Asmimãnaya (Mine-Mine-Mine)

According to Theravada Buddhism, “Asmimãna” is the perception taken by the creature as “Me, Mine, or I am”. As long as this vision exists, the phenomenon of seeing oneself as a separate being and associating with a world outside of oneself continues unabated. The vision of me and the world are intertwined. One causes the existence of the other. So it works as a cycle. It is the beginning of a long process that has no end, no beginning, and no middle. The beginning is also the end. Existence itself declines. Life itself is death. Love itself is hate. Existence itself is non-existence. In this way, we experience a moment when one after the other emerges one after the other… According to the teachings of Gautama Buddha, the vision of the self in the animal is extinguished with the realization of nirvana. In other words, nirvana is the elimination of egoism.

The theme, concept, and structure of this film along with the context it is set in and its creative content are tied closely to these concepts of “existence, the world, and I” as present in Buddhist philosophy. Therefore the “reality” that is built upon the logical reasonings on time and space is explored from a different perspective via the film.