Zhaxi Tsomo.
Take me to the Palm Print Land.
Take me to the sacred land.
Dzi bead, the sacred stone.
Heard someone's looking for me.
Tabei.
Who are you?
I'm Tashi's son.
I know a hundred Tashis.
Revive the soul.
Tabei.
You shall redeem your sins in this life.
You shall return from the bardo to your own flesh.
Revive the soul.
Seeing such hidden treasure...
is Buddha's blessing.
Such a holy Tibetan object...
traveling among people for thousands of years...
passing through countless greedy and sinful hands...
others pure and devout,
experiencing numerous passings of life...
each time a testament to their karma.
Eventually, it shall be delivered...
to the entrance of heaven.
Tabei.
You have taken many lives...
committed numerous great sins.
You should be in hell.
I've revived your soul back from bardo,
allowed you a resurrection...
all because of the sacred stone.
Since it has fallen into your hands,
you are the chosen guardian who shall deliver the sacred stone.
Treasure your new life and be kind to all.
On the way to deliver the sacred stone...
you shall cleanse the evil from your heart.
Incarnate Lama Zatroe...
to where shall I deliver this holy article?
As you climb across the snowcapped Kelong Mountain...
and stand in the middle of the sacred land of the Master,
do not pursue, do not seek.
In prayer you shall understand.
In understanding you shall see a vision.
In all the lines of the Master's Palm Print wrinkles...
only one path leads to the Pure Land among humankind.
The sacred land of the Lotus Master...
Where is it?
Your destination is in the north.
The distance is under your feet.
And the road on your body.
Your destination is in the north.
The distance is under your feet.
And the road on your body.
Hey, man.
Go ahead, I've got the dog.
You must be tired. Come in.
Here, it's hot.
It's the neighbor, Aunt Nyima.
She weaves the pulu blanket all day long.
Leave.
I'm used to sleeping alone.
Whats behind that mountain?
- You've never been there? - No.
You've never been anywhere.
Hey. Where are you going?
Sacred Land.
Is it far?
Beyond the horizon.
Take me with you.
What's your name?
I'm Chung.
Hey. I wanna get out of here.
Kodi.
I killed Tabei.
Mother, I killed Tabei. This is Tabei's knife.
On your knees.
The police came.
The one you killed is not the Tabei from our enemy's family.
My husband...
15 years ago today, you left us.
Yet your two sons have yet to avenge you.
Guori killed an innocent man.
Our family now has one more foe.
Mother,
if Tabei had a son...
he would come to us for revenge someday.
Yes.
That day will come.
Then we can't escape death in the end.
Here.
It's your father's broadsword.
Now it's yours.
This is probably our destiny.
My sons.
You two have to find a way to survive.
Guori...
Mother wants you to hide away. Do it.
Older Brother, next time I won't kill the wrong guy.
Listen.
Finding Tabei is my business.
Hey.
It's me.
Water.
What's the leather string around your waist for?
Like a puppy with no one to walk.
This one
is used to count the days.
It's been 15 days since I left home looking for you.
Stop following me.
Tabei.
I can boil tea and cook for you during the day.
At night, I can sing for your amusement.
Chung.
Go home.
Look.
There is someone on the mountaintop.
He seems to be following you.
Over there.
This guy is smart.
He's avoiding the main road.
It will take some time to catch up with him.
General.
Let's go.
Son.
A true masked outlaw...
takes in the open
and never does sneaky theft.
Get it?
General.
Two days without meat, you can't run.
- Girl. - Yes.
That homeless boy always hang around here?
Which boy?
The one just standing here,
with a mask on and a dramyin on his back.
Sir, the only thing I saw was you talking to your clog.
It is said that the sacred stone is with someone...
heading north.
The boss told us to get it at all costs.
- Do you know the guy's name? - No.
The sacred stone hangs on the neck of Tabei.
He will show up by Yarlung Zangbo River.
Chung, you hear anything?
Someone is singing.
He's been following me all the way.
He's closing in.
Let's go.
Hey. Who is he?
Tabei.
We were here a few days ago.
There.
We started the fire and boiled tea.
Tabei.
I don't want to go on. Let's head for town.
Let's go.
I knew taking a woman like you would be a heavy burden.
Where there are men, there are troubles.
Haven't you picked up on that all this way?
No.
All tits and no brain, like a mare.
The boy fell out of the pot?
I found him down there.
What's wrong with this little fellow?
He's mute.
Said he was sleeping in the gutter. Then the pot hit him right oh the nose.
Said he's mad right now.
He finally stopped tailing us.
Tabei.
He has something to say.
Come here quickly. He wants us to go this way.
And I think he is right.
If we keep going, we would circle back here again.
We go this way this time.
Am I, Tabei, a Buddha...
taking in all the homeless people?
Pu.
Pu, Where are you?
Who is Pu?
The name I gave him.
Is that even a name? What if he doesn't like it and won't respond to it?
Pu.
The kid is a prophet...
a psychic.
Hi.
We can squeeze in two more at most.
Stop. I'm getting off.
General.
Can you follow their scents?
Pu. Where are we going now?
Here.
We need to find some food in a village.
Always on the deserted path. No wonder there is no yak butter in the bowl.
How long have we been on the road?
You and I have been walking for 37 days.
And Pu has been leading us for five days.
Pu is lost too.
Poor Pu. Why does he always get hit by the pot?
Tabei.
- What's the drawing on your back? - What?
What?
It seems to be a painting.
Where?
Look.
See it?
Looks like it's been carved on.
Who carved this on me?
Tabei.
Pu seems to have found the way on your back.
“Your destination is in the north.
The distance is under your feet.
And the road...
on your body.”
Your destination is in the north.
The distance is under your feet.
And the road on your body.
Sir.
Sir, get in the truck.
Sir, please get in.
Hurry, get in the truck.
Excuse me.
Have you ever seen this man?
A few years ago,
when we were digging at Nixi, you were looking for the same man, right?
That's right.
Have you seen him?
Excuse me. Could I ask you something?
Have you ever seen this man?
Is this a drawing?
Looks like a palm print.
Mesmerizing.
The shape is abstract and distorted...
yet the lines in the palm center are painted in meticulous detail.
Such abundant lines.
Those dotted letters, are they acupoints on the human body?
What do you think?
It's the Palm Print of the Lotus Master.
What are you? How did you get in here?
Always thought it was a legend. Now it seems real.
Go away. Get out.
The Master's Palm Print Land isn't a myth...
but has been documented as well.
The lines on the map...
are the Lotus Master's right hand palm print.
He had a fight with the Shebameiru demon.
For 108 days, neither one won the battle.
Lotus Master used all his supernatural powers
but couldn't get the best of the demon.
Shebameiru turned himself into a tiny flea, thinking Master couldn't see him.
Master raised his marvelous hand, snapped down over the earth...
and shoved Shebameiru down to hell.
At that very spot
remains the Palm Print of the Lotus Master.
Sir, do I look like an ancient just unearthed?
Kid...
your mom takes you everywhere looking for your dad.
The doctor said I have something growing in my brain.
Before I die, I want to see my dad.
You know you are dying?
Also, I will be reincarnated into an animal.
Guess what it is.
I have to go further west. There is another archaeological team.
I was with this man for less than 24 hours...
yet I've been searching for him for eight years.
Sir, have you figured it out?
- A baby deer. - That's right.
A baby deer.
Guori.
You have found Tabei.
Older Brother, get on with your life.
You are not made for this. Leave Tabei with me.
Give me your necklace.
The fact that you are here means you are in trouble.
Someone's been on my tail for days...
following me like a shadow.
In the early days, the police arrested me
for taking villagers' money from selling caterpillar fungi.
I broke out of prison. Then I lost money in gambling.
Someone wanted an arm of mine.
I escaped again.
My father was in a sword fight with some guy and killed the man.
His children would have grown up by now.
I'm not sure...
which one is after me.
Therefore, you've got to have a good broadsword by your side.
I'm with Chung and Pu.
Can't walk very fast.
That's just what we do back home.
If the father is dead...
just go after the son for vengeance.
It's perfectly justified.
And I am no exception.
I was born without ever seeing...
my damned father.
So what?
Feuds of generations...
have to be settled.
But Incarnate Lama Zatroe didn't tell me...
What to do when I come across old foes.
I have so many sins...
but I have to find a way to survive.
I don't like this.
Then what do you like?
Children.
I want to give you a child.
Don't you dare say that again.
But you still like sword fights.
Listen to me.
This is not my fault.
As long as you carry this...
with it comes death.
Someone is hunting me.
Am I supposed to get slaughtered like a sheep?
Tabei.
Let's go into town.
It's safe there.
No one dares to draw their swords.
Please, stop walking like this.
Shut up.
He's coming.
Just nearby.
Do you also feel something's wrong?
My mother told me on her deathbed...
“Son.
When the bone flute whistles, death is upon you.”
This has nothing to do with you.
Go to sleep.
Avenger.
Show yourself.
You must be exhausted after all this way.
We have tea here.
Come sit with me.
Do me a favor and use your fingers to count all the ridiculous debts I owe.
I, Tabei, am not one to forget.
Come on out. Come out.
Let's settle the score.
Come for me. Come on.
Go find some food in the village.
Meat would be the best.
We'll wait for you in the tavern.
Okay.
Landlady, pour me some wine.
Tastes like horse piss.
Are the Khamba born vagrants?
We've got good wine. But where is the money?
What's the sword worth to you?
Sir.
No need to frighten us with this.
We are all honest people here.
If money is tight,
just stay for a couple of days.
Help us wash wine pots.
Good wine.
We happen to need lodgings. Thank you for taking us in, landlady.
Her man is not around. You can help warm her bed.
Drunkards.
Shut up. Drink your wine.
It's raining.
Quite some rain this year.
I left cow dung drying in the yard. Now it's turning into turd slush.
Hail Lama predicted this rain. He is really good.
I heard he carries a radio all day, listening to the weather forecast.
You are saying that I am drunk...
that my face looks like a piece of red cloth.
Didn't tell you I used to be a hunter.
Incarnate Lama said...
I, Tabei, have hurt countless lives.
And the sins I've committed in this life...
have to be redeemed in this life.
Yeshi, pour me some wine.
Don't interrupt me.
I'm saying it for your benefit.
Did I say anything wrong?
- Huh? - This brother is right.
You all listen to me carefully. I was once struck to death by lightning.
You see?
I crawled my way out of hell.
Watch out, you better not mess with me.
Sister.
Pour me some wine.
Landlady, pour me some wine.
Look now. I'm busy as a spinning wheel turning round and round.
Sir.
You are all from Khams. Why don't you join each other?
Tabei.
Why isn't Chung back yet? Go find her.
I'm hungry enough to eat my fist.
Go.
You're here.
I'm here.
Who are you?
It's men's business.
Chung, you shouldn't know more.
Right?
Right. A matter between men.
Madam.
Can I stay here for a night?
My husband is in town building houses. I'm all by myself.
There is room for you.
What's your name?
Zandui.
What do you want?
Chung. Today we met for the first time.
Tabei is right.
A matter between men.
Women shouldn't know more about it.
I'm his woman.
I'll go wherever he goes.
I think I deserve to know.
All this way...
he didn't seem to treat you as his woman.
I am his woman. I'm pregnant with his child.
You are a coward.
I heard you sell swords here.
It's been years since I got out of the business.
There are three broadswords left in the house...
for my three children.
A guy named Tabei,
with a young woman and a boy,
just picked the best sword you had.
Look, I'm really sick.
The fever...
is burning my brain dry.
I don't remember this guy Tabei...
a young woman and a boy.
Can I have a look at the gold ring on your finger?
This gold ring looks exactly like the one on Tabei's finger.
What are you talking about?
This ring was passed down from my grandpa to my dad.
Then from my father to me.
Engraved on it...
is the name of my family.
These words couldn't possibly...
have been carved on during the last couple of days.
Our boss said...
he's willing to pay big money for what's around your neck.
The sacred stone.
What sacred stone?
I have never seen one.
Our boss said...
whatever the cost, we must get the sacred stone.
What a sad song.
It's for sad people.
Do you have children?
Then upon your death...
all his debts to you will be cleared, right?
I shouldn't have drunk this much.
Something is going to happen tonight.
You are actually sleeping here.
It's fine here.
These boots belong to my man.
If you get cold at night,
I'm right upstairs.
Chung.
I, Tabei, have never met my father...
and I spend every day of my life running away from my enemies.
If you don't want your unborn child orphaned,
stop following me around.
Go to town.
Marry a good man...
and bring Pu with you.
Don't ever get close to men with swords.
They are after me. They won't do you any harm.
Wanna run?
Leave the stuff.
Drop your weapons.
He's mine.
No one gets in the way.
I need him alive.
Teacher Tabei was killed last night.
Buddha.
Have you seen...
a young man in a black cape with a sword?
Which one is Tabei?
I thought you would never find me.
But you are here at last.
Every day I pray for your family...
hoping Buddha would forgive me.
Please.
Don't kill me.
I have two children.
I'm begging you.
Guori. I have been following them for days.
I knew you would be here.
But he is not the Tabei we are looking for.
- I'm not mistaken this time. - The one we want has no kids.
I told you to leave Tabei to me. You shouldn't be here.
Guori! You already killed two innocent men.
This time I'm not mistaken. Back off.
You are doing evil deeds.
Guori! Stop!
I'm not keeping Tabei alive.
I promised Mother to keep you alive.
I made an oath to Mother. I'm not going home until I kill Tabei.
Guori! I'm going to kill Tabei and bring his head to you.
Get the hell away. Go back to your woman.
What are you waiting for? Scram!
Guori.
Let me carry you home.
Let's never separate again.
Keep our father in our hearts,
just like the others, and live our own lives.
Guori.
You have to stay alive.
Yuck, it's salty.
Kelong Snow Mountain.
As you climb across Kelong Mountain...
and stand in the lines of the Lotus Master's Palm Print...
Buddha.
Without the sacred stone...
Where should I go?
Stop going around in circles.
If we don't find Tabei, neither of you will come out of this alive.
Did it hurt?
Enough with your tricks.
Why in every place Tabei has been to...
people just pretend to not remember him?
Who is Tabei?
Tabei is a ghost that escaped my palm.
He must have run into some trouble here.
But I really haven't seen him.
My dog sniffed out the boots they left here.
Are you still playing dumb with me?
Those boots belong to my husband.
He is in town building houses for people.
Bullshit.
Where are your memories?
You bunch of idiots take me for a fool?
At the snap of my finger, I can take all of you out of this universe.
He is awake.
Sacred stone.
Where is my sacred stone?
What is he saying?
There is nothing left.
This stranger is sick. He has demons messing with his mind.
Qimi.
Salute to the omnipresent Dakini.
With 500 years of history, the blue-masked Tibetan opera by the Basan family.
The whole cast has traveled a thousand miles
to the holy lake of Mayontso,
to present the Basan family's
unprecedented special performance
for one audience only.
To the guardian of the holy lake for his entire life,
the saint in practice, Qunpei Dorji La.
Qunpei Dorji La, we offer our auspicious gift.
Through singing, dancing, and drama,
before his noble spirit departs
from the sufferings on earth,
we do the final prayer.
Lajinor.
Son.
Would you like to join a dying old man
in watching the grand finale?
Ah.
This road leads to nowhere.
Pu, why do you bring us here?
He says we should go up there.
It looks impossible to climb up there. We will work out a solution by dawn.
Child who descends upon the earth
With an innocent face
Please allow me to walk close to you
With arms extended in a tender embrace
Child, guide me
With your company...
the old man passed away in peace.
Son.
Now tell me what's been troubling you.
By doing this...
your heart will be cleansed.
We have to tie these two strings into one.
Always the same song. Is there another one?
Is she your woman?
Was.
She's married now.
'Cause you broke her heart.
Yes.
I hurt the only woman I ever had.
Men like you...
why do you always have to hurt your woman?
Because men like us don't deserve to have a woman.
Let alone children.
There is nothing else on your mind except hatred.
You say you like the lyrics.
Come recite after me.
In one cloudless night sky
As the master of the stars
The full moon
Is about to rise
Child who descends upon the earth
With an innocent face
Please allow me to walk close to you
Please allow me
With my arms extended
To welcome you
Child
Guide me To grow flowers and fruits of benevolence
From the soil of hatred
To turn spiteful curses
Into forgiving smiles
Let me understand the others
Without asking to be understood
Let me love the others
Without asking to be loved
Child
Please guide me To grow flowers and fruits of benevolence
From the soil of hatred
To turn spiteful curses
Into forgiving smiles
Let me understand the others
Without asking to be understood
Let me love the others
Without asking to be loved
Pu.
Are you playing the dramyin to get us help?
There is no one here.
Let's go back.
My beloved.
Honey. Here, the sacred stone.
When you were drunk, Pu was worried that they might take it, so he hid it away.
Right. There is one more down there.
Your enemy.
Kelong Snow Mountain.
I'm getting close.
We will climb over the mountain tomorrow.
By then we should settle our score.
General.
You're heading in the wrong direction.
Where are you taking me?
General.
I don't want to remember What you look like.
But I'm afraid that an unborn child might have already remembered it.
You are a little psychic.
You know everything.
Sharpen the blade.
Anyhow, one of us will fall tomorrow.
If I fell...
that would be the end of our blood feud.
I don't Want my child to know the name of the foe.
If I was the one to fall, maybe it won't be the end.
I'm not the only one after you.
You're right.
I know I have a lot of debts.
Incarnate Lama Zatroe said that...
I shall redeem my sins during this journey.
I don't know if I have accomplished that.
But the hatreds no longer matter to me.
What I am going to do...
is to climb over the Kelong Snow Mountain...
and deliver the sacred stone to the sacred land.
If I fell tomorrow,
someone should carry on with the cause.
Someone will.
General.
Gedan, you are here.
Who is it?
Who is calling my name?
Gedan.
I've been in this retreat for quite some time now.
I've foreseen your arrival.
Incarnate Lama Zatroe, it's you.
It turns out that General...
was taking me to see you.
Promise me.
Don't ever tell him the name of the foe.
I swear.
I'll never let him know.
Tabei.
Would you Wait until after I fall asleep...
to go on with what you have to do?
Yes.
I'll be here till you fall asleep.
My love...
you've never kissed me on the face.
Incarnate Lama Zatroe, I'm really scared.
I'm never sure...
whether or not Tabei walked into the sacred land.
If he didn't, then what was the meaning of his existence?
If he did, then how would it end?
I can't imagine.
What does the Master's Palm Print Land look like?
Does he really exist?
This is what's been driving you crazy, isn't it?
Yes.
I don't know.
What does he have to do with my life?
Yet there must be some connection.
Then keep reading, Gedan.
Let us hear it, the ending of your fiction.
“A new moon...
emerged from a thick curtain of clouds...
from the eastern edge of the sky.
First rays of morning light were coming through.
Tabei, holding his broadsword...
gradually steps up.
The crisp morning air at dawn clears his head.
Galongla Snow Mountain is standing in front of him.
The sun shines on the summit.
Tabei gazes forward.
Sweet scents permeate the air.
Tabei's heart is suddenly clenched by a sort of fear.
He 's coming...
slowly, slowly...
step by step, walking to his unpredictable fate.
The look in their eyes revealed no emotion.
They stared at each other long and hard.”
The duel between our fathers...
I don't have to tell it again.
You may launch your attack on me.
Now.
“At this moment...
the last glimmer of hope inside Zandui died.
He was forced to make the only...
and the cruelest decision ever.”
I came for you first.
According to the rules...
you may make the first move.
Since the day you showed up...
you haven't made a single move. Waiting for someone?
You might have heard. Your avengers are two brothers.
And you are?
“Years later...
Guori has become...
a weathered middle-aged man.”
He's my brother.
Guori...
you are finally here.
I knew you would show up.
“The brother named Kodi
later changed his name to Zandui.
When Zandui tracked down Tabei,
he knew it would be his best chance to wait for Guori...
the long-lost young brother, to bring him home.”
We have waited over ten years for this very moment.
Guori...
I promised Mother to bring you home alive.
Bro,
I also pledged an oath to Mother.
Until I kill Tabei...
I will not go back.
If you see me as a man...
stand down and drop your sword.
Drop it.
Drop it!
Go away.
“At this moment, Guori absolutely had no doubt...
he would not kill the wrong Tabei this time.“
From now on, I will never kill.
The blood debts of our fathers are cleared.
We are even.
Guori!
Tabei.
I'm Tashi's son.
Guori, we've lost. We can go home now.
Then you will have to kill me first.
Guori...
we can finally go home.
Brother, let's go home.
An ending that has no closure for your characters.
I know this is not the ending.
But somehow I just can't find it.
Throughout the journey...
I thought I walked into my story.
I found Tabei's trail...
and I met the people who have encountered Tabei,
but they all saw me as a crazy person.
Gedan.
Let me tell you.
Many years ago, two young people from Khams...
a man named Tabei...
and a girl named Chung...
they indeed walked into the sacred land.
Incarnate Lama of Zatroe.
I'm not writing fiction. It's all real.
Gedan, my friend.
You may think your fiction is very real.
But how can you be sure that...
you, me and all the living beings...
aren't the fictional work of a superior being...
who is above...
our will of life?
Over your head...
as you climb across snowcapped Kelong Mountain...
and stand in the lines of the Master's Palm Print...
do not pursue, do not seek.
In prayer you shall understand.
In understanding you shall see a vision.
In all the lines of the Master's Palm Print wrinkles...
only one path leads to the Pure Land among humankind.
The sacred land of the Master's Palm Print.
Such a wonder.
Gedan...
in this story...
there is one thing that has been overlooked:
the sacred stone.
In fact...
your creative motive...
and your frustration with life...
all stemmed from the sacred stone.
And don't forget to count...
the knots on the girl's leather string.
Chung?
Is that you?
Tabei's dying.
Tabei.
It's me.
I'm Gedan, you know that?
I think I have met you somewhere.
Tabei.
I have finally found you.
Where am I?
A strange place.
Palm Print Land.
My God...
I've arrived.
But I can't go any further.
Please take it to the Palm Print Land.
Take me to the Palm Print Land.
Take me to the sacred land.
Sacred stone.
Chung, would you like to accompany me?
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Twenty.
Twenty-one.
Twenty-two.
Twenty-three.
Twenty-four.
Twenty-five.
Twenty-six.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
Just like on the Buddhist sacred stone, the prayer's beads.