Thursday, April 2, 2020
I swear Master Oogway and Merlin are the same person...
There is a lot of philosophy in these sections of Once and Future King. This is really not surprising when you're dealing with a wizard who has the ability to see the past as well as the future, but one thing that struck me most is this idea of Destiny that Merlin introduces in Ch. 10. He tells this short story of a man who tries to escape Death, only to end up meeting him anyway. The man met Death in Damascus and then rode all the way to Aleppo to get away from him. He thought he cheated Death, only to find out that Death was expecting him in Aleppo was was surprised to see him in Damascus. To this Merlin says: "There is a thing about Time and Space which the philosopher Einstein wi going to fine out. Some people call it Destiny." (p. 274) This is why Merlin isn't about to fight against falling for Nimue and being locked away for years and years. However, could it not be said that if the man stayed in Damascus that he would confused Death who would have gone to Aleppo? Death would have gone to Aleppo because that was what Fate set up. It is in trying to avoid destiny that you end up meeting it. This was even a lesson in the first Kung Fu Panda movie! But if fighting destiny is what it takes to meet it, what happens if you don't fight it? Does it not happen, or does it still happen but just in a different way than if you fought it? Will it even matter in the end? Really this piece opens even more questions about predestination and fate that aren't answered, but it is very interesting.
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That's an interesting question about destiny, but i think that either way , whether you try to avoid it or not, you cannot evade what you are 'destined' for (assuming destiny is real).
ReplyDeleteI think the idea is that your destiny will find you sooner or later - no matter whether you think you are in control of the situation or not, sometimes you just have to accept that things are not always in your power.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I would ask if we were all face to face is about how we feel about the idea of Destiny. Most of us usually say we want to be in control of our own lives, that we don't really believe in the idea of Destiny. But being 100% in charge of ourselves and our lives is also hard and exhausting sometimes; every once in awhile I would be happy for destiny to come along and just tell me what's supposed to happen because then I could take a day off from making decisions! ;-) j/k ... mostly ... ? (perhaps quarantine is getting to me...?)
I agree with Abbey. I think that no matter if you fight destiny or not it will still occur. Maybe with fighting destiny it only delays it but it would still happen.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Abbey on this one. Destiny is something that cannot just simply be avoided. You can try your best, but if you were destined for this certain life path, one will encounter it eventually and I think it will matter in the end.
ReplyDeleteEnter Master Oogway-
ReplyDeleteOne should not have to train Master Shifu to know how to guide young Kung Fu Masters. One must listen to the ancient peach tree to see the path a young King Arthur must take...