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January 2023 - June 2025
ASIAN 230: PHILOSOPHY OF ANIME || CHINESE PROJECT
Chun and Buddhist Belief of Reincarnation in “Big Fish and Begonia”
23 March 2022
In Buddhism there is a suffering-laden cycle of life, death, and rebirth referred to as samsara. Each cycle is driven by the karma of an individual’s actions throughout their life and previous lifetimes, may it be from good or ill intentions (Wilson, 2010). Reincarnation and rebirth are central beliefs in Buddhism. Reincarnation is the concept that individuals are reborn after death and this process can recur repeatedly, but if the individual is reborn, they do not necessarily return to earth as the same entity and there is no soul linking them (Phramaha Nopadol Saisuta. (2012)). The film, “Big Fish and Begonia,” has four deaths and while Buddhism is used to inform how death is depicted, only Chun’s death follows samsara closely. Her cycle ultimately shows Chinese society’s criticism of individualism and how death is handled.
In the film, Chun sees various types of suffering, most of which are prominent through character deaths caused by her selfishness to bring Kun back to his sister. To correct her mistakes, she visits the Soul Keeper and exchanges half of her lifespan to bring the boy back to the human realm. The Soul Keeper warns Chun that she should not mess with the natural order of things and indicates Chun’s involvement in accelerating Kun’s rebirth. Unlike the actual rebirth, Chun chooses what Kun will return as rather than letting his karma inform which realm he will be in: hell, hungry ghost, animal, human, or heaven (Wilson, 2010). The interaction with the Soul Keeper is the first instance that emphasizes karma—her actions—and the natural order. Continuing on this path, Chun’s choices are made according to her desires which leads to an accumulation of consequences and causes more suffering: Her Grandfather dies, the cracks in the gateway to the human realm displaces the villagers, and her actions are frowned upon by her family and community.
Before Chun’s Grandfather dies, he reiterates the concept of natural order and rebirth. Chun brings snake poisoned Qiu to her Grandfather, however, to save Qiu he exchanges his remaining life. He tells Chun that death is part of the laws of nature and no one can escape it, as well as points out Chun’s actions leading down a dangerous path. His words function as a way to normalize this perception of death and foreshadow a critic of her individualistic values without expressing disapproval himself. The poison that Qiu experienced and the death of Chun’s Grandfather is part of the First Noble Truth of Buddha’s teachings—Truth of Suffering. Additionally, he says he and her grandmother—who passed away and returned as a phoenix—will support her before passing on and becoming a begonia tree. The story of Chun’s Grandmother suggests rebirth into the realm of animals. Yet, her Grandfather’s case does not necessarily follow the realm options available, as plants are considered to have no original soul.
However, one can argue that plants are a borderline case. According to earliest Buddhist traditions plants are considered living and sentient because of their sense of touch (“touch as giving us knowledge of things ‘without’ in a more fundamental way than senses could” (Findley, 2002, p.257)), constant state of changing and ongoing lineages (Findley, 2002, p.259). Plants are stationary beings that do not produce karma but absorb it. Within the realm hierarchy, they either lay at the very bottom (tamasic) or—if not at—near the most perfected end of enlightenment (sattvic) (Findley, 2002, p.261).
Chun’s climactic death and rebirth demonstrate samsara and Chinese society’s criticism of individualism. When Qiu opens the pathway for Kun it begins destroying their home, Chun notices suffering in her community similar to the little sister and receives criticisms through her mother's disappointment and statements referring to Kun as a monster. She realized the consequences of her actions and decided to sacrifice herself for her community by releasing her attachment. At that moment, she grows into her Grandfather’s begonia tree, making the tree grow enough to patch the holes in the gateway and turn chaotic suffering into a peaceful scene—symbolizing a return to the natural order. Later, she is reborn from a branch of that tree into the realm of humans, going through two cycles of samsara.
Chun’s interaction with others in her process of samsara enables one to get a glimpse of how one may process death but also see how her community reacted to her acting on her desires. When Chun acts on individualism the natural way is disrupted, but her single choice for the collective reset order further emulates this collective ideology that is in Chinese Society and Buddhist teachings. Furthermore, samsara provides insight as to how one may process death.
Bibliography
Liang Xuan, C. Z. (2018). Big Fish and Begonia. Horgos Coloroom Pictures; Beijing Enlight Media; Biantian (Beijing) Media; Studio Mir. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHO0ddkHAVU
Findly, E. B. (2002). Borderline Beings: Plant Possibilities in Early Buddhism. Journal of the
American Oriental Society, 122(2), 252–263. https://doi.org/10.2307/3087619
Phramaha Nopadol Saisuta. (2012). The Buddhist Core Values and Perspectives for Protection
Challenges: Faith and Protection. https://www.unhcr.org/50be10cb9.pdf
Wilson, J. (2010, September 13). Saṃsāra and rebirth. obo. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from