I was planning a different post this week, but then the finale of Succession happened and I thought I should write about it. If you’ve never watched this HBO series then I apologise, if you are watching it then this post contains spoilers so you might want to watch the finale first.
A Buddhist watching Succession?
Yes. I may be a Buddhist but, I live a pretty normal life, family, job, TV. I’m not a monastic. I’ve been watching Succession from the start. But watching this programme comes with a health warning. The amount of vitriol, swearing and sheer embittered nastiness in this programme means I have to guard the doors of my senses a little and be aware of the effects of watching this programme on my own mind and reactions.
So why do you watch it?
Well, not only is it acerbic, clever and witty writing and some astounding acting, if you want to see greed, hatred and delusion at work (what the Buddha called the three poisons) we need look no further.
The three poisons and suffering
Greed is what drives all the characters in this programme; greed for power and money. They hate anyone or anything that gets in their way. And in the end they are all deluded. In all of them there is so much suffering (what the Buddha called dukkha) and discontent. Greed and delusion is the cause of their suffering.
They are deluded they are in control of anything - even if they do treat people around them as minions and expendable- in the end the characters are not in control: their father dies and they lose their empire.
But this is just a TV programme, what does it have to do with me?
There is a lesson in Succession for all of us, even if we don’t own global media empires. We can ask:
How do we use power in our own lives?
To what extent am I driven by greed (even if it’s just comparing myself to others)?
What delusions do I hold as true? Are things as I perceive them?
Where can I see unsatisfactoriness in my life and what are its causes?
It’s not a world we want to live in
Despite all the private jets, foreign locations and designer clothes I doubt Succession is a world any of us would want to live in. All the characters are so messed up, so full of self righteousness and self loathing, so disconnected and distressed I doubt any of us would want to step into their skins.
And while it all might seem a million miles from where we are, we can all learn from the epic tragedy that unfolds in this show.
Gratitude
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