Little Buddha (1993) - full transcript

Once upon a time in
a village in ancient India,

there was a little goat and a priest.

The priest wanted to
sacrifice the goat to the gods.

He raised his arm to cut the goat's throat,

when suddenly the goat began to laugh.

The priest stopped, amazed,
and asked the goat,

"Why do you laugh? Don't you know
I'm about to cut your throat?"

"Oh, yes," said the goat.

"After 499 times

dying and being reborn as a goat,

I will be reborn as a human being."



Then the little goat began to cry.

The high priest said,
"Why now are you crying?"

And the goat replied,
"For you, poor priest.

500 lives ago,
I too was a high priest...

and sacrificed goats to the gods."

The priest dropped to his knees, saying,

"Forgive me, I beg you.

From now on, I will be the guardian and
protector of every goat in the land."

Now, then, what does this
ancient tale teach us?

That no living creature...

must ever be sacrificed.

What happened to--
to the goat?

Ah, yes, the goat.

Mmm.



The goat had many,
many lives as a human being.

Until one day, he turned into someone...

very strange indeed.

Champa!

Show us something of
your previous life, huh?

Bairrrrrr!

Telegram for Lama Norbu.

I've been waiting for nine years...

to receive this.

Is it about Lama Dorje?

Yes.

Have they found him?

Perhaps!

We shall all pray for
the success of your mission.

And, uh, remember
to take your medicine.

Wait.

This is Lama Dorje's bowl.

You will need it for your search.

Seattle!

It's so wonderful to see you again.

But, you must be very tired
after such a long flight.

Yes, a little tired.

Tell me again about your dreams.

My dreams began about a month
after Lama Dorje passed away.

They were so intense.

And they always led me
to the same place.

- The empty site.
- Yes.

Lama Dorje was walking
in front of me, on a hill.

He was pointing to this empty spot,

but there was nothing there.

And then I found the site...

quite by chance a few months after,

just as it was in the dreams.

I saw they had started to build a house.

I discovered that it belonged
to the family of an engineer...

with a small boy called Jesse,
an only child.

He was born a year after
Lama Dorje passed away.

Lama Dorje was wearing jeans?

Oh, yes.

It was quite startling, because in life,
he always wore robes.

Of course, I felt very shy
about approaching them,

but then I was lucky.

Three weeks ago...

Line up again!

A beautiful day!

Yes, it is.

I'm a Buddhist monk from Tibet.
My name is Kenpo Tenzin.

Oh. Oh.
Nice to meet you.

Now I teach here in Seattle.

Oh, really?

I'm a teacher too.
I teach math.

Oh! Like me!

Also I teach astrology.

Mostly astrology.

How unusual.

We Tibetans have a very
advanced system of astrology.

Excuse me.

Go! Play! Go!

Jesse!

Keep going. Keep going.
Keep going! Go!

May I ask, uh,

what day...

on what day
your son was born?

- On March 1st.
- Wonderful!

And at what hour?

In the morning.
Very early. 6:30.

Oh, wonderful, wonderful!

6:30! Very special!
Very special!

Oh. Well, I don't know about that.

Oh, yes!
Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

May I give you this card, please?

Keep--keep going.

Thank you.

Jesse!

It's okay, Maria, I'll get it.

- I can get it!
- It's all right.

Mrs. Conrad, you remember me?

- We met at--
- Yes, of course. At Jesse's school.

The Tibetan astrologer.

Kenzo Te--

Kenpo Tenzin.

Kenpo Tenzin. Yes. Yes.

I-I got your...

your invitation that you sent me
to the Dharma Center, and, uh,...

I've...

been meaning to go.
I just haven't had the time, but, uh--

But I will.

I'm looking forward to it.

My friend Lama Norbu has
just arrived from Bhutan...

and has never been in America before.

He's a very important lama.

He's come on a very special mission.

Oh, really? Well,
would you like to come inside?

Yes. Yes, that would be very kind.

It will be very interesting for him.

And this is Mrs. Conrad.
This is Lama Norbu.

Please come inside.

It's a bit of a mess.

My husband built this house.

He's an engineer.

As you can see, we're still
living out of boxes. But,...

but at least the kitchen's done.

We only just moved in a few weeks ago.

Very empty.

Very beautiful.

Yes.

My husband loves like this.

He could have this way,
he would keep it like this all the time.

Mrs. Conrad?

Is it okay if I go?

Oh yes. It's fine, Maria. It's fine.
Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow.

Would you like to come
into the living room?

That'll be great. OK.

Very exciting.
It's very exciting to me.

- Really?
- Yes.

Can I get you some--
something to drink?

- Oh, no. Thank you.
- Thank you.

All right.
Please sit down.

Are you sure, Mrs. Conrad?

It's okay, Maria.
Really. It's fine.

Okay.

Please make yourselves comfortable.

Lama Norbu is also my teacher
in our monastery in Bhutan.

Oh. I see.

And he's come on a very important
mission for all of us.

He will stay at the Dharma Center
we've started here in Seattle.

Of course, of course. So...

Lisa!

It's my husband.
Excuse me.

Hey, honey.

What's the matter?
You look done in.

I am.

Come on. I have a little
distraction for you.

What's going on, honey?

You'll see.

Who are these people?

Tibetan monks.

They just appeared.

- The round one's a teacher of astrology.
- And the square one?

Teacher's teacher.

Where's Jesse?

He's finishing his homework.

Shall we?

- This is, um--
- Lama Norbu.

- Kenpo Tenzin.
- This is my husband Dean.

Hi.

Uh, they were just admiring
the emptiness of the room, sweetheart.

Uh-huh.

No room will be empty...

if your mind is full.

You learn that in a prison cell.

We are Buddhists from Tibet.

For many years,
we have been living in exile,

the guests of our brothers
in Bhutan, Nepal and India.

Since the occupation in 1959.

In Tibetan Buddhism,

we believe that everybody is reborn,

again and again.

But there are a few...

very special beings...

who come back as spiritual guides,

particular people
whom we can identify.

That is why we are here.

So you're here in Seattle to find someone.

Yes. My old teacher, Lama Dorje.

The man who once found me.

We are looking for his reincarnation.

Jesse, is that you?

Come on.
Come out.

Come say hello.

Come on.

Come here.

This is Jesse.

This is Lama Norbu.

And do you remember
Kenpo Tenzin from school?

Why don't you wear shoes?

It's an old Tibetan habit.

Do you like my mask?

In our country, we love masks.

I made it.

- It's a red rat.
- Oh.

- Honey, I need a scotch.
- Mmm.

So do I.

You see, my teacher, Lama Dorje,

who was even a teacher of the Dalai Lama,

towards the end of his life...

he felt he was needed in the West
to teach the Dharma,

the path of Buddha.

So he came to America, to Seattle,

where he passed away nine years ago.

We have been searching for
his reincarnation in many places,

but now we think he might
have been reborn right here,

as your son.

As Jesse?

Yes.

Lama Dorje had a great sense of humor.

This is Champa.

And this is Punzo.

Champa, so you have woken up.

Please excuse us.

It was a great honor to visit you,

but now we must leave.

You should see the monorail.
I'll show you the monorail.

Uh, Champa.

This book is for you.

So, you will be my guide,

Jesse?

Yeah.

Good-bye.

- Good night.
- Good night.

"Little Buddha,
The Story of Prince Siddhartha."

Okay, now your toes.

Ah.
Careful of your book.

Mom, where did those men come from?

Well, they're Tibetans, honey.

They come from Bhutan,
which is a country in the Himalayas.

What are the Himalayas?

The Himalayas are
the highest mountains in the world.

Mom, good-bye!

Good-bye!

Let's see.

Okay.

"Buddha was born 2,500 years ago...

in a small kingdom in ancient India.

Where they go?

As was the custom in those days,

his mother, Queen Maya,...

was returning to
her parents' home

for the birth of her child.

It was a long journey
for the Queen to make,

so, on the way,...

the royal caravan stopped for a rest...

by the edge of a great forest.

As the Queen entered the trees,

she fell into a kind of trance...

and remembered a strange dream

she had had the day
she conceived her child.

In the dream...

a baby elephant had appeared at her side...

and blessed her with its trunk.

Queen Maya was deep inside the wood...

when suddenly her birth pains began.

And then, it is said, a tree,

understanding this great moment,

bent slowly down to protect her,

offering its branches for her support.

The child was born with almost no pain,

with shining golden skin.

He was fully conscious,
his eyes wide open.

And he was strong enough
to stand on his own legs.

I have been born to reach Enlightenment...

and free all creatures from suffering.

And, it is said,

lotus blossoms grew in his footsteps."

Hey, where's our reincarnation?

Where's Lama Dorje?

Reading his book.

Wow. Like the Three Kings
from the east, huh?

Yeah. Amazing.

Well, at least they didn't...

try to tell us that Jesse was the result
of an immaculate conception.

I don't know, I like the idea:
Reincarnation.

I wouldn't mind coming back,

visiting the places I like again
and the people I love.

Suppose you come back as an ant.

So, what's wrong with an ant?

Lots of group activity
and picnics and things.

You can get squished.

People get squished too.

Yeah, that's a fact.

I can't believe you'd be this upset over
four harmless, little Tibetan monks.

What's bothering you, Dean?

It's Evan.

He's bankrupt.

What?

Evan's bankrupt?

He's been hiding from everybody even me.

But,...

how?
How can that happen?

You are his best friend. Everything
you've ever done, you've done together.

You know, the down town center,
he can't ready square for a bit.

That's what is he telling me.

He's desperate.

- So, what's gonna happen then?
- I don't know.

Evan goes under we might loose the house.

So, we'll be poor again.
We can still be happy.

Mom, come read to me.

Comming, jesse.

"King Suddhodhana, the baby's father,

named the child Siddhartha,

which means,
'He who brings good.'

And then he gave a great reception
to present his son to the people.

Suddenly, in the midst of the ceremony,
and to everyone's surprise,

an unexpected guest arrived.

He was the revered hermit
and astrologer Asita,

whom nobody had seen for years.

As Asita looked at her son,

Queen Maya saw tears
come to his eyes.

Do not be alarmed, O Queen.

Mine are only the tears of an old man...

who knows that he will not
live long enough...

to learn from the teachings of your son.

Will he be a great king?

He'll be the master of the world.

Or its redeemer.

When he grows older, Siddhartha can
become a teacher, like you, if he wants,

but first of all he must follow me...

- and be a king.
- It may be as you wish,

but the gods often betray
the wishes of mortal men.

He will be a king.

He will be a king!

He will be a great king!

Queen Maya was filled
with a strange foreboding,

as if she knew that she too would not
live to see her son's destiny fulfilled.

A week later, she was stricken
with a terrible illness...

My sister,

please care for him,

as favor to your son.

Maya!

I know why you're here.

You're looking for
your teacher, aren't you?

Yes. And red rats
have very long ears.

What was your teacher's name?

Lama Dorje, which means
"thunderbolt" in Tibetan.

Lama Thunderbolt?

I think you should go to the police,
if you want to find him.

No, the police can't help us.
You see, Lama Dorje is dead.

But how can you find him if he's dead?

It's very difficult to explain,
but we believe he's been reborn.

- Like a ghost, you mean?
- No.

- As a child.
- Could I be Lama Dorje?

You could be, yes.

I think I am.

I am Lama Thunderbolt.

We'll have to see about that.

Then why did you come to our house?

You ask a lot of questions, huh?

Yes, Maria, yes!

I can show you Buddha!

Jesse, show them the building
your father built.

Yeah! Come on.

My father built that building.

See? The one with the green dome.

He made it for his friend Evan,
but it's always empty.

Was Buddha a god?

No, he was a real person.

- Like Jesus?
- Yes.

Quite a bit like Jesus,

though he was born long before.

What happened to Buddha when he grew up?

Oh, he wasn't called Buddha yet.

He was still young Prince Siddhartha,

Ahh!

and he married
the beautiful Princess Yasodhara.

He became a great horseman,

a great archer,

and he often played with his friends
the ancient game called "Kabadi."

You mean, all he was doing
was having a great time?

Yes.

Haddadu, haddadu, haddadu,
haddadu, haddadu, haddadu--

Ha!

- Wendikali!
- Wendikali!

Siddhartha!

Siddhartha!

Wendikali, wendikali, wendikali!

- Wendikali!
- Wendikali!

Siddhartha!

The King had given
Siddhartha three palaces.

One for winter, one for the rainy season
and one for summer.

In this way he hoped to shield his son...

from all knowledge of pain and worry.

But then, one day,

Siddhartha heard a mysterious song
of haunting beauty.

At first he couldn't understand
where it was coming from.

The song was in a language
he had never heard before.

What was it saying?

What did it mean?

What is this song?

It is from a faraway land, my Lord.

It evokes the beauties
of the country she knew as a child,

the mountains and the lakes...

that she can never forget.

How strange!

Do such places exist,
places as beautiful as here?

I've heard that only suffering
lies beyond these walls.

What do you mean, "suffering"?

Your father loves you very much.

He has given us everything
we could want.

There's no need to go anywhere else
when you've such beauty around you.

It is true;

we have everything,
and everything is perfect.

So...

what is this feeling I have?

If the world is so beautiful,

why have I never seen it?

I've not even seen my own city!

I must see the world, Yasodhara!

With my own eyes.

Jesse!

Mom, if you die, will you come back?

What are you talking about, Jesse?
I'm not gonna die!

Everybody dies!

Hey. How's your Lama?

Oh! He's like the detective, Daddy!
He's looking for his that teacher!

Jesse?

And Lama Dorje means, Lama Thunderbolt.

And Bhutan is the land of
the Thunder Dragon!

Jesse, come on here!

- Why are you looking me like that?
- Like what?

Like you never saw me before.

Oh, that's my Tibetan look!

What are you mean, your Tibetan look?

I mean, this is all great.
But how far we want to go with it?

You know your son, don't you?

You know what kind of
imagination he's got?

He's gonna get confused.

Go on

Pretty soon he's going to start to think
that he is this Lama Dorje.

Liz, I don't believe
reincarnation, I mean...

not like this anyway you-- you're--
coming back as a...

specific person with a name and
an address and a telephone number.

And neither do you,

or do you?

No.

So?

So!

So, we don't know
much about anything!

We don't know absolutely nothing
about the most important things of all.

We don't why we're born,
even if, there is a why.

And that's interesting!

I gotta a call Evan.

I'm worried, honey.
That's all I'm saying.

India,

Nepal,

Bhutan,

China,

Tibet.

Well, this must be the Dharma Center.

It looks like a church.

Jesse!

Hi, Champa.
Hi, Punzo.

That's beautiful.

But I'm afraid I have to go.

Jesse, come say good-bye.

Hey. So, your dad's going to come by
and pick you up at 4:00. Alright?

- Okay.
- Okay, sweetie. Good-bye.

Excuse me, Lama.

I was worried.

One day, Champa, but not yet.

Hey!
That's Lama Thunderbolt.

Yes.

Is this his bowl?

Look.

It's dusty.

What's this?

It is a trumpet made from a human bone.

Honest?
A human bone?

Now, where did we get to?

Oh. Siddhartha wanted to see the world.

Ah, yes.
He wanted to see the world.

Secretly, however,

his father prepared
everything in advance...

so that nothing Siddhartha
might see in the city...

would upset or disturb him.

"Everyone should be young and healthy."

Look!

Siddhartha! Siddhartha!
Siddhartha! Siddhartha!

Siddhartha!
Siddhartha!

Suddenly, however, through the crowd,

the young Prince saw something
he had never seen before.

Channa! Channa!

Who are those men?

Tell me, who are those men?

They are men like the rest of us, my Lord,

who once sucked milk
from their mother's breast.

And why do they look like that?

- They are old, my Lord.
- What do you mean, old?

Old age destroys memory,
beauty and strength.

In the end, it happens to us all, my Lord.

To everyone?

To you and to me?

It is better not to concern yourself
with these things, my Lord.

But where are they taking them?

Channa!

No, my Lord, don't go there!
Please! You mustn't!

No, my Lord!

My Lord!

My Lord Siddhartha!

What is the matter with those people?

Why is she crying like that?

She is in pain, my Lord.

- She is very sick.
- Sick?

What is that?

No one reaches the moment of death...

without falling sick at least once.

Even kings?

And death--
what moment is that?

Show me death.

This is death, my Lord.

Here the ashes are given
to the river, my Lord.

Death is the moment of separation...

which comes to every person
in every family.

When a body grows cold
and stiff like wood,

it has to be burned like wood.

It was on this day,

from this fire, with these people,

that Siddhartha learned about suffering...

and discovered compassion.

They were him,
and he was them.

Dad.

Am I interrupting?

Of course not.
Please come in.

- Look! It's human bone.
- Wow.

Spooky, huh?

Jesse, I need to talk
to Lama Norbu alone for a minute.

Okay, Dad.

Come. I'll show you around the center.

I was just telling Jesse
the story of Siddhartha.

That's a beautiful story.

A beautiful... myth.

It is one way of telling the truth,

and children seem to love it.

Lama Norbu, I have
a great respect for your...

culture and your religion,

and I know about the invasion of Tibet...

and the tragedies that happened,

but I don't believe in reincarnation,
and neither does my wife.

Why should you?

In Tibet, we think of the mind
and the body...

as the contents and the container.

Now the cup is no longer a cup.

But what is the tea?

- Still tea.
- Exactly.

In the cup, on the table,
or on the floor,

it moves from one container to another,

but it's still tea.

Like the mind after death,

it moves from one body to another,

but it is still mind.

Even in the towel, it's still tea.

The same tea.

None for me, thanks.

Once we're certain
about the reincarnation,

the child would receive
a special education.

He could become a very
powerful figure in our society,

a spiritual leader.

Even if he's an American?

I mean, what, you're offering

Jesse life in a Buddhist
monastery, is that it?

Of course.
If he wanted it.

Or he could go on with his life here...

and decide when he's older.

But first, to be sure of the reincarnation,

we will take Jesse to Bhutan,

consult the Abbot of the monastery...

and all the experts.

- Now you look angry.
- I am.

To take a child away from his family,
in this country, we call kidnapping.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

- Special delivery for Lama Norbu!
- Oh. Thank you.

Vroom!

We hoped you and your wife
would come with him.

- To Bhutan?
- Yes.

It's a very beautiful country.

Well, well. It seems there's
another candidate...

for the reincarnation of Lama Dorje.

A little boy from Kathmandu.

Are there a lot of us, Lama Norbu?
How many are there?

- I want to meet them.
- Come on, let's go.

Come on.

This has gone too far.
We're outta here.

- Jesse.
- Lama Norbu!

Jesse.

- Say good-bye, Jesse.
- Lama!

- Don't forget your book, Jesse Long-Ears.
- Good-bye, Lama Norbu.

Lama Norbu!

Oh, my father,

why have you hidden the truth
from me for so long?

Why have you lied to me
about the existence of suffering,

sickness, poverty,

old age and death?

If I've lied to you, Siddhartha,
it has been because I love you.

Your love has become a prison.

How can I live here as I lived before...

when so many are suffering outside?

You never wanted to go outside.

- Father.
- Mm-hmm.

I must find an answer to suffering.

Even if you betray me, Siddhartha?

Have you no pity for the wife you leave,
and for your own son?

My... child is born?

Born this very evening.

Think of them, Siddhartha.

You too are a father.
You too have a duty.

You cannot leave now.

Even my love for Yasodhara...

and my son...

cannot remove the pain I feel.

For I know that
they too will have to suffer,

grow old...

and die.

Like you,

like me,

like us all.

Yes.

We must all die...

and be reborn...

and die again,

and be reborn and die,
and be reborn and die again.

No man can ever escape that curse.

Then that...

is my task.

I...

will lift that curse.

Lock the gate.

Double the guard.

If the Prince tries to escape,
he must be stopped by force.

Hello.

Evan?

I can't believe it.

When?

How did it happen?

It's-- Oh, God.

In San Francisco.

I'll try to get a flight out tonight.

What happened to Evan?

Evan had an accident.

Is he dead?

Just a minute, Jesse.

"As soon as he left his father,

Siddhartha went to see
his wife and his newborn son.

His heart was torn,
but his mind was made up.

They looked so beautiful,

but they were sleep.

And he was awake.

Channa.

Channa.

Channa.

A magic mist had descended
over everything.

Channa.

The whole court had fallen
into a deep sleep.

Channa.

Channa.

Channa.

Channa.

Channa.

- Channa, wake up.
- What?

Get Kantaka.

Get Kantaka. Mind no one sees you
and meet me at the old gate.

- Go now.
- Yes, my Lord.

Only the great elephants
are awake, my Lord.

The whole world is dreaming, Channa.

But for Siddhartha
the dream was ending.

His long journey of awakening had begun.

Who are they, Channa?

Are they robbers?

- No, my Lord. They're ascetics.
- Ascetics?

Why are they so thin and naked?

They have given up
all the comforts of life, my Lord.

They have sworn
never to leave the forest...

until they have reached Enlightenment.

Enlightenment?

These are for you.

Channa,

I am doing this...

for everyone.

I am looking for freedom.

Oh, nobody born...

Have mercy.

I am nothing.

Have mercy.

I am nothing.

Have mercy.

I am nothing.

I am nothing.

So the prince gave up his robes to baker,

and set off alone into the wood.

And it is said,

a tree noticed his compassion...

and as it did done once before,
bow down in his honor.

The five ascetics...

witnessed these miracles
and were filled with wonder.

They became Siddhartha's first disciples."

I'm... so sorry about
Mr. Evan, Mr. Conrad.

Thanks, Maria.
I know.

Is Jesse all right?

Yeah. He's--

He read in his room all afternoon.
He's asleep now.

Thank you, Maria,
for staying and everything.

Do you want me to fix you
something to eat?

No, thanks.

Cab's waiting outside to take you home.

Okay, thank you.
Good night.

Good night.

Come on.

Too hungry.

Lisa, I think Jesse should go to Bhutan.

What?

I think Jesse should go to Bhutan.

You're joking, right?

No. I've just changed my mind.

About a lot of things these last two days.

What are you saying? That you've
suddenly started to believe...

Jesse is this Tibetan lama?

I thought you were the one
that was open to the idea.

Come on, Dean. This is crazy.
What's going on?

Nothin's goin' on.

Just think of it
as a career opportunity for Jesse.

He can...

get a little robe and
sit on the floor and...

- do meditation...
- It's not funny.

- and hang out with the other monks and--
- It's not funny, Dean!

It's not funny.

Jesse can't go to Bhutan.

It's just for a couple of weeks.

No, he can't go.

He's got school.

And I'm in the middle of the semester

and I can't take him.

I thought I could go with him.

Just the two of you?

Yeah.

While I stay here?

But you've never
looked after Jesse before.

He's never been away from me.

There's nothing I can do here
now except wait...

for lawyers to talk to lawyers
to talk to lawyers.

Maybe it's the time I need to think about
what to do with the rest of my life.

Without me?

I love you, Lisa.

You'd better.

It's just for a couple of weeks.

It'll be all right.

What if they decide
Jesse is this reincarnation?

They never will.

They already have another candidate,

a little boy in Kathmandu.

I'm sorry, Dean.

I'm sorry. I'm just
upset with myself being upset.

I'm just--

For not encouraging you and for...

not being able to be with you and Jesse.

And because you're taking
the adventure away from me.

Dad.

Dad!

Champa.

Good morning, Jesse Long-Ears.

Were you sleeping, Lama?

No, I was meditating.

What's meditating?

It is being totally quiet and relaxed,

separating yourself
from everything around you,

setting your mind free like a bird.

And you can then see your faults...

as if they were passing clouds.

Look.

If we can learn to meditate
in the right way,

we can all reach Enlightenment.

For six years,

Siddhartha and his followers...

lived in silence an
never left the forest.

For drink, they had rain.

For food, they had a grain of rice...

or a broth of mud,

or the droppings of a passing bird.

They were trying to master suffering...

by making their minds so strong...

they would forget about their bodies.

Then, one day...

Siddhartha heard an old musician...

from a passing boat
speaking to his pupil.

If you tighten the string too much,

it will snap.

And if you leave it too slack,
it won't play.

Suddenly, Siddhartha realized...

that these simple words
held a great truth...

and that in all these years
he had been following the wrong path.

If you tighten the string too much,

it will snap.

And if you leave it too slack,

it will not play.

The village girl offered
Siddhartha her bowl of rice.

And for the first time in years,

he tasted proper food.

But when the ascetics saw their master...

bathing and eating like an ordinary person,

they felt betrayed,

as if Siddhartha had given up
the great search for Enlightenment.

Come...

and eat with me.

You have betrayed your vows, Siddhartha.

- You have given up the search.
- We can no longer follow you.

- We can no longer learn from you.
- To learn is to change.

The path to Enlightenment is
in the Middle Way.

It is the line between
all opposite extremes.

If I can reach Enlightenment,

may this bowl...

float upstream.

The Middle Way was the great
truth Siddhartha had found,

the path he would teach to the world.

Oh, thank you.

Dad, look!

Are you sure the other
boy will be here today, Sangay?

Of course, of course.
He's always here.

Wow, Dad, isn't it great?

Yeah, it's lookin' at us.

It's a dome, like the one on your building.

The square base of the Stupa...

is the symbol of Earth.

The dome, is the symbol of water.

Above the eyes
are the levels of Enlightenment,

or fire!

The Umbrella above is the symbol of Air.

Now, you should go around,
and look for yourselves.

We can meet in half an hour.

There's a place over there,
called Stupa View Coffee Shop.

Lama, Lama. Can I go around
and touch those things?

The prayer wheels?
Of course.

But remember,

you should always walk around clockwise.

Okay, Dad?

He will be completely safe here.

Okay, Jesse.
I'll see you later.

I'll be watching you!

Hey, Dad! Hey!

Hey, buddy!

- That's... the boy.
- Yes, that is Raju.

Look, Champa, the other candidate.

Amongst all these people,

the two of them
have found each other.

How much you give?

Ten rupee?
Five rupee?

- One rupee?
- I don't have any money.

What's in your pocket?

- It's my Gameboy. You want to try?
- Oh! Yeah. I'm champion of Kathmandu.

You're good.

Hey!

I am champion of Kathmandu!

- What is he doing?
- I'll get it back!

Come back!
Hey!

Dad?

Hey!

Mantu!

Mantu, come back!
Hey!

Hey! American boy!
Hey!

My brother is very naughty,
but great singer.

- Thanks. My name's Jesse.
- I'm Raju. Come!

- Hey, up here, buddy.
- Dad! Hey, Dad!

- Champa, can I ask you something?
- Of course.

Is Lama Norbu sick?
I see him taking those pills.

He's...

not completely well, but very strong.

Dad! Dad, this is my new friend.

And he found me when I was lost.

- We know.
- Hello.

Jesse, we know.

We've been waiting for you both.

We are very pleased to meet you, Raju.

Sangay has told us much about you.

It is good that two of the candidates...

have found each other in this way.

Now, we must visit a third candidate...

whom I've only just heard about.

It will be a very long drive.

So let us hope it is Lama Dorje's...

last joke.

Lama Dorje always made jokes
about impermanence.

Lama, what's "impermanence"?

You see these people?

All of us...

and all the people
alive in the world today--

A hundred years from now we'll all be dead.

That is impermanence.

Jesse?

Hey.

Hey, Jesse.

- You wanna call Mom?
- Yeah.

Come on.

Mom! Yes, it's me!

Yes!

I miss you, Mom!
I miss you so much!

What?

Well, I have a new friend and he's
in the circus and he's got a monkey.

What?

Here's Dad.

Lisa?
Lisa?

God, I can't hear a thing.

No-- No, he can't.

He will became a Buddhist. Well...

Jesse?

I guess, I'm learning.

Lisa? Lisa?
I'm loosing the line.

I'm-- I'm loosing the line!

Lisa?
We love you!

I send help, sahib.

Car broken, sahib?

- Yeah.
- Very bad Karma.

I hope your journey
was not too tiring, Lama.

Thank you.
Thank you.

- Now I want to meet the child.
- Here is my precious.

Gita. Come and meet Lama Norbu.

Gita, this is Jesse and Raju.

I am the real Lama Dorje,
and you are both fakes.

Lama Dorje wasn't a woman.

He was the abbess of a convent.

And how would you know?
I'm sorry, you don't go to school.

And you're a foreigner.

I have a secret garden.

Come. Come, O ignorant boys.

Me?

Right here in this garden,

my grandfather, who was
a raja and a great saint,

was eaten by a tiger.

- Yeah, right!
- There was a terrible famine,

and the tiger was looking
for food to feed her babies.

So my grandfather offered himself.

He must've been pretty stupid
to do something like that.

Only a great being
can do something like that.

Eat me, O poor tiger!

Eat me!

You're so hungry!

Eat me!

Oh, no! Aah! Don't eat me!

This tooth belonged to the tiger
that ate my grandfather.

Cool.

Hey! You can't fool me.
I heard this story a thousand times,

but he don't know that.

Your grandfather
must have been pretty tough,

if the poor tiger lost his tooth.

As holder of the tiger tooth,

I make you both members of
the secret society of the king cobra.

My late husband,
a man of great faith,

made a donation every year
to Lama Dorje's monastery.

Then one day, Lama Dorje came here.

Unannounced.

Just appearing
at the door like a miracle.

He stayed for two days.

And just as he was leaving,

he placed his hand...

on my stomach...

like this.

For a long time,

I didn't know what it meant.

But immediately after Lama Dorje died,

I became pregnant.

Something which my husband
and I had thought...

was impossible.

A month ago, she wrote
to me to come right away...

because a most amazing thing had happened.

One night, the child--

Gita was chanting prayers in Tibetan,
saying things I couldn't understand.

She was speaking Tibetan in her sleep?

The Heart sutra. A little miracle.
How could she know that?

She was speaking Sanskrit.

Wow, look at that monkey!

- He look like my monkey.
- They are all my monkeys.

What's that one called over there?

Don't laugh.
You'll scare them. Do you know...

Siddhartha reached Enlightenment
under this tree?

- Yeah?
- Anyhow, a tree just like this one.

Lama! Lama, is it true?

Is this really, like, Siddhartha's tree?

Well, probably something very similar.

It was outside a little village
called Bodgaya.

Siddhartha sat under a great tree,

just like this one.

He had found the Middle Way...

and restored his body to health.

And then five girls appeared.

They looked like innocent village girls,

but in fact they were
the five daughters of Mara,

Lord of Darkness.

They were the spirits of Pride,

Greed, Fear,

Ignorance and Desire.

And Mara had sent them...

to tempt Siddhartha away from his search.

I'm going closer.

Mara had tried to tempt Siddhartha...

in the cleverest of ways:

by disguising the temptations of life...

in the simplest forms.

But Siddhartha was looking beyond form,

beyond the present.

And now, Mara was enraged.

It seemed as if Mara had been defeated,

but in fact he had not yet
given up the battle.

Now he attacked again.

You who go where no one else will dare,

will you be my god?

Architect,

finally I have met you.

You will not rebuild your house again.

But I am your house,

and you live in me.

O lord of my own ego,

you are pure illusion.

You do not exist.

The earth is my witness.

Siddhartha won the battle
against an army of demons,

just through the force of his love...

and the great compassion he had found.

And he achieved...

the great calm that precedes
detachment from illusions.

He had reached beyond himself.

He was beyond joy or pain,

separate from judgment.

Able to remember that he had been...

a girl, a dolphin,

a tree, a monkey.

He remembered his first birth...

and the millions after that.

He could see beyond the universe.

Siddhartha...

had seen the ultimate
reality of all things.

He had understood...

that every movement in the universe...

is an effect provoked by a cause.

He knew there was no salvation...

without compassion for every other being.

From that moment on,

Siddhartha was called the Buddha,

the Awakened One.

What is it, jesse?

I'm scared, Dad.

Hey, man, I'm scared too.

What are we gonna tell Mom?

She's gonna want to hear
the end of the story!

Yeah!

Jesse!

Come, Jesse!

- Come!
- Jesse, come!

Come!
Jesse!

Jesse, come, come!

Come, Jesse, come!
Jesse, come!

Come, come!
Jesse, come!

- Jesse!
- Jesse!

Welcome to our home.

Go on, join them, if you dare.

Where are taking us?

They began making this mandala
the day I left the monastery.

And now it is almost complete.

It's beautiful.
Why is it made of sand?

To show the impermanence
of all within the universe.

So when it is completed,

it'll be destroyed with one gesture.

Like that.

It is very mysterious, Your Holiness.

All three children show the same signs.

Now we shall see!

Come in, Raju.
The fend of little monkeys.

Now, I have a question for you.

Do you see those red hats?

Please choose the one you like best.

They're all the same.

They're all the same,
yet each one is different.

Thank you, Raju.

- Hello.
- Come in, Gita.

Please choose the hat you like best.

Thank you, Gita.

Welcome, Jesse Long-Ears.

Now, then, do you see those hats?

Please choose the one you like best.

This one.

Oh, come on, Jesse! Jesse,
please! Please!

Be very careful.

This is Lama Dorje's hat!

I think, I have very little time left,

Your Holiness.

Then we must ask the oracle, Lama Norbu.

Though in the end, only you can decide.

Raju!

- Raju!
- Oh, my teacher,

I'm so happy to have found you again.

Raju, please, come here!
Raju!

Oh, my teacher,

I'm so happy to have found you again.

My teacher,

I'm so happy to have found you...

at last.

Perhaps one day, you will find me.

I am truly happy,

three times happy.

But how can we all be Lama Dorje?

It is very rare,
but it has happened before.

Separate manifestations...

of the body, the speech and the mind.

None of these three exists
without the others.

All of us are attached...

like the world to the universe.

But remember this:

The most important thing of all...

is to feel compassion for all beings,

to give of oneself,

and above all, to pass on knowledge,

like the Buddha.

Jesse!

Jesse!

- You all right?
- Uh, yes,

thank you.

A little overcome.

That's all.

It's been a kind of emotional time
for all of us.

I'm afraid... I'm not
a very good example...

of Buddhist detachment.

Children.
We are all children.

Um...

the bowl is for Jesse.

And, uh,

this is for you.

My work is done.

Now I can rest.

I can go back to... Tibet,

to the place I was born.

You still don't believe in reincarnation,

do you?

Yesterday, he talked about
going back to Tibet.

He must have meant something different.

Someone like Lama Norbu
can remain like this...

for ten days...

or even more.

He can sit like a mountain,
serene and unmovable.

And he can meditate deep
and vast as ocean.

And then, smoothly,

while doing meditation,
he can enter into the state of death...

with his own will.

- He's dying.
- We're all dying every minute.

Death is a big part of life.

Every breath that we breathe... we die.

What about his passion for life?

What about the people he's leaving behind?

He will come back.

I don't know if I believe it,
but I'd like to.

Lama Norbu passed away.

Raju!

Jesse!

Gita!

They are chanting the Heart Sutra.

The beautiful prayer.

Keep it with you in your hearts, always.

All shari buddha!

Form is empty.

Emptiness is form.

No eye,

ear,

nose,

tongue,

body, mind.

No color, sound,

smell, taste,

touch,

existing thing.

Lama Norbu just said:

No eye, no ear, no nose.

No Jesse, no Lama!

No you!

No death and no fear!

No old age in death.

No end to old age in death.

No suffering.

No "cause of"...

or "end to"... suffering.

No path.

No wisdom.

And no gain.

No gain.

Thus bodhisattvas lived...

in perfect understanding
with no hindrance of mind.

No hindrance,

therefore, no fear.

Far beyond deluded thoughts.

This is Nirvana.

- I can't get it open.
- I'll show you.

This is Lama Norbu's kata.

This is Lama Norbu.

Come on, buddy!

Give me a hand here.

How are you doing there?
Go get Bob.

Come on, Lisa.
Everybody goes!

Okay, I'm coming!

I only wish we had
a crane to get me on board.

I can hear him kicking!

Or her.

Hey, Jesse.

Is it time?

Yes. I think it's time.