[ Man ] 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.
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."
[ Children Laughing ]
Now, then, what does this
ancient tale teach us?
[ Together ]
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!
- [ Children Laugh ]
Show us something of
your previous life, huh?
- [ Bleating ]
- [ Laughing ]
Telegram for Lama Norbu.
I've been waiting
for nine years...
to receive this.
[ Bell Ringing ]
[ Children Yelling,
Laughing ]
- Is it about Lama Dorje?
- Yes.
- Have they found him?
- Perhaps!
We shall all pray for
the success of your mission.
[ Praying in Tibetan ]
And, uh, remember
to take your medicine.
~~ [ Monks Singing ]
Wait.
[ Man's Voice ]
This is Lama Dorje's bowl.
You will need it
for your search.
[ Children Laughing,
Yelling ]
[ Laughing, Yelling
Continue ]
[ Country Folk ]
Everybody is a-wonderin'!
What and where
they all came from!
- Everybody is a-worryin' 'bout
where they're gonna go!
- Seattle!
When the whole thing's
done!
But no one knows
for certain!
- So it's all the same to me.
- [ Monk ] It's so wonderful
to see you again,
- [ Song Continues ]
- but you must be very tired
after such a long flight.
- [ Lama Norbu ] Yes, a little tired.
- [ Truck Horn Honking ]
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.
[ Song Continues, Faintly ]
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...
- [ Whistle Blows ]
- [ Coach ] 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!
[ Laughs ]
Also I teach astrology.
Mostly astrology.
How unusual.
We Tibetans have a very
advanced system of astrology.
- Excuse me.
- [ Coach ] Go! Play! Go!
[ Whistle Blows ]
Jesse!
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!
Very special!
[ Laughing ]
- Oh. Well, I don't know
about that, but--
- Oh, yes!
Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
May I give you this card, please?
Thank you.
Jesse!
[ Kenpo ]
I wrote her last week.
I mentioned that an important
lama wanted to see her.
[ Doorbell Ringing ]
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--
[ Chuckling ]
Kenpo Tenzin.
Kenpo Tenzin. Yes.
I-I got 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.
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 at least
the kitchen's done.
We only just moved in
a few weeks ago.
- Very empty.
- [ Lama Norbu ] Very beautiful.
- Yes.
- Mrs. Conrad?
Is it okay if I go?
- Yes, It's fine, Maria. It's fine.
Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow.
Very exciting.
It's very exciting to me.
- Really?
- Yes.
Can I get you some--
[ Chuckling ] something to drink?
- Oh, no. Thank you.
- Thank you.
All right.
Please sit down.
- Are you sure, Mrs. Conrad?
Is it okay if I go now?
- It's okay, Maria.
- Really. It's fine.
- Okay.
Please make yourselves
comfortable.
[ Laughing ]
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.
- [ Man ] Lisa!
Oh. It's my husband.
Excuse me.
Hey, honey. Hey, what's the matter?
You look done in.
I am.
- Come on. I have
a little distraction for you.
- What's going on, honey?
[ Chuckling ]
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.
[ Chuckling ]
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.
[ Lama Norbu ]
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.
[ Lisa ]
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.
[ Lama Norbu Laughing ]
- Honey, I need a scotch.
- Mmm.
[ Whispering ]
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.
- [ Kenpo ] Lama Dorje had
a great sense of humor.
- [ Both Chuckling ]
This is Champa,
and this is Punzo.
[ Lama Norbu ]
Champa, so you have woken up.
Please excuse us.
It was a great honor
to visit you,
but now we must leave.
[ Jesse ] You should see the monorail.
I'll show you the monorail.
[ Lama Norbu ]
Uh, Champa.
This book is for you.
So, you will be my guide,
Jesse?
Yeah.
- Good-bye.
- Good night.
Good night.
[ Jesse ] "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
in a small kingdom...
in ancient Nepal.
- [ Elephant Snorts ]
- [ Speaking Nepali ]
[ Lisa Reading ]
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.
[ Singing ]
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.
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Lisa Reading ]
In the dream...
- a baby elephant
had appeared at her side...
- [ Kissing ]
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.
[ Singing ]
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Groans ]
[ Singing Continues,
Weakly ]
[ Baby Crying ]
[ Crying Continues ]
[ Lisa Reading ]
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.
[ Lisa Reading ]
And, it is said,
lotus blossoms grew
in his footsteps."
[ Cajun, Distant ]
[ Dean ]
Hey, where's our reincarnation?
Where's Lama Dorje?
[ Chuckling ]
Reading his book.
Wow. Like the Three Kings
from the east, huh? Hmm.
Yeah. Amazing.
Well, at least they didn't try
to tell us that Jesse was the result...
of an immaculate
conception.
[ Chuckling ]
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.
[ Continues, Distant ]
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
"King Suddhodhana,
the baby's father,
named the child Siddhartha,
which means,
'He who brings good.'
[ Indian Music ]
And then he gave a great reception
to present his son to the people.
[ Continues ]
[ Chanting ]
[ Lisa Reading ] 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.
[ Music, Chanting
Continue ]
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.
[ Siddhartha Crying ]
He will be a king.
[ Speaking Nepali ]
[ Crying Continues ]
- He will be a king!
- [ Crowd Cheering ]
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.
He will be
a great king!
A week later she died
of a terrible illness...
[ Jesse ]
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?
[ Horn Blows ]
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?
[ Whispering ]
- Yes, Maria, yes!
- [ Laughing ]
I can show you
Buddha!
- [ Children Chattering ]
- 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!
[ Lama Norbu Continuing ]
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."
- [ Yelling, Groaning ]
- [ Cheering ]
You mean, all he was doing
was having a great time?
Yes.
[ Chanting Repeatedly ]
Haddadu, haddadu, haddadu,
haddadu, haddadu, haddadu--
- [ Repetitive Chanting Continues ]
- Ha!
- Wendikali!
- [ Crowd ] Wendikali!
[ Chuckling ]
- Siddhartha!
- [ Crowd Chanting ] Siddhartha!
[ Chanting Repeatedly ]
Wendikali, wendikali!
[ Siddhartha
Continues Chanting ]
[ Chanting Continues ]
- Wendikali!
- [ Crowd ] Wendikali!
[ Crowd, Players Cheering ]
Siddhartha!
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ] 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.
- [ Music, Faint ]
- But then, one day,
Siddhartha heard a mysterious song
of haunting beauty.
[ Women Talking ]
- [ Continues ]
- 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?
[ Singing ]
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Singing Continues ]
What is this song?
[ Yasodhara ]
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.
- [ Singing Continues ]
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.
[ Singing Continues ]
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.
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Lisa ]
Well, this must be the Dharma Center.
[ Jesse ]
It looks like a church.
[ Men Chanting ]
Jesse!
[ Chanting Continues ]
Hi, Champa.
Hi, Punzo.
[ Continues Chanting
in Tibetan ]
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.
- Okay.
- Okay, sweetie. Good-bye.
[ Chanting Continues,
Grows Louder ]
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.
- [ Ceremonial Drumming ]
- Secretly, however,
his father prepared
everything in advance...
- so that nothing Siddhartha
might see in the city...
- [ Man Yelling ]
- would upset or disturb him.
- [ Drumming Continues ]
"Everyone should be young
and healthy."
- [ Drumming Grows Louder ]
- [ Crowd Chattering ]
[ Shouts ]
[ Grunting ]
[ Elephant Trumpets ]
[ Shouts ]
[ Crowd Cheering ]
Siddhartha! Siddhartha!
Siddhartha! Siddhartha!
[ Crowd Continues
Chanting, Cheering ]
[ Chanting in Nepali ]
Siddhartha!
Siddhartha!
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
Suddenly, however, through the crowd,
the young Prince saw something
he had never seen before.
Channa! Channa!
Who are those men?
- [ Muttering ]
- [ Siddhartha ]
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.
- Why do they look like that?
- [ Channa ] 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!
[ Channa ] No, my Lord, don't
go there! Please! You mustn't!
No, my Lord!
My Lord!
- My Lord Siddhartha!
- [ People Talking ]
[ Man Shouting ]
[ Woman Screaming ]
[ Screaming Continues ]
[ Panting, Groaning ]
[ Groaning Continues ]
[ Moaning ]
[ 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?
[ Siddhartha ]
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.
- [ Bell Tolls ]
- [ Man Chanting ]
[ Chanting Continues ]
[ Chanting Continues ]
Here the ashes are given
to the river, my Lord.
[ Men Weeping ]
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.
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
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.
- [ Laughing ]
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.
- [ Jesse Yelling ]
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? 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. Jesse.
- Lama Norbu!
- Lama!
- Say good-bye, Jesse.
- Don't forget your book,
Jesse Long-Ears.
- Good-bye, Lama Norbu.
Lama Norbu!
[ Siddhartha ]
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.
[ King Suddhodhana ]
Lock the gate.
Double the guard.
If the Prince tries to escape,
he must be stopped by force.
[ Ringing ]
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.
[ Jesse Reading ]
His heart was torn,
but his mind was made up.
[ Baby Cooing ]
[ Whispering ]
Channa.
Channa.
Channa.
- [ Jesse Reading ] 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. Get Kantaka.
- What?
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.
[ Jesse Reading ] But for Siddhartha
the dream was ending.
His long journey
of awakening had begun.
[ Kantaka Whinnying ]
[ Elephant
Trumpeting ]
[ Chanting ln Nepali ]
[ Chanting Continues ]
[ Chanting
Continues ]
Who are they, Channa?
Are they robbers?
No, my Lord.
They're ascetics.
[ Siddhartha ] 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.
[ Flies Buzzing ]
[ Thunder Rumbling ]
[ Speaking Nepali ]
[ Speaking Nepali ]
[ Loud Thunderclap ]
[ Thunderclap ]
[ Speaking Nepali ]
[ Ascetics Laughing ]
[ Jesse Reading ]
The five ascetics...
witnessed these miracles
and were filled with wonder.
They became Siddhartha's
first disciples."
[ Slowly Inhaling
And Exhaling ]
[ Car Door Slams ]
[ Front Door Opens ]
- I'm... so sorry about
Mr. Evan, Mr. Conrad. I--
- 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.
[ Heavy Breathing ]
[ Dean Whispering ]
Come on.
[ Grunts ]
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!
Jesse can't go
to Bhutan.
It's just for
a couple of weeks.
No, he can't go.
[ Sighs ]
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.
[ Sniffles ]
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.
[ Whispers ]
Dad.
Dad!
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.
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
For six years,
Siddhartha
and his followers...
lived in silence
and 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.
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
Suddenly, Siddhartha realized...
that these simple words
held a great truth...
and that in all these years
he had been following...
the wrong path.
[ Whispering ]
If you tighten the string too much,
it will snap.
And if you leave it
too slack,
it will not play.
[ Water Buffalo
Grunting ]
[ Sighing ]
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
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.
[ Siddhartha Whispering ]
If I can reach Enlightenment,
may this bowl...
float upstream.
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
The Middle Way was the great
truth Siddhartha had found,
the path he would teach
to the world.
[ Grunting ]
[ Shouting, Speaking
in Nepali ]
[ Drums, Wind Instruments ]
- Thank you.
- Dad, look!
[ Continues ]
[ Lama Norbu ] Are you sure the other
boy will be here today, Sangay?
[ 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.
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!
[ Cymbals,
Wind Instruments ]
[ Singing in Nepali ]
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Singing Continues ]
- That's... the boy.
- Yes, that is Raju.
[ Lama Norbu ]
Look, Champa, the other candidate.
Amongst all these people,
the two of them...
have found each other.
[ Singing Continues ]
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.
[ Beeping ]
[ Continues Beeping ]
[ Beeping ]
- You're good.
- [ Beeping Continues ]
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!
[ Cymbals Ringing ]
[ Girl Shouting ]
[ Speaking Nepali ]
- [ Bell Ringing ]
- [ Giggling ]
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.
- He found me when I was lost.
- We know, 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.
[ Indian Raga ]
Jesse?
Hey.
Hey, Jesse.
- You wanna call Mom?
- Yeah.
Come on.
I send help,
sahib.
- Car broken, sahib?
- Yeah.
Very bad karma.
Oh.
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.
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.
[ Spits ] Only a great being
can do something like that.
- [ Raju Yelling ]
- Eat me, O poor tiger!
Eat me!
- [ Yelling ]
- You're so hungry!
- Eat me!
- [ Both Shouting ]
- [ Growling ]
- Oh, no! Aah!
- [ Jesse ] Don't eat me!
- This tooth belonged to the tiger
that ate my grandfather.
Cool.
You can't fool me.
I heard this story a thousand times,
but he don't
know that.
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.
[ Reciting in Sanskrit ]
[ Continues Reciting ]
[ Reciting in Sanskrit ]
[ Continues Reciting ]
[ Continues Reciting ]
- [ Monkey Chattering ]
- [ Jesse ] Wow, look at that monkey!
- [ Raju ] He look like my monkey.
- [ Gita ] They are all my monkeys.
[ Jesse ]
What's that one called over there?
[ Gita ] 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.
- [ Chattering ]
- [ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
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,
- [ Girls Speaking Nepali ]
- Greed, Fear,
Ignorance and Desire.
- [ Chattering Continues, Singing ]
- And Mara had sent them...
to tempt Siddhartha
away from his search.
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Chattering ]
- [ Girls Laughing, Chattering ]
- [ Singing Continues ]
[ Chattering, Singing
Continue ]
[ Chattering Continues ]
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
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.
[ All Gasping ]
[ Growling ]
- [ Laughing ]
- [ Growling Continues ]
[ Roaring ]
[ Roar Echoing ]
[ Girls Gasping, Shouting ]
- [ Wind Howling ]
- [ Shouting Continues ]
[ Thunderclap ]
[ Thunder Rumbling ]
[ Footsteps ]
[ Lama Norbu Narrating ]
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.
[ Lama Norbu ] Siddhartha won
the battle against an army of demons,
just through the force
of his love...
and the great compassion
he had found.
[ Lama Norbu ]
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.
[ Chuckles ]
He remembered
his first birth...
and the millions
after that.
He could see
beyond the universe.
- Siddhartha...
- [ Monkeys Squealing ]
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.
[ Horns Blowing ]
[ Horns Blowing ]
[ Children Cheering,
Shouting ]
Welcome to our home.
[ Cheering, Shouting
Continue ]
Go on, join them,
if you dare.
[ Shouting ]
[ Shouting
Continues ]
[ Shouting Continues ]
[ Shouting Stops,
Laughing ]
[ Laughter Continues,
Chattering in Tibetan ]
They began making this mandala
the day I left the monastery.
And now it is
almost complete.
[ Dean ] It's beautiful.
Why is it made of sand?
[ Lama Norbu ] To show the impermanence
of all within the universe.
So when
it is completed,
it'll be destroyed
with one gesture.
Like that.
[ Lama Norbu ]
It is very mysterious, Your Holiness.
All three children
show the same signs.
Then we must ask
the oracle, Lama Norbu.
Though in the end,
only you can decide.
[ Children Shouting ]
[ Drums, Cymbals ]
[ Moaning ]
- [ Continues ]
- [ Moaning Continues ]
[ Moaning Intensifies ]
[ Moaning Continues ]
[ Moaning, Panting ]
[ Speaking Tibetan ]
[ Drums, Cymbals Continue ]
[ Chattering ]
[ Speaking Tibetan ]
[ Champa Whispering ]
Raju! Raju!
Oh, my teacher,
I'm so happy
to have found you again.
Raju, come here!
Raju!
[ Monks Chanting ]
[ Chanting Continues ]
[ Monks Chanting,
Singing ]
Oh, my teacher,
I'm so happy
to have found you again.
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Singing Continues ]
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?
[ Singing Continues ]
[ Singing Stops ]
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.
[ Whip Cracks ]
[ Chattering in Tibetan ]
Jesse! Jesse!
- You all right?
- Uh, yes,
thank you.
A little overcome,
that's all.
- [ Sighs ]
- 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.
[ Chuckling ]
You still don't believe
in reincarnation,
do you?
[ Chuckling ]
[ Continues
Chuckling ]
[ Coughs, Gasps ]
[ Pants ]
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.
[ Drumming, Chanting ]
[ Drumming,
Chanting Continue ]
- Lama Norbu passed away.
- [ All Chanting ]
[ Chanting Continues ]
[ Lama Norbu's Voice ]
Raju!
Jesse! Gita!
They are chanting
the Heart Sutra.
The beautiful prayer.
Keep it with you
in your hearts, always.
[ Chanting ]
Form is empty.
Emptiness is form.
No eye, ear, nose,
tongue,
body, mind.
No color, sound,
smell, taste,
touch, existing thing.
[ Chuckling Quietly ]
Lama Norbu just said:
No eye, no ear, no nose.
No Jesse, no Lama!
No you!
No death and no fear!
[ Lama Norbu ]
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.
[ Dean ]
Come on, buddy! Give me a hand here.
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.