教與學 - Seeing Life and Survival from "Life of Pi" 2012-11-30

ATTENTION: If you haven't watched the film "Life of Pi" and plan to watch it, you may want to read this article after you've done so.

Driven by the miraculous plot, expecting amazement from the 3D effects and guaranteed by its direction by Ang Lee, I went to see "Life of Pi" which, to my surprise, triggers the following inspirations about life and survival, whether all intended by the film. 

1. The way not to let others tease or look down upon you is to turn your weakness to your strength, and impress them exactly with it. Always made fun of because of his name (meaning "swimming pool" in French but sounding like "pissing" in English), Piscine introduced himself as Pi (/paI/) in every lesson when he started secondary school, explained it as the mathematical number π, and impressed everyone with his ability to recall the infinite number of decimal digits in accurate order.
2. It doesn't really matter which god or how many gods you believe in as long as you believe in God, allow him to fill your soul with your body merely as a "vessel", hand him your destiny, and take a positive view towards your life and challenges. Pi followed three religions, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. Borrowed from part of Pi's prayer and reflection, if God takes your life, he simply allows you to reunite with your loved ones in Heaven; if God lets you suffer without taking your life, he has been protecting you from death and training you to be a stronger and tougher person through challenges as he sees a reason for you to live on. Even during hard times, it's still possible for you to see and appreciate God's spectacular creation, just like the beautiful night ocean filled with sea creatures and the breathtaking scenery of the vigorous storm that Pi saw.
3. At the critical moment of life and death, you may need to sacrifice some principles that you have been obliged to. Upon survival, you can always revive those principles. For example, Pi mangled raw fish despite his being a vegetarian when nothing else could sustain his life, but returned to vegetarianism after he got settled on shore.
4. People, including your family, lovers and friends, are just passers-by in your life. You may leave each other anytime, without being able to bid farewell to each other even if you have love and passion for, or influence on one another. Pi moaned and groaned about not having said goodbye to his lover Anandi before he left India, and not having farewelled his father, mother and elder brother before he got onto the lifeboat. Hence, treat everyone as if you're meeting them for the last time and cherish every moment you have had with them, but when they go or when they must go, just "let go", and carry on with your life.
5. These are what I see from the relationship between Pi and the Bengal tiger Richard Parker, and the way they get along. If your rival appears stronger (or is in fact stronger) than you are, keep a safe distance from him/her, take some time to research on ways to compete with him/her, make yourself stronger than him/her, establish your territory, and even control him/her. In the film, Pi first built another simpler raft with a life buoy and some wood strips, tethered to the lifeboat, to maintain some distance from Richard Parker. There he learnt some tips on how to deal with wild animals from an ocean survival manual earlier found in a survival kit on the lifeboat. To allow himself to retreat to the lifeboat for resources and shelter in case of emergency, Pi tried to mark his territory by urinating on the anterior part of the boat (though he failed his first attempt), and at last trained Richard with a stick (for punishment) and pieces of raw fish (for reward). Sometimes, it doesn't have to be "either you die or I die". You and your competitor(s) can coexist. Your enemy can be your friend, or a companion to keep you survive and push you towards advancement. Maybe that's why Pi felt hurt when Richard did not even spare a glance for him upon their arrival in Mexico 227 days (coincidentally matched with the fraction 22/7 for π) after the shipwreck. Thus, your friend can be just your partner; when the work is over, your relationship with him/her may cease. In the end, you can be your own friend and enemy. In Pi's second story to the Japanese freighter company, he is analogous to Richard.
6. To survive, you ought to be observant, stay alert to your surrounding, keep acquiring knowledge/skills, explore all possibilities, make innovative attempts, adapt to new or changing environments, be creative and adventurous, and persist despite obstacles. This is exactly how Pi managed to tolerate the terrible weather and unpredictable sea conditions, struggle to survive alone with the Bengal tiger, and escape from the carnivorous island once he discovered a human tooth in a fruit in a tree.

After all, life is like a journey (especially if you have a clear destination and everything is under your plan), but sometimes like a drift on the ocean (because you may lack a goal or lose your direction). At difficult times, it's normal that thoughts about giving up pop up in your head. Nevertheless, in this competitive world where only the stronger survive, you ought to keep learning and seek improvements; and various life encounters, whether positive or negative, are definitely enzymes to accelerate your growth to a stronger and tougher person.