Last night my Buddhist teacher was here, and we watched the documentary "Buck". It's one of my favorite documentaries ever, and I delighted in sharing with her the story of a man who is extraordinary and serves as an exemplum of wholesome mind and heart. Buck Brannihan is a horse trainer, and the model for the film "The Horse Whisperer" starring Robert Redford. He had an abusive childhood as a forced child rope trick star with his older brother. When their mother died, the father became more violent, until a Deputy Sherriff took the boys away to a foster family, where the parents were so loving and understanding that Buck's whole life slowly turned around. He had several mentors in the horse training business, and he is a shining example to many owners and trainers. He travels the country nine months of the year, then is home with his wife and four dogs the rest of the time. They have three grown daughters.
The film takes its time showing clips from Buck's childhood, interspursed with pieces of his workshops, and interviews with him and with his wife, youngest daughter and various friends and even Robert Redford. He is a man who has demons, but he has chosen to not be a violent man, and fortunately he has had other gentle models of manhood. His compassion and kindness with horses is limitless. He respects these beings as if they were human. He guides them away from fear and toward a trusting relationship with their riders. I cry every time I see this film, because this man represents how we can overcome what we were born into and choose a better life. And he spreads his gospel of compassion and respect for all beings everywhere he travels. He chooses to remain in the present: as he says, "You can't be in two places in one moment and I want to be in the present, not the past." He's a gentle man, a kind man, a friend to all beings.
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