Groundhog Day the movie is a Buddhist parable for our times. (24,000th post)
Repost (I do this every year)
In it, weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) expresses his conceit and disdain for having to cover yet another Groundhog Day spectacle, so beloved by average people not of celebrity status like himself. And he expresses this in his sarcasm.
Staying in a hotel in Punxsutawney, he soon discovers that he is living that same day over and over, and his dissatisfaction gets no relief each time. In fact, it grows worse, and seems to culminate in believing that even his death by various means has no meaning, as another day shows up, to the tune of the world's most annoying alarm clock, which itself seems immortal, as it returns every morning despite Phil's attempts to smash it. That does not end the cycle.
I comes back in perfect order every morning.
But along the way, he learns more about people and events, and carries that to the next day in succession, though mainly as parlor tricks and ways to con others to his advantage. But he can't con his producer, the ever-radiant Rita (Andie McDowell).
The movie uses her ability to see through his games as a skillful means ( literally, a slap in the face) to make him aware of his true self. But how?
First, he realizes that troubles in this world are endless, and that you can't make them go away, but that one can transform them into meaningful moments of selflessness, bravery and compassion for others, in effect "turning poison into medicine"
Along the way he experiences breakthroughs in listening to classical music on the radio, and understanding the pleasure that it brings to others, so much so that he takes up piano lessons.
Crucially, he develops compassion for the homeless man, first seen as a nuisance beggar. Over time Phil sees his suffering in the cold streets, and takes him into a diner for an extra serving of soup. But the man dies, and knowing that this will happen every day for what might be eternity, Phil gains compassion for all.
Phil "turns poison into medicine"
Rescuing a falling boy, fixing a flat tire, saving a diner from choking, and at least bringing some comfort to the homeless man. Unfortunate circumstances allow us to demonstrate selflessness and awaken others. People awaken not by doctrine but by example.
Phil has transformed his "victimhood" as a celebrity sent to perform a routine and boring task into a mission to help others and himself at the same time.
One gigantic lesson Phil learns is that there is no need to "escape to some other place", since he has, through his own human revolution, transformed a dismal and mundane place ( in his initial impression of it) into a land of tranquil light, an endless cycle of dissatisfaction, disdain and ignorance into endless opportunities for selflessness, compassion and wisdom.
By finding the Buddhahood in others, Phil discovered it in himself. 𑁍
THAT'S why he says:
When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter.
He has transformed drab reality into what Nichiren calls "The Land of Tranquil Light"
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