living ‘enemies’ is that they are just like us. They are just as afraid as we are of any reality other than themselves. So they fear us and wish to destroy us in some way or in all ways, depending on how strongly they feel we stand in the way of their happiness. And this is why it makes absolute practical sense — practical, not just spiritual — to love them. This means wishing them to be happy, really happy, so happy that they do not consider us (or anything else) to be standing in the way of their happiness.
“Kill Bill” is excellent; “Love Your Enemies” is necessary. Complement with our articles titled, “How to Practice Lovingkindness Meditation,” “How to Practice Compassion Meditation,” “How to Practice Altruistic Joy Meditation,” “3 Best Sharon Salzberg Books on Lovinkindness,” and then revisit Ekchart Tolle’s compassionate forgiveness mantra and Pema Chodron’s on-the-spot compassion practice “Just Like Me.”
I’m a freelance writer and mindfulness advocate behind this blog. I started my meditation practice in 2014, and in 2017 I launched this website to share what I learn with others. Here are the three things you can do here:
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