I have just seen the movie and it was wonderful. Great cinematography and great story, raises many questions about happiness, life, love, sex, ethics and enlightenment. Now, to answer your questions. Taking an interest in Buddhism is nice, but it is also Hinduism that this movie has many influences from. Hindus believe in an immense cosmic force that governs all existence (God). Individual gods and goddesses are personifications of this force. Being myself an Orthodox Christian I see Buddhism and Hinduism as great philosophies with a broad and complex range of beliefs that can nurture a great diversity in thought.
Beginning from the title of the movie, Samsara or reincarnation in Hindu, it is believed that the soul is reborn many times. According to Hinduism, we are released from Samsara (rebirth) when we reach Moksha. It is then that the soul will unify with God like a drop of water in the ocean. The speed with which a person can be freed from Samsara is dependent on Karma.
You can see now that this symbolic meaning of saving one’s soul was met twice in the film, at the beginning and at the end. At these points, Tashi was following a different path of enlightenment in his life. At the beginning he was ending his life as a monk, while at the end he was ending his life as a husband and as a father. That is because, as Apo, the older monk, so eloquently put it in his letter just before his death: What is more important: satisfying one thousand desires or conquering just one?
Apo and Tashi are the different sides of the same coin, they both want to reach enlightenment but they follow different paths (Tashi decides to make a family). Since they are still in Samsara, Apo suggests in his letter that when they meet again in the next life they will discuss what they learned from this life. Tashi, feeling that he failed, not knowing what to do, decides to go back to the monastery. It is actually his wife that takes him out of the dilemma at the end of the movie. Yes, Tashi made many mistakes during his family life but it is there that he found happiness and meaning. Tashi, having realized now that he wants to return home to his family, his wife doesn’t want him back anymore.
I have to say that the ending reminded me of a Greek tragedy. Throughout the film Tashi was suffering because he didn’t have the knowledge – he learned about sex, about people, about life etc – at the end he suffers because he has the knowledge (he is much wiser now) but he can’t make amends since his wife won’t take him back. This is bad karma, so he is now back where he started and a piece of rock is reminding him of our final destination (the water drop symbolism), therein lies the tragedy.
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alexoneill1469
16 years ago
I believe you are close, however, the cause of Samsara is ignorance, ignorance leads to judgments, which leads to desire, which leads to attachment, which leads to suffering, this is what the film is trying to show us. How do you stop a drop of water from drying up? This means, how do you stop the cessation of that which is pleasurable: By throwing it in the ocean. Only when you stop worrying about a drop of water that will dry up and throw it in the ocean, can you let go of that attachment you have to it. Buddhist masters, will always tell you to 'let go,' just let go, and by allowing the drops of samsara to take their natural course in the ocean, you do not have to worry about that which will obviously dry up.
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