The Outrage

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Pa Muang City, A.D. 1567.

A succession of catastrophes

befell the city,

starting with a tremendous

earthquake,

followed by a great fire

and an epidemic.

They wiped out

more than half of the population.

Shortly afiemards,

there occurred a bizarre murder.

Singh Kham, the vicious forest bandit,

was arrested.

Forthwith the court handed down

a death sentence

to exorcize the misfortunes

that had struck the city.

PUBLIC EXECUTION

OF SINGH KHAM THE BANDI

LAN LUANG,

PA MUANG, A.D. 1567

AT THE GATE OF THE GHOS

PHRA TAT NAKORN:

PA MUANG TEMPLE:

Arnont, are you serious

about leaving the monkhood?

I am, sir.

I've thought it through.

You're the most devout follower

of the Buddhist precepts I've ever met.

You might want to give it

a second thought.

If you set out on a pilgrimage

and spend time in solitude

you might find the answer

to the riddle of life

that has clouded your soul.

I will pay a visit to my father

in Chiang Kam,

then I...

Good bye.

Be your own instructor

and judge your own behaviors

when one commits a sin

one is in one's own misery.

Self-conquest is the best

although it is very diicult.

One needs to help oneself

although it is very diicult.

Dhanna is the answer.

Those who have knowledge

are enlightened.

Your own enlightenment

is the essence of dhanna

and knowledge.

TAT LUANG TEMPLE,

CHIANG KAM, AD. 1557

Mother, can I be

a monk forever?

No, you can't.

When you grow up,

you'll have to help your father.

You'll have to

find yourself a wife.

You'll have to make a living

and build a family.

That's the path of life,

my son.

The truth of existence

everything is impennanent.

One should strive to act

in a way that is true

to the way things are,

that accords with the underlying

truth of things.

GLAZIER'S RESIDENCE,

CHIANG KAM, A.D. 1562

I'm so blessed to have

two wonderful sons.

Anant is a skilled merchant,

and you're a splendid craftsman.

Our family will make enough money

to last a few generations.

Anant, come look

at your brother's work.

Magnificent.

Your skill is second to none.

Well done, brother.

Anant,

Kham Eung is here

to discuss the wedding.

Excuse me, Father.

Your brother is getting married,

and so are you.

But, Father,

I've never loved a woman.

I've already approached Kam Duen,

daughter of the wealthy goldsmith.

- But, Father...

- Listen, son.

The path I've prepared for you

is the best.

Yes, Father.

Sexual desire never lasts,

creates suffering

that is toxic

causing more suffering.

It's a girl!

Mother has passed away.

Father,

I want to be ordained

to repay Mother's kindness.

TAT LUANG TEMPLE,

CHIANG KAM, A.D. 1566

Father is very old now.

He doesn't have many years

ahead of him.

He'll be happy

if you'd leave the monkhood

and come back home.

Brother,

we cannot see our souls

by looking into a mirror.

I've devoted my life

and soul to the virtue

of Lord Buddha

since the day I clothed myself

in saffron.

Now it's time for me to make

a pilgrimage to Pa Muang City

to study Lord Buddha's teachings.

Farewell, brother.

The truth of existence

everything is impennanent.

One should strive to act in a way

that is true to the way things are,

that accords with

the underlying truth of things.

Sir! Sir!

I've been looking for you

everywhere.

Is it true that you've

left the temple?

A storm is coming, sir.

Let's find shelter

in Pa Muang Tunnel.

Please get inside, sir.

It's warmer.

Sir.

Do you really intend

to disrobe?

I have to get this

off of my chest, sir.

The testimony that you and I

heard in court is total nonsense.

But if you're leaving the temple

just because of that,

it doesn't make sense either.

And what is it

that makes sense?

I'm just an uneducated

woodcutter.

All I can do is cut wood.

An earthquake.

What did you say?

Fire.

Famine.

Epidemic.

Those things are not unnatural.

You can't blame the rain

and the lightning.

But those things make sense.

No matter how strong

an earthquake is...

I can understand it.

But what I can't understand

is the cruelty

that we force upon ourselves

and other human beings.

Sir, please stay here.

You won't find any other shelter

from the rain.

Please stay here

until the storm's passed.

This Pa Muang Tunnel...

used to be mighty and strong.

Now it's crumbling,

like the human soul.

Sir,

I've heard people say

that you've preached dharma

to a lot of people.

You heard what I heard

yesterday in court.

It should be clear to you by now

whether those people

ever learned any dharma.

That's right.

I really don't get it.

But there must be

an explanation.

I'm just too stupid to see it.

Then I'm stupid too.

I can't find

an explanation either.

That's not true.

You're a monk.

You're intelligent.

Is that so?

Then...

why do the faces

of those people

still haunt me?

Why do those words they uttered

still echo in my ears?

Why do I keep searching

for an answer?

The only answer I've found...

is that I'm so dimwitted...

that I don't deserve to preach

to others anymore.

Where are you going next?

I don't know.

I don't.

Let's move to the other side.

It doesn't look good here.

What's this ruckus?

I'm trying to sleep!

Shut your mouth!

Shut my mouth?

What about yours?

What about the baldy's mouth?

Blasphemy!

You're talking to a monk!

A monk?

I don't believe it.

Monks usually make me sleep.

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