Abhinikmana, filmic gift for Vesak

Professor Carlo Fonseka

This film bears the stamp of Hector Kumarasiri in entirety. The story, dialogues, screenplay and direction have all been done by him. It is also his first cinematic creation. A few days before I saw the film, my attention had been drawn to two important articles. One was the 'Sigalovada Sutta' The other was the self introduction to his autobiography by Bertrand Russell, my favourite philosopher. I feel that these two articles greatly influenced my deep appreciation and true enjoyment of the film 'Abhinikmana'

The theme of the film is simple, ennobling and universal. My perception of the essence of religion is that we should be compassionate towards our fellow-beings disregarding the resultant gain or loss.

Commonly accepted

Like all such exemplary efforts they are difficult and infrequent. These will undoubtedly clash with other endeavors to win life's struggles. It is a commonly accepted scientific conclusion that behavioral patterns of humans are determined by the chemical-DNA, being passed on from generation to generation. As DNA determines the future and therewith the younger generation, the emphasis falls on the progeny rather than on the aged parents who have completed their responsibilities and of little further use.

In Abhinikmana we see an able young man who has voluntarily renounced his responsibilities as a layman to join the Order of Bhikkhus. Even so, he gives up his ordained status as a young monk temporarily, to get back home with the sole intention of looking after his forlorn and aged parents. One would wonder why viewers would be enamored by such a story. Could it be that it is an expression of a higher and ennobling vision of humans in their evolution as Homo Sapiens, which is not a characteristic of other life forms. Another view to give thought to, is that Religion is limited to Humans, a higher form of life.

The story of Abhinikmana revolves round a very personable and attractive young monk - the character portrayed with a sense of discipline and great sensitivity by an amateur actor, Sudharshana Bandara. His aged parents (Irangani Serasinha/Joe Abeywikrama) lead pathetic lives with no assistance from anyone. Of the two children in the family the elder daughter (Malkanthi Jayasinha) married to a person in a distant village (Mahendra Perera) lives far away, burdened with her housework, and the responsibilities of her children leaving no spare time for her parents. The only relief that the elderly parents get in their life is the association of a playful young girl,(Lochana Lakshika) the daughter of the village physician in the neighborhood. This too is a rare opportunity. The suffering of his parents causes great distress to the young monk. He feels that the only way to pull them out of the mire of sadness that they have fallen into is to disrobe and get back home. Producer/Director Hector Kumarasiri conveys this message loud and clear. Under these circumstances the true Renunciation the young monk could achieve was to leave the temple and get back home to look after his parents to bring them some solace. In the prevailing religious background society views such actions with derision.

Human touch

The Head Priest - The Nayaka Thera (the role is played by W Jayasiri) views it with Equanimity. A human touch is added to the film by another carefree young girl 'Seedevi' who attempts to draw the young monk away from his precepts, similar to the temptation of the daughters of 'Mara' to Lord Buddha. But taking the same stance as The Buddha in the same situation in His life, the young monk with his determination to overcome temporal frailties and return to monkhood, stands undeterred to the end, bringing relief to all of us. The monk resumes his ordained life to become a shining example in the 'Buddha Sasana'.

As fate would have it, the day of the funeral of his father marks the day of his return to monkhood, which incident is treated with deep emotion and sensitivity in the film. As an 81 year old individual I returned home with my head filled with the realities of life, after viewing the film Reading the 'Sigalaovadha Sutta' and the self introduction of Bertrand Russel's autobiography would certainly have had an impact on my feelings when viewing the film.

The hero in the 'Sigalovada Sutta' is a young man who used to worship the six directions of the Earth every morning. The Buddha admonished him to make this six directional worship more meaningful with the instruction that six sections of our society encompassing both lay and ordained members be worshipped each morning. First the parents, second the teachers, third one's own family-wife and children and so on. My attention was drawn to the fact that the first place here was given to the parents though from a biological point of view the first preference should be given to one's children who carry forward the ancestry through DNA. Our great religious teacher however gives first preference to our parents. What I wish to stress here is that the natural tendency of all of us is to firstly nourish our children which responsibility pushes to the background the attention we should bestow on our parents. Therefore it is my belief that in the selfish social setup familiar to all of us today, looking after our parents is similar to swimming against the tide and a strong religious influence becomes necessary for rethinking our values.

Looking after ones progeny is a natural phenomenon that we see even among animals. Religion becomes a refuge to Man to overcome these natural instincts. Looking after one's parents is a profound act, prescribed by all religions. The film also stresses that giving heed to these duties even in established religions, could have a derogatory effect on the religion itself and therefore the monk giving up robes to fulfill this essential duty is looked upon as unacceptable. 'Abhinikmana' however, brings to the fore the application of true Buddhistic values. Hector Kumarasiri depicts this in no uncertain terms very forcefully, very sensitively and also artistically, pleasing the eye and the mind of the viewer while also touching his heart strings.

Forceful factors

In the introduction to his autobiography Bertrand Russell recalls that throughout his life he was influenced by three forceful factors. The first was his great thirst for love. The second was his indefatigable search for knowledge. The third was his deep sympathy for suffering humanity. He goes on to explain that in the third instance when elderly parents are debilitated and in enforced confinement, a growing resentment and dislike emerges in the children forcing them to make a great effort to pay any attention to their parents. Also that the attention they give their children supercedes the attention to parents. That may be the reason why the Buddha gave precedence to parents in the first instance and to children only in the third instance.

I am also reminded about the Ten Commandments in the Christian tradition. In nine cases they are all commands, for example - Do not lie, Do not indulge in adultery. But in the case of looking after your parents it says Do treat your parents to attain longevity. It appears as a bribe to the reader from the author of the Bible. Longevity does not result from refraining from adultery, or refraining from being untruthful, or for that matter refraining from thievery.

This goes to prove that looking after one's parents is a difficult but noble task, sometimes even superceding service to the 'Sasana' or the ' Order of Bhikkhus'. This lesson has been planted indelibly by Hector Kumarasiri in a very powerful but pleasing message. As stated earlier, the film 'Abhinikmana' is a great artistic effort transporting us to wisdom and higher thinking and it is indeed a film for the entire family.