‘The White Lotus’ and the Illusion of Enlightenment

The last episode of The White Lotus Season 3 opens with a shot of a Buddha statue, his hand curved around his heart. Monks walk along a bridge and into a temple. We then settle into the Buddhist monastery Piper Ratcliff is visiting during her weeklong vacation in Thailand. 

“Sometimes, we wake with anxiety,” monk Luang Por Teera tells his disciples. “What will happen today? What is in store for me? So many questions. We want resolution, solid earth under our feet. So we take life into our own hands. We take action, yeah? Our solutions are temporary. They are quick fix. They create more anxiety, more suffering. There is no resolution to life’s questions. It is easier to be patient once we finally accept: there is no resolution.”

Buddhism — a religion with around half a billion followers — however, offers a salve. Between asceticism and hedonism lies the Middle Way, a path to escape suffering and reach nirvana. Arguably, few characters in The White Lotus do — especially not Piper — but that’s the point. By the end, who’s the most Buddhist of them all? The answer is quite surprising.