The name of the movie alone fascinated me for a long time, when i finally saw it, it turned out not to be quite what i had expected. I always think deep in the essence of Buddhism there lies a hint of resignation and defeatism in the disguise of peace and harmony, but in a positive sort of way. Ppl are obsessed with the feeling of being in control, evidenced by thousands of choices made on a daily basis. But really a man has very limited power in steering his life in the way he envisioned -- entrenched in his own lifeboat in the sea of society and history, he has no way of knowing in which way the wind blows, all he can do is trying his best to maintain the balance of that boat in the raging storm so it does not tip over under the repeated attack of thunders, lightnings and the surging waves. So Buddhism says why not give up the pretense of being in control and take what's coming to you. Let go the obsession over the man-made concept of fairness and play with the cards you were dealt.
The whole story of the travelers hinged on the last conversation between the official and the monk. Even what you just came to realize as the true meaning of life is only contingent truth. Everything is circumstantial, and beauty by its nature will die right in front of your eyes just as you started to get use to it. In a sense this movie is a tragedy, but done in an almost nonchalant way, and that's the beauty of it. The teasing tone of the monk also reflects the mentality of the story-telling. The official thought he had a vision in life, then the movie made painstaking efforts to build up this self-revealing moment where he discovered what he really wanted in life. And that moment itself was done in such a casual way you'd miss it if you blinked. Then when the movie drew to the end he dismissed that revelation with a brief smile and we were back to where we started. Then you would have the revelation of your own as the credits started to roll : Oh, so it's like a Samsara.
Speaking of which, the story in the story about lust and murder (or it's more like the story in the story which is in the main story) reflects my favorite quote in the movie "Samsara". In that movie, a monk succumbed to the flesh of a woman and deflected to the worldly life, and years later his dying master sent him a message: "I'm about to die. And I know I haven't achieved Nirvana in this life so I'm destined to go into Samsara and come back to this world as a new born. Maybe we should meet again, and then you can tell me, which is more fulfilling -- to satisfy a thousand desire or to conquer one."
The whole story of the travelers hinged on the last conversation between the official and the monk. Even what you just came to realize as the true meaning of life is only contingent truth. Everything is circumstantial, and beauty by its nature will die right in front of your eyes just as you started to get use to it. In a sense this movie is a tragedy, but done in an almost nonchalant way, and that's the beauty of it. The teasing tone of the monk also reflects the mentality of the story-telling. The official thought he had a vision in life, then the movie made painstaking efforts to build up this self-revealing moment where he discovered what he really wanted in life. And that moment itself was done in such a casual way you'd miss it if you blinked. Then when the movie drew to the end he dismissed that revelation with a brief smile and we were back to where we started. Then you would have the revelation of your own as the credits started to roll : Oh, so it's like a Samsara.
Speaking of which, the story in the story about lust and murder (or it's more like the story in the story which is in the main story) reflects my favorite quote in the movie "Samsara". In that movie, a monk succumbed to the flesh of a woman and deflected to the worldly life, and years later his dying master sent him a message: "I'm about to die. And I know I haven't achieved Nirvana in this life so I'm destined to go into Samsara and come back to this world as a new born. Maybe we should meet again, and then you can tell me, which is more fulfilling -- to satisfy a thousand desire or to conquer one."