LIFE OF BUDDHA
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CUỘC ĐỜI ĐỨC PHẬT
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BBC Documentary
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BBC Documentary
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Five
hundred years before Christ a young prince set out on a journey. He would
travel through pain and suffering to reach nirvana - the everlasting bliss we
all dream of.
Symbol
of peace
Symbol
of compassion,
symbol
of non-violence.
He was
the Buddha.
He grew
up in a palace surrounded by luxury. In his teens his privilege afforded him every
indulgence.
But he
gave all this up - to gain ultimate wisdom.
He
would travel the darkest corridors of his mind to come face to face with the
devil inside him. He founded the first world religion, followed today by
over million people - a religion where
meditation is used to reach a state of complete peace and happiness.
Our own
potential our own effort to know the ultimate reality.
And the
events of his life make up one of the greatest stories ever told - and the
Buddha the world's most enduring icon.
Two and
a half thousand years after his death the Buddha's message lives on.
The
Dalai Lama - the spiritual figurehead of Tibetan Buddhism - passes on the
teachings of the Buddha - continuing a practice that began the day he died.
Buddhism
has been adopted by many different cultures and has many interpretations.
The
Buddha's teachings of a higher mental calm and clarity are seen by some as a
religion, others a philosophy, even a psychotherapy. Some people describe
Buddhism is not a religion but Buddhism is science of mind.
The
Buddha's message is as relevant today as it was two and a half thousand years
ago.
What
has made Buddhism so popular is that it is insightful and largely true that the
Buddha discovered
immensely
important things.
Unlike
other religions, Buddhism, which centers on the mind, has no supreme God.
Instead
a great teacher - the Buddha or the Awakened One.
It
seems very almost intuitive to an age in which psychology becomes for many
people an alternative to religion it's the means it's a therapeutic means to
dealing with the problems of life and so it seems very accessible to many
people.
There
are many representations of the Buddha - and Buddhists all have their own
picture in their minds of what he was like.
Some
kind of vibration of complete peace, non-violence I think that must be there.
Until little more than
one
hundred years ago the life of the Buddha remained unknown to the West.
By the
time the British colonized India - the country of the Buddha's birth -
Buddhism had all but died out, destroyed by Hindu kings and Muslim invaders.
The
origins and the sites of the Buddha's life became lost to everyone.
It
wasn't until British colonial archaeologists began to explore Northern India that
their discoveries began to root the Buddha's life in historical fact. In the xxx
's, a series of archaeologists began to try and identify the sites associated
with the life of the Buddha.
By the xxx
's many of these sites had been successfully identified within the Ganges
area, but that time two of the great sites connected with Buddhism were still
missing, the site of Lumbini, where the Buddha had actually been born, and
the site of Kapilavastu which was the childhood home of the Buddha.
The
area to the north of the Ganges was less well known, partly because of the
very thick jungle there, tigers as well as malaria.
It took
a breakthrough discovery to unlock the story of the Buddha's origins. In a
remote village across the border in Nepal a pillar was discovered. A British
expedition was sent out to decipher its inscription. The script is the early
Brami script and the language is a local vernacular language of Northern
India and indeed the inscription itself depicts that this is where the
Buddha, the enlightened one was born.
This
was the first piece of evidence to suggest that the Buddha was not just a
legendary figure - he actually existed.
Ancient
Buddhist texts had named the Buddha's birthplace as Lumbini and now the
archaeologists had it located on the map.
Now
they tried to find the Buddha's childhood home - an ancient city named in the
texts as - Kapilavastu.
It was
apparent that it was located to the west perhaps or
kilometers to the west of Lumbini and that is where the search began
to intensify.
Expeditions
uncovered two possible sites for Kapilavastu - one in India the other in
Nepal. For a hundred years archaeologists have argued over them.
New
research by Dr Coningham and his team suggests the ancient city lay at modern
day Tilaurakot - in Nepal.
It's an
extremely exciting site because it is so well preserved, we conducted that a
series of geo physical surveys and we then identified a series of roads laid
out and it became a clear that the entire city in its final phrase had been
laid out on a girded pattern.
At its
centre lay a palace. It is here that the Buddha's story begins. Two and a
half thousand years ago
Northern
India was divided up into Kingdoms and republics.
The
Buddha's father – Sudhodana - was the elected chieftain of the Shakya tribe. He
ruled his kingdom from his palace near the foothills of the Himalayas. His
queen was called Maya. Legend tells that on the night of the full moon she
had an extraordinary dream.
It told
that a special Being known as the Buddha was about to be born again on earth.
The legend goes on that Four Guardian deities of the world carried Queen Maya
up to the Himalaya mountains in her bed. They anointed her with divine
perfumes and decked her with heavenly flowers.
A white
elephant with six tusks descended from heaven, carrying a lotus flower in its
trunk, and entered her womb. The Buddha would be born of Maya. If one looks
at this story of the Buddhist conception and compares it to say the
conception story of Jesus, where you have angels appearing. I suppose a
similar basic idea is there.
That
the forces which are beyond are signaling that something great is happening. Its
said that the Buddha chose the time and the place that he would be reborn.
The
baby boy was named Siddhartha - meaning 'every wish fulfilled'. But his
mother fell ill after giving birth and died a few days later. Siddharta was
brought up by his aunt. The family summoned Brahmin priests and then a
trusted palace soothsayer to predict the young prince's future
We're
told that he noticed the auspicious signs of a great being upon Siddhartha's
body, including the mark of a wheel upon his feet. It's said that the Buddha
was born with certain marks on his body the so called marks of a great person. They are seen as
appearing on the body of two kinds of people. One who will become the Buddha and
one who will become a world Emperor. His father was quite keen on the idea that
his son would become a great political leader.
So this
is why it is said that he cosseted his son, to prevent him seeing things
which might send him in a religious direction.
Everyone
knew the signs meant Siddharta was exceptional, especially the King. But as
he watched his inquisitive young son growing up he worried about these
predictions - that one day his son would abandon the palace and become the
spiritual leader rather than stay to become chief of the Shakyas. As
Siddhartha grew older his father was delighted to see the boy's exceptional ability
at the princely sports of fencing, wrestling and archery. But he also noticed
that Siddharta was a deeply thoughtful and curious child. He appeared to be
more interested in trying to understand the nature of the world around him than
in military pursuits.
For the
King these were the most important skills young Siddharta should learn if he
was to become a leader of men.
Siddhartha
was expected to become the future King and defender of Kapilavasthu - one of
the very first cities in Northern India.
The
Palace where Siddhartha grew up has long since crumbled away. Its mud and
wood construction have left nothing for archaeologists to examine. But more
durable materials have recently been discovered at Tilaurakot. We cut a
trench meters by meters and eventually We had a very clear
sequence at the site and then we began to be somewhat surprised by
identifying a material known as painted greyware which is basically a flat
bowl with black paint.
This
tiny fragment has huge significance. Dr Coningham believes it was made in the
xxx th Century BC - at the time Siddhartha was growing up in the palace. What
we have is a centre of small industry - We are probably dealing with a
settlement that we would even hesitate to call a city today - centered around
a large
courtyard
belonging to the ruler.
And the
majority of the population living in the agrarian hinterland. It was this
hinterland, lying beyond the city walls that fascinated Siddhartha.
So when
at the age of nine his father allowed him out to celebrate the annual
ploughing festival he eagerly participated. His first glimpse of reality
beyond the palace walls would open a door for Siddharta to a new vision of
the world and would become the turning point of his life.
The
story recalls that he watched a farmer ploughing. He saw the toil and effort,
struggle and repetition of this back-breaking work, something he'd never seen
in the palace. He managed to slip away from the festivities and be alone.
This
first experience of real life had a profound effect upon him. To everyone
else this was a celebration - but to Siddhartha it symbolized something quite
different. He felt his mind leading him into a contemplative state. He
watched the plough as it cut and parted the ground and noticed a bird eating
a freshly unearthed worm. He asked himself why living beings have to suffer
in this way.
If the
farmer had not been ploughing the bird would not have eaten the worm. He
realized that everything was connected and that all actions had consequences.
This simple observation would become one of the corner stones of his
teachings - known as karma.
As
Siddharta's mind focused on these profound thoughts he slipped into a trance
or jana - a mental state which would become his first step on the road to
enlightenment. He was sat under a tree and he was just focusing on the plough
going through the earth. And its said while doing that he fairly Naturally
went into a meditative state called a first Jana. Which was very very joyful
and happy. And which he later uses as part of his spiritual path.
The
connection to Buddhist meditation is the focusing on something which has a
calming centering effect. Possibly also the idea of compassion for the worms
being killed as the plough went through the earth. So I suppose one would see
this as just part of his rather special nature.
The
young prince's behavior deeply unsettled the King. Brahmanism - the religious
tradition of the time - insisted that sons should follow in the footsteps of
their fathers. One of the things that I think makes this narrative so
powerful is, again we can imagine this scene of his father trying to protect
his son encountering any suffering.
Now the
reason for doing this is that there has been a prophesy that he'll either
become a universal monarch
or
he'll become a renunciant who will gain enlightenment. His father of course
wants him to become a king to follow in his footsteps.
As
Siddhartha grew up his father did all he could to tempt him to stay inside
the palace. He tried to create a perfect and seductive world for him to live
in.
As was
Customary for a prince, Siddhartha was offered beautiful maidens to entertain
him with music and to pleasure him with their physical beauty.
When
Siddhartha reached the age of sixteen the King even found him a beautiful
bride - Princess Yasodhara. Siddharta had to compete for her hand and the
King was delighted how skillfully his son fought off the competition.
The
King began to convince himself that palace life was beginning to suit his son
at last. But this was wishful thinking and Siddhartha pestered his father to allow
him out of the palace. Unable to refuse his son's wishes any longer, the King
desperately set about clearing every eyesore from the surrounds of the
palace. Like a Hollywood film set, the sick, the poor and the old were all
deleted from the fantasy presented to the young prince.
Despite
his father's efforts, Siddhartha's first taste of the outside world would
reveal stark realities. With the naivety of a child he set out with Chana, his
charioteer, as his guide. The prince would make four journeys and see four
signs - as predicted by the palace fortune teller. Early Buddhist texts place
great importance on this point in the story as each journey would reveal to
Siddhartha an aspect of life which had been deliberately hidden from him.
On his
first trip Siddhartha went out into the country, away from his father's
influence. He noticed an old man painfully making his way through a village. He
asked Chana what was wrong with the man and Chana explained the process of
ageing to him.
Siddhartha
was alarmed when he learnt that ageing is inescapable and happens to us all. For
Siddhartha, reality was beginning to unveil a cruel picture of the world. -
Where misfortune and suffering appeared to dominate every aspect of life. The
second sign was soon to follow when Siddhartha noticed a sick man, his
features twisted with disease. He asked Chana if anyone could become sick and
again he was shocked when he learnt the brutal truth that we all can.
The
protective wall of fantasy around him was beginning to crumble. And the
further the young Prince ventured the more of life's horrors confronted him. Now
he saw a corpse, bound in linen, being carried to the funeral pyre - and the
story records that Siddhartha is appalled to discover not only that all men
are mortal, but also that it was a Brahmin belief that after death we are all
reborn - to suffer and die time and time again.
There
seemed no end and no solution to life's miserable and inevitable cycle. The
Buddha's life is an allegory because the most important point in it is that
here is a young man who is brought up with every luxury and he realizes that
isn't enough because he has a shock.
He has
a shock because for the first time he encounters old age, disease and death. It's
not plausible to think that growing up as an intelligent youth he wouldn't
have known anything about it. The point is rather to convey the tremendous
impact that coming face to face with these fundamental facts of human
existence, has and must have upon us, and that it's urgent that we do something
about it.
But it
was the fourth sign that would definitively point to Siddharta's future - a
man wearing a simple robe with a begging bowl before him. Why should anyone
want to give up the pleasures of the world to wander the countryside,
begging?
Asked
the prince.
Chana
explained that the man had renounced such pleasures in order to confront
reality and seek answers to this painful existence. The account of the four
signs I see as quite an effective story way of putting certain existential
realizations we all know we are going to get old we all know we are going to
get sick we all know we are going to die in our heads but its very different to
sit down on day and realize here no is not just other people who get old sick
and die its I'm going to get old I'm going to get sick and I'm going to die and
I think the story accounts are trying to portray that moment of existential
realization where you see it for the first time you are going to die and you
know it and you taste it.
When
Siddartha returned to the palace after this fourth journey his mind was
reeling with his new understanding of the world. The fruits and flowers
around him would rot and wither away. Even the walls of the palace would one
day crumble.
His
wife had just given birth to a beautiful child. But they would both one day
grow old, become ill and die. It was inevitable. He had learnt the meaning of
impermanence and saw it in everything around him. Siddharta knew he had to
leave his family to seek answers to the questions that tormented him, even
though this meant abandoning his wife and son. Against the tradition of his
family and the Brahmin religion, Siddhartha left home to find his own answers
to life's suffering.
One
story recalls how a hypnotic mist sent the guards to sleep allowing him to
escape with Chana, through the Eastern Gate of the palace. It is said that
beside the river Anoma, he removed his jewellery, exchanged his robes for
rags and cut off his long hair. He asked Chana to carry them back to the
palace. Siddhartha was alone for the first time. He had at last escaped the
false world of palace life where suffering had been swept out of sight. Now
he needed to come face to face with reality, if he was ever to find a
solution to the pain of existence. Siddhartha was confronted by suffering on
a scale he'd never seen before when he arrived in the cities.
And
within those cities people were being thrown together, at times there was
perhaps an increase in disease and suffering. Some people have seen this as a
particular trigger for the Buddha's emphasis on suffering.
It
accentuated a universal problems that any human being in any society faces. Siddhartha
realized that if he was to find an answer to the suffering surrounding him, he
would have to challenge the Brahmin religion under which everyone lived.
What
the Brahmins had was sacred knowledge this sacred knowledge centered on
knowing certain texts called the Vedas the word Veda itself simply means
knowledge and the implication is that that was the only knowledge which was really
worth having.
With
their sacred knowledge, Brahmin priests oversaw every stage of life, from
birth to death. Their blessing was essential but their knowledge could only
be handed down to their sons. The position of Brahmin families remained
assured - until a new wave of thinkers began to challenge this. It was a time
when Brahamism, early form of Hinduism was being questioned, it was a little
bit like the time of the ancient philosophers such as Plato and Socrates in
Ancient Greece.
People
debating arguing with people and the Buddha tried to cut a way through that. He
described the context as a welter of views a jungle of views. As Siddhartha
explored this jungle he realized that the solution to life's suffering needed
to be available to everyone, rather than an exclusive few - like the Brahmin
tradition.
The
Buddha disagreed with the Brahmins and he said one does not become a Brahmin by
birth one becomes a Brahmin by living well one does not become an outcast by
birth one becomes an outcast by living badly.
Now
that's a wonderful and important thought its like saying in our society a
true gentleman is not one who is born into a particular family but one who
behaves properly. Siddhartha traveled further on his search into Northern
India. He was looking for an alternative way of life that attempted to
overcome the suffering he'd seen around him.
He was
interested in all the new philosophies but he wanted to go further - to reach
deeper into his mind. He now decided to focus on the technique of meditation and
sought out the leading gurus of the day. There been broadly speaking two
kinds of meditation in ancient India. Which consisted in putting yourself under
various kinds of pressure by controlling your breathing or sometimes fasting or
undergoing other forms of discomfort and the aim is really to obtain what we
call altered states of consciousness. So they would think that they had
climbed to very high plains in the universe.
They're
not taking this literally, its not that they think that they go five thousand
feet up in the air, so to speak but they think that there are certain planes
which become more and more abstract such things as the plane of infinity of
space and that's followed by the plane of infinite consciousness as you got and
then the plane of infinite nothingness, these were the sorts of things the
Buddha definitely must have learnt from his teachers.
It is
said that Siddhartha, so excelled at mediating that he attracted a group of
five followers and his teachers asked him to stay on and take over their
schools. But Siddhartha decided that this practice alone was not the answer
to the problem of suffering and rebirth or reincarnation.
He set
out to explore other techniques - this time focusing on his body. So he then
goes to try another method which is harsh asceticism. This involved things
like fasting, not washing, meditations where you hold your breath for a very
long time and its very forceful willful way. Ascetics may starve and even
mutilate themselves. For them the physical body is a barrier to spiritual
liberation. By shedding their attachment to the body they will cleanse the
mind and liberate the soul.
Siddhartha
tried to achieve this state of liberation. He fasted for so long his life
hung by a thread. 'All my limbs became like the knotted joints of withered
creepers, my buttocks like a bullocks hoof, my protruding backbone like a
string of balls, my gaunt ribs like the crazy rafters of a tumbledown shed.
My eyes
lay deep in their sockets, their pupils sparkling like water in a deep well. As
an unripe gourd shrivels
and
shrinks in the hot wind, so became my scalp. Just as Siddhartha was about to
die of starvation a young girl saved his life by giving him a bowl of rice
and milk. He now realized that if he starved himself again he would simply
die having achieved nothing.
And the
story says that he is living on one grain of rice a day. He's practically
starved himself to death and realizes that disciplining the body through
extreme self renunciation, aestheticism inflicting pain upon the body that
doesn't solve the problem.
When
his five followers saw Siddhartha had given up his fast they lost faith in
him. They no longer believed he had the strength to live up to his spiritual
convictions and abandoned him. He feels he tried what's on offer, they
haven't worked, and its at this stage that he remembers meditation that he
went into spontaneously in his teens/ and he thinks, maybe that is a way
through to awakening because its not taken up the desires of the body but it
is very joyful and happy.
By
chance Siddharta came across a musician tuning his sitar. When the string was
too slack it would not play. When it was too tight it snapped. Somewhere in
the middle lay tuneful harmony. Siddhartha realized that this simple
observation signified something of great importance. It was the middle way
that would lead him to the state of mind he was looking for - to a state of
tuneful harmony - enlightenment.
But how
could he achieve it?
And the
way that Buddha eventually uses is what one could call mindfulness or
awareness of the body, which neither ignores it nor tries to forcefully
master it, but it's a kind of middle way. The middle way led Siddhartha through
the countryside. He had been traveling for six years, He had experienced pain
and suffering and had stretched the boundaries of his mind.
But he'd
still not found the inner peace and harmony he was searching for. The state
of absolute wisdom and
everlasting
bliss known as Enlightenment. Siddhartha arrived at Bodh Gaya. Here his
torment would end. He sat down beneath a tree and vowed not to leave until he
had reached ENLIGHTENMENT.
'Flesh
may decay, bones may fall apart, but I will never leave this place until I
find the way to enlightenment.' He's no longer giving himself a hard time, he's
not stressing himself unbearably, he's not undergoing anything painful, he
thinks, well life is painful without taking the trouble to make it more
painful, but let me just calmly think things out, think of how life works.
He
starts to focus the mind by attention to the slow movement of the breath
coming and going out a refined sensation which exists in the body just around
the nose in a way which starts to lead to the mind quietening, stilling,
settling, gathering, purifying.
Siddhartha's
mind was now so focused that he could successfully enter the darkest reaches
of his unconscious. It was now that he would face his final and greatest
torment. The demon Mara - the Lord of Ego and illusion appeared before him. He
could make any horror real in Siddhartha's mind. It's very important to
remember that Mara this demon king is not like the Christian Satan because he
isn't a tempter and he isn't any kind of counterpart to God, he is purely
psychological forces which we have within us, Mara unleashed an army of
demons to attack Siddhartha.
They
fired flaming arrows at him. But mid flight Siddhartha turned them into lotus
blossoms and they fell harmlessly around him. Having failed Mara then tried
to seduce Siddhartha with his tempting daughters. He's assailed by the demon
king who is the same time death and desire very Freudian that in a way desire
is death, death is desire and in fact the Demon king offers him his three
daughters who are both passion or lust and aversion where it is equally bad if
you shy away from this and say it is disgusting you are also a slave to
passion - and he can be completely calm and indifferent and just gaze at them
without any feelings of attraction or repulsion.
The
faces of Mara's daughters began to rot before Siddharta's eyes. The evil
daughters then disappeared into the earth. It is in fact you could say the
Buddha's very recognition that Mara is an aspect of himself the total
recognition of that is his enlightenment. The earth is said to have trembled as
he dispelled the devil. Siddhartha, now aged, passed through four Janas to
reach enlightenment and become the Buddha - or Awakened One.
He then
spent days beneath the tree in a
meditative state of absolute bliss. This is seen as a state where the mind is
incredibly refined and sensitive, and an image might be of a lake, which is
totally still, which would register even an insect on the surface.
So this
is seen as a state where the mind is very, very powerful as an instrument of
knowledge, very sensitive. In this highly attuned state, the Buddha saw way
to escape the inevitable cycle of old age sickness
and
death. He realized that if we remove desire we can remove dissatisfaction and
suffering from our lives. A key cause of the painfulness and frustration of
life is craving kind of demanding desires.
So
There's a general mismatch between how you want things to be and how they
actually are. The insight the Buddha attained beneath the tree was the birth
of Buddhism - a religion followed today by million people. The Buddha summed
up his wisdom in four noble truths which are the foundation of all Buddhist
beliefs.
The
first noble truth recognized that there is suffering in life. The second
diagnosed the cause of that suffering - desire. In the third truth, like a
doctor, the Buddha revealed that there was a cure for desire. And in the
fourth noble truth he gave the prescription - how to cure the illness and
achieve Enlightenment or Nirvana.
The
ultimate aim was to reach a state of mind completely free of craving, ignorance,
greed, hatred and delusion, thereby free of all the causes of future rebirth when
an enlightened person dies they're seen as going beyond rebirth to a state
beyond if you like space and time and not coming back so that is seen as a
state of liberation.
The
Buddha would further teach that morality, meditation and wisdom were the
stepping stones to enlightenment. He would dedicate the rest of his life helping
others to follow this path - towards freedom from suffering.
As his
followers grew in number he went on to set up a school or Sangha Today a
temple stands beside a descendant of the very tree under which the Buddha
became enlightened. The monks here have become a living library of the
Buddha's teachings. Chanting his sacred words beneath the Bodhi tree of
Enlightenment is seen by Buddhists to give special power to their practice.
The
chief monk is responsible for preserving this tradition at the temple. The
most important thing is the practice of his teachings. Practice diligently,
be ever mindful. So now I say I explain Buddhism in two words, practice
mindfulness. The path to enlightenment begins with the focusing of the mind and
following a number of commandments. Morality, meditation and wisdom. So not
to kill, not to steal, not to have any sexual misconduct, not to tell a lie
and not to have indulge in intoxicating drinks or intoxicants. This was the
way of life established by the Buddha in the very first sangha.
After
eight years he went back to the palace and the family he'd abandoned. We're
told his father now forgave the Buddha for the deep hurt he had caused. King
Sudhodhana now realized the importance of his son's quest. His stepmother
even begged to join his sangha and she went on to become history's first nun.
The Buddha is justified in the eyes of all Buddhists of even leaving his wife
and child to go on his solitary journey to try and find what the solution to
life's problems is and how life should be lived and for him how life should
be lived is the question infinitely more important than having any
possessions or even the company of loved ones.
The
Buddha was to abandon his family again. He set out to teach, for forty years -
passing on to his followers the wisdom he had attained beneath the bodi tree.
But before he left he ordained his son as a monk. The Buddha encouraged his
followers to live together in a monastery or Sangha - to help them focus on
the path to enlightenment. Some people become a monk purely to meditate, purely
to practice meditation, purely to practice the life of a recluse. Some become
a monk to work for the propagation of the religion.
Monks
from all over the world come to live in monasteries established around the
temple of the Bodi Tree. Non-Monks or lay Buddhists, come here too, to learn
from them. Monks must be celibate and give up every selfish desire. And that
is the one part of the training to get rid of self tendencies, tendencies to
always think about yourself and put yourself fully in the context of the
community of the sanga Then when all the sacrifices have been made the hard
work begins - committing long chants or mantras to memory.
Mantras
such as this have a purpose - they are designed to test the monk's memory, concentration
and commitment to the Buddha's teachings. Over the centuries his message has
evolved into a number of different traditions, with their own interpretations
and monastic practices. But the Buddha taught that lay people can also follow
the path to eternal bliss and ultimate wisdom.
Most
westerners are not drawn to Buddhism as a way of leaving society behind they're
drawn to the practical
of
meditation as a way of being more effective within society and that's a way
in which the message of Buddhism takes on a very different caste because it
becomes a form of self improvement a way of dealing with the stresses of life
a way of clarifying your goals and objectives.
Many
westerners are especially attracted to Buddhist meditation. I think all of us
sometimes glimpse that magic and mystery of the moment what meditation does is
to help us touch that more often, it helps us to be more calm and controlled
in our mind and we can create conditions that allow us to come into a state
of awareness of interdependence, of impermanence, of nirvana.
Some
schools of Buddhism believe the Buddha was superhuman a magical figure who
consorted with gods and performed miracles. Others that he was no more than a
human being and they believe it is this that adds power to his message.
There
is no doubt that the Buddha wished to be remembered as a human being with
human frailties not perhaps frailties of the intellect or moral frailties but
certainly physical frailties and the Buddha suffers from back pain towards
the end of his life he suffers from various physical complaints and
weaknesses.
The
Buddha would die at the age of eighty from a common illness - food poisoning.
It is said that before passing away he fell into a deep trance on his journey
from this world to Nirvana - a state of eternal bliss - free at last from
rebirth, free at last from suffering and death.
A
council was assembled to record for posterity the Buddha's teachings. These
were learnt by heart and handed down the centuries by generations of monks. The
Buddha's body was cremated. And his remains were preserved. They were
enshrined two hundred years later by India's first Emperor King Ashoka who
converted to Buddhism. He built vast monuments or stuppas and erected pillars
to mark the key sites of the Buddha's life.
Asoka
then becomes an absolutely key figure, both in terms of the actual spread of
Buddhism but then as a model for future Buddhist leaders throughout Asia they
look back to Ashoka as the kind of ideal king and supporter of Buddhism.
So far
as we know the Emperor Asoka who ruled over two thirds of modern India in the
middle of the 3rd century BC, helped monks to send out missions to countries
bordering India, missionaries were sent up into Kashmir to Nepal and
certainly Sri Lanka. They converted the king, the king give his patronize to
Buddhism and Sri Lanka has therefore been a Buddhist country from that day to
this.
And in
country after country we know over many centuries that this is the way that
Buddhism was successfully implanted. Ashoka's pillars outlived Buddhism in
India - they withstood Muslim invasions and survived to catch the attention of
the first colonial archaeologists.
This
gave a very significant impetus to the revival of Buddhism - the desire to go
back to the places associated with the Buddha. Imagining Buddhism for people
in the West but these investigations also become the basest for a revival within
Buddhism in Asia. Today the sites associated with the Budha's life attract
tourists and pilgrims flock to Bodh Gaya to follow in the Buddha's footsteps,
hoping to find, as he did, eternal peace and happiness and a cure for
suffering and death. It's a great irony that after the Buddha's death the
person who preached of the uselessness of ritual and also the uselessness of
personality cult became the object of ritual worship and as big a personality
cult as has ever existed in history.
Buddhist
temples have been built in Bodh Gaya representing the different traditions from
around the world. Buddhism, in all its forms, has come home, to the Bodi
tree, to the place where once a prince reached enlightenment and became the
Buddha. The Buddha attained enlightenment on that fleeting moment of a wink,
this moment, fleeting moment is the time that takes to realize that moment
cannot be explained. That special moment gave birth to the first world
religion - A religion without a God where the path to Nirvana lies in the
mind of each and every one of us.
|
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- Move!
- Move it!
- Move!
- Move!
- Now!
- It's me home.
- Bye, Bruno!
- Bye, Bruno!
- Hello, sweetheart.
- Mum, what's going on?
- We're celebrating.
- Celebrating?
- Your father's been given a
promotion.
- That means a better job.
- I know what promotion is.
- So we're having a little party to
celebrate.
- He's still going to be a soldier
though, isn't he?
- Yes, my lamb.
- Yes, just a more important one
now.
- There's some even more exciting
news,
- but I think Dad wanted to tell
you about that himself.
- Moving? Where to?
- To the countryside.
- That's miles away.
- What about Karl and Leon and
Martin?
- Sweetheart, I know it's hard,
- but we're all having to say
goodbye to our friends for the time being.
- Anyway, we'll make new ones where
we're going. Won't we?
- Of course you are. You'll make
lots of new friends.
- Bruno, you can have your friends
around in the morning before we go.
- Think of it as an adventure, like
in one of your books.
- But this is the best house ever.
- Well, you never know. The house we're
going to might be even better.
- Dad says it's got a garden.
- Look, the thing is, Bruno, the
thing about being a soldier,
- is that life is not so much
about choice, it's more about duty,
- so if your country needs you to
go somewhere, you go.
- Now, of course, going somewhere
else is much easier
- when you know that your family are
so delighted to go with you.
- Bruno! You're getting bigger every
time I see you.
- It's only been a week, Nathalie.
- Well, perhaps it's me that's
getting smaller.
- So, you two, well, what do you
think of all this? Moving out of Berlin?
- Well, Mummy and Daddy say it's a
good thing, so I suppose it must be.
- Children, be angels, will you?
Pass some food around.
- Heil Hitler!
- Congratulations.
- Doesn't he look wonderful?
- Absolutely.
- I'm so proud of you, my boy.
- Oh, dear. I sometimes wonder if
this is all down to me, making you those costumes for your little plays when
you were tiny.
- You used to adore all that
dressing up.
- Nathalie...
- Does it still make you feel
special, Ralf dear?
- The uniform and what it stands
for?
- Mother, it's a party. Let's not
spoil things.
- Me, spoil things?
- You should be careful.
- Airing your views so publicly could
land you in trouble.
- You know that.
- So, how long are we losing you
for, my boy?
- Until the war is won, I would
think.
- Well, not so long then.
- Bruno!
- All right, Bruno. Time to say
goodbye.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye!
- "Time has come for me to
sleep Lord, I thank Thee for Thy keep
- "Watch this night well over
me And teach me, Lord, to trust in Thee
- "Care for children, sick
and poor Grant them, Lord, Thy blessing more
- "And this I pray in Jesus'
name Care for my family just the same"
- Amen.
- Children, look. Look! Our new
home.
- I have some business to take
care of. I'll see you shortly.
- Well, what do we think?
- Come on. It's lovely.
- You two choose your rooms. I'll
have Maria come and help you unpack.
- What do you think of it, Maria? The new house.
- It's not for me to say.
- But it won't feel like home until
we make it feel like home, will it?
- Is he already up?
- Who was that?
- One of your father's soldiers, I
suppose.
- He looked very serious.
- Well, they are, aren't they?
- Why are we whispering?
- I don't know.
- And play with who?
- The children over on the farm.
- Farm? I didn't see a farm. And
that one, too.
- You can only see it from my
room.
- And there are some children
there?
- Yes, quite a few.
- That's good.
- So, I'll be able to play with
them.
- I don't see why not.
- I'll wait a little bit, just to
see what they're like, because they look a bit strange.
- The children do?
- Well, and the farmers.
- What sort of strange?
- I'm sorry.
- Vegetables.
- There.
- Bruno, have you unpacked
everything?
- Because I think you should go
back upstairs and finish off.
- Thank you, ma'am.
- Bruno.
- I told you they were strange.
- Who?
- The farmers. They wear pyjamas.
- Bruno, I was just coming to look
for you.
- Well, thank you for that. That
was extremely useful.
- I'll be over to see you later.
- Of course, Herr Kommandant.
- Come in.
- Sit down, sit down.
- Well, what do you think?
- Oh, dear.
- I want to go home.
- You are home, Bruno. Home is
where the family is.
- Isn't that right?
- Bruno, you have to at least give
the place a chance.
- I promise you, it won't be long
before you...
- Why do the farmers wear pyjamas?
I can see them from my window.
- The thing is, Bruno, those
people...
- Well, you see, they're not
really people at all.
- Bruno, who told you it was a
farm?
- Was it Maria?
- No.
- It is a farm, isn't it?
- Yes.
- Is it to do with your new job?
- All you need to know about my
work here, Bruno, is that it's very important to our country and to you.
- We're working very hard to make
this world a better place for you to grow up in.
- But you're not a farmer. You're
a soldier.
- Bruno, can you come and help me finish
sorting out in the kitchen?
- I can still play with them,
though? The children.
- I don't think so, Bruno. No.
- Like you say, they're a bit
strange. A bit...
- Well, they're different.
- Don't worry, my darling. We'll
find you some new friends, but they won't be the ones from the farm.
- Ralf, you promised.
- You said it was miles away.
- It is.
- How was I to know he could see
it from the bedroom window?
- There was one of them in our
kitchen.
- Master Bruno, how are you today?
- Fed up.
- You said the same thing every
day for two whole weeks.
- It's true.
- Well, you should be out playing.
- Playing with who?
- I don't know. Gretel?
- Well, you can make your own fun.
- That's what I'm trying to do.
- One thing's for sure, sitting
around being miserable won't make things any happier.
- Bruno, what are you doing?
- Exploring!
- No! No, not in the back. I told
you, it's out of bounds.
- Explore at the front. - But I've
explored it all.
- Well, find something else to do.
- Like what?
- Come back in now, and we'll
think of something.
- So, children, what are you doing
today?
- Same as yesterday.
- And what was that?
- Same as the day before.
- Except you went exploring.
- I like exploring.
- Where did you go?
- I wanted to look in the back
garden, but Mum wouldn't let me.
- The back garden?
- Well, God forbid.
- I expect you'll be missing those
friends of yours.
- I even miss school.
- Well, I never thought I'd hear
you say that.
- Anyway, you won't be missing it for
long.
- Really?
- I've arranged a tutor for you
both.
- A Herr Liszt will be visiting
twice a week.
- So we're not going to school?
- School's coming here?
- On an old bicycle, I gather.
- It's a bird without the...
- Good morning, little man. And
how are you this morning?
- Can I ask you a favour?
- Well, you can ask.
- Are there any spare tyres
around?
- An old one from one of the
trucks or something?
- Well, the only spare tyre I've
seen around here belongs to Lieutenant
Meinberg.
- Well, is he using it?
- Yes, he's very attached to it.
- Stop it. He doesn't understand. He's
only eight.
- You're only, so stop pretending
you're any older.
- What do you want a tyre for,
anyway?
- I want to make a swing.
- A swing?
- That does sound exciting.
- You!
- Here, now.
- Move!
- Take this boy to the outhouse in
the back garden.
- There are some tyres in there. He
will select one.
- You will carry it where he asks.
Do you understand?
- Well, little man, what are you
waiting for?
- How about this one?
- Where's my mum?
- She's out.
- When is she back?
- Soon, I expect.
- But don't worry.
- But I might bleed to death.
- No, you won't.
- Will I need to go to hospital?
- No. It's only a small cut.
- Come on. It's not that bad.
- There, all better.
- What's your name?
- Pavel.
- Now, you've got to sit still for
a few minutes before you start walking around on that again.
- Will you tell my mum what
happened?
- I think she's going to see it
for herself.
- She'll probably take me to a
doctor.
- I don't think so.
- It could be worse than it looks.
- It isn't.
- How would you know? You're not a
doctor.
- Yes, I am.
- No, you're not.
- You peel potatoes.
- I practised as a doctor.
- Before I...
- Before I came here.
- You couldn't have been much good
then, if you had to practise.
- Now, what are you going to be when
you grow up?
- I know. An explorer.
- How do you know that?
- Is it nice on the farm?
- Bruno. Bruno, what happened to
you?
- I made a swing, but I fell off
it and cut my knee.
- But Pavel here, he carried me in
and put a bandage on it.
- Go to your room.
- But Pavel says I...
- Don't argue. Go to your room.
- Thank you.
- It's not fair, you having this
view.
- Well, I'm not swapping.
- I think school's here.
- No, I mean more recent history.
- Are you interested in current
affairs?
- Yes, very.
- So, you'll be aware of the
situation in which our great nation presently finds itself.
- Yes. I read newspapers whenever
I can and one of Father's men keeps me up to date on everything that's happening.
- Good. And you, Bruno. Have you
been reading newspapers?
- Have you been reading anything?
- Books.
- Good. What sort of books?
- Adventure books, mainly.
- You know, knights in shining
armour, exploring strange lands and stuff, and silly princesses always
getting in the way.
- Well, this is why I'm here to
help. You're how old now, Bruno? Eight?
- Time to get your head out of
those fiction books and start learning about fact.
- Time, I think, to turn your mind
to the real world, and I believe this would be the perfect start.
- Die, die!
- Die, die.
- Hello.
- I'm exploring.
- What are you doing?
- We're... We're building a new
hut.
- Have you got lots of friends
over there?
- A few. But we fight a lot.
- That's why I like being out here.
I can be on my own.
- I'm Bruno.
- Shmuel.
- - Sorry?
- I'm Shmuel.
- That's your name? Never heard of
anyone called that before.
- I've never heard of anyone
called Bruno.
- But Shmuel. No one's called
Shmuel.
- I live in the house, back there.
- Have you got any food on you?
- No.
- Are you hungry?
- How old are you?
- Eight.
- Me, too!
- It's not fair, me being stuck
over here on my own, while you're over there, playing with friends all day.
- Playing?
- Well, that number.
- Isn't it a part of a game or
something?
- It's just my number.
- Everyone gets given a different
number.
- Right. Then what happens?
- I have to go back now!
- Really?
- Yeah.
- It was nice to meet you, Shmuel.
- And you, Bruno.
- Bye.
- Mum, I can't find my football.
- Well, it'll be in one of your
cupboards, sweet.
- It isn't. I've looked.
- Can I have a piece of chocolate?
- A piece. Yes.
- Bruno?
- Have you looked in the cellar?
- The cellar?
- For your football.
- Damn.
- Gretel, I've just seen all
your...
- All my what?
- All your dolls, down in the
cellar.
- Dolls are for little girls.
- It's not right to play with
silly toys while people are away risking their lives for the Fatherland.
- "My people's density is my
density."
- Destiny.
- "Its struggles and its
sorrows, its joys and its miseries are mine.
- "I must work and create for
the resurrection of my Fatherland.
- "The history of my people is
great and glorious."
- And it's :
- I'm sorry?
- Isn't that when we finish?
- The termination of the lesson is
for the tutor to decide, Bruno, not the pupil. Now, will you please continue.
- Bruno, there you are.
- I'm just going into town for an
hour. Do you want to come?
- You be careful on that thing.
- Thank you.
- Can I ask you something?
- Why do you people wear pyjamas
all day?
- They're not pyjamas.
- Well, those.
- We have to. They took all our
other clothes away.
- Who did?
- The soldiers.
- The soldiers? Why?
- I don't like soldiers. Do you?
- I do, quite. My dad's a soldier,
but not the sort that takes people's clothes away for no reason.
- What sort, then?
- Well, he's the important sort.
- He's in charge of making everything
better for everyone.
- So is your dad a farmer?
- No, he's a watchmaker.
- Or was. Most of the time now, he
just mends boots.
- It's funny how grown-ups can't
make their minds up about what they want to do. It's like Pavel.
- Do you know him? Lives over
there.
- He used to be a doctor, but gave
it all up to peel potatoes.
- Can I ask you another question?
- What do you burn in those
chimneys?
- I saw them going the other day. Is
it just lots of hay and stuff?
- I don't know. We're not allowed
over there.
- Mama says it's old clothes.
- Well, whatever it is, it smells
horrid.
- I wish you'd remembered the
chocolate.
- Yes, I'm sorry.
- I know! Perhaps you can come and
have supper with us sometime.
- I can't, can I? Because of this.
- But that's to stop the animals
getting out, isn't it?
- Animals? No, it's to stop people
getting out.
- Are you not allowed out?
- Why? What have you done?
- I'm a Jew.
- I think I should go now.
- Will you be here tomorrow?
- I'll try.
- Goodbye, then!
- Bye.
- Little present, sweetheart.
- Thank you, Mummy.
- Have you seen Bruno?
- Outside on his swing, I think.
- Yes, Thursday's perfect.
I'll have a car come to collect
you both.
- Are Grandma and Grandpa coming?
- Hey, did you smell that horrible
smell the other day?
- Coming from the chimneys.
- What sort of ill?
- The day I fell off the swing.
- Did you smell it, Mum?
- Father.
- Mum.
- Let me speak to her.
- Yes, she is. I can hear her.
- Yes. We look forward to it.
Goodbye.
- Is Grandma not coming?
- No.
- She's poorly, apparently, but
Grandpa's coming.
- Did you smell it, Dad?
- What?
- That horrid smell from the
chimneys. What is it?
- I think they just burn rubbishthere
sometimes.
- Look.
- What?
- Hey!
- Gretel.
- Hey, that's not fair!
- Gretel.
- What?
- It's only a game.
- Ralf, this tutor you brought in,
does he usually teach children as young as Gretel and Bruno?
- I believe so. Why?
- Well, do we know what he's
teaching them?
- Gretel seems to have become
so...
- They're being taught what all
children are being taught at the moment.
- They mustn't get left behind.
- Come on.
- Let's get to bed.
- "The Jew slandered us and
incited our enemies.
- "The Jew corrupted us through
bad books.
- "He mocked our literature
and our music.
- "Everywhere, his influence was
destructive, "the eventual result of which was our nation's collapse,
- "and then..."
- Yes, Bruno.
- I don't understand.
- A nation's collapse is all down
to this one man?
- The Jew here means the entire
Jewish race.
- If it had been just one man, I'm
sure something would've been done about him.
- There is such a thing as a nice
Jew, though, isn't there?
- I think, Bruno, if you ever
found a nice Jew, you would be the best explorer in the world.
- Continue, Gretel.
- "The aim of the Jew is to
become the ruler of humanity. "He is the enemy of culture. "Thousands
of Germans have been made poor by the Jew."
- Master Bruno.
- What are you doing? You've just had
your lunch, haven't you?
- I was going for a walk, and I
thought I might get peckish.
- But don't make a mess of your
satchel. Bring it here.
- I'll wrap it properly for you.
- No. It's none of your business.
- Bruno, what is it?
- What are you doing with your
satchel?
- Liszt gave us some books. I'm
going out on the swing to read.
- Let me see.
- What?
- The books.
- No.
- Bruno, I just want to see what
booksLiszt has given you.
- I told a lie.
- What?
- I've just got adventure books.
- Go on. Off you go, then.
- Now, Maria, there's two extra
for supper tonight.
- The Kommandant's father will be
here, and I believe Lieutenant Kotler is joining us.
- Here.
- What's the matter?
- Don't throw it back.
- What? Why not?
- It's dangerous.
- Dangerous?
- It's just a ball. Come on.
- Do you not like playing?
- Just not ball games?
- Not here.
- Tell me how the number game
works.
- I told you, it's not a game.
- We just all have numbers.
- Shmuel!
- Bruno! What are you doing?
- My ball went over. I was just
getting it back.
- They smell even worse when they
burn, don't they?
- What?
- But, surely you...
- Elsa, I was sworn to secrecy.
- From your own wife.
- Yes.
- I took an oath upon my life. Do
you understand?
- Elsa, you believe in this, too.
- You want this country to be
strong...
- No, Ralf, no! No, not that!
- How can you...
- Because I'm a soldier.
- How can you...
- Soldiers fight wars.
- That isn't war!
- It's a part of it! It's a vital
part of it!
- The Fatherland we all desire, all
of us, you included, cannot be achieved
without work such as this!
- Elsa. Elsa.
- Get away from me! Get away from
me!
- Grandpa's here.
- I don't believe this.
- Grandpa's here.
- We'll be through in a moment.
- Who told you about this?
- How's Grandma?
- She's a bit under the weather, I'm
afraid.
- It's a shame, she was so much looking
forward to seeing you.
- Perhaps next time, if she feels
up to it.
- Absolutely.
- You know, Ralf, your mother
really is sick.
- She's been talking about this
visitfor weeks.
- Maybe that's what's made her
sick.
- So, your father tells me that
you've got a tutor.
- Yes. He's nice.
- But he won't let us read any
adventure books.
- All we do is boring, old
history.
- Let me tell you something, young
man.
- If it wasn't for history, we
wouldn't all be sitting around this table.
- The work your father is doing
here, history in the making.
- When I was your age, history was
my favourite subject by miles, which obviously didn't please my father.
- Why not?
- Well, he was a professor of
literature at the university.
- Really, does he still teach?
- I don't really know.
- You don't know?
- We're not in touch, my father
and I. He left the country some time ago.
- Really, when?
- About four years ago, Herr
Kommandant.
- But surely he can't be very old.
What is he, still in his late 40s?
- Where did he go? Lieutenant
Kotler, your father, the professor of literature, where did he go?
- I believe it was Switzerland,
Kommandant.
- How strange that he should
choose to leave the Fatherland at the very moment it needed him most. Just
when we're all required to play our part in the national revival.
- More wine!
- What reason did he give? Was he
tubercular?
- Did he go there to take the air?
- I'm afraid I really don't know,
Kommandant.
- You'd have to ask him.
- Well, that would be rather
difficult, wouldn't it?
- With him being in Switzerland.
- Come on!
- What's the matter with you
tonight?
- Yes, perhaps that was it. Perhaps
he was ill.
- Unless, of course, he had
disagreements.
- I mean, with government policy.
- One hears of such men.
- Disturbed, most of them, or just
plain cowards.
- Even so, all of them traitors.
- Absolutely right.
- Presumably, if that was the case
with your father, you will have informed your superiors,
as is your duty. Lieutenant
Kotler!
- You cretin Jew! Filth!
- Ralf!
- Jew!
- But Dad just sat there.
- What did you expect him to do?
- The Jew deserved it.
- Can I ask you something about
the farm?
- Bruno, you don't still think
it's a farm, do you?
- It's a camp. What's called a
work camp.
- For Jews, obviously.
- Just Jews?
- Because they're the best
workers?
- They're not in there because
they're good, silly.
- They're no good at anything.
- They're in there because they're
evil.
- They're the enemy.
- The enemy?
- But I thought we were fighting...
- They're evil, Bruno.
- Evil, dangerous vermin.
- They're the reason we lost the
Great War.
- Haven't you been listening to
anything Liszt has been telling us?
- No. Not really.
- Dad's not horrible, is he?
- He's a good man.
- Of course, he is.
- But he's in charge of a horrible
place.
- It's only horrible for them,
Bruno.
- We should be proud of Dad, now
more than ever before.
- He's making the country great
again.
- Like you say they're a bit strange.
A bit...
- Well, they're different.
- They're the enemy, Bruno.
- Evil, dangerous vermin.
- Well, you see, they're not
really people at all.
- What are you doing here?
- They wanted someone with tiny
fingers to clean all these.
- We're not supposed to be
friends, you and me.
- We're meant to be enemies. Did
you know that?
- Do you want some?
- What's your dad like? What's he
like? Is he a good man?
- You've never thought he wasn't?
- And you're proud of him?
- Aren't you proud of yours?
- Is it really horrible in the
camp?
- How dare you talk to people in
the house.
- How dare you!
- Are you eating?
- Have you been stealing food?
- Answer me!
- No, sir. He gave it to me.
- He's my friend.
- What?
- Little man, do you know this
Jew?
- Do you know this Jew?
- No, I just walked in, and he was
helping himself.
- I've never seen him before in my
life.
- You, finish cleaning the
glasses.
- When I come back, we'll have a
little chat about what happens to rats who steal. Come away.
- New arrivals here are happy to
discover that life in the camp is not all work.
- And that there's ample
opportunity for leisure also.
- At the end of their day at the
ironmongery - or the build or boot factory, The workers can enjoy the many
forms of pastime that the camp has to offer.
- Organised sport is very popular.
- Those that don't play certainly
enjoy watching.
- At the end of the working day, the
centrally located café is the ideal place for friends and families to join
together for a hearty and nutritious meal.
- The children, in particular, enjoy
the pastries and cakes on offer. In the evenings, the occasional music
concerts, either by visiting orchestras or, indeed, by talented musicians
from within the camp itself, are always well attended.
- Other recreations include reading
in the library, pottery, cookery, art and horticulture for adult and child
alike.
- Almost any activity one could wish
for is available within the camp.
- Splendid.
- Bravo. Excellent.
- Thank you.
- Goodbye, little man.
- Shmuel! Shmuel!
- I don't understand.
- I saw a film about the camp, and
it looked so nice.
- I don't know why I did it.
- Gretel and everyone were saying
all these things, and that soldier's so scary.
- Been coming here for days, but
you were never here.
- I thought maybe we weren't
friends any more.
- Shmuel, I'm really sorry for
what I did. We are still friends, aren't we?
- Where's Kurt these days? I
haven't seen him for ages.
- Who's Kurt?
- Lieutenant Kotler.
- He's been moved to the front.
- It was felt that his youth and
enthusiasm would be put to better use there.
- Herr Kommandant, telephone.
- In actual fact, Gretel, he was
sent there because he failed to inform the authorities of his father's lack
of loyalty to the Party.
- Which was his duty, I might add.
- Which was his bad luck.
- Bad luck?
- Well, bad luck that it was his
father who was disloyal, and not his mother.
- One presumably doesn't have to
report one's mother.
- What?
- When will Pavel be back?
- Mum?
- Never, stupid.
- It's Father. They've been
bombed.
- Grandmother's dead.
- "...the victory which You have
obtained for us and for all who sleep in Him, "keep us who are still in
the body in everlasting fellowship "with all that wait for Thee on
earth, "and with all that are around Thee in heaven, "in union with
Him who is the resurrection "and the life, who liveth and reigneth with
Thee and the Holy Ghost, "ever one God, world without end. Amen."
- He can't have that on there. She
wouldn't have wanted it.
- He does.
- "Almighty God, who by the
death of..."
- Have you ever been to a funeral?
- My grandma and grandpa both died
just after we got here, but there weren't any funerals.
- That one there to there.
- They both died at the same time?
- What of?
- I don't know.
- Papa said they must have caught something
on the way here.
- They had to go to a hospital as
soon as we arrived.
- We didn't see them again.
- This is fun.
- Wish we could do something a bit
more exciting, though.
- That one there to there.
- This one?
- This one?
- No, that one.
- This one to here?
- No, there!
- To here?
- No.
- Here?
- No.
- I don't want you to go away
again.
- No. Neither do I.
- You can't behave like this!
- You're questioning my behaviour?
- It can't continue!
- I know. I can't stand this any
more, Ralf.
- I can't stay here and be a part
of this.
- Don't you think there will be
questions?
- Questions?
- Well, now, what does it say about
my ability to carry out my work if I cannot control my own family?
- Work? Is that what you call it?
- Pull yourself together, woman.
- Right. Just ignore it. Ignore
it.
- Ignore the fact that the man I
married is a monster!
- Even your own mother couldn't
love you.
- Are you happy here?
- Yes. Very.
- And you, Gretel?
- Well, I was, but I do miss home.
I miss my friends.
- Yes, I'm sure. And you, too,
Bruno. You must miss those friends of yours.
- No. Not any more, really.
- I suppose the real question is, if
the opportunity arose, would you prefer to live somewhere else?
- Back home?
- No. Not Berlin. Not yet.
- Somewhere safe, say Aunt
Lottie's in Heidelberg, for example.
- All of us? You as well?
- No. That won't be possible just
yet, I'm afraid.
- I must stay and complete my work here.
- See, at the moment, your mother
is finding it...
- She just feels right now you
need to spend some time elsewhere.
- Would you like that?
- I'm afraid, Bruno, in life, we
often have to do things we don't want to do.
- The important thing isyour
mother does not feel that this is an appropriate place for you to be spending
your childhood, and the more I think about it, the more I realise she's very
probably right.
- But, Dad...
- No!
- It's time for you to move away.
- Is everything all right?
- We can't find Papa.
- He went on a different work duty
with some of the men, and they haven't come back.
- I've got some bad news, too. I'm
going away.
- How long for this time?
- That's why it's bad. It's
forever, I think.
- Mum says this is no place for
children, which is just stupid.
- When do you go?
- Tomorrow. After lunch.
- So, I won't ever see you again?
- Yes, you will. You can come on
holiday to Berlin if you like, when everybody's getting on with each other
again.
- I wish I could've helped you find
your dad.
- I really want to make up for
letting you down like I did.
- That would have done it,
wouldn't it? Helping you find your dad?
- Would've been great. Like a
secret mission.
- I could dig under.
- What? With that?
- No, but I could bring something.
- You don't want to come over
here.
- Look.
- I could come through to your
side.
- What's the point in that?
- Your dad's not going to be over
here, is he?
- But I'd stick out though,
wouldn't I, if I came through?
- I don't look like you.
- You could look like me, though.
- If you dressed like me and
shaved your hair off.
- I'm not shaving my hair off.
- You could cover it with a cap.
- My pyjamas are a different
colour.
- I could bring some. There's a
hut full of them, thousands of them.
- Would you do it, though?
- I want to do it.
- Would you dare do it, though?
- I want to help you find your
dad.
- I've got to go.
- Tomorrow, then?
- ll bring an extra-big sandwich.
- And don't forget the pyjamas!
- Bruno?
- Mum, can I go and play on the
swing?
- Bruno...
- It's my last chance.
- All right. Go on then.
- I thought you weren't coming!
- I'm sorry. It wasn't easy to get
away.
- I'm not meant to be out here
today. You forgot the pyjamas!
- Did you bring the sandwich?
- Would I let you down?
- Shmuel.
- Here.
- How do I look?
- Right. Let's get going.
- Bruno?
- That's enough.
- Let's go and find your dad.
- Come on!
- Master Bruno?
- Shmuel.
- Can we go to the café or
something?
- Café?
- Maybe I should go home.
- What about Papa?
- Yeah.
- We'll check our hut first.
- Bruno?
- Come on.
- Papa?
- Up! Up! Get up!
- What's happening?
- I don't know.
- We go on marches sometimes.
- Move! Up, up!
- Move, move!
- Bruno!
- He must still be outside
somewhere, ma'am.
- Bruno!
- Bruno?
- Move!
- Quickly!
- Get up!
- Get up. You must!
- Move them out!
- ...which means that our weekly
capabilities would be almost tripled, so, therefore, by the end of the
summer...
- Ralf.
- Elsa, I'm in a meeting.
- Bruno's missing.
- Come on!
- Wait here!
- Come on!
- Move! Move!
- Join the queue!
- Come on, you!
- Bruno!
- Move it!
- Go on.
- Bruno!
- It's all right. I think we're
just waiting in here until the rain stops.
- Clothes off!
- Where are we going?
- No, it's just a shower.
- A shower?
- Open the gates! Open the gates!
- Move!
- Bruno!
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