Destined to be great

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I watched Kung Fu Panda at the same time I was discovering Buddhist philosophy, and so imagine my absolute entertainment when Master Oogway, the wise turtle, would drop bits of wisdom such as when he noted on Shifu’s excessive worrying — “Your mind is like this: When it is agitated it becomes difficult to see, but when you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear” — and anxieties about the future: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it’s called present.”

Not everybody — especially those not inclined towards the philosophy of the Buddha — may have appreciated the flashes of wisdom revealed as they were all throughout the movie discreetly and without warning. But I am certain that everybody appreciated and enjoyed the gut-wrenching comedy and impressive action stunts by Po and the Furious Five.

And the humor is not at all forced. To represent the “Dragon Warrior,” the movie’s creators could not have chosen a better animal — a panda — whose very appearance inspires endearment, and, depending on its portrayal, both laughter and irony. The voice actors were perfectly cast as well — Black Jack’s voice played very-well dubbed over Po’s harried panache; Angelina Jolie’s confident, sultry, low-toned voice was perfect for Tigress’ level-headed, don’t-mess-with-me character; Dustin Hoffman has managed to convey both authority and panic as the contradictions-filled Shifu (who obviously isn’t reaching nirvana anytime soon); Randall Duk Kim’s slow and shaky delivery of his philosophical tidbits as Master Oogway was mesmerizing; and Ian McShane’s ironic, booming voice as the villainous Tai Lung-inspired terror.

Kung Fu Panda indeed made me laugh. But it has also made me reflect on two things — the feasibility of belief amid discouraging circumstances (and its surprising power when taken a hold of), and destiny.

Is your destiny noodles or kung fu? Will you be like Po’s goose father who had dreamt of tofu once in his life but had thought it outrageous (“Can you imagine me making tofu?”) because he believed that everyone has a place in this world, and his place was to make noodles. Or will you be like Po who fell out of the sky on a ball of fire (although not quite in the gallant and heroic manner everyone had expected the Dragon Warrior to be delivered to them) seemingly by accident (“There are no accidents.”), to be pinpointed by Master Oogway as the Dragon Warrior much to everyone’s utter bafflement and disbelief.

Belief — or faith — is another major theme in this movie that has managed quite well a perfect balance of comedy, action, drama and philosophy. Nobody, except Master Oogway, believed that Po was the awaited Dragon Warrior that would defeat Tai Lung to eventually bring peace to the valley. Not Master Shifu. Not even Po himself. But the sheer power of belief reveals itself alongside the revelations that the much-coveted Dragon Scroll (that would allegedly give limitless power to anyone who will possess it) and Po’s father’s sumptuous secret ingredient-soup contain nothing — no codes for limitless power on the scroll, and no secret ingredient in the secret ingredient-soup. To make things the way you want them to be, you need nothing else other than great belief.

Are you destined for greatness? In some of my pensive moments, that’s one of the questions that I like to play with. But I realize that the question that I should be asking myself is whether I believe I am destined for greatness. And that — I believe — makes all the difference.