The Lama

As the head of production in Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong, my job included showing VIPs around.

Among them were Princess Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco, Benny Hill, Danny Kaye with his same sex wife, who scolded him all the way etc.

One day I heard the PR cry, “The Lama is coming! The Lama is coming!”

“Not THE Dalai Lama?” I asked.

“No, No! There are many Lamas in Tibet. This one is the yellow robed Lama. Very powerful too. If he puts his hand on your head, you will be blessed for the rest of your life!” I could see the PR was very excited.

A large troop of limousines arrived. Everybody in the studio rushed towards the back seat and stuck their heads in hoping to be blessed.

I saw no one care about the monk in the front seat, so I opened the door for him.

It turned out that he was THE Lama and the fellow sitting in the back was the local monk.

The Lama was a fan of the Kung Fu movies. I staged a fighting scene specially for him and he enjoyed the whole show.

I asked him what kind of vegetarian food he liked for lunch, he answered, “The Buddha never said we should stay away from meat. He did say you should eat whatever was given to you.”

Lesson learnt

“Are monks allowed to drink alcohol?” “When I was your age I drank like a fish.” “And have sex?” getting bolder, I asked.

He answered peacefully, “there are many schools in Buddhism. In our state of higher understanding there are no limitations in life. But one should never, never harm another living thing, human beings or ants.”

“How about marijuana?”

“Some of the Tibetans use it to get closer to God. I am against overusing it.”

“How about abortion?”

“Life and death are arranged by God. If a situation forces you into it with no other choice, you are forgiven.”

I bowed deeply.

“You have asked so many questions, it’s my turn to ask you,” the Lama said. “Are you a Buddhist?”

“No,” I replied humbly. “One day I wish to become one.”

The Lama smiled and put his hand on my head.