Samsara (2023)

[bunniefuu]

To experience the film properly,

it is necessary to watch it in complete darkness,

so that the luminous experience it proposes is complete.

Warning: This film contains a scene

with stroboscopic effects that may cause

discomfort to photosensitive viewers.

Laos

Good morning.

Good morning, Mom.

Have you eaten?

Yes.

What are you cooking?

Fried canned fish.

It smells yummy.

I'm going to visit the old lady today.

I need the key for the boat.

How is she?

She's starting to get very frail.

Is there much left to read?

I'm afraid that I won't finish it.

Can't she read it by herself?

It's a book

someone has to read to you.

Here's the boat key.

Good morning, Phouang.

Good morning, how are you?

Good, just finished

pre-military training yesterday.

That's great.

It's quite hot here.

Yes, you need to take a dip

at Kuang Si waterfall.

-Ever been there?

-Yes.

Did you know there was a cave

under the waterfall?

They say a golden deer lived there.

But in 2001, it rained heavily

and it caused a huge flash flood

that destroyed the cave.

Nobody saw the golden deer again.

Come in, come in.

Have some water.

How is your mother?

She has trouble breathing properly.

But she's calm.

Sometimes the pain is severe,

sometimes milder...

It's just as well

that we have dreams.

When we go to sleep,

they tell us such lovely stories.

I was in the sea.

There was I in the sea

that I've never seen before.

I was a starfish. A red one.

My child,

I want to be reincarnated

as an animal.

Many people think

that this is a punishment,

but that is only because

we treat animals so badly.

How are we doing with the book?

Good, almost finished.

I don't want to get lost

in this place where I'm heading.

"We are about to enter the stage

where your body

loses its external breathing

and your inner one fades away too.

Oh, Mon, of noble birth.

Now your body is that of a ghost,

and you meet your acquaintances

and visit familiar places

as if they were a dream.

When you meet them...

even though you try to talk to them,

they do not answer.

When seeing your loved ones cry,

you will think:

'Now that I'm dead, what can I do?'

You will feel a great pain

that pierces you,

like a fish out of water.

You will hear the sound of avalanches,

floods, fires and hurricanes.

As your mind has no body,

it cannot settle.

You feel cold, angry and upset.

And your attention seems erratic,

volatile and restless.

Then you will have

the following thought:

'And now that I'm dead,

what can I do?'

The fact is that you must travel

without remaining attached

to anywhere.

So, do not worry about it

and let your mind rest

and wander through

the intermediate existence.

You will see your land,

your loved ones,

and your own corpse and think again:

'What can I do now that I am dead?'

And then:

'How beautiful it would be

to have a new body.' "

Living here or in my village

is very different.

In the village

we know that we go to school

and help our parents

with household chores.

After school, on the weekend,

we work in the rice fields.

My family lives in a remote area.

We're poor.

Our family lives far from the town.

As we live in a remote area,

most of us do rice farming.

There are fewer opportunities

for studying.

Another important thing

is that I've learned about Buddhism.

Because I'm part

of the Hmong ethnic group.

You know our religion is different.

It was similar for me.

It was a miracle for me

to become a monk.

It was a big coincidence.

I find it hard to understand.

I also lived in a remote area.

My parents are animists.

So it was a difficult decision

to become a monk.

But this was the best chance I had.

Buddhism teaches us

to be good people.

Hi, are you Amid?

I'm Bee An,

I live at this temple.

Is that your boat?

Yes.

Tomorrow we need to go

to a temple near Kuang Si waterfall.

I'll be going with a few novices.

Do you think you could take us there?

Yes, I can take you via a shortcut.

It'll be faster.

That's great.

What book are you reading?

This one?

It's a Buddhist scripture,

a Tibetan book.

I'm reading it to an old lady.

Can't she read?

She can't see well.

But it's a book

that has to be read to you.

Yes, I know this book.

The Buddhism in Laos

is different from Tibet.

Hello, table. I'll miss you so much.

I've written so many words on you.

I've gained a lot of knowledge

from you.

You are my dear table.

My mirror, my face.

We've seen each other every day.

We've grown up together.

Who will you become now?

And now, my bed,

I have to bid you farewell.

Can you hold me tight

when the time comes?

Will it be like when I sleep?

Hi, Mon.

Hi, Amid.

Can you please read the book to me?

If you let me start talking,

I won't stop.

Yes, let me find the page

so I can continue.

"Oh, Mon, of noble birth.

From now on, you will no longer feel

the body of your previous life.

And the body of your emerging life

will become more and more obvious.

Then you will feel sad and think:

'I am suffering so much,

I will look for any body

that appears.'

Then the Six Lights of the Six Realms

will gradually appear."

Amid, I'm ready.

The Six Lights.

The red, the green,

the blue...

We are all light.

Infinity slips through the cracks.

From one body to another.

The world opens to those

who open up to it.

It's a glimmer. A glimmer.

Is that right, Por?

I don't know.

We don't know,

the teacher doesn't tell us.

The teacher doesn't tell you at all?

You'll soon learn Laotian, right?

What is the most well-known Lao food?

The most well-known Lao food is laap.

What do we use to cook laap?

Duck, chicken...

Buffalo.

Laos has one nationality,

which is Lao,

but over fifty ethnic groups.

Who are from the Hmong ethnic group?

Put up your hand.

What ethnic groups belong

to the Hmong language family?

Yao, Akha, Brou

Where do these groups live?

Push the boat out.

Novice, do you know

that we keep hearing after we die?

Scientists say

we still hear for a few hours.

How do they know?

I don't know.

I read it on the Internet.

So, what plans have you got?

I want to carry on studying

at university.

Information Technology.

And how about you?

Not sure.

I'm really into rap music right now.

I'll work hard to become well-known.

The weather is quite nice today.

Yes, and the water is cool, too.

What about your friends?

They're playing over there.

Will they always be monks?

I heard that

two or three of them will leave.

One who's in high school right now

will leave the monkhood this year.

Have you seen something?

A snake, Amid!

How many heads does it have?

I felt it go over my feet.

Come here. Come and watch this.

Cool music.

What are you listening to?

It's your band.

So cool.

This is my band.

Novice, where have you been?

We've been looking for you for a week.

Really?

We've been looking for you for a week.

But I just slept for an hour.

Amid, look at that tree.

That tree over there.

Take a good look.

The one on its side?

Yes.

Look at it

as if you wanted to go through it.

Look at it and try to understand it.

Understand it?

Put yourself in its place.

Understand its concerns.

Do you notice anything?

I think so.

What do you feel?

I feel that the tree

has started to look at me.

It's always been looking at you.

But you didn't realize it.

Later you will see your land,

your loved ones

and your own corpse, and think again:

"What can I do now that I am dead?"

"How beautiful it would be

to have a new body."

Thank you, Amid, for coming so fast.

She died a little while ago.

"Oh, Mon, of noble birth.

Now you have come to the end.

When body and mind separate.

The pure truth will be revealed to you

in a rapid vision.

Don't be afraid.

You have a mental instinctive body,

not a material one.

Any sound, light or lightning bolt

that come to you, cannot hurt you.

You cannot die.

Understand that you are in the bardo:

the intermediate state."

"Later you will look at your land,

your loved ones

and your own corpse, and think again:

'Now that I am dead, what can I do?'

'How beautiful it would be

to have a new body.' "

We're going.

We'll take the first steps together.

Mon's spirit is going to travel through the Bardo.

- The Intermediate Reality -

Thanks to the book, she will know to guide herself.

We will go along with her.

To make the trip, we will close our eyes.

We will sense light through our eyelids, but we will not open them.

Only when the silence comes will we open them again.

It will be a long journey.

Now please close your eyes.

Zanzibar - Tanzania

Juwairiya, wake up.

The kid goat has been born.

Can you see her?

She's so tiny!

Do you like her?

Yes, she's so pretty.

Hi, Juwairiya,

I told you not to bring the goat.

We're just coming inside...

Leave the goat out there.

I don't want to leave her outside.

Leave her out there

so she can eat grass.

Okay, come in and sit down.

She won't make a mess, will she?

Bring her in.

Where is everyone?

Are you all outside?

Juwairiya, that goat.

It's two weeks old now

and it still has no name.

Two weeks and still no name?

What is going on, child?

Mariam, when is your trip to Paje?

The trip is today.

I'm going there to look at machines

that refine seaweed.

I'll see how seaweed is refined,

find out if it's possible

to do it here,

and get support

to bring the machines here.

Sell soap like those women do

and earn a little bit more money.

Sounds really good.

May Allah make the road easy.

Inshallah.

Her name is Neema.

That's a good name.

Neema! Like one of my cousins.

They look alike as well.

Come on, you'll be late for school.

Neema, hurry now, we're late.

The tide is low, we have to go.

Move it.

If you're late for school,

you'll be punished.

We'll arrive late

at the seaweed farms, too.

This is a palm tree.

And those are clouds.

Clouds.

And that's the house

of my friend Hafsa.

And that's a boat.

For catching fish.

Okay, let's get a move on.

Go inside.

Let's move.

Quick. Quick. Quick.

Everyone do it together, all right?

Clap your hands as well.

These are the type of animal

That it's good to know about

These are the type of animal

That it's good to know about

Animals that are domestic

Like cows, donkeys and camels

Animals that are domestic

Like cows, donkeys and camels

And those that are wild

Like lions, leopards and zebras

And those that are wild

Like lions, leopards and zebras.

A round of applause.

So now we will see these animals

on the...

Board!

On our board.

Which type of animals are these?

Those are domestic!

And these?

Those are wild.

Domestic ones,

and those that are wild.

Besides those that we mentioned,

who can tell me any animals

that we haven't named?

When one is mentioned,

we all repeat it.

Cat.

-All together!

-Cat!

Okay, another animal.

Hey, this side! Look on this side!

Rabbit!

Rabbit all together!

Rabbit!

Again!

Rabbit!

Everything is for sale here.

Even people were sold once.

But don't worry, they won't sell you.

Feel at home.

Ten thousand!

Eleven!

Twelve!

Thirteen!

Fourteen!

Fifteen!

Sixteen!

Seventeen!

Eighteen!

Nineteen!

Twenty!

Twenty-one!

Twenty-two!

Twenty-three!

Twenty-four!

Twenty-five!

Twenty-six!

Twenty-seven!

Twenty-eight!

Twenty-nine!

Thirty!

Thirty-one!

Thirty-two!

Thirty-three!

Thirty-four!

Thirty-five!

Thirty-six!

Thirty-seven!

Thirty-eight!

Thirty-eight!

Are you cold?

The cold season

is when seaweed can be picked.

From August on

the crops often get diseases.

The seaweed hardly grows at all.

All this business with hotels...

When they clean the pools,

all the water ends up here.

Some of that water

reached my section

and there were lots of

small dead fish in it.

That water has chemicals.

Let's kick up a real fuss this time.

Don't they say

seaweed is the third biggest export?

The government

is making money from it.

If they don't sort it out,

we'll lose the crop and our jobs.

And it's the women who will suffer.

Look around, who does this work?

Women!

What age are these women?

All above 30!

Do young people want to do this work?

This work is such hard labor,

but the earnings...

A pittance!

700 or 800 shillings is not enough.

Have you ever bought

seaweed soap for 800?

No way!

This is why men don't pick seaweed.

So if the price rises,

I honestly believe

that more of us will have work.

So everyone will earn

a little bit more.

In my mind what I imagined is...

If this situation improves,

we could build a house.

There would be less struggles

in life.

There would be less struggles

in life.

You know there's a jellyfish

that when it grows and gets old,

it starts to become young again.

Every time it gets old,

this jellyfish...

Once it grows old,

it starts to become young.

Once it grows old,

it starts to become young again.

That would be much better.

This is how you clean the seaweed.

And this same seaweed

will be made into many things.

It can be made into lotion,

into soap...

It changes shape over and over again.

Hey... you're spitting on me.

She's making a mess in your space.

She's used to you now.

She'll follow you to school.

She'll wait for you while you study.

Life is change.

And in the future,

when you're as old as I am,

what will you be like?

Every dawn

brings new changes in life.

Are you listening?

Life is change.

Things change and times change.

You have to think about this.

Many things are lived in a life.

Where will you be

when you're as old as me?

As-salaamu Alaikum.

Va-alaikum As-salaam.

I'm looking for the offices

of Furahia Wanawake.

Do you know where it is?

That red roof just over there.

You go up, it's on the right.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

This machine grinds seaweed.

Dried seaweed.

You wash it.

When you wash the seaweed,

doesn't it remove the minerals?

No, they don't come out.

The minerals

are all inside the seaweed.

We wash it to avoid oxide.

The soap is made in that machine.

We add coconut oil,

caustic soda,

water.

We add spices.

And then we add one kilo

of seaweed powder.

Where do you normally sell these?

These ones,

the ones from the machine,

we take around.

Hotels and the local community

tend to buy them.

Tourists like theirs

straight from the machine.

They prefer that.

The soap smells stronger.

And it's better quality.

The pipe here is producing soap,

and it's mixed with water there.

What's that one for?

That water helps to cool the machine.

Which bracelet do you like?

Where should we put it?

When you make these marks

on your face,

it means the Maasai

have spread all over Tanzania.

Some end up changing

their traditional costumes.

They no longer dress like Maasai.

So If I come across one and maybe

he's wearing different clothes,

I'll know he's another Maasai

by these marks on his face.

That's the purpose.

We have many traditions.

For example,

when someone passes away,

after they die, they're taken

to the forest and left there.

The next day,

we check if the body

has been taken by animals.

If they're still there,

the body is taken to another place.

Now we're trying to change

because we no longer have the land.

So now when someone dies,

we take them to a grave,

we bury them and it ends there.

Okay, now sing it yourselves.

Run!

Now run!

Run!

Neema, where are you?

Please, please, come back.

When did the goat go missing?

When I was talking with the Maasai.

Why were you not together?

I went to the beach

and then never saw her again.

She'll come back.

What were you doing with the Maasai?

They were telling us

about their culture.

Like what?

In the old days, when someone died,

they'd leave the bodies

in the woods for the animals.

What lovely stories

the Maasai tell you.

Come, let's go for a walk.

There are many beliefs

about the end of life.

For us Muslims, when someone dies,

we wash them,

we wrap them in a shroud,

we pray for them and we bury them.

But there are others who prefer

to burn the body

and keep the ashes.

What I believe,

is that when someone passes on,

they go to paradise.

But there are others who believe

that when someone dies

the soul goes into another body.

When you die, your soul remains.

And it travels to another person,

or even an animal.

Can you believe that?

It means I could have been a Maasai

and you could have been an elephant

out in the forest

or a butterfly.

A butterfly?

Or our Neema.

Perhaps she was a huge tree

way up in the mountains.

A mountain full of snow.

Or perhaps she was an old woman

in her previous life.

An old woman?

Neema...

Find a safe place.

We'll find you.

My little goat.

Forgive me.

Forgive me.

Forgive me.