All I can say right now is what a bloody beautiful movie.
This is a film about love, life and loss.
Tashi (played by Shawn Ku) is a Buddhist monk in Tibet, who has spent three years meditating in a cave on the side of a mountain, trying to obtain enlightenment. At the time when he is woken from his meditative state by his brethren, Tashi has been sitting in the same Adepts pose for 3 years, 3 months and 3 days. He is then taken back to the monastery where he is received in awe. He even receives recognition for his achievement of reaching Nirvana. All seems well as Tashi has achieved something that few do  enlightenment. But has he really? After reaching such a pinnacle he feels restless, and starts to question his faith. After meeting a beautiful girl while attending a festival, Tashi begins to feel desires which cause him to question his path. He has spent almost his entire life trying to attain that which he has now attained, and feels as though he has achieved nothing. Even Buddha experienced a part of life that Tashi has never known  how can he achieve true enlightenment without knowing what exists in the world outside of his teachings.
So Tashi embarks on a quest for a different type of enlightenment. Where Buddha renounced the world and its carnal pleasures, Tashi decides to embrace these desires and find the girl that gave him that taste of a world he knows nothing of. By the words of an astrologer, Tashi is married to Pema (Christy Chung) and they have a son Karma. He works with her and her family on their rice farm and creates a life for himself that is real. One of Tashis driving forces is sex. It is the one thing that is most taboo for him as a monk, and his awakening into a world of sexual pleasure seems to be representative of the renunciation of his faith. This is where we can see the significance of the number three. Zen Buddhism has four ideas called noble truths  the third being that suffering and craving can be overcome. The irony is that after spending the three years, months and days in meditation to achieve such a goal  he has come out of it with urges that are the are in absolute opposition to what he was seeking to attain. The idea is given that Tashi has, perhaps, reached a level of enlightenment that is beyond what he was expecting to reach  the sexual urges in his body consuming the perfect Zen state that he thought he had accomplished. A further principle of this noble thought is that you must give up craving to live each day at a time, without dwelling on the past or the future.
After the film ends it is apparent that Tashi may have thought what he reached had surpassed Nirvana. We see however that he follows the very path he was seeking to give up through meditation. Tashi had to learn through his experiences what he was seeking was attainable, but at a price. This brings up the question of faith  if Tashi had accepted his faith and the teachings of the Buddha would he have had to endure such pain? Can a human follow such a path purely out of devotion  or do we need to experience life for ourselves before we can realise true enlightenment?

THE EXTRAS

Pan Nalin Interview
An interview with the director of Samsara, in which we gain some serious insight into the conception, and the ideas behind the movie.
Behind the Scenes
Gallery (Photography & Artwork)
Why Are We Silent TVC
An Amnesty International television commercial for the promotion of the freedom of Tibet
Pan Nalin Biography
Cast Biographies
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Madman Propaganda
Motion Main Menu
There is also a sample of the soundtrack where you can listen to a few of the amazing tracks featured in the film.

CONCLUSION

Tashi (played by Shawn Ku) is a Buddhist monk in Tibet, who has spent three years meditating in a cave on the side of a mountain, trying to obtain enlightenment. At the time when he is woken from his meditative state by his brethren, Tashi has been sitting in the same Adepts pose for 3 years, 3 months and 3 days. After returning to the Monastery Tashi begins to question his life and his faith and embark on a journey of sexual and spiritual awakening.