Our Take: Running on Karma（大隻佬）

Spoiler Alert! — Film Review and Basic Analysis

Running on Karma as a Buddhist Film

It is said that films about Buddhism can make us think about the ‘big questions in life,’ like why we are here, what the meaning of life is, and how to live. Running on Karma is able to offer Buddhist interpretations of reality and clearly presents philosophical concerns regarding karma throughout the film for the audience to think about.

The Concept of Karma in the Film

The Fruit of Karma

“It is not that I can predict the future, it is that when I see the result, I will see the cause. When I see someone die, or is going to die, then I would know that he is going to die and why.” — Big

Big explains how he is able to see people’s past life and deduce their upcoming death. The visions he sees can be considered as karma, in which the actions in one’s previous life, and the death he foresees is vipāka, the fruit of karma.

“One thought Heaven, One thought Hell”「一念天堂，一念地獄」

As Big helps catch the culprit the CID was pursuing and stops the raging police sergeant when he was about to kill the murderer, he explains the concept of “One thought Heaven, One thought Hell,” which is similar to the theory of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Nyanaponika states that “Greed, hatred and delusion are the roots of unwholesome kamma; unselfishness, amity and wisdom are the roots of wholesome kamma.” In this case, Big tries to prevent the sergeant from unwholesome karma, which was accumulated by his hatred towards the culprit. By doing so, he can prevent bad outcomes produced by karma.

Big Experiencing “The 4 Noble Truths” in Running on Karma

The Four Noble Truths (Cattāri Ariyasaccāni) constitute a huge part when the Buddha was struggling for enlightenment. It is the heart of his teachings which he passed on to his five student monks:

1) Dukkha [The Noble Truth of Suffering]
According to the Buddha, suffering never ends. There are two types of suffering — physical and mental suffering. In Running on Karma, Big experiences both:

Physical Suffering: Big is “tortured” in the police station and experiences physical pain.
Mental Suffering: The movie puts more focus on his mental pain, which involves happiness in life. Buddha states that suffering occurs when one experiences the end of happiness, and it is bound to end. Big experiences separation from the people he loves, like his childhood friend, Siu Chui and later on Lee Fung-yee. He suffers from anger and sadness brought by these events.

2) Samudaya [The arising or origin of dukkha]
There are mainly two causes of Suffering Dukkhas, namely craving (tanhā) and ignorance.

Ignorance: Big goes through this when he chooses to escape from the fact that he could see into people’s past lives.
Craving: He lives a luxurious life that goes against the values of a monk, like, smoking, drinking and being surrounded by girls etc.

3) Nirodha — The cessation of dukkha [THE ENDING OF THE MOVIE]
Big encounters the Third Noble Truth, Nirodha when he finally reaches epiphany at the end of the movie. Nirvana cannot be described; it is only understood truly by a person who has experienced it. Thus, it is only normal that audience are left baffled with the sequence.

This can be shown when Big looks into his future self’s eyes and they come to a mutual understanding and say, “I understand now”.

They start to meditate and Big explains the follows:

“You are the Buddha in my heart. How scary it is to see the evil side of you. Today, Suen Guo killed Lee Fung-yee, tomorrow, you kill Suen Guo again. It is doomed eternally. This is the correspondence between cause and effect. Yesterday’s cause ripens into today’s effect. Nothing can change this. The Buddha only focuses on one thing: our present doings.”

He forgives the murderer of Siu Chui, Suen Guo, and brings him to the police. This may reflect that he has let go of the past and reached enlightenment.

4) Magga — The path leading to the cessation of dukkha

Big comes across the Fourth Noble Truth throughout his 5-year stay in the mountains. Before experiencing The Third Noble Truth, he has been living a luxurious life, with wealth and girls. However, his other self shown on screen is another extreme in which he lives a life with no comfort and filled with hatred towards Suen Guo. After he experiences The Third Noble Truth, he strikes a balance and goes through The Middle Path, in which he lives in the mountains and gets along with Suen Guo with peace and brings him to the police at the end.

What Do the Directors Want us to Think About?

Johnnie To invites us to ponder about whether karma is just. “An action (kamma), once it is performed, is finished so far as its actual performance is concerned. It is also irreversible.” In other words, you cannot get rid of karma. The film effectively contradicts fairness with the inevitability of destroying or compensating good and bad karma from one’s past life.

Big tells Lee Fung-yee, “The Japanese soldier isn’t Lee Fung-yee, Lee Fung-yee isn’t the Japanese soldier. It’s just that the Japanese soldier killed people, so Lee Fung-yee has to die.” Lee becomes frustrated and exclaims, “Do you think this is fair?” and he answers that he knows it is fair, but this is also why he quit being a monk. He does not explain why he thinks it is fair, and leaves the audience hanging.

As spectators, we tend to take Lee’s side, questioning whether the way karma works is fair. The film doesn’t cease the audience’s frustration, but instead tells us to accept this fact. Lee later accepts that “Nothing can be brought away, only the karma that follows (萬般帶不走, 唯有業隨身),” and decides to die a meaningful death.

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Photo Source: Running on Karma. Wai Ka-fai & Johnnie To. China Star Entertainment Group, 2003. Film.

Disclaimer: Any views and opinions expressed are personal and solely belong to the authors. They are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club organisation, company, individual or anyone or anything.