“Human beings live artificially and hypocritically and would do well to study the dog.” – Diogenes of Sinope, 360 BC
Elizabeth Lo’s Stray is more than just a canine cinéma vérité documentary on the roaming street dogs of Istanbul. Sure, the premise of the film lends itself to comparisons to another one of my recent favorites (Acasa, My Home) in furthering the old adage that you can’t tame a wild spirit. But Stray felt bigger than this simple message. Watching Stray (available in virtual Laemmle Theaters this Friday) is to see a pathway towards enlightenment unfold before your eyes, through the actions of very untraditional four-legged teachers.
In general, dogs possess many characteristics of the Buddha: Basic principles of Buddhism include showing unlimited compassion, living in the moment, and wanting little besides survival needs like food, water, and shelter. There are Four Noble Truths that I was taught when I studied Buddhism in college, and after watching this beautiful film, I found that dogs possess them all.
First Noble Truth (Dukkha): Life is Suffering
They say there are two universally unavoidable things in life: death and taxes. For most people, fixating on the fact that they will in fact pass away one day is not a pleasant experience, and so they numb themselves with distractions (albeit mostly positive ones). Focusing on work, creating families, and living out their passions and dreams are all outlets that provide happiness and joy. But this Noble Truth reminds us that this is all temporary. Happiness and joy are temporary, especially when we pin all of our emotional stability on materialistic possessions. This however isn’t something that should burden us, as moving through life with the mindset that everything is temporary will only help us to appreciate the beauty (tragic and otherwise) of the present moment.
The dogs in Stray, without even knowing it, embody this Noble Truth perfectly. Of course, they don’t think about their inevitable ends because I doubt their consciousness extends that far. To that end, they also don’t have expectations of living a “perfect life.” To dogs, basking in the sunny spot on the floor or getting a good head scratch brings contentment–and most importantly, is enough.
Second Noble Truth (Samudāya): The Origin of Suffering
To live like a dog is to want little and live in the moment. As one man states in Stray, “Nothing happens to a person who lives day to day.” This mindset seems to be in direct opposition to our current culture of future planning and our unnecessary stresses of “want.” This Noble Truth is fairly easy to identify in our own lives; social media, capitalism, and the media are all contributing factors that continuously tell us that we’re not “enough.”
It’s an endless cycle of believing that acquiring “that something” will make us happy, buying “that something,” realizing “that something” didn’t fix our problems, and then holding onto “that something” which becomes clutter in our physical and emotional space. As long as their basic needs are met, dogs are satisfied. Do you see how excited a dog will get when you give them a new toy? Or sneak them a piece of food from your dinner plate? The reason why they get so excited is because they never expect anything. Their lack of vices and desires allows them to avoid expectations and ultimately, any suffering at all.
Third Noble Truth (Nirodha): The Cessation of Suffering
This Noble Truth is about reaching Nirvana, which means living a life free from suffering. Another principle that isn’t as comforting is the realization that, ultimately, we are all alone. Moving through life, we are lucky to bond and share love amongst family and friends, and while these relationships should be cherished, they should also be acknowledged for what they truly are: temporary. This may sound shallow and cold, but Buddhists whole-heartedly believe that the practice of unattachment–getting rid of our desire to be liberated from attachment–is the key to reaching Nirvana.
Much like the dogs in the film who move freely through various packs and environments searching for their next moment of serenity, the aspiration to live as unattached to material possessions as possible is the ultimate goal of Buddhism. “Things” will never make us happy, and the sooner we believe this, the sooner we can reach Nirvana.
Fourth Noble Truth (Magga): The Path to the Cessation of Suffering
This Noble Truth acts as a guideline on how to live an enlightened life, known in Buddhism as the “Noble Eightfold Path.” Similar to The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, these eight steps are attainable practices that consist of Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Living in tandem with the Eightfold Path is the key to a life without suffering.
In Stray, director Elizabeth Lo intuitively (and perhaps unintentionally) shows us how dogs exhibit many admirable qualities of the Buddha. A bit of historical background: Turkey is one of the only countries that has made it illegal to euthanize or hold captive any stray dog, motivating Lo to film this documentary in Istanbul and across Turkey from 2017–2019 to capture this reality. Using street dogs as her subjects, and propelled by an evocative string score from composer Ali Helnwein, Stray is a quiet and highly-meditative depiction of conscious living and contentment in which we could all learn to live a little more freely.
Distributed by Magnolia Pictures, ‘Stray’ is available in virtual Laemmle Theaters on Friday, March 5, 2021.
