Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra and Butterfield 8)
The Lin Dai of the west to me is Liz Taylor. She is one of my all time favorite actresses.
Again she’s versatile but her dramatic roles are stunning.
Cleopatra was written specifically for Liz Taylor in mind. When she was offered the part, she didn’t think much and wasn’t very interested. Such just haphazardly said to the studio that she will do it if she is paid One Million which she thought definitely they wouldn’t agree.. To the shock of everyone and Ms Taylor, the studio agreed. No one at that time period was EVER PAID THAT MUCH FOR A MOVIE…NO ACTOR AND NO ACTRESS! Liz set the trend and stated her worth..she commanded and she won!
This classic scene from CLEOPATRA (below) when she enters Rome as the Queen of Egypt Cleopatra for the first time. Very grand production. Great in costume, set, acting, and you name it. Watch!!
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Cleopatra_Part_9_1963_Cleopatra_entrance_into.mp4
Below-Another great scene, when Queen Cleopatra floats by in her royal barge. As she is worshipped as a Goddess, the people kneel in homage to her as the royal boat goes by. Neat scene. Many ancient cultures believed their rulers to be of divine origin like in Tibet. Interesting.
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Cleopatra_1963_Part_14.mp4
Butterfield 8
Watch how Gloria {Liz} tells her mama she’s changed:
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/BUtterfield_8_1960_pt.6_11.mp4
Two of my favorite celebrities together. Madonna made a speech to Liz Taylor:
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Madonna_Speech_to_Elizabeth_Taylor.mp4
BUTTERFIELD 8 Such powerful acting about during those times being a model meant you were a call-girl and it was a big NO NO and very scandalous. Elizabeth Taylor plays this part so well..so deep..so powerful. No special effects or cinema tricks, but pure 100% good acting……Elizabeth Taylor in this scene, confesses to her mom who she is and what she has been doing, but the mom doesn’t want to listen. Her mom knowing but in denial. The mom wanted her to be the ‘perfect’ daughter..so she lives in a fantasy world of denial when truth is spoken, it is so much pain…so much dharma to be learned here. Everyone is like that most of the time, living a lie knowingly and unknowling and I am referring to the deceptions of samsara.
But she makes the mom listen..she is telling her mom, she’s changed. She’s different now. She’s not what she was. She can love JUST ONE MAN NOW….hehe..so scandalous back THEN, but no big deal now!!! What I liked also is the fact that Gloria (liz) had a breakthrough within herself. A breakthrough that made her not ashamed of who she was..but proud of who she is going to be now….deep.
So powerful the acting and meaning. Everyone can change. It is so liberating to change for the better…Everyone can and should. When you don’t change for the better, it is like slow suicide to me…emotional suicide.. I really like her powerful acting. She conveys this message in this movie perfectly…watch it!!
Another movie of Liz Taylor that is powerful with very meaningful undertones and undercurrents is ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’….excellent also.
I like movies with powerful acting..and story lines that make you think. That make you open up and become richer in your perspective of how things should and shouldn’t be. I like to walk away from a movie having learned something I can apply into my life to help others. And of course I like senseless horror movies too…heheh. Movies make you less rigid of how you view things from your cultural upbringing. Being rigid is such a horrible way to live and inflict on those around us. Be open and accepting is the way to go. Movies can help, if we wish to learn from them and go beyond just simple entertainment value.
Tsem Rinpoche
Liz before and now really shows she's had a 'full' life and also what does any life amount to if it is just for wordly praise/gains. Impermanence sets in fast and we have to gain something more ....before it is too late. We could have a full life, but it was full of what?
My comments is in no way meant to be offensive to Ms Taylor. In fact, I wish her the best always and love her acting.
Tsem Rinpoche
Prologue:
There may be likenesses, but there will never be another like her.....Actress Supremo Legendary Liz Taylor dies in Los Angeles March 23, 2011....
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Elizabeth Taylor’s home is for sale and it’s US11mil.
Very simple house at a prome location in the Hollywood Hills. Each room except the dining room is filled with light and bright and airy. The bedroom is wonderful. Very bright and at the same time spacious with good views.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjwJQffT0Bo
The movie of Cleopatra was indeed very interesting.I have had watched these movie a number of times.I do like Roman movies especially when Elizabeth Taylor was one of the stars.The movie Cleopatra was grand in everthing from production to costume, set, acting, and so forth.
Well everything she has but at the end of the day she has nothing. Elizabeth Taylor was famous for her violet eyes and scandalous love life. Its only later 1985 she used her fame to began her crusade on the behalf of AIDS sufferers after watching her friend actor Rock Hudson, died of Aids.Elizabeth Taylor died on March 23, 2011,leaving everything which does not belong to her any more.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing ….. a reminder for us to live till the fullness, meaningful close to Dharma.
Movies are a good form of entertainment especially if played by great actors. Such an actor was Elizabeth Taylor, beautiful, super acting, chic and cool.
Her life was very colourful with at least 8 marriages and twice to the same person. All in all she lived in grandeur and splendour.
At the end of it all, this beautiful person suffered the same ageing, illness and death. The stainless teachings of suffering by Buddha spares no one however superlative that being may be.
I’ve always found movies to be an excellent source of knowledge, unfortunately not always verified knowledge though. I guess also because I don’t like reading and back when I was younger internet wasn’t what it is today. So watching movies became the ultimate pastime activities that’s part entertainment and part learning.
I had the privilege to watch movies with Rinpoche at many fortunate occasions. It is always a joy to catch a movie with Rinpoche because it often turns into a teaching session as well. Rinpoche would ask everyone to share which part of the movie they liked most and for some movies Rinpoche would share with us the history and its relevance to society at that point of time. Yes, Rinpoche has a huge database of knowledge even in movies.
The sharing sessions are not just about the dharma and other knowledge we can learn from these movies but also a better understanding of each other. We can watch the same movie and remember different parts of the movies. We usually only retain information that is of interest to us or we can relate to. One person can fall asleep watching the same movie while another one cried over it.
I agree with Rinpoche that movies can help us learn a lot than just being simple entertainment. The next time you go watch a movie, go with an open and inquisitive mind, you may gain more out of the movie and still enjoy it.
None of my friends have ever heard of Cleopatra or recognised its significance, its one of the unsung classics which isnt mentioned very much when people talk about movies. I saw it about 6 years ago on TV and bought the DVD straight away,so was happy to see that you appreciated it too Rinpoche. I like near the the end when Cleopatra(who is a reincarnation of Isis btw) is preparing for death and tells her assistant to get her gold dress as she needs to be seen over a vast distance after she passes away(reminded me of the Bardo, also of how vast things really are). Also like when Mark Anthony dies and she says “There has never been such a silence”…good stuff!!
I am not a “movie-going type”. In fact, for the last 10 years, i only watched 4 movies namely Retun of the Jedi, Elizabeth, Alice in Wonderland and recently Prince of Persia. However, since Rinpoche posted it, then i guess it must be a teaching somewhere in the movie that was why i watched it. It can not be just for sheer entertainment value. And indeed it isn’t, after watching Butterfield 8 i unerstand why Rinpoche put it up. Being born with good physical body, nice voice, and a pretty face is not good karma or bad karma. If these are used for a wrong purpose, then it is bad karma to be born with these good looks. If they are used to benefit others for example to attract another person to get into a spiritual path or in a way that can be beneficial to that person, then it is good karma. So readers, what do you think in the case of “Gloria”???
Buddhas benefit others continually, whatever they are doing, through every hair, every pore. On the surface, we may not always understand it, see it or agree with it, but they still do nonetheless. Since we aren’t able to see it all the time due to our degenerate minds, we should trust that they cannot but benefit others and not view their actions and make judgement through our own tainted eyes. If we analyse deeper and apply some logic, sometimes we grasp the deeper meaning.
It’s now obvious to everyone that Tsem Rinpoche has lots of varied interests. It’s not just meditation, mantras and rituals day in and day out. How does watching or blogging about Liz Taylor, Lin Dai, ghost stories or pet videos constitute dharma? At first I thought it’s nothing but just sharing of things that are his interests. Then it suddenly struck me that not everyone in the world would be googling about Lama Tsongkhapa or the Heart Sutra. There are perhaps thousands or millions out there who are fans of Liz Taylor and would see what they can find on the net about her. They click search and find a write up or video of Liz Taylor and guess where they land up? Why, on the TsemTulku blog of course! Never guessed it eh? Took me a while to figure that out.
This Lama is brilliant I must say!
In the God realm it is also the same… when they are alive, they have everything and everyone and when they die, they basically die all alone, they will stink and smell and everyone just runs far away from them. They’ve used up all their merits, and because they have clairvoyance they can see where they are heading next… perhaps a pig in the next life! Gosh better not reincarnate as a God hu?
Well it is good to know that Elizabeth Taylor used her fame to benefit others like speaking up for AIDS when her good friend died and that was how the education on AIDS all got started. Maybe that is why she is still alive unlike the infamous ET of China – Lin Dai.
Elizabeth Taylor is my mum’s favorite Holywood celebrity, I guess it is almost everyone’s’ . What strikes me most about Cleopatra the movie is that even someone as powerful as Queen Cleopatra has to leave her kingdom and all her richest, wealth, beauty, fame etc behind when she dies. They also remind me of the God realms. They literally live like Gods on this earth, everyone adores them and praises them when they are alive but when they are dead or dying, they are mostly alone, terrified and no one really cares. Instead everyone’s thinking how to divide their wealth – sad isn’t it?
E-channel is like one of the channels I really like watching. They depict real life stories about all these Hollywood celebs who looks like they have it all. Still, it’s as superficial as the movies they act in. But aren’t we all living in a movie? Everything is a delusion. Maybe Rinpoche is trying to show us that.
Then there is the other side of E-channel where they film reality stories of these stars. Some are quite ugly. But still who cares? Everyone still wanna be a celeb. Lately, it’s becoming even more apparent. Everyone wants to be a celebrity because they are not happy with their lives. I am sure everybody knows that no one is truly happy regardless what they have. However, our minds work like this. If we can have as much as possible, why not? It’s never enough. Never satisfied.
Liz Taylor is a good example of one who have it all – fame, beauty and money. Many husbands too. Now that she’s old and all, but honestly, many people still would want to have led her life. Most of us are living in delusions. Many of us will still live in delusions.
If a star can make an impact on others’ lives, I truly see the importance of making Rinpoche’s blog super famous. Perhaps the most famous blogger in the world. Then there is much possibility of clearing these delusions from people’s lives.
This is just as if Elizabeth Taylor had traversed many realms of existence within one lifetime, from fame, beauty, health and glory similar to a God, to drug addiction similar to a hungry ghost, to decay and suffering of old age similar to a hell being. I wonder how she would do it all again with the knowledge she now has, what changes would she make, what would she use her fame and beauty for?
Sometimes, knowledge comes too late for us to apply it to our life. Hence, is is good to look at what the others have done with their lives, and see for ourselves where their actions have taken them, closer to happiness or further away?
Terima Kasih Rinpoche!
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
Conventionally speaking, I would wholeheartedly agree with her. These days, the ‘NOW’ thingy, ‘life is short’ has become much of a trend word in most places but still humans continue in their usual decadence and self defeating behaviour.
Perhaps it remains just a another word in the dictionary, like so many other words lost in time and space but not effecting any change.
Yet in the various Buddhist canons, the Buddha Himself spoke of ‘here and now’ with an emphasis…perhaps with a proper understanding of themes like impermanence, not-self, unsatisfactoriness and emptiness, seeing all as what it truly is..
And in the Lamrin…the preciousness of human life, the potential of future lives, accumulating merit, purifying one’s karma…what do all these mean to us in the ‘here and NOW’?
If not NOW, when?
Who can deny the need to be beautiful and famous… The need to be loved and admired (or envied) by all…The feeling of having the world at your feet. Such gratification.. or is it? I had not seen the recent photo of Elizabeth Taylor until I came across this post. The vast difference is scary. I guess a lesson to be learnt is money and fame really can’t buy you happiness and at the end of the day her beauty is her greatest enemy (no disrespect intended). There is nothing that can fill the void of happiness.
Then you have people like Mother Theresa, a great humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless. She did not need anything nor was she even concerned with her age ( her date of birth was wrongly registered for a long time) yet you see the glow of happiness and the beauty from within that lasted throughout her lifetime. Time and time again we see how great humanitarians with their limitless love and compassion have such joy & happiness. This should be what we aim for rather than money & fame. Maybe these mottos help –
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
“A clean heart is a free heart”
One way of getting to know a person is through their thoughts and conversations. Here are some quotes from Elizabeth Taylor which I would like to share with everyone:
“I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can’t possess radiance, you can only admire it.“ – Elizabeth Taylor
“I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed too – for being married so many times.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“I don’t think President Bush is doing anything at all about Aids. In fact, I’m not sure he even knows how to spell Aids.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“I have a woman’s body and a child’s emotions.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“I really don’t remember much about Cleopatra. There were a lot of other things going on. “ – Elizabeth Taylor
“I’m a survivor – a living example of what people can go through and survive. “ – Elizabeth Taylor
“I’ve always admitted that I’m ruled by my passions.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“I’ve been through it all, baby, I’m mother courage.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“I’ve only slept with men I’ve been married to. How many women can make that claim?” – Elizabeth Taylor
“It is strange that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“It’s not the having, it’s the getting. “ – Elizabeth Taylor
“Marriage is a great institution.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“My mother says I didn’t open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“People who know me well, call me Elizabeth. I dislike Liz.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“Success is a great deodorant.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“When people say, ‘She’s got everything’, I’ve got one answer – I haven’t had tomorrow.” – Elizabeth Taylor
“You find out who your real friends are when you’re involved in a scandal.” – Elizabeth Taylor
Such humour, grace and wit combined… truly precious a gem of a person Elizabeth Taylor is! Thank you, Rinpoche for drawing our attention to this very living legend of an actress.
I think I heard of Liz Taylor before… She was a very good actor in the videos. No wonder Rinpoche likes her so much. In the first video, I think that the costumes and effects were very good comparing it to the age of the movie. Butterfield is very interesting as it has some Dharma in it. I did not notice it at the first, but thank you Rinpoche, for highlighting it!
So powerful the acting and meaning. Everyone can change. It is so liberating to change for the better…Everyone can and should.When you don’t change for the better, it is like slow suicide to me…emotional suicide.. I really like her powerful acting. She conveys this message in this movie perfectly…watch it!!
This post shows how Rinpoche can make everything a Dharma lesson! Even Elizabeth Taylor and movies can be Dharma teachings! I always find it amazing how wrapped up in movies we are. At least Rinpoche sees Dharma lessons in movies but for most of us, we just enjoy the movie and often leave the cinema without much thought. For us, it’s just entertainment. It’s transient – like Elizabeth Taylor’s beauty. When we age – what do we have left?
Most of us can’t wait for the next blockbuster and we go into the cinema to get completely immersed in the emotion of the movie – whether sad or exciting or scary. But the movie is often just fiction and we go there to temporarily escape the reality of our lives.
I like what Rinpoche said – “Movies can help, if we wish to learn from them and go beyond just simple entertainment value.” Rinpoche has always said that we lead our lives doing what we’re doing but with a Dharma motivation and meaning and this advice about movies can apply to everyone!
So sorry, something went wrong during posting. Parts of my comments were missed out. I am re-posting the complete comments again. Thank you for your kind patience.
I am with Justin. It is the two pictures of Liz Taylor which left a lasting impression in my mind. No matter how successful adored or beautiful we are, all these will fade, age and die. Nothing is permanent in samsara. No one will be exempted from the laws of cause and effect. Not even a susper star or the President of a powerful country.
In this respect, the real success in life cannot be quantified by material and external gains. When it is all said and done, none of these will matter anymore. At the time of death, none of these will be able to aid us in any way and we cannot take them with us. We can be immortalized by the strength of our attributes and the weight of our values. If movies ever taught me anything, it is not to be caught up in the delusions that they create, or the ones I create. Having said that, there are some movies which do teach us a great deal but they are the minority in a world dominated by Hollywood. Then we, as consumers, should exercise a discerning attitude towards what we see or choose to watch. If we feed our minds with the right foods, then our minds will be much enriched.
I am with Justin. It is the two pictures of Liz Taylor which left a lasting impression in my mind. No matter how successful adored or beautiful we are, all these will fade, age and die. Nothing is permanent in samsara. No one will be exempted from the laws of cause and effect. Not even a susper star or the President of a powerful country.
In this respect, the real success in life cannot be quantified by material and external gains. When it is all said and done, none of these will matter anymore. At the time of death, none of these will be able to aid us in any way and we cannot take them with us. We can be immortalized by the strength of our attributes and the weight of our values. If movies ever taught me anything, it is not to be caught up in the delusions that they create, or the ones I create.
It gives me a mixed feeling after finished watching all the videos and her two photos of past and present. One word comes out of my mind. Impermanence. With much respect to Liz, have gotten herself a lot of money from her stunning acting but that doesn’t makes her young and beautiful continously and what she had done to benefitted her life other than that? She is still going to suffer the law of impermanence, fading and getting older and older each day, there’s nothing that she can do to make her young again, facing death soon and can’t help it. I bet she must have used up quite a lot of money to maintain her beauty that does not last and yet still have to face death.
I think I heard of Liz Taylor before… She was a very good actor in the videos. No wonder Rinpoche likes her so much. In the first video, I think that the costumes and effects were very good comparing it to the age of the movie. Butterfield is very interesting as it has some Dharma in it. I did not notice it at the first, but thank you Rinpoche, for highlighting it!
So powerful the acting and meaning. Everyone can change. It is so liberating to change for the better…Everyone can and should.When you don’t change for the better, it is like slow suicide to me…emotional suicide.. I really like her powerful acting. She conveys this message in this movie perfectly…watch it!!
What he said above is totally true. As EVERYBODY CAN CHANGE!!!!!!!
I Liked this part too:
Movies make you less rigid of how you view things from your cultural upbringing. Being rigid is such a horrible way to live and inflict on those around us. Be open and accepting is the way to go. Movies can help, if we wish to learn from them and go beyond just simple entertainment value.
“Liz before and now really shows she’s had a ‘full’ life and also what does any life amount to if it is just for wordly praise/gains. Impermanence sets in fast and we have to gain something more ….before it is too late. We could have a full life, but it was full of ”
That part of the post really hit me as i have been trying to experience a ‘full’ life and to gain as many experiences as possible in my life. Intellectually, I know that they are empty in the sense that i cannot bring them to future lifetimes or apply them when the conditions change, but i am still attached to them in reality.
That part of the post reminds me that even people who have had it all in life – fame and money are still in suffering and it doesnt really bring them anywhere. Then I do ask myself, what happens if i get them? can i benefit others? the answer is no. My attachment to those ‘experiences’ lessens but it comes back later.
perhaps i need to keep doing it until it dosent pop up anymore?
Terima Kasih Rinpoche!
“You find out who your real friends are when you’re involved in a scandal.
I think I’m finally growing up – and about time.
I’ve always admitted that I’m ruled by my passions.”
Forward to my own post…
I can relate totally to those above statements and have realised gawd! after all these years, have I not realised anything?
Then again, I met Rinpoche and Kechara….
Ah well not all is lost yet… 🙂
If you are born beautiful, that’s good. If you are born beautiful and have a brain, that’s better. And if you are born beautiful, have a brain and not be attached to your beauty, that’s the best!
Beauty can be very deceptive. Some people see being born beautiful is a fruition of good karma. Rinpoche once said, this may not be so, as it depends on how you are going to use the beauty. Using beauty to get whatever you wants and in the process cheating and deceiving others will create much negative karma. Being beautiful can sometimes attract unncessary trouble and problems that may bring unexpected trauma to your life. Being attached to your own beauty and deceptively believing that you can hold onto it forever can create much suffering to yourself as nature and the law of gravity set its way in.
Elizabeth’s two contrasting pictures, one during her prime time and one from the most recent time depicts what an illusion “Beauty” can paint for you. Then you may question, why spend all my life chasing after things that do not last, things like beauty, fame, money and love? Why not invest in something that we can bring forward to our next lives? Why don’t we invest in our mind?
I think that it’s difficult for people in my generation to keep in mind that “Movies can help, if we wish to learn from them and go beyond just simple entertainment value.”
Movies produced 20-30 years ago were made to tell a story; be it to educate people on far away places (e.g. Egypt) or to convey controversial messages (e.g. models = call-girl). It widened people’s perspectives and made people think when they came out off the cinema.
After watching the 4 videos in this post, I feel like not much has changed since then. It’s clear that in both the roles Elizabeth Taylor played that, like Datuk May said, beauty is used as a powerful tool for influence and manipulation. What’s sad is that it could either be abused (e.g. always getting things your way, which leads you to continuously focus on the maintenance of your beauty to not potentially bruise the ego) or used to affect good change while it lasts.
In comparison to Audrey Hepburn (who fyi was the 3rd actor/actress to get paid 1 million!), I feel that she aged beautifully. (http://www.withusoragainstus.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/audrey-hepburn-2.jpg) Although praised for her beauty, she never felt like she was beautiful and instead of indulging into the life her beauty provided, she used her popularity, celebrity-status and beauty to highlight many global plights. Spending more than a decade to fully devote her time towards helping UNICEF, I felt that by constantly focusing outwards and not being attached to herself, her looks and her ego, that she had something to feel proud of at the end of it all (her life).
I’m not trying to overshadow Elizabeth Taylor (as she herself did plenty of work to raise money for AIDS), but if you were a bonafide rarity like two of these great actresses of all-time what kind of life would you lead?….as you get older, as your looks fade, what is there to show for yourself? when you haven’t got any more bargaining power that you previously had from your looks, and one day realize that after all these years you’ve become quite a rotten person inside would you feel angry…upset?
I hope to continuously increase my thoughts and energy outwards and onto other people. I pray that I will never (and other people too) feel the immense suffering to one day realise that my entire life has just been about me, myself and I.
Never much of a movie enthusiast, I have actually watched these two movies, and I agree with Rinpoche that they are made for Elizabeth Taylor about using “Beauty” to get what she wants. And truly Elizabeth Taylor was a great beauty of her time.
However, what made an impact on me are the contrasting pictures of Elizabeth Taylor, culminating in Buddhist belief of impermanence. In our delusional minds, we all think that we can hold onto what we have forever and that had been the lasting binding trap to our path of liberation, freedom and happiness.
From the realization of the 2 pictures, and at my age, I will learn that to have filled a FULL life would be one lived in service to benefit others. The Buddhist Way.
Everything in this world is transient, everything is impermanent. Rinpoche’s teaching of the videos is in relation to impermanence and the illusion of Samsara. We should not cling to rigidity but conform to change for the betterment of oneself and sustainable happiness. Samsara is full of deception so why cling to samsaric beliefs and concepts. Get away from samsaric deception by following closely to Tsem Rinpoche’s instructions and methods for He is the one who is able to steer us out of it and liberate us. Aren’t you tired of Samsara deception and wish for permanent happiness?
Check Tsem Rinpoche out at http://www.tsemtulku.com.
I really love this amazing post of Elizabeth Taylor and what Rinpoche loved about her movies. I am moved by Rinpoche’s explanation and description of her movies and what Rinpoche really appreciates from her thought-provoking movies. I never really appreciated such movies before because I was not exposed to such movies.
Although I really like Elizabeth but nothing gave me the raw feelings of empathy for Christina Crawford in ‘Mommie Dearest’. It is the movie adaptation of the book by Christina Crawford with the same name as the movie of her growing up years and relationship with her mother – the ‘screen queen’ Joan Crawford. I was totally riveted to my seat as I watched how Joan Crawford (played by the sublime Faye Dunaway) systematically abused her daughter.
I watched this movie with Rinpoche and on many scenes especially the one with the ‘no wire-hangers’ Rinpoche remarked that the scene resembled the abuse that he experienced in his childhood. I was mortified and was holding back tears as I grabbed onto the sofa for comfort. I must say that it was one movie that impacted me deeply because of the dramatic acting and it seemed to me like I was watching what Rinpoche went through in his childhood. What amazes me is that Rinpoche doesn’t seem to bear any visible emotional scars from such a traumatic childhood.
Chasing Stars it is.. People spent half of their life if not the rest of their lives chasing stars: money, fame, recognition, fame, status, beauty and not realizing time is indeed too short for all of these. The truth is we will never feel complete even we have all the above!
By the time reality hits, we all go down.. depression, anger, unhappiness all arises… and our ego stood in the way, keep acting that we are doing so okay and yet when alone, we can’t even name a best friend’s name. This is the harsh world of samsara.
For Elizabeth and Michael Jackson, they needed a lot of strength to survive in the entertainment industry. Each harsh comment or bad picture hurt… badly. Can you imagine yourself living like that everyday even with loads of money everyday and yet so timid, so scare, so insecure?
I am not saying that they are stupid for not recognizing all of these; in fact many people recognize this but they just don’t know how and what the way out!
I consider many who had met Dharma and Rinpoche at any stage of their lives are very lucky. Of taking that small little step out and starting to help yourself then to the person next to you then extended to more and more people…
Therefore, I hope that people would actually take that one step out. See how Dharma can bring you happiness and become a better person. Just a little bit of your time, it is really that easy.
Also, Rinpoche thank you for posting those two stunningly contrasting pictures of Liz Taylor, at the height of her beauty and now…
I remember Rinpoche once told me that people with great beauty suffer even more than normal because as they grow old, start ageing and stop getting any attention for their beauty, the suffering can be immense – especially for people who are very attached to their physical looks and have been used to getting away with things because of their looks.
I bumped into a family friend by accident awhile ago – normally, she’s always all decked out in branded clothes, layers of make-up and the most elaborate hairstyles. When I saw her, she was still all decked out, but her face was sagging, she looked tired, old and drained. It was the saddest moment I’d ever seen her in – this old lady still all decked out like a christmas tree (and it was only in a neighbourhood mall!), like she was still clinging desperately onto how she looked, even though her face was crumbling.
It’s an apt reminder, as ever, that we can’t take anything with us – no matter how beautiful, successful, rich we are. Even Liz Taylor – in a few more years, people probably won’t even know her name anymore or remember what she looked like, even though she was considered one of the world’s most beautiful women at the time.
I agree with Rinpoche about the old classic movies – nobody does movies like that anymore. I “grew up” at school with plays and the great playwrights like Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, and spent my late teens watching movies like Streetcar named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Yentl, Breakfast at Tiffanies – all the great Barbara Streisand, Bette Davis, Liz Taylor, Paul Newton movies. They stay in your mind for such a long time because of the incredible messages they contain, the deep passions angst that characters go through and the deep, deep human relationships and how people hurt or love each other. This is something we can all relate to and have gone through at some point or another in our lives. You feel SO MUCH for these characters even though they’re fictional.
If you study the plays of Tennessee Williams, and really look at the words he chooses and the way he writes there is so much Dharma in that: great lessons to be learnt about the suffering that people hold (even if they’re fictional!), and how they hurt each other from that suffering, how they literally drive themselves insane from their fears, angers insecurities and deep refusal to change.
Oh I’m so going to go dig up my old video tape of “cat on a hot tin roof now” hehe (it’s very much our energy too what with all the gay undertones!)
Contemplating on the two faces of Elizabeth shown here really bring home the message of impermanence and the fact that we spend so much energy attaching to things like our looks etc which is simply futile as we give it all up at death.
Looking at the last 2 pictures of Liz (one when she was at the prime of her time, the other her current picture),one can’t help thinking of the transient nature of youth and beauty.
It reminds me the urgency of dharma practice and the emptiness of fame, glory & worldly possessions.
Never saw the movies with Elizabeth Taylor this way before.
Thank you for the post Rinpoche
I’ve heard it said that Liz Taylor was in fact Cleopatra in a previous life. What do you think?
Thank you so much for posting Elizabeth’s story on your blog. Until now she still gives something for me to ponder. She has colorful life and i do wish her always happy.
Tashi Delek Rinpoche!
This legendary woman is certainly stunning in every sense of the word…Found some selected quotable quotes of hers and sharing with Rinpoche… 🙂
“When people say, ‘She’s got everything’, I’ve got one answer – I haven’t had tomorrow.
You find out who your real friends are when you’re involved in a scandal.
I think I’m finally growing up – and about time.
I’ve always admitted that I’m ruled by my passions.
I have a woman’s body and a child’s emotions.
I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.
I suppose when they reach a certain age some men are afraid to grow up. It seems the older the men get, the younger their new wives get.
People who know me well, call me Elizabeth. I dislike Liz.”
And the ‘best’ I read was this…
“I’ve only slept with men I’ve been married to. How many women can make that claim?” 😛
More from here:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/elizabeth_taylor.html