CIA director Alan Hunley tells the Prime Minister of Great Britain, ‘[Secret Agent Ethan] Hunt is uniquely trained and highly motivated. A specialist without equal, immune to any countermeasures. There is no secret he cannot extract. No security he cannot breach. No person he cannot become. He has most likely anticipated this very conversation and is waiting in whatever direction we move. Sir, Hunt is the living manifestation of destiny. And he has made you his mission.’ Hunt sounds almost supernormal. Always the hero of the ‘Mission Impossible’ series, even when occasionally suspected of having gone rogue, he saves the day eventually with his resilience. The killing of some villains aside, that is arguably unavoidable in life-threatening situations, Hunt never seems to lose his call to do what deemed necessary, even when facing incredible odds. Like a resolute Bodhisattva, he takes on various forms and uses all manners of skilful means.
As we know, improbable as they might seem, all missions impossible featured can be accomplished. What is the real ‘Mission Impossible’, that seems the toughest, yet still accomplishable? Guidance of all towards Buddhahood! The true Impossible Mission Force (IMF) is the company, the host of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas! The good news is that we all have Buddha-nature always and the Bodhisattvas are relentless in their efforts to awaken it. They have made us their mission! But why not help out one another by joining their ranks as Bodhisattvas too? Disguise if needed. Hey, even the Buddha does it himself to blend in with the masses, to manifest identities suited for the varied karmic affinities of different beings. He too instructed Bodhisattvas and Arhats to do likewise in our era, which means those who reveal such identities cannot be who they claim to be! This is after all a highly covert mission, that is wholly goal-oriented for altruism; never ego-based for fame and gain.
‘Mission Impossible’ stories have always been intriguing with twists and turns, skilful and unskilful means, mistakes and rectifications on both sides of the heroes and villains, the ‘Bodhisattvas’ and ‘maras’. This instalment speaks of the probable existence of ‘The Syndicate’, which comprises of past agents gone rogue, like ‘ex-Bodhisattvas’ who lost their way, who have become minions of Mara. Are there such syndicates in real life? The bad news is yes, but there are many; not just one! Though their missions are similar, to wreck havoc for personal benefit, their lack of unity as a single syndicate makes it truly a Mission Improbable for tackling. Mara’s minions are undercover secret agents too! Relentlessness can only be handled by the more relentless. This is where the IMF comes in. But let us not deify unenlightened efforts, for only enlightened operations are genuine all the way, never harmful and only helpful. Bodhisattvas have a no-kill policy as their first precept too!
Hunley initially thought the IMF was reckless and ought to be dissolved. He later realised the need for its risks for the greater good, which often bypass bureaucratic red tape. Desperate measures for desperate times. The real IMF of Bodhisattvas can never be dissolved. They will always be around to do what they can to save the day, till their efforts are deemed useless, towards the end of the Dharma Ending Age, when their help will be misunderstood, karmically sending their slanderers to worse realms. Hunley later reasoned that ‘The Syndicate’s infiltration into the system had gotten so deep that it needed absolute cover. Shuttering the IMF was part of an elaborate scheme to expose ‘The Syndicate’. Again, as instructed in the Surangama Sutra, true Bodhisattva agents should not leak their identities, and should depart once exposed. This means living ‘Buddha, Bodhisattva and Arhat’ claimants are all false and out to confuse. A case of Mara’s minions’ blowing their own cover!
