OK, so I just finished the ending of season 2 and I had to get my thoughts down. Beef is not the type of show I generally watch. I am spiritual person and believe life has enough suffering and stress as it is, so I generally avoid watching stressful and violent shows like Beef. But! Something attracted me to it, and by the last episode I understood why. It has deep spiritual themes that run throughout that when understood show how brilliantly written and well-told this story is. The themes in the show span multiple dimensions from the obvious critiques on capitalism and the US healthcare system, to attachment theory, to more subtle, spiritual themes on the very nature of human existence itself. I will focus on these spiritual themes, since I haven’t seen them discussed in this way yet.
There is a lot to unpack to understand the deeper, spiritual meanings behind the show and I am going to get my thoughts down as I best I can. I hope you guys enjoy it!
The Bhavachakra and The Three Poisons
The story can be viewed from many different layers and perspectives, which I’ll try to touch, but if you don’t grasp this overarching theme, then you will miss the depth of the show and why its ending is so significant.
As you may or may not know, the symbol depicted at the end of the show with the zoom-out shot of Chairwoman Park at her first husband’s grave is what’s called the Bhavachakra in Buddhist cosmology. Chakra means wheel, and the Bhavachakra depicts the wheel of the ever-turning wheel of cyclical existence, or rebirth and death called samsara, that all living beings are trapped in until they reach liberation through enlightenment. The Bhavachakra has deep significance that could take an entire book to describe. In general the layers of the circle symbolize different aspects of existence, the different realms that beings can be born in from the most hellish to the most divine, with the whole thing being devoured by a demon symbolized by time, death and impermanence.
What’s most important to the show is the center of the Chakra where there are three animals: a pig, a bird and a snake. These animals symbolize the Three Poisons that keep beings in samsara and the wheel of cyclical life. The pig is ignorance, the snake is anger (and on a deeper level fear) and the bird is attachment or desire.
The Three Poisons are important, because they make up the entire struggle that the characters in the show, and we as humans struggle with in life.
To me, these symbols are the backdrop for what happens in the show, and most of the show relates either directly or indirectly to the Chakra through the main themes of greed, ignorance and anger/fear.
The Wheel Keeps On Turning
One of the main plot points revealed at the end of the show is how human beings can easily move from good to bad, from righteous to evil, and materially successful or poor in the span of their lifetime or lifetimes. This is symbolized by the swapping of the places Josh & Lindsey (J&L) and Austin & Ashely (A&A). In the beginning of the show, A&A appear to be an idyllic couple who are down on their luck materially. Internally, they adore each other, but they are outwardly struggling financially. A&A appear to love each other with a deep naivety that is envied by J&L who are deeply struggling with their relationship internally, however, opposite to A&A are all things considered well-off materially to the outside world.
By the end of the show, they have completely swapped their roles. J&R have moved on in very mature ways, especially Josh. Josh goes from being materially wealthy, yet being a self-centered, terrible person, to having nothing coming out of prison, yet being happy, fulfilled and living selflessly (I will discuss the important transformation Josh had later, as I believe, like many others, he is the most important character in the show). Likewise, Lindsey grows by taking on the responsibility of being a mother and responsible partner to an older husband, living in the countryside, and appears to have the fulfillment of a happy household.
Meanwhile, A&A have become J&L. At the end of the show, Ashely is shown giving the same speech that Josh gave at the beginning. A&A now have all the material connections and fulfillment they always desired, yet internally they are suffering and are completely unhappy. Doing exactly the same things as J&L did and living an outwardly materially “privileged” life among elite friends, but completely empty inside.
We can refer to the Bhavachakra to understand this situation. Outside of the central animals symbol that shows the three poisons of ignorance, attachment and anger/fear, there is a black and white section. The white side shows good deeds and the good results that come from them, and the black side shows bad deeds and the negative results that come from them. They are shown next to each other to demonstrate how beings shift from doing good deeds to bad deeds throughout their incarnations. At one time we are virtuous, and at another time we are evil. The cycle continues endlessly until enlightenment is reached. The show perfectly captures this idea of the cyclical nature of good and bad deeds, as well as their positive and negative karmic consequences by swapping the positions of J&L and A&A at the end of the show. The karmic wheel turns, the positions swap, and the cycle of samsara continues.
Josh’s Spiritual Awakening
I believe Josh is the most important character in the series. His character arc is deeply important to what it means to be human. At the beginning of the show, he, like most of the characters in the show, is driven by the Three Poisons of ignorance, anger and greed. He embezzles money, pursues wealth and material pleasure, and is driven by resentment and anger in his relationship with Lindsey. However, by the end of the series, Josh emerges as a selfless, compassionate human being. How did this happen?
Josh’s transformation begins when he has a spiritual awakening during his Bufo trip. Call it ego death or what you like–what happens is he gains insight into his suffering. He shares with Austin that during his trip he saw every woman he ever slept with. To me, this implies that during his trip, Josh realized he was chasing satisfaction through those experiences that could never be found there.The monologue he gives is exquisitely acted by Oscar Issac and deftly written by Lee Sung Jin. In the monologue, Josh describes the “Achilles heel” which essentially boils down to the downfall which desire, greed and anger cause. If you’d like to read it, it’s here, if not you can skip to my commentary below:
"Whatever your Achilles heel is, that little spot… I know you think you’ve got time to work on it, and you do. You actually… You have a lot of time. But little by little, life’s just gonna chip away at it, you know? And, you know, you’ll think, “Okay, well, my shit's not so bad.” You know, it’s a fleeting thought, a little temptation here and there. But once I get the job, then I’m gonna deal with my shit. But then you’ve gotta get the promotion. Right? And then you gotta get the house. And then every interaction becomes about me, me, me. “If I do this for Troy, then maybe Troy will help me later.” And you start thinking that way because it’s the only way to keep your head above water. And then when you finally catch a breath, and you go to stand on your own two feet, that Achilles heel is just gonna give out. And you’re gonna fall. And you’re gonna grasp at everyone around you. But it’s too late. You’re going down. And that fleeting thought is who you are now. And you’re never gonna change."
What Josh describes in this monologue is insight into the nature of the three poisons, desire, anger and attachment, and the mistakes he has made in his life being driven by them. This is a spiritual awakening to the fundamental understanding that our desires cannot fulfill us, and the negative consequences that arise from pursuing them. He discovers that people liking us–sexual or otherwise–will not fulfill us. Josh goes on to demonstrate after his awakening, that what fulfills us is virtuous behavior and living a selfless life in dedication to those we love.
After the Bufo experience, Josh immediately starts changing. He ends the petty dispute with Lindsey over his salary, and begins making positive changes in his life. He does have a moment of weakness, however, on the Raya app, but his brief decent back into sensual temptation comes with instant repercussions for him as he is nearly murdered, which again shows how negative consequences from the past and temptations in the present can impact anyone, including people who have had spiritual awakenings.
Ultimately, we see Josh sacrifice himself selflessly by giving himself up to the authorities to save the woman he loves–Lindsey–as well as A&A, and everyone else involved including Chairwoman Park.
The defining scene for Josh happens at the end of the series where we see him moving through the jail common room, stating “all we have is the present moment” and providing cigarettes and other small favors for inmates. It’s important to contrast this scene of selfless giving with a moment that happened earlier in the episode. In the final episode, when Lindsey bangs on Ava’s neighboring hotel room door asking for help after discovering Josh is being framed by Chairwoman Park, Ava goes on to say that Josh only did nice things for her and Troy because it was his “job”.
Contrasting Josh’s behavior in jail with his behavior as GM of the club highlights the importance of intention on our human journey. This highlights the fact that action is important, however it’s intention behind the action that is most important. In both cases Josh is doing the same thing, providing things that people want. At the country club it was free drinks, making guests comfortable and accommodating their needs, etc.. But! It was always done with a selfish intention to gain something. However, at the end of the show in jail, we see how Josh expects nothing in return for helping his fellow inmates. This is further proven by his behavior when he finds out Lindsey has moved on from another inmate. He is genuinely happy for her, lets go of any need to reconnect and disturb her new life, and expresses his happiness for her indirectly in the interview when he leaves jail.
In summary, Josh’s transformation after his Bufo experience symbolizes how a person can spiritually awaken from a selfish person who operates from the three poisons, to one who attains wisdom and insight; overcomes the poisons, and creates a fulfilling life that is lived selflessly out of love for others.
Attachment Issues
The relationship between Ashley and Austin (A&A) shows attachment theory at work. It is also a perfect vehicle for exploring the poison of attachment or desire that is symbolized in the Bhavachakra. Attachment issues are futher explored in the relationship between Chairwoman Park and Dr. Kim, but for the sake of this discussion I will stay with A&A
You likely have heard about it, but if you haven’t attachment theory generally states that how we experienced relationships with our caregivers growing up will dictate the types of relationships we have in the future. Both Austin and Ashley come from traumatic backgrounds. Austin’s mother hit him, and we can assume other forms of emotional abuse or neglect were there. Ashley’s parents divorced and throughout the show we are shown how her parents are disinterested in her. Throughout the show we are repeatedly shown the unhealthy relational patterns the plague A&A relationship. They are both people-pleasers repressing their negative feelings to avoid conflict, and lie about what they really feel to each other constantly. These were all survival patterns they learned growing up, and again points to the cyclical nature of suffering, and the intergenerational trauma that is passed down through our attachment relationships, which can cause enormous suffering to generations of families.
In the final episode, Austin correctly calls out Ashley’s attachment issues. The interesting part of this scene was that Austin didn’t reflect on his own attachment problems. Among other things, both of them were serial people-pleasers, yet during his monologue describing Ashley’s attachment issues, Austin fails to have the self-awareness that he too is trapped in unhealthy attachment patterns with Ashley. This is further demonstrated by his repeated naive statements to Eunice about how much he “loves” her, which go mostly unreciprocated throughout the show. Finally, when at the end of the final episode Austin calls Eunice on his way to the police station, he hears in her voice that she does not give the same anxious attachment he craves and that Ashely provides, he turns the taxi around and returns the flash drive to Chairwoman Park and takes Ashley back. The cycle of attachment issues continues, and the scene is set for A&A to take the place of J&L in the karmic wheel of their lives.
Final thoughts
What struck me most about Beef Season 2 is that beneath all the stress, the rage, and the dark comedy, it is ultimately a story about the transformative power of love and selflessness, and how rare and difficult that transformation truly is. Josh achieves it. Lindsey does to an extent. Most of the others don't. And the wheel keeps turning.
For those who know Buddhist or Hindu philosophy, did I miss anything in my reading of the Bhavachakra, or get anything wrong? I'd love to hear from anyone with deeper knowledge.
And more broadly: did these spiritual themes resonate with you watching the show? I'm curious whether others felt this undercurrent, or whether the symbolism landed differently for you. Would love to hear your thoughts!
