The DAO of Kung Fu Panda

A commentary on the wisdom of various quoteswho looks inside, awakens."
from the movie Kung Fu Panda.Where are you looking for your truth: inside or
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery.outside?
Today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it theThe people around you are living their lives and
present.following their truth. "My truth is not your truth",
A great quote and probably the most well-knownas Bruce Lee said. Don't confuse the truth of
saying in Kung Fu Panda (and catchy too!).other people with your own truth. Exert yourself
Tomorrow is over and finished with. Whateverin finding your own path and follow it with your
happened, happened. Whatever didn't happen,heart. There are no secret ingredients. Everything
didn't happen. Spending time and energy in theyou need to be you - to 'make' you - is inside
present fretting over things that are now historyyou already.
is a waste of your resources.One often meets his destiny on the road he
Tomorrow is a mystery. We don't know whattakes to avoid it
tomorrow will bring. Your life could changeA lot of the first half of the movie is about the
dramatically in the next 24 hours...or perhapscharacters - including Po, the Kung Fu Panda
tomorrow will be much the same as today.himself - accepting that the overweight bear is
Whatever plans you may make, the future is outindeed the Dragon Warrior. It is his destiny but
of your direct control.only Master Wugui can see that.
But today? Today is a gift. It is yours to haveYou are who you are. Discover who you are and
here and now. Right now you have control overlove yourself for who you are. Respect yourself
your thoughts and your feelings. It may notfor who you are. Banish influences that will ask
always seem that way, but it's true. You do. Thatyou to do anything other than fulfill your own
was the great 'secret' discovered by Viktor Franklunique destiny. Taking your life off on a tangent
in the hell of Auschwitz. You, and only you, havemay bring achievement, success, accomplishment
the power to assign meaning to your presentand so on but how do you feel five minutes later?
circumstances and condition. And therein lies theIf reaching those goals has been contrary to your
chance for change and an opportunity for growth.nature you will know it straight away. Despite the
Decide today what meaning you want to attachsuccesses you will be left with an empty, hollow
to events in your life. Do not allow yourself to befeeling, wondering why everyone was making
subjugated to alien meanings imposed on yoursuch a fuss about this latest thing you have done.
from those around you. This is your present forNow, you can see right through it and see it for
yourself.what it is: an illusion. Sooner or later, you will be
There are no accidentsforced to take a long, hard look at yourself once
Master Wugui (Oogway) is the fountain ofagain and consider the direction your life is heading
wisdom in Kung Fu Panda and this is a greatin. Take a moment now and consider if your
quote from him that hints at the underlyingheart is telling you that your current path is your
oneness of existence. There are no accidents...onlydestiny. If not, you will save yourself a lot of time
events. What we see before us is theand effort to recalibrate your guidance system
mind-bogglingly complex, but nevertheless real,and head back in the direction you know deep
interactions between particles that are invisible toinside you should be going in.
all but the most powerful microscopes. TheseThis is a central teaching in Kung Fu Panda
particles may cause apparent accidents toLet go of the illusion of control
happen, but that is an illusion, as Master WuguiAnother great one from Master Wugui.
points out. It is us, our ego-driven selves, brandingThis refers to both internal and external control.
an event an accident that obscures the greaterExternally, Master Wugui is talking about
truth of unity from our perception. The Universeovercoming the idea that you can control things
knows what it is doing. It is in control; perfect andoutside yourself. In one of the great moments of
beautiful in its harmony.Kung Fu Panda Master Wugui stresses that the
There are no secret ingredientsseed from a peach will grow into a peach tree. It
This is my favorite quote from Kung Fu Panda.is its nature. It can't fight it and it doesn't try. You
There are no secret ingredients. You don't needmay not want a peach tree; you may prefer
any 'secrets'. The 'secret', if that is what it is, is toapples. But you won't get an apple tree from a
harmonize with your true nature and maintain thatpeach seed. An attempt to control the nature of
harmony throughout your life. You are enough;peach seed is delusion.
you have everything that you need to live yourInternally, the quote again reminds us that we
life. You just need to be very sure that it iscan't ultimately control our true nature. Trying to
indeed your life that you are living and notdo so is a temporary illusion, but one that can
someone else's. Another one of my favoritepotentially cause tremendous damage to yourself
quotes comes from Jung:if you are not careful. Do not reign in your true
"Your vision will become clear only when you looknature. Find it and harmonize with it. It is your
into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams;friend, not your enemy.