Inception - Buddhist interpretation of the film

The inception of an idea:

"An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And even the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you." "Now in a dream our mind continuously does this. !e create and perceive our world simultaneously and our mind does this so well that we don"t even know it"s happening. That allows us to get right in the middle of that process." #If you"re going to perform inception you need imagination. $ou need the simplest version of the idea % the one that will grow naturally in the su&'ect"s mind. (u&tle art.)

*ompare the +uddha"s description: "I say that even the inception of a thought ,cittuppado- concerned with wholesome things is of great importance not to speak of &odily acts and words following it. Therefore the thought should &e produced...)
http:..www.accesstoinsight.org.tipitaka.mn.mn.//0.nypo.html

#!hatever a monk fre1uently thinks and ponders upon that will &ecome the inclination of his mind.)
http:..www.accesstoinsight.org.tipitaka.mn.mn./23.than.html

Ariadne"s dou&le mirrors 4 showing infinite regress going in &oth directions ,layers upon layers of consciousness and of deception avijja-:
"$ou never really remem&er the &eginning of a dream do you5 $ou always wind up right in the middle of what"s going on."

Remem&ering how one came into a dream 6 sati ,recollection- which &rings us &ack to reality. 7ro'ections 4 compare 8adhupindika (utta ,categories of proliferated perception attack the person who started the process-:
Dependent on eye & forms, eye-consciousness arises [similarly with the rest of the six senses]. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as a requisite condition, there is feeling. tarting with feeling, the notion of an !agent! " in this case, the feeler " acting on !o#$ects,! is introduced% What one feels, one percei&es 'la#els in the mind(. What one percei&es, one thin)s a#out. What one thin)s a#out, one !papa*ci+es.! Through the process of papa*ca, the agent then #ecomes a &ictim of his,her own patterns of thin)ing% -ased on what a person papa*ci+es, the perceptions & categories of papa*ca assail him,her with regard to past, present, & future forms cogni+a#le &ia the eye [as with the remaining senses]. What are these perceptions & categories that assail the person who papa*ci+es. Sn 4.14 states that the root of the categories of papa*ca is the perception, !/ am the thin)er.! 0rom this self-

reflexi&e thought " in which one concei&es a !self,! a thing corresponding to the concept of !/! " a num#er of categories can #e deri&ed% #eing,not-#eing, me,not-me, mine,not-mine, doer,done-to, signifier,signified. 1nce one2s self #ecomes a thing under the ru#ric of these categories, it2s impossi#le not to #e assailed #y the perceptions & categories deri&ed from these #asic distinctions. When there2s the sense of identification with something that experiences, then #ased on the feelings arising from sensory contact, some feelings will seem appealing " worth getting for the self " and others will seem unappealing " worth pushing away. 0rom this there grows desire, which comes into conflict with the desires of others who are also engaging in papa*ca. This is how inner o#$ectifications #reed external contention. http%,,www.accesstoinsight.org,tipita)a,mn,mn.345.than.html

*o&&"s effort to escape from *o&ol agents and to get himself ac1uitted from the crime which he is accused of % compare Nanavira"s analysis of 9afka"s Trial which is almost identical: http:..www.scri&d.com.doc.:/;<;=3>/.A%+uddhist%Interpretation%of%9afka%s%?@istential%!ritings Aim&o 4 the sphere of non%percipient &eings ,asai- or prolonged bhavanga state.
Cobb: !e drop into Aim&o. Arthur: [angry] Are you serious5B Ariadne: Aim&o5 Arthur: Cnconstructed dream space. Ariadne: !ell what the hell is down there5 Arthur: Dust raw infinite su&conscious. Nothing is down there. ?@cept for whatever that might have &een left &ehind &y whoever"s sharing the dream who was trapped down there &efore. !hich in our case is 'ust you. Ariadne: +ut how long could we &e stuck there5 Yusef: Not even think a&out waking up until 4 Eames: How long5B Yusef: EecadesB It could &e infiniteB I don"t knowB Ask him he"s the one who"s &een thereB

#+ut I donFt want to go among mad people " Alice remarked. "Gh you canFt help that " said the *at: "weFre all mad here. IFm mad. $ouFre mad." "How do you know IFm mad5" said Alice. "$ou must &e " said the *at or you wouldnFt have come here.) #How puHHling all these changes areB I"m never sure what I"m going to &e from one minute to another.) #I wonder if I"ve &een changed in the night. Aet me think. !as I the same when I got up this morning5 I almost think I can remem&er feeling a little different. +ut if I"m not the same the ne@t 1uestion is "!ho in the world am I5" Ah that"s the great puHHleB) #I"m afraid I can"t e@plain myself sir. +ecause I am not myself you see5) #I can"t go &ack to yesterday &ecause I was a different person then. )
2

#It was much pleasanter at home " thought poor Alice "when one wasn"t always growing larger and smaller and &eing ordered a&out &y mice and ra&&its. I almost wish I hadn"t gone down the ra&&it%hole%%and yet%%and yet%%...) I Aewis *arroll Alice in !onderland

*f. Jaddula (utta simile of the painter and the "motion picture" which is fashioned &y the citta even more variegated.diversified:

We read in the 'Atthasalini' (a commentary to the Dhammasangani, which is the first book of the Abhidhamma !ook ", #art "", Analysis of $erms, %4& 'ow is conscio(sness (i.e.mind ca)able of )rod(cing a *ariety or di*ersity of effects in action+ $here is no art in the world more *ariegated than the art of )ainting. "n )ainting, the )ainter's master)iece is more artistic than the rest of his )ict(res. An artistic design occ(rs to the )ainters of master)ieces that s(ch and s(ch )ict(res sho(ld be drawn in s(ch and s(ch a way. $hro(gh this artistic design there arise o)erations of the mind (or artistic o)erations accom)lishing s(ch things as sketching the o(tline, )(tting on the )aint, to(ching (), and embellishing... $h(s all classes of arts in the world, s)ecific or generic, are achie*ed by the mind. And owing to its ca)acity th(s to )rod(ce a *ariety or di*ersity of effects in action, the mind, which achie*es all these arts, is itself artistic like the arts themsel*es. ,ay, it is e*en more artistic than the art itself, beca(se the latter cannot e-ec(te e*ery design )erfectly. .or that reason the !lessed /ne has said, '0onks, ha*e yo( seen a master)iece of )ainting+' '1es, 2ord.' '0onks, that master)iece of art is designed by the mind. "ndeed, monks, the mind is e*en more artistic than that master)iece.'
SN 22.100 Gaddula Sutta "Unimaginable, bhikkhus, is a beginning to the round of births [and deaths]. For beings obstructed by ignorance and fettered by craving, migrating and going the round of births, a starting point is not evident. "Just as a dog, bhikkhus, tied with a leash to a strong stake or post if he moves, he moves towards that stake or post if he stands still, he stands close to that stake or post if he sits down, he sits close to that stake or post if he lies down, he lies close to that stake or post. "!imilarly, bhikkhus, the uninstructed ordinary person looks upon the body as, "#his is mine," "$ am this," "#his is myself,"... %e looks upon feeling... perception... mental activities... consciousness as, "#his is mine," "$ am this," "#his is myself." $f he moves, he moves towards these five aggregates of grasping if he stands still, he stands close to these five aggregates of grasping if he sits down, he sits close to these five aggregates of grasping if he lies down, he lies close to these five aggregates of grasping. "%ence, bhikkhus, $ say one should constantly reflect upon one"s own mind thus& "For a long time this mind has been corrupted by greed, aversion and delusion." #hrough a corrupt mind, bhikkhus, beings are corrupted from purity of mind beings become pure. %ave you seen, bhikkhus, an elaborate painting'" "(es, !ir." ")ow that elaborate painting, bhikkhus, was devised by mind. #herefore mind is even more intricate than that elaborate painting. %ence, bhikkhus, $ say one should constantly reflect upon one"s own mind thus& "For

a long time this mind has been corrupted by greed, aversion and delusion." #hrough a corrupt mind, bhikkhus, beings are corrupted from purity of mind beings become pure. "$ perceive no other single group, bhikkhus, so diverse as the creatures of the animal world. #hese creatures of the animal world are diversified by mind.[*+] #herefore mind is even more diverse than the creatures of the animal world. "%ence, bhikkhus, $ say a bhikkhu should constantly reflect upon his own mind thus& "For a long time this mind has been corrupted by greed, aversion and delusion." #hrough a corrupt mind, bhikkhus, beings are corrupted from purity of mind beings become pure. "Just as a dyer or a painter, with dye or lac or turmeric or indigo or madder, and a well,smoothed wooden panel or wall or piece of cloth, can reproduce the form -ruupa. of a woman or a man complete in every detail / similarly, bhikkhus, the uninstructed ordinary person brings body into e0istence too... brings feeling... perception... mental activities... brings consciousness into e0istence too."[*1] Notes: [*+] #hey are diversified by the results of kamma, volitional acts of mind. [*1] #he five aggregates are produced -and reproduced. by kamma.

http:..www.dhammawheel.com.viewtopic.php5f6:=Kt6L/=3 *omment &y Men. 9. anananda:

$n a number of sermons we had to bring up the simile of the motion picture. #he simile is not our own, but only a modern, i2ation of a canonical simile used by the 3uddha himself. #he point of divergence was the 4uestion the 3uddha had addressed to the monks in the 5addula !utta. Diha vo, bhikkhave, caraa nma citta? "6onks, have you seen a picture called a movie'" #he monks answer in the affirmative, and so the 3uddha proceeds& Tampi kho, bhikkhave, caraa nma citta citteneva cintita. Tena pi kho, bhikkhave, caraena cittena cittaeva cittatara. "6onks, that picture called a movie is something thought out by the mind. 3ut the thought itself, monks, is even more pictures4ue than that picture." #o say that it is more pictures4ue is to suggest its variegated character. #hought is intrinsically variegated. 7e have no idea what sort of a motion picture was there at that time, but the modern day movie has a way of concealing impermanence by the rapidity of pro8ections of the series of pictures on the screen. #he rapidity itself gives an impression of permanence, which is a perversion, vipallsa. http&99www.beyondthenet.net9calm9nibbana:;.htm

Moving Between Thought Worlds - Ven. Thanissaro

!e"ve all had the e@perience when we"re asleep of finding ourselves in a dream and for a while &elieving that what"s happening in the dream is real. Then something alerts us that something is wrong with the dream and finally to the fact that we"re dreaming. Csually that"s enough for us to wake up to pull out of the dream.

That process is very similar to the way we create mental worlds and emotional states during our waking life &ecause our picture of the world around us is always partial. It"s always stitched together out of &its and pieces of what we"ve encountered through the senses. !e have a notion of what makes sense and as long as it makes sense and seems to &e real we can stay stuck in that state of mind. Then something strikes us as incongruous as not fitting in. !e realiHe "Gh that was an imaginary world." That"s when we pull out. +ut then we find ourselves in another world which may &e &etter and may not. The a&ility to recogniHe what"s incongruous what"s wrong with a world: That"s an important skill. !ithout it we get stuck in states of mind N what the +uddha called &hava or &ecoming N where we can suffer very intensely. !e focus on certain things in the world around us certain ideas a&out who we are in that world and everything else gets filtered through that particular picture. Gther people"s actions for e@ample get filtered in this way so that someone acting with perfectly good intentions may seem to &e evil sneaky unrelia&le. Gr vice versa. They actually may &e evil sneaky and unrelia&le yet we see them as &eing perfectly reasona&le perfectly trustworthy. +ut &ecause the mental world we inha&it has its own inner coherence we think it"s accurate and real. ... 8indfulness is what creates the &ridges &etween these different states. $ou remem&er that you were in one state and now you"re in another. And the possi&ility of slipping &ack into another distracted state is always there so you"ve got to keep on top of things to &e alert for any signs of the mind preparing to slip away. It has its tricks. It has its slight moment of &lanking out after which you wake up in another world. +ut if you can use mindfulness as a &ridge across that &lanking out it"s a lot easier to direct the mind from one state of &ecoming into another when you want to. And it"s a lot easier to stay in a state of &ecoming when you want to stay. In this way you don"t need an outside power. All you need is your own a&ility to recogniHe "There"s something wrong here and I can get out." This "something wrong" is the fact something is creating a &urden on the mind that doesn"t have to &e there. To get out you don"t need an outside power. $ou 'ust need to remem&er that you have the a&ility to create a different sense of who you are and to create a different world to inha&it one that"s healthier. The ultimate goal of the practice of course is to &e a&le to get out of all these worlds entirely. That"s what it really means to wake up. +ut in the meantime you can have your little awakening when you wake up in the middle of one of your created worlds and say "Gh this is suffering. It doesn"t have to &e here." And you look in the right place instead of placing the &lame on other people in the past or in the present. The suffering doesn"t come from them. The suffering comes from the way the mind thinks a&out things. It creates impossi&le situations and then &urdens itself with them. It doesn"t have to do that. 8indfulness concentration and discernment form the way out. http:..www.accesstoinsight.org.li&.authors.thanissaro.meditations=.htmlOmoving&etweenthoughtworlds

Seeds of Becoming - Ven. Thanissaro

I"ve said a num&er of times how the +uddha"s teachings on causality are like modern teachings on chaos theory. Gne of the &asic principles of chaos theory is called "scale invariance." That what"s happening on the macro level is the same thing as is happening on the micro level no matter what the siHe of your frame of reference no matter what your focus it"s always the same things happening simply writ large or writ small. And it"s convenient for us &ecause when this principle applies to our awareness it means we can watch the small things happening right here right now and they teach us the lessons we need to know a&out the &ig things. And so this is why we come into the present moment not &ecause it"s simply a nice place to &e &ecause that"s not always the case sometimes the present moment can &e pretty misera&le. +ut the important issues that are happening in life are happening right here. The +uddha"s teachings on bhava or &ecoming get played out right here. That"s the &asic condition for &irth and the whole round of aging illness and death.

It"s a hard word to translate "&ecoming" isn"t ideal &ut it"s hard to find a &etter word. It"s &asically a state of &eing and it can &e either at the micro level the little worlds the mind creates for itself or at the macro level the human realm as a whole that"s a &hava and seeds for the large one are right here in the small ones. These are the worlds the mind creates. $ou can think a&out say your home and there it appears right in your mind the world of your home. Not the whole thing &ut enough of a facsimile to say $eah that"s my home. And then you can enter into that little world and ad'ust it and interact with the various elements in there. And then after a while you might lose interest and the mind creates another state of &eing for itself another little world and it goes from world to world to world like this. Gr a &etter way saying it is these worlds appear and then they disappear and another one appears in its place. And it"s &ecause the mind does this that it takes &irth that it provides the causes for larger levels of &ecoming and then it takes &irth in them. (o this is the process we want to understand if we want to get &eyond aging illness and death not go through the cycles again and again and again we have to know what"s going on. How the little cycles &ehave and that way we learn how the &ig cycles &ehave what e@actly is the process that keeps these things going. As the +uddha once said at the moment of his awakening "House &uilder I have seen you through countless &irths &uild these homes. And now I"ve seen the house &uilder and taken apart the house and now the house &uilder will never &uild another one again." $ou want to see that process of how the mind creates these little homes for itself with such force of ha&it that if it can"t create a good one for itself it"ll create a &ad one for itself. All it asks is that you have that place to go. +ecause the mind has a fear for having no place to go. This is what"s called &hava%tanha it"s one of the forms of craving that leads to suffering. Mi&hava%tanha that"s a more controversial term &ecause it it"s not defined anywhere in the canon. (ome passages indicated that it"s desire for annihilation in other words that you don"t have anything that has to go anywhere you"re tired of going to these different places &ut you want to end up in a place where everything gets destroyed or everything stops so there"s no more &ecoming. And the +uddha said that kind of desire leads to suffering as well &ecause what it does is it takes the mind to a strange kind of &ecoming. It doesn"t end the process it 'ust freeHes it for a while. It"s like those cy&orgs in science fiction movies that get froHen for a num&er of centuries and then come out still functioning. And the mind goes into these strange states you can freeHe the process &ut that doesn"t end the process it can start up again. +ut the macro level is &eing played out here on the micro level so let"s look at it let"s create a state of &ecoming. It"s what we"re doing as we practice concentration we create a little inner world for the mind. Pirst it"s 'ust a spot in the &ody and then you e@pand it to fill the whole &ody. And then you try to maintain it. And in doing that you engage all the forms of fa&rication: physical ver&al mental. In other words there"s the &reath and that"s the physical fa&rication then there"s directed thought and evaluation those are the ver&al forms and then there"s feeling and perception. And these are the &asic &uilding &locks from which you create this world the world of a concentrated mind. ...

The larger issues of &irth aging illness and deathQ and re&irth re%aging re%illness and re%deathQ they get played out here moment &y moment &y moment right here in the present moment. And if you learn how to look right here you can see them. The more still you can make the mind the easier it is &oth to &e in a position to look and also 'ust to see if you"ve got what you"re looking at stil as well. $ou"re in a much &etter position to see even the slightest movements. It"s those slight movements that &uild up get re%iterated again and again to &uild up into large movements. And small states of &eing and &ecoming in the mind &uild up eventually into large ones when you leave this life and everything in this state of &ecoming &egins to come rushing in at you and you"ve got to get out of the way the mind will naturally try to create another state of &eing it will go for another state of &eing whatever comes up in the mind if you haven"t trained the mind to &e mindful and alert you 'ust 'ump right at whatever comes. +ut if you"ve trained it you don"t have to 'ump. $ou can step aside get out of the way. Not 'ump on these things as they happen and that opens up lots of new possi&ilities in the mind. If you haven"t yet seen the deathless may&e at that point of death that"s the possi&ility that will open as you keep yourself mindful and alert not to 'ump at states of &eing and &ecoming as they form. +ut that"s a skill which has to &e developed. http:..dhammatalks.org.Archive./<222/R:/(eedsR:/ofR:/+ecoming R:/The.mp<
A quote from Ajahn Thate about bhavanga:

"The mind coming to its own level: the bhavanga. In this moment everything has reference only to the mind. ?ven though life may still &e going on the mind when it reaches this level lets go of all attachments to the &ody and goes inward to e@perience nothing &ut its own o&'ect all &y itself. This is termed bhava-citta the mind on its own level. The mind on its own level still has a refined version of the five khandhas complete within it and so can still e@perience &irth and states of &ecoming and give rise to continued &irths in the future. Reaching this state is somewhat like doHing off and dreaming. The difference depends on how much alertness there is. Misions and signs whether or not they arise intentionally are composed of a great deal of mental concocting and attachment and are therefore unrelia&le N &ecause the visions and signs arising when the mind is in the bhavanga are like the dreams of a person who lies down to sleep or simply doHes off." http:..www.dhammatalks.net.+ooks.A'ahnSThateS(tepsSAlongStheS7ath.htm

*onstructed dream worlds with la&yrinths 6 states of &ecoming ,feeding on manosancetana ahara food of mental intention-. The layers of the su&conscious mind in Inception correspond to the layers of &ecoming ,bhava- which are created all the time &y the mind either deli&erately or on the deeper level of the latent tendencies.o&sessions ,anusaya-: Cetana Sutta: Intention SN 12.38 !taying at !avatthi... [the 3lessed <ne said,] "7hat one intends, what one arranges, and what one obsesses about -or& what lies latent.&[=] #his is a support for the stationing of consciousness. #here being a support, there is a landing [or& an establishing] of consciousness. 7hen that consciousness

lands and grows, there is the production of renewed becoming in the future. 7hen there is the production of renewed becoming in the future, there is future birth, aging > death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, > despair. !uch is the origination of this entire mass of suffering > stress. "$f one doesn"t intend and doesn"t arrange, but one still obsesses [about something], this is a support for the stationing of consciousness. #here being a support, there is a landing of consciousness. 7hen that consciousness lands and grows, there is the production of renewed becoming in the future. 7hen there is the production of renewed becoming in the future, there is future birth, aging > death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, > despair. !uch [too] is the origination of this entire mass of suffering > stress. "3ut when one doesn"t intend, arrange, or obsess [about anything], there is no support for the stationing of consciousness. #here being no support, there is no landing of consciousness. 7hen that consciousness doesn"t land > grow, there is no production of renewed becoming in the future. 7hen there is no production of renewed becoming in the future, there is no future birth, aging > death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, or despair. !uch is the cessation of this entire mass of suffering > stress." )ote =. #he seven obsessions -or& latent tendencies, anusaya. are& the obsession of sensual passion, the obsession of resistance, the obsession of views, the obsession of uncertainty, the obsession of conceit, the obsession of passion for becoming, and the obsession of ignorance. http&99www.accesstoinsight.org9tipitaka9sn9sn=:9sn=:.?@1.than.html

The recurring scenes in the film showing the &uilding and constructing activities , sankhara- of the people on various levels of &ecoming 4 compare the (atta (utta: !6ny desire, passion, delight, or cra&ing for consciousness, 7adha% when one is caught up there, tied up there, one is said to #e 2a #eing.2 !Just as when #oys or girls are playing with little sand castles%[4] as long as they are not free from passion, desire, lo&e, thirst, fe&er, & cra&ing for those little sand castles, that2s how long they ha&e fun with those sand castles, en$oy them, treasure them, feel possessi&e of them. -ut when they #ecome free from passion, desire, lo&e, thirst, fe&er, & cra&ing for those little sand castles, then they smash them, scatter them, demolish them with their hands or feet and ma)e them unfit for play. !/n the same way, 7adha, you too should smash, scatter, & demolish form, feeling, perception, formations, consciousness and ma)e it unfit for play. 8ractice for the ending of cra&ing for consciousness " for the ending of cra&ing, 7adha, is 9n#inding.! http%,,www.accesstoinsight.org,tipita)a,sn,sn:;,sn:;.33:.than.html http%,,what-#uddha-said.net,drops,//, andcastles.htm

(hort scenes from the film:

Inception - E p!aining the dream "or!d

http:..www.youtu&e.com.watch5v6M<%a=0!t:tk

Inception - Ariadne #earns $o" To Bui!d %reams

http:..www.youtu&e.com.watch5v6LyshCm@u?'?

Inception And &hi!osoph'( Because It)s *e+er ,ust A %ream is a collection of essays that e@plore the filmFs philosophical 1uestions and themes. http:..andphilosophy.com.news.category.inception.

%o"n"ard is the -n!' .a' /or"ard( /o!!o"ing Inception0s %ream Trai! ItFs no new idea to say that what we assume to &e an o&'ective physical reality is actually a su&'ective metaphysical surreality. ... The su&versive element is key here. To a mind that has &een imprinted with the mental patterns of a monotheism this is a very threatening concept. Inception demonstrates that we are still refusing to integrate this knowledge into our view of reality &ecause itFs a direct threat to the egoFs control over human life. !e continue to view our surroundings as consisting of matter and organisms that e@ist in themselves as separate from mind whether an individual mind or a collective one. ... However it does not result in nihilism or solipsismQ actually it would cure us of those ailments. Gn average human &eings currently operate as if they &elieved in nothing &eyond physical e@istence ,em&odied life material possessions etc.- and as if nothing mattered outside of their ego construction ,myself my family my race my country etc.-. The reason we hate all instances of people living outside the common reality tunnel ,aside from the utility of esta&lished social norms and roles- is that we cannot escape our own feeling of unreality. Thus we live in a suicidal state overwhelmed &y the sense of nausea that real life provides each day. ... The trick is to see that awakening happens in waking life itself though the movie Inception wonFt give anyone that impression. http:..www.realitysandwich.com.downwardSonlySwaySforwardS Inception

And it7s all abo(t letting go of attachment to )erfect, b(t fake (nrealities8and re9oining that )recio(s, fragile, fleeting state of mind known as the )resent moment:real life. While he is messing aro(nd in other )eo)le7s )syches, ;obb, the main character, is dealing with his own attachment to the )ast. ;obb tra*els dee)er and dee)er into his )syche, and he gets by with a little hel) from his friend:Ariadna. $he meta)hor of an ele*ator as dee)ening le*els of s(bconscio(s is *ery )owerf(l. At the dee)est le*el, Ariadna disco*ers ;obb7s dee)ly rooted samskara that he doesn7t want to let go of. And letting go isn7t easy. As yo( get dee)er into someone7s )syche, manifestations of their s(bconscio(s attack to maintain the stat(s <(o:in "nce)tion they do so with g(ns and *iolence. While the !(ddha sat (nder the !odhi tree on the e*e of his enlightenment, the demon 0ara attacks him with all sorts of arrows and tem)ations. =etting beyond e-ternal defenses can indeed feel like a war. "f going down an ele*ator and fighting )eo)le with g(ns is an ade<(ate com)arison to dee)ening )ersonal s)irit(al )ractice, what does it mean to )lant an idea in someone else7s mind, as the story7s )rotagonists are so intent on doing+ We )lant ideas in each other7s minds all the time. Any time " listen to someone7s s(ggestion or become im)acted by their )assionate, ignorant, aggressi*e or, occasionally, enlightened actions, yo( might say they are im)lanting ideas in my mind. And while defenses are lowered, ideas can be )lanted *ery )otently. $his is what makes a g(r( so )owerf(l. "n "nce)tion, the idea is not im)lanted for the good of its reci)ient, b(t for other moti*es (namely, ;obb7s desire to ret(rn home and Saito7s desire to cr(mble his o))onent7s b(siness . $hat is often the case in e*eryday life as well. http:..www.elephant'ournal.com.:/2/./L.review%a%&uddhist%take%on%inception.

The 0Inception0 of I!!usion or 1ea!it'2 The ingenious film that is TInceptionF &egins with the assumption that it is possi&le for multiple persons to enter someoneFs dream that can even &e designed without that person knowing thus digging out deep secrets from his su&%consciousness or even implanting ideas which eventually shape oneFs decisions.

>

Thank goodness this doesnFt seem technologically via&le at the momentU though it does seem possi&le in the near future5 If so may this movie &e a cautionary tale for what may come to &eB This is especially relevant in this information age when the conceiving of the slightest ideas &y the powerful can mushroom into world%changing actions. In the story dreams are ela&orately crafted &y architects who have an eye for detail and creativity 4 so as to trick the dreamer into &elieving the dream se1uences to &e real. This reminds me of the +uddhaFs teaching in the Eiamond (utra that all conditioned phenomena ,including real life- is dream%like due to their ethereal and transient nature. ?ven more confounding yet rich than the 8atri@ movies the dream hackers are a&le to delve deeper into the su&'ectFs mind &y con'uring a dreamU within a dreamU within a dreamB !ith intriguing cross%interaction over layers of dreams even the hackers are at times unsure of whether they are still in a dream which and whoseB In the 8atri@ universe it is possi&le to die when hooked to the 8atri@ when oneFs mind is weak enough to e@perience the illusion of simulated pain as real. In the dream world of Inception however one cannot die in a dream 4 simply &ecause it is 'ust a dream. $et a dream is never 'ust a dream 4 especially when it is perceived as reality in the moment. The hackers in the real world are synchronised to awaken together upon accomplishing their missions with a common wake%up call 4 which is heard as music fed through earphones that penetrates all the layers of dreams. Por a 1uick awakening their sleeping &odies are 'olted awake &y dunking them into waterB Almost Vennish 4 as in the sudden schoolB +uddhists use realisation of the Eharma as the spiritual wake%up callB It is also proposed that an idea is the most resilient parasite. As they say thoughts &ecome words which &ecome actions which &ecome ha&its which &ecomes character which &ecomes destiny. The +uddha would concur as he taught that the mind is the forerunner of all things. Ideas clung to can shape reality or sustain delusion. !hile the hackers admit that it is not easy to plant an idea in someoneFs mind without the person realising an idea that is firmly implanted can &e difficult to let go off. Dust recall your favourite delusionB Also discussed was planting the essence of an idea as a simple mantra%like phrase so as to let it grow naturally as one &ecomes one with it. !hat mantras or taglines do you live &y5 Jood ones I hopeB In lucid dreaming one is mindful enough to know one is dreaming and is thus a&le to play with the TmatterF in the dream. The possi&ilities would &e limited only &y oneFs imagination. The more sharp oneFs mind is the more intricately detailed and functional can oneFs dream &e. This would &e control. However for most dreamers we are controlled &y our delusional thinking instead 4 &oth when awake and asleepB The Avatamsaka (utra says TThe mind is like a master painter e@perienced at painting all sorts of things.F Inception proposes the same when it says the mind works so fast that it can simultaneously create and perceive scenes in dreams. Eespite dreams and especially dreams nested within dreams &eing inherently unsta&le they can seem so solid due to the power of the mind. Eue to the reality of their imagination &eing limited the dream architects use visual parado@es ,such as the 7enrose (taircase- to create the illusion of vast or interconnected spaces. Nice touchB !e too are already tricked &y illusions when awake 4 what more when dreamingB It is interesting too that we seldom remem&er the &eginnings of our dreamsQ as we tend to end up smack in the middle of them. ItFs a lot like life too 4 how we seem to &e e@istentially stranded in the thick of (amsara once we realise we are. !hat we know for sure is that we do have layers of dream%like delusions to &reak through &efore finally surfacing to reality. Inception offers powerful entertaining and enlightening imagery for thisB The plot suggests a time when those disillusioned with life pay to immerse themselves within dreams. However if they are in too deep they risk falling into the lim&o of infinite unconstructed dream space. How vaguely reminiscent of the teaching that &eings too attached to their deep meditation can &e fruitlessly stuck in the plane of Tneither perception nor non%perceptionF for eonsB +eing an altered state of mind dream time is su&stantially slower than that of real life too which is similar to how meditators who enter samadhi ,states of concentration- often lose track of time. TEreams feel real while weFre in them. ItFs only when we wake up that we realise something was actually strange.F IndeedB Insight via hindsight. The enlightened always readily smile when they look &ack to reflect on how deluded they once wereB !hile dream architects use their illusions to &eguile others they are also mindful not to lose their grip on reality to &e tricked &y their own illusions. This is done &y never pro'ecting familiar or common places which others might have mastery of. 8aHes are created too should their dreams &e hacked into &y others 4 so that they know e@actly where to flee within them to lose their tails. The lead character however was so attached to his deceased wife for having FcausedF her suicide that she continually appears to sa&otage him in his dreams. This is reminiscent of how the wrathful demons of hell in +uddhist cosmology are really manifestations of oneFs negative karma and guilt.

+ecause he shared dreams with fellow hackers his personal delusions threatened their safety too. As in real life oneFs delusion can spill over to harm others too via the interplay of collective karma. (everely ThauntedF &y his wife he decides that reality is no longer enough as he creates an addictive dream to imprison his memories of her in which he tries to create an alternate realityQ or rather alternate delusion. He had e@perimentally implanted the idea within her mind that she might &e in a dream while she was alive which &ecame a delusion so firmly lodged that she made a leap of &lind faith to deathU in order to Twake upF. +uddhism would say she is not gone forever though as there is re&irth &ut the hus&and clings on to the past version of her to relive their happier days and to make up for his mistakes. This he did till he realised it didnFt &ring him true happiness as he knew it was an illusion that continually punished him instead. Ereams then &ecame not as worthy as reality as he strived to wake up. As in the 8atri@ trilogy the audience is left e@istentially wondering if this very life is &ut a dream%like illusion. 8ore perple@ing than VhuangHi pondering if he is actually the &utterfly he dreamt who is now dreaming himself to &e a man we ponder which of many dreams we might &e in insteadB The hackers each fashion a uni1ue totem for themselves which they always hold on to 4 an o&'ect such as a chess piece that is crafted and weighed in a manner that only one knows. !ith it they would know if they are in someone elseFs dream 4 as another hacker would &e una&le to create the e@act totem. 8ethinks Inception has a perfect endingU the totem of the lead character which is a top spins on &ut wo&&les a littleU and weFre unsure if it will fall. In a dream world it could spin on indefinitely if one wills it toQ in the real world no top spins forever. An open%ended scene that summarises the state of our uncertain and unenlightened livesB

http:..moonpointer.com.new.:/2/./L.dharmacinema%the%inception%of%illusion%or%reality.

What makes a movie a Buddhist? movie? Theres been some talk recently about Christopher Nolans film Inception and its relationship to Buddhism. A good case has been made that the movie looks honestly at the way that the human mind works and the way it deceives itself. Other writers have said the film is anti-Buddhist since it hinges on the hijacking of another persons mind. What exactly makes a work of art Buddhist? Images of Buddha? Could be. That would be a visual cultural clue, but sometimes culture and spirituality get confused for one another. A shaved head does not make one a monk. Or does the exploration of the inner mind make a work of art Buddhist? Could be. ... Once the idea reaches the culture at large that a movie is Buddhist, it becomes difficult to dislodge that idea. Inception is not any more Buddhist than The Shining... but thats not to say it isnt Buddhist either. The Matrix too served as a metaphor for a Buddhist view of reality and delusion, although Inception takes it a step further with an invitation for the viewer themselves to participate in the enlightenment. Are dreams as real as reality from the perspective of the mind? Is life itself a dream? If so, who is The Dreamer? Like all great art, the audience is asked to interpret for themselves, knowing all perception is personal; The Matrix strives to be good; Inception strives to be great. Ultimately, the foremost allusions to Buddhist philosophy in Inception are the radical ideas that reality is not what it usually appears to be and our minds have ingenious ways of fooling themselves, no matter how big the house-of-cards. Has Cobb merely created a world of illusion for himself to exist in? That too shall pass. Nolan wisely leaves us wondering, knowing that in art the questions are far more important than the answers. Allowing that open ending to remain open is perhaps its purest expression of Buddhist philosophy.
http:..www.prapanca'ournal.com.v2i:.review%movie.php

Dream is the personalized myth; myth is the depersonalized dream. - oseph !ampbell
http:..thousandhp.wordpress.com.:/2/./L.:2.inception%the%ocean%of%dom%co&&.

The Labyrinth of Inception

Inception itself, however, contains so little direct reference to the brain (I counted about three lines) that you have to do some pretty flexible interpretation to draw firm parallels with brain science. Perhaps, most tellingly, for a film supposedly about neuroscience, the dream entry devices dont even connect to the brain and nothing is made of how they achieve their interface. But for those familiar with the theories of arl !ung, the psychoanalyst and dissenter from "reuds circle, the film is rich with both implicit and explicit references to his wor#. $s with all psychoanalysts, !ung was concerned with the subconscious mind and believed that it contains powerful emotional processes that, when malformed or disturbed, can brea# through and cause immense distress to our conscious lives. %o protect us, the subconscious tries to hide these forces behind symbols, which appear, most vividly, in dreams. %his is why "reud called dreams &the royal road to the unconscious' and !ungs wor# is also based on this core assumption. (imilarly, in Inception, dreams are a way of accessing the subconscious of the dreamer, to the point where they can be used to steal secrets. %his dream invasion wor# is not easy, of course, primarily because the subconscious mind attempts to defend against invaders (a defense mechanism in psychoanalytic terms) and the dreamspace needs to be explored and interpreted by the invaders to get to the secret itself. %his is not the only challenge, as other people in the dream are pro)ections of the dreamers subconscious where, in line with the definition from psychoanalysis, personal feelings are perceived as residing in other people. In the film, the young architect, $riadne is hired to build dreams in the form of ma*es, and the labyrinth forms one of the central symbols in the film (the name, $riadne, by the way, comes from the +ree# legend where she leads %heseus out of the ,inotaurs labyrinth - !ung referred to being lost in life as .losing the $riadne thread). In !ungian psychology the labyrinth is one of the most powerful symbols of the subconscious. In his boo# .,an and /is (ymbols, he explains its meaning0

?%he ma*e of strange passages, chambers, and unloc#ed exits in the cellar recalls the old 1gyptian
representation of the underworld, which is a well2#nown symbol of the unconscious with its abilities. It also shows how one is &open' to other influences in ones unconscious shadow side and how uncanny and alien elements can brea# in.' $riadne is hired because 3on obb can no longer create dreams, owing to the fact that the subconscious representation of his ex2wife, who #illed herself due to obbs dream wor#, appears and attempts to violently stop him. obb names her his .shade, directly referencing the !ungian concept of the shadow where we are haunted by the parts of ourselves which we are most ashamed and which we most try to repress. 4hile obbs main ob)ective is to get bac# to his children, his main challenge is to overcome his shadow that causes conflicts in his subconscious. 5ormally, if you wrote a sentence li#e that about a film you would be using a !ungian interpretation, but in the case of Inception this is also the literal state of affairs.

http:..mindhacks.com.:/2/./3./=.the%la&yrinth%of%inception.
6fter all, e&ery one of us is met with dilemmas and challenges, dou#t and hesitation, thoughts that force us to question the &alidity and morality of what we do, in the same way <o## questions the reality of the memories and images that manifest in front of him, whether in reality or a dream. While in Inception the totem is used to distinguish dream from reality especially when one feels lost or confused in one=s own mind, for a -uddhist it seems as though we use -uddhism as our totem to help us distinguish the s)illful from uns)illful. >et how is a totem different from a #asic sense of human $udgment seemingly inherent within us. 6 characteristic of a totem that seems to ma)e it so useful in /nception is its a#ility to act independently of its owner. o while <o## tra&els in and out of dreams, en&isioning ?al and his children in #oth worlds, the spinning top is a neutral indicator detached from his mind. The top spins infinitely in a dream and stops in reality. That does not change no matter what <o## sees, does, or thin)s. imilarly, it seems as though for -uddhists, -uddhism acts as that remo&ed agent, that

@totemA, that pro&ides the wisdom to guide us outside of the distractions that cloud our $udgment and delusions that cause us suffering.

http:..dharmafolk.com.:/22./2.2/.whats%your%inception%totem. !hat is your totem or anchor of reality that you hang on to5 Now you might think the top idea seems pretty cool and worka&leU &ut the truth is any such totem would not &e totally accurate in helping you to discern dream from reality. This is so &ecause you can also make use and will totems to work in certain ways in your dreamsB In other words life &eing dreamlike and dreams &eing lifelike there is no way to determine that yours is a dream or real totemB If you think of it since dream elements are often e@tensions of our su&tly yet e@actly willed perceptions and intentions *o&& could very well su&consciously will his totem to stop spinning in a dream tooB Is there any hope of having a &enchmark for a reality check then5 !hen the +uddha deeply o&served the nature of the universe throughout space and time he realised that the entire spectrum of unenlightened physical and psychical e@perience can &e summed up &y the Three Cniversal *haracteristics ,Tilakhanna.Trilakshana- or the Three 8arks ,(eals- of ?@istence ,Eharma- which are Anicca.Anitya ,the truth of the impermanence of all mind and matter due to constant change- Eukkha.Euhkha ,the dissatisfactions that arise from clinging to the illusion that things are not of Anicca- and Anatta.Anatman ,the truth of mind and matter to &e unsu&stantial or empty of a fi@ed self due to Anicca-. !hen these characteristics are realised fully one &ecomes enlightened ,attains Ni&&ana.Nirvana- awakened to ultimate reality. As such the Three 8arks collectively form a triple totem of reality which is so universal that it applies even in dreamsB The dream world like the TrealF world is of Anicca too as no top can really spin forever. ?ven a dream top eventually stops when oneFs perception wills it to or when one awakes. It is of Eukkha too as even the most fantastic dream has to &e awakened from with a &itter aftertaste. It is of Anatta as oneFs self in the dream is 'ust as unsu&stantial as the one when awake. The way to awaken from illusions &e it in dreams or TrealF life ,which is still illusory to some e@tent due to our skewed perceptionsis to realise this. (o long as we mistaken any e@perience to &e the opposite of the Three 8arks we are still e@istentially trapped in a dreamlike world where we ha&itually see things to &e permanent ,non% Anicca- fulfilling ,non%Eukkha- and of self ,non%Anatta-. http:..thedailyenlightenment.com.:/22./2.what%is%your%totem%of%reality.

Inception and 7hilosophy: Taking a Aeap of Paith

In my last entry I pointed out that we all simply have to take a leap of faith when we &elieve that the world is real and not a dream. The leap of faith was a large part of the work of the philosopher (Wren 9ierkegaard and is also a reoccurring theme in the movie Inception. Paith is often heralded as a virtue something no&le something you should have. +ut clearly this is not always true. In the movie *o&& asks 8al and (aito to take a leap of faith%to &elieve that their world is not real and to kill themselves so they can wake up. *o&& takes a leap of faith to &elieve that (aito can deliver on his promise to get *o&&"s charges dismissed. $et when 8al asks *o&& to take a leap of faith% out of his hotel window%he doesn"t. And we don"t think he shouldQ we don"t" think it"s a good idea. ,Although if they were dreaming...- (o o&viously we don"t think that faith is always virtuous. It"s not always something you should have or act on. ...

The virtue of faith is often touted in religious circles &ut usually people don"t think that it"s virtuous to &elieve the tenets of other religions &y faith%only one"s own. !hat"s virtuous is "&elieving the right thing." (o when people say that faith is a virtue they really don"t think that it"s the "&elief without evidence" part that is virtuous. They 'ust think that believing the right thing is virtuous. I would agree. Gf course the trou&le is figuring out what the right thing is. ...

?instein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and e@pecting different results." In other words if you don"t think the future will resem&le the past you"re craHyB In fact try living without that assumption. Try &elieving that the ne@t time you put your hand on the hot stove it won"t hurt. $ou can"t do it. (ince it"s impossi&le to avoid such a &elief and re'ecting it would entail that you are craHy I"d say that &elief in induction &y faith is rational.
http:..www.psychologytoday.com.&log.plato%pop.:/222:.inception%and%philosophy%taking%leap%faith In TEreams: *inema of the (u&consciousF *hristopher Nolan the writer%director of the movie TInceptionF says TPor me one of the key components of dreaming is that you donFt feel yourself enter the dream. $ou can feel yourself come out of it. $ou can very specifically wake from the dream and know e@actly at what point in the dream youFve woken from itU And so in portraying dreams and the entry into dreams in the film it was very important to me to try and really do it the way it felt. And the way it feels to me is that you find yourself in the middle of a situation in the middle of an environment. And as the e@perience ends you &ecome aware of where you are physically in the world a&ove the dream if you like. (o the way we portray the dreams is we throw the audience into the middle of an e@perience and then they &ecome oriented through coming out of that dream.F Aikewise due to lack of mindfulness we are unaware of how we entered smack into the centre of this present life with our e@istential crises. !e canFt even recall our TearliestF memory as children vividly what more to say countless memories from many past lives. Though we are too deluded to know how we &ecame dreamily deluded we can &ecome less caught up. Dust as we know when we awaken from a dream we can &e aware of when ,and thus how- we awaken from this dream%like life of transient forms and e@periences. As it is possi&le to dream within a dream there are layers upon layers like &u&&les within &u&&les of delusion to &reak through. Though we are ignorant of how we came to have ignorance we can know and see the ending of ignorance as we &ecome increasingly enlightened. Cnderstanding this life to &e dream%like is the very means for awaking from it. Gne of the intriguing ideas from Inception is that our mind works so intricately and swiftly that we can create and perceive at ,almost- the same time in dreams which are fleshed%out three%dimensional e@pressions of our ha&itual stray and hidden thoughts which are as TrealF as they can get to fool us into taking them for reality. This parallels e@actly with this life we e@perience which is simultaneously an illusory shared yet distinct dream. The common e@periences we have are &ased on our collective skewed perceptions while there are more minutely skewed ones for individuals. Indeed we donFt run on reality &ut our dreamy perception of it. $et the rich mechanics of dreams speak of the infinite potential of the mind to con'ure fantasy and to align with reality. http:..thedailyenlightenment.com.:/2/.2:.inception%of%some%ideas%for%awakening.

7enB Descartes= Meditations on First Philosophy was pu#lished in 4C5D. The film Inception came out rather more recently ':343(, yet in it the &iewer explores the &ery topics that Descartes was philosophi+ing a#out o&er three hundred years ago. Ea&e you e&er #een sure that you=&e awo)en from a dream, only to find out you are actually still sleeping. Dreams within dreams happen sometimes, in the phase of sleep where 7F? '7apid Fye ?o&ement( is full-#lown. Descartes, who wanted to esta#lish what it is possi#le to )now #eyond dou#t, thought a#out whether we can e&er tell for certain if we are dreaming or not. /n fact, our minds could #e confused #y &arious deceptions. /n his search for truth, Descartes considers the possi#ilities that he is madG is #eing totally decei&edG is dreamingG or e&en is possessed #y a demon. This is where his radical s)epticism comes into play, for if we cannot e&en tell for sure whether we are dreaming, then how can we )now for certain any truth a#out the world in which we seem to li&e. Ee e&en wonders whether he is real or not. Then Descartes reali+es that e&en if he were mista)en a#out everything, then he must #e thin)ing, for one can=t e&en #e decei&ed unless one is thin)ing. 6nd )nowing for sure that he thin)s, then

it must follow that he existsG there must #e a Hthin)ing thing= 'Meditations, p.4I(. This is where his famous statement @/ thin), therefore / amA comes from, #ecause whate&er else can or can=t #e )nown, this at least is #eyond dou#t. Descartes= solution to the pro#lem of dreaming &ersus reality was to argue that @our memory can ne&er connect our dreams with each other and with the course of life, in the way it is in the ha#it of doing with e&ents that occur when we are awa)e.A o to examine the possi#ility that you might #e dreaming, you need to #e awa)e. This is a way to distinguish dreams from reality, and so can pro&ide a #asis for holding that you aren=t currently dreaming. 1n the contrary, the premise #ehind some of the action in Inception is ultimately a re$ection of Descartes= solution to the Dream 6rgument. F&en when Jeonardo Di<aprio=s character, Dom <o##, is dreaming in the film, he=s fully aware of the possi#ility that he might #e dreaming. o in the film it is impossi#le to tell whether you=re dreaming or not, al#eit that in many dreams within the film we see things li)e the impossi#le staircase. ...

http:..philosophynow.org.issues.00.Inception

Chris Nolan's Inception: A

rea! "Within a

rea! "Within a

rea!##

Inception is a tricky process with the team delving into yet lower and lower levels of dreaming to ensure that the idea takes root. ?ach dream level is a different world and the 'o& takes the team from ur&an settings to a surreal forsaken dreamscape. However%%in one of the movie"s more forced ideas%%anyone who dies in a dream%within%a%dream risks &eing trapped in a dream%world lim&o. To make things worse *o&& can"t seem to prevent unwanted pro'ections of his deceased wife ,8arion *otillard- from trying to sa&otage the 'o&.

1ecursion in 0Inception0
Recursion is a key theme conceptually and visually in Inception. Recursion is simply put an infinite loop like a dreamer dreaming a dream wherein the dreamer dreams a dream ,and so on with the se1uence potentially continuing infinitely-. Aess simply it is a loop of "functions in which the function &eing defined is applied within its own definition...a process of repeating o&'ects in a self%similar way".2 Por e@ample it"s like typing "recursion" in a Joogle search and &eing prompted to search for "recursion" ,which &y the way is what happens-. It"s like two opposing mirrors endlessly reflecting each other"s reflections and also like 8.*. ?scher"s infinitely looping staircases ,recursive mirrors and 7enrose stairs are &oth depicted in Inception-.

An illustration of Inception"s dream levels contained in the "real world" frame. The film"s conceit theoretically allows the nesting to go on infinitely. Note that the nested &o@es are visually similar to infinite mirror reflections.

!hen we watch a film we are aware of &eing spectators to a kind of dreamQ even if we are lost in escapism we can never completely forget that we"re watching a constructed fantasy. Aike the the characters in Inception a person watching a film is like a lucid dreamer i.e. a dreamer who is conscious of &eing in a dream state. *o&& and company even carry tokens as reality checksQ in the dream world a token e@hi&its impossi&le properties such as a top that spins infinitely instead of losing momentum and stopping. This is similar to dreamers pinching themselves to check whether they are awake or asleep. ,Por more thoughts on lucid dreams and this film see Hu&pages article "Inception and Aucid Ereaming".http:..irene.hu&pages.com.hu&.inception%movieO
Inception and $ucid rea!ing: Truth Behind the Movie

http:..'ohn%&%&add.hu&pages.com.hu&.Inception%and%Aucid%Ereaming

3.hat0s the most resi!ient parasite2 An Idea4 *hristopher Nolan: I wanted to deal with the world of dreams and I realiHed that I really had to offer the audience a more emotional narrative something that represents the emotional world of some&odyFs mind. (o &oth the heroFs story and the heist itself had to &e &ased on emotional concepts. That took years to figure out. ... I a!so "anted the dreams in Inception to ref!ect the infinite potentia! of the human mind. The 5e' noir reference is the character 6a!7 it "as +er' important to me that she come across as a c!assic femme fata!e. The character and her re!ationship to Cobb)s ps'che is the !itera! manifestation of "hat the femme fata!e a!"a's meant in fi!m noir8the neurosis of the protagonist9 his fear of ho" !itt!e he 5no"s about the "oman he)s fa!!en in !o+e "ith9 that 5ind of thing. .ired( In addition to genre%play Inception is also a classic heroic epicNa Doseph *amp&ell The Hero with a Thousand aces type of story. *o!an( IFve never read Doseph *amp&ell and I donFt know all that much a&out story archetypes. +ut things like The In!erno and the la&yrinth and the 8inotaur were definitely in my mind. .ired( ThereFs a character called Ariadne named after the woman who helped guide Theseus through the la&yrinth and defeat the 8inotaur. *o!an( $eah I wanted to have that to help e@plain the importance of the la&yrinth to the audience. I donFt know how many people pick up on that association when theyFre watching the film. It was 'ust a little pointer really. I like the idea of her &eing *o&&Fs guide. http:..www.wired.com.magaHine.:/2/.22.plSinceptionSnolan.
%ree& M'tholog' in Inception "Ariadne( Theseus( )irens# - Movie Anal'sis

http:..thehumanfiction.wordpress.com.:/22./3.20.inception%movie%analysis%R?:R0/R3<%mythology% ariadne%theseus%sirens.

Inception and the Importance of Ariadne $n a similar way, it is Ariadne in $nception who acts as a guide to Bobb through the labyrinth of his own memories. $nstead of being stricken with a proverbial BupidCs arrow, however, AriadneCs attraction to Bobb is best described as fascination. !he not only finds the dream world fascinating, and the concept of creating something without physical limitations, but also the mind of Bobb himself. !he, like the viewer in some ways, seeks to understand the layers of the comple0 man she sees before her. $t is not love therefore, but rather a medley of admiration, curiosity, and pity. #he crucial moment in the film where she metaphorically assists Bobb in navigating the ma2e is when she shoots his wife. Up until this point, Bobb had decided he wanted to stay with her in limbo, in his own twisted mind, as some sort of penance for himself to overcome that guilt wracking him. $nstead of letting the guilt go, he was ready to let it consume him. 3y shooting 6al, Ariadne figuratively gets Bobb to wake up. As he watches 6al, or his twisted memory and dream of her, die before him, he has a moment of clarity that he had sought the entire film. %e understands that he has nothing to feel guilty about because he and 6al did live the life he had promised they did grow old together. And he could let her go and with it, let the guilt go, finally reaching the end of the twisted ma2e of his dreams and his memories. 7hat prompts Ariadne to shoot 6al' $t is clear that she recogni2es the necessity of this D the necessity of eliminating BobbCs source of guilt. !he had 8ust been told that it was Bobb who had put the idea that the world was not real into 6alCs mind. #his reali2ation, presented as the climactic revelation of the film, yet one that had lingered in the back of our minds throughout the film, allows the pieces to fit together in her mind like a pu22le. !he saw a way out of that ma2e, and 4uickly helped Bobb escape. http:..literaturemusings.wordpress.com.:/2/./0.22.inception%and%the%importance%of%ariadne.

"nce)tion and Ariadne's 2abyrinth

$hree ho(rs )ass by in a wrinkle of time when a film is *is(ally rich, fast@)aced, blended well with arresting m(sic, and, most of all, )resents a metic(lo(sly str(ct(red montage that kee)s the storyline intact within omnib(s s(b)lots and synco)ates the general (nnecessary. After se*en years of writing and another three in the making, ;hristo)her ,olan's Inception t(rns o(t to be a well@b(ilt labyrinth that takes the a(dience thro(gh different le*els of the As(bconscio(sA re)resented by action@)acked worlds of dreams. 8 All in all, the role of women in the film calls for attention. Ariadne is the designer and the wea*er of the labyrinthine dreams the crew risk their li*es to 9(m) in for action, in the middle of whose labyrinth is the 0inota(r, 0al ;obb. Ariadne, whose identity is hardly re*ealed thro(gho(t the entire 9o(rney, is the AarchitectA of an infrastr(ct(re that )ro*es to be o(t of her control, as it is r(led by the ghost of a m(ch more feminine monstrosity of 0al. ,ot far a)art from the feminine@beastly themes, one f(ndamental <(estion rolls into the )ict(reB does the wea*er come first, or does the monster+ "t is not easy to answer when each defines one another. Whether 0al ;obb e-ists in reality does not matter in the film, as is the case with Dom ;obb and all characters, all ha))enings, all dreams. $he only tr(th to be reminded is that *is(al and a(ditory sensations that the cinematic de*ice )resents is real, that this reality contin(es on for a good three ho(rs, and that when they are o*er, they linger in fragmented *isions and so(nds.
http:..www.so%rimlee.com.a%lonely%impulse%of%delight.:/2/.L.::.inception%and%ariadnes%la&yrinth.html

Christopher *o!an ta!5s about Inception "ith E!+is 6itche!! ,a&out su&'ectivity and mystery and his idea &ehind the filmhttp:..youtu.&e.@TN@I;'ldRo .ired : Inception9 E p!ained ,graphhttp:..www.inceptionending.com.theory.wired%inception%e@plained. *ompare the philosophical concept of "/ntersu#$ecti&ity! of Husserl et al. http:..plato.stanford.edu.entries.husserl.O?mpIntAif

The After!ife In+estigations ; - 1upert She!dra5e9 &h% Mery interesting talk a&out the limitations of the materialistic view of science which holds that consciousness is inside the &rain. Instead consciousness can &e seen as field phenomena which stretch out &eyond the &rain. The dream &ody and &eing a&le to influence e@ternal reality in lucid dreams. Transfer of memories from past lives to another &ody might &e due to morphic fields which shape our &ody after &irth and might also e@plain &irthmarks in some children. "!e know that our dreams are very influenced &y our preoccupations &y our fears our desires we can have nightmares which are usually a&out &eing trapped or &eing chased &y some destructive force like a monster. All these things may happen after we are dead and it might &e like &eing in a dream from which you cannot wake up. It is much &etter to start from our e@perience rather than from &rain physiology when we are investigating the afterlife." http:..www.youtu&e.com.watch5v6frDpThIims0