"2,600 years ago," "Buddha reached enlightenment beneath this Bodhi tree." "I'm not exaggerating when I say" "I'm overcome with merit." "Kaveewut's Principle A.K.A YES  NO Theory" "Leave me alone" "Newton discovered gravity by sitting under an apple tree." "I discovered 'The Truth of Life' by choosing dumplings or noodles." "My life has been a series of choices." "Each day, I choose to wear long pants or shorts." "Sandals or sneakers." "To commute by bus or by taxi." "Or bigger choices in girlfriends." "Pretty!" "Or not pretty." "My world is black and white." "Things I like and dislike." "Too bad Jib is a major dislike." "I felt sorry for her at the time." "But I felt more sorry for myself because I never get what I want." "Unemployment won't kill you." "It can happen to anyone." "But four jobless years was killing me." "I'll let you know." "Of course, he didn't call back." "Mom says I'm being too choosy." "Is it wrong to be choosy?" "Aren't they wrong for not choosing me?" "But, I didn't expect it from Kate." "You think you can take care of me?" "Kate kept talking that day." "I didn't get most of it." "It was all a blur." "What I got was her likes and dislikes change on a whim." "To her, I was just a loser who never succeeded in anything." "I don't think you can take care of me." "Dumplings and noodles please." "For 60 baht, choosing both is easy." "But more complex choices need a rational system." "Cavemen worshiped lightning and fire." "Things they didn't understand." "Which became religious cults." "So, I turned to religion." ""Kick your Karma, Kickstart Wealth"" "I decided karma is the best system." "My pathetic life is caused by bad karma from my last life." "Doing good would bring good karma." "And good karma would bring more good." "It circled back to my original choice:" "What I like and dislike." "Mom can I have 30,000 baht?" "Why do you need so much?" "I'm going on a pilgrimage." "It wasn't easy to convince her that Buddhist holy sites and the local temple are different things." "But here I am!" "Bodh Gaya, one of Buddhism's four holy sites." "Anyone who prays here will go to heaven after their death." "30,000 is nothing for a ticket to heaven!" "But it will be great if this merit brings good to this life too." "I googled a "YES  NO list"" "of DOs and DON'Ts for this trip." "It is my pilgrimage guide and survival manual." "YES!" ":" "Apply gold leaf on a sacred site" "YES!" ":" "Chant a Buddhist prayer 26 times" "YES!" ":" "Always ask for a blessing" "YES!" ":" "Pour sacred water to make merit" "YES!" ":" "Bring back a Bodhi leaf for mom" "NO!" ":" "Don't give money to beggars" "Good evening, Luang Pee." "How are you?" "Good evening." "The rooms are full." "Luang Pee said to stay with you." "Make yourself at home." "Come alone too?" "Yes." " Where are you from?" " Bangkok." "What's your name?" "Kamol." "Kamol is quite weird." "He's an avid Buddhist, fascinated with the supernatural." "He likes to meditate to enhance his mental state." "He has strange experiences that no one else does." "Such as..." "While meditating, a ghost came and asked him for merit." "Seeing a ghost is not so strange." "But it is when you're meditating by the swimming pool." "Sometimes, he recalls his past lives." "He was a cat." "A rooster." "A monkey" "The strangest story happened while he meditated in the forest." "He saw a bright light orbiting in the sky." "He thought it was an UFO from another galaxy contacting him." "I think he's just a lonely old man without any family." "He's traveled to India alone 8 times." "Who knows if he saw everything he claimed or not." "When is your birthday?" "Huh?" "I can tell your fortune." "Interested?" "Sure." "Why not." "I was born on April 7, 1985" "That's my daughter's birthday." "What a coincidence!" "April 7th." "Why didn't you bring her to India?" "What time were you born?" "In the morning, I think..." "What was that?" "A dream?" "I must have heard too many of Kamol's stories." "Or is it a sign?" "Awesome!" "A sign after just one day!" "Heaven and earth meet on this spot." "If we meditate here, it will strengthen our mental state." "So, let's start." "Breath in Bodh..." "Breath out Dho..." "Bodh..." "Dho..." "Piece of cake!" "I'll sit for an hour." "Bodh..." "Dho..." "Yeah, I feel pretty good." "I'll teach mom when I get home." "Bodh..." "Dho..." "What is Kate up to?" "Bodh..." "Dho..." "Maybe she's changed her mind and wants me back." "Bodh..." "Dho..." "I'm doing pretty good." "A lot of time has passed." "Bodh..." "Dho..." "A half-hour must have passed." "What?" "Only 5 minutes?" "Bodh..." "Dho..." "Maybe I should start with 30 minutes?" "Bodh..." "Dho..." "My butt aches." "My legs are cramped." "I'm thirsty..." "Kamol..." "I forgot to take my pills." "I have to head back." "Are you ok?" "I'm fine." "You continue." "Luang Pee, may I help?" "Thank you." "Grab a broom." "Do we really gain some hefty merit if we trace Buddha's steps?" "I'm not sure." "I haven't tried lifting it." "So I don't know how hefty it is." "Don't tease me." "I'm sure you'd gain a lot of merit." "Why?" "A fortune teller told me I was sinful." "In a past life I was greedy Choo Chok." "Wow!" "You're very famous then." "Maybe he was lying." "In large amounts, both merit and sin can be hurtful." "So merit is as bad as sin?" "But Buddha taught us to do good, right?" "That's not what I meant." "Please get the dust pan." "Merit and sin are real." "To do good and not be bad is a tenet of every religion." "The Buddha accepts this." "But it's not his core teachings." "Then what did he teach?" "Briefly, he taught the true nature of life, the path to end suffering." "Can you put it in laymen's terms?" "Let me tell you a parable." "It's an old story from Buddha's time." "A couple crossed the desert with their baby." "But they got lost and their baby died." "They were going to die from starvation." "So, they ate their baby to survive." "Buddha told this story for us to picture eating our baby when we eat." "It reminds us to eat for sustenance, not pleasure." "It's a cruel lesson." "How do you think that couple felt?" "They must have suffered a lot." "It must have been terrible." "Eating their dead baby!" "Any sane person would feel the same." "But the cause of their suffering was not eating the baby." "It was their attachment to 'their' baby." "On a deeper level, it exposes the illusion of the 'Self'." "Merit and sin balance the bad 'Self' and the good 'Self'." "But Buddha teaches us to realize that the 'Self' does not exist." "It's an illusion." "You lost me." "The 'Self' and 'Mine' are the cause of human suffering." "Go back and mull this over." "'Self' and 'Mine'." "What is my 'Self'?" "My first instinct is to say my likes and dislikes." "And then, my past and childhood memories." "On a more basic level, my body shape and appearance." "Now, how about 'Mine'?" "Simple!" "My parents, my relatives, and my grandparents." "My uncles, aunts and cousins." "My brothers and sister." "My friends:" "Seiw, Joon, Sam, Wittawut," "Choo, Oou, Arkom, Vee, Third, Nara, Kate, Jib." "My 'yes/no' notebook, shoes, clothes, my DVDs, video games, and game consoles." "@#$B!" "?" "*?" "B" "I have too much stuff." "Kamol..." "Are you OK?" "You leaving, M?" "Yes." "Will you be back?" "Yes, my flight back is from Gaya." "Don't you want to travel?" "I've been all over." "I like it here." "Well, I have to go." "Have a good trip." "See you on your way back." "YES!" ":" "Drive a hard bargain" "It's the most basic rule." "But it's not like bargaining back home." "In India, you start at half price." "Don't fear being cursed at because you won't understand a word." "Sarnath, how much?" "Sarnath?" "2,000 rupee." " 1,000, OK?" " - 1,500." "Fine." "OK." "Get in." "Sarnath is only 250 km from Bodh Gaya." "But Indian roads suck, so it took 9 hours." "It was the longest 9 hours of my life." "I finally reached Dhamek Stupa where Buddha gave his first sermon." "Why doesn't it look like the pictures?" "Where is Sarnath Thai Temple?" "NO!" ":" "Don't trust 'no problem'" "Don't believe an Indian who says 'no problem'." "It's 'no problem' for them." "But a problem for you." "It was on my list but I forgot." "Damn it!" "My bag's so heavy." "Why don't I travel light?" "Damn driver!" "Don't let me catch you!" "Why did I bring an atlas to India!" "Oh, 'Self and Mine'." "Miyamoto Yuiko, a Japanese girl backpacker on her own in India." "I respect her courage." "I'm a man yet I'm wary to travel alone." "Yuiko must think she's shopping at her local market because she looks so chilled." "Yuiko doesn't talk about herself." "So I don't know much about her." "Just that she likes to read and is a librarian." "A Japanese girl backpacker on her own in India." "Bingo!" "My merit is paying off quick." "Biography of Lord Buddha" "Darn!" "It's not in the book." "Lucky me!" "I think she forgot what she asked." "People warned me that the food here is very dirty." "NO!" ":" "Don't eat street food I think they were right." "I read about a Thai guy on a pilgrimage who died from diarrhea." "What should I do?" "If I don't eat it, my image as adventurer will be ruined." "And Yuiko will think I'm a loser." "Gosh!" "Why are you forcing me?" "Do I look like it's delicious?" "She was right, it tasted good." "But the warnings were also right." "When I read that someone died from diarrhea, I burst out laughing." "But when it happened to me, it wasn't funny." "It's no wonder that Indians don't get sick." "But does Yuiko have a stomach of steel?" "I added 2 items to my Yes  No List." "YES!" ":" "Japanese girl backpacker" "NO!" ":" "Don't eat street food to impress her" "This is pure torture." "A civil war is being waged between the germs and the pills that I took." "My stomach, their battle field, is being destroyed." "Come to think of it," "I've had a stomach problems since I was young." "It's like repeating a grade." "Or getting the same question wrong on a test." "I knew my stomach is bad but I still ate it." "Our bodies are the best teachers of the truth of life." "Jane is a 30 year old man." "His family is quite rich." "But he didn't want to run his family's business." "So after graduation, he decided to travel the world." "Music video director:" "Mumbai" "Bartender:" "Maldives" "Waiter:" "New York" "Porn photographer:" "Thailand" "Honestly," "NO!" ":" "Hipster guys I hated him at first sight." "How's it going, M?" "How long do you plan to stay here?" "Why?" "Nothing." "You just have a lot of stuff." "Indefinite, I guess." " Chewing gum?" " No, thanks." "The worst thing on this trip was..." "NO!" ":" "Bunking with Jane ...sharing a room with Jane." "I want the big bed." "I can't hold it anymore." "Can I go first?" "Yeah..." "Whatever!" "If I don't do something, Yuiko will fall for Jane." "I must win her back." "Let's buy him some Samosas." "If he gets diarrhea, he can't go to Kushinagar." "Then just Yuiko and I will travel together." "YES!" ":" "Go to Kushinagar with Yuiko" "Wait!" "What if he's fine?" "Yuiko was fine when she ate it." "This plan won't work." "Or I can tie him up and lock him in the room." "And tell Yuiko he went on his own." "YES!" ":" "Go to Kushinagar with Yuiko" "That's too mean." "Besides, I think he's stronger than me." "How about a more devious plan?" "Hide his passport." "Then he can't travel." "YES!" ":" "Go to Kushinagar with Yuiko" "What an evil plan!" "Not watching TV, M?" "No." "I'm going to sleep." "You and Yuiko will go to Kushinagar, right?" "I won't go with you." "Why not?" "I'm heading north to the Himalayas." "Oh..." "Er..." "Jane..." "Why did you come to India?" "What should I say?" "And?" "That's all." "My life was a mess." "It was boring." "The same routine everyday." "I don't think your life is boring." "I don't know." "Life should have more meaning." "So why did you come to India?" "Although I don't like Jane much, the thought of not seeing him again makes me sad." "I'm finally alone with Yuiko as I wished." "We hitched a ride with a Thai tour group." "YES!" ":" "Sit with Yuiko on an aircon bus" "Cheap and comfortable!" "I'm so lucky!" "Kushinagar is where Buddha died and reached nirvana." "How should I say it." "The atmosphere made me sad." "I was born 2,600 years too late so I didn't get to meet Buddha." "Yuiko looks sad too." "Maybe she feels the same way." "Every place I went there were ruins." "I couldn't picture their glorious pasts." "But I could see how time destroyed them." "Impermanence is the true state of being." "Hmm... sounds wise..." "YES!" ":" "Say cool things ...and smart." "I should tell Yuiko." "What a mean joke!" "You scared me." "But was it really a joke?" "Don't think too much, she just wants to save money." "But I can't wait for tomorrow night." "Damn it!" "I forgot to return his passport." "Napaporn Pajainak Born:" "April 7, 1985;" "Died:" "June 22, 2002" "The thing about bad luck is it tends to all come at once." "Or maybe, it pretends to be good luck that can always turn bad?" "Perhaps, what Kamol really wanted to see wasn't an alien spaceship." "But his daughter's spirit." "I wonder how Jane is?" "I hope he's not in jail." "And..." "Yuiko..." "I probably won't see her again." "And I will never know whether she told the truth that day." "Going back, M?" "Hi, Kamol." "Yes, I am." "Safe travels, son." "Kamol..." "Take care of yourself too." "How are you?" "Going back?" "Yes." "Did you find Buddha in India?" "Dunno." "All I saw was bricks and ruins." "You're right, M. Buddha died thousands of years ago." "It's impossible to see him." "But if you stop looking with your eyes, and use your mind instead, you'll be able to see him." "Even at home." "Buddha taught that he who has Dharma will meet the Buddha." "Again?" "Why do you say things that require lots of thought?" "I already have a lot on my mind." "You must think." "Otherwise it's useless." "Buddhism is not just for rituals." "It must be lived." "Luang Pee..." "Last time, you said the 'Self' is an illusion." "So how do you explain my sadness?" "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius." "Though no one is aware of it, the water will still boil." "The mind is the same." "By nature, it can be happy or sad." "We must be aware of those feelings." "And have the wisdom to see that the 'Self' and 'Mine' are just an illusion that hide the truth from us." "Impermanence, dissatisfaction, and non-self." "Life in flux." "All phenomena rise up and fall again." "If we cling to the illusion of 'Self', we are unable to extinguish suffering." "Buddha taught The Path to End Suffering." "But you must practice it yourself." "Only you can save yourself." "Frankly," "I didn't really understand what he said." "And I'm not so sure that this journey will end in the heaven I expected." "What am I doing here?" "I went on a pilgrimage without a true understanding." "I thought it would make me happy." "But what is happiness?" "If happiness leads to suffering, then why do we seek happiness?" "Buddhism's four holy sites are places of sacred wisdom." "What should we be aware of?" "Suffering?" "Or Happiness?" "M, how was India?" "Fine, ignore me." "YES!" ":" "Kate wants to start over" "YES!" ":" "Win the lottery!" "Sorry, you did not win any prize." "YES!" ":" "Live the rest of my life happily" "Now I realize, my 'Yes  No' list is the cause of my suffering." "My world..." "Since when was it mine?" "If I close my eyes, what remains of my world?" "All I hear is the fan." "All I feel is my breath." "All I sense are these random thoughts." "What if Luang Pee was right?" "That the cycle of life and death is real." "That the 'Self' doesn't exist." "Our body is just a mass of elements always in flux." "Jane..." "Wake up, don't ignore us." "We stayed to party with you." "Huh?" "Jane, hurry up, I'm horny." "Jane, I want it rough tonight." "What did you call me?" "Jane." "Should I call you something else?" "I'm going to eat you up." "Softly." "It hurts." "What the hell!" "What did you do?" "We were just biting you." "Are you sick?" "Why are you yelling?" "Talk to us nicely." "Nicely?" "You're crazy." "I'm not Jane." "What's the commotion?" "Jane won't let us eat him." "What?" "Why are you being coy?" " You can eat me instead." " You're the best." "Kamol." "Don't get distracted, Fah." "They're almost here." "Who's Fah?" "It's me, M." "This is out of control." "That's enough for today." "Let's go home." "This is all your doing, right?" "Your mind is playing tricks on me." "Are you mad at me because I didn't meditate with you?" "What's wrong with you?" "You sound strange." "I'm not your daughter." "Don't be confused." "Your daughter is dead." "Calm down." "Look, whatever you are, possessing my daughter." "Please release her." "I'll make merit for you." "I'm not a ghost asking for merit." "Really?" "Fah, focus your mind." "Think of Buddha's teachings." "You are possessed by a demon." "It's a delusion." "Calm yourself." "Think carefully." "Fah..." "My daughter." "Can you see now?" "What are you doing to me?" "Let's go home." "Yuiko?" "Are you Buddha?" "I am the Creator." "I am the Truth." "I created this world for you." "I gave you life." "Without me, you would not exist." "Worship me." "What should I call you?" "You can call me God." "God, my friend is dying." "Please save her." "Sure, no problem." "Thank you, God." "If you are happy, so am I." "Don't forget to worship me." "Call me your Protector and you will have eternal life." "If your body dies, I will take you to a better world." "You will enjoy eternal bliss." "Is eternity a bit long?" "Must I be reborn forever?" "To be happy or to suffer is normal." "Don't dwell on your suffering." "Focus on the happiness your body and mind have enjoyed in the past and in the future." "What if I no longer seek happiness?" "What if I feel that happiness is a mental illusion." "Would that be true happiness?" "Are you rejecting me?" "Without me, what are you?" "I'm just a vessel of life and death." "And so are you." "How insolent!" "If you don't desire heaven, then go to hell!" "Yuiko, it's just a mental illusion." "Everything is an illusion." "Here comes tonight's special."