Kundun Page #4

RETING RINPOCHE:

Chenrezi, the Buddha of compassion.

The Wish Fulfilling Jewel.

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

And the Regent turns, hikes up his gorgeous robes, and

prostrates before the child.

RETING RINPOCHE:

Long life.

In the crowd stand Lhamo's Mother and Father and Lobsang

Samten.

On their faces, we must see that they did not realize who

their son, their brother, was believed to be.

First the Mother, and then the Father, bow in front of their

youngest child.

MOTHER:

Long life.

FATHER:

Long life.

Finally, Lobsang.

LOBSANG:

Long life, Lhamo.

We hear the sound of a great, Tibetan horn.

We hear peels of childish laughter.

INT. THE POTALA DAY

Lobsang and Lhamo skid, slide, skate down the endless,

slippery hallways of this huge, labyrinthine monastery.

Three Monks scurry behind the boys, trying to keep up,

trying to keep the young incarnate from slipping out of

their sight.

They shout, in loud stage whispers:

MONKS:

Kundun! Kundun!

The monks are no match for the little boys, who are quickly

out of sight.

INT. DALAI LAMA'S PRIVATE ROOMS THE POTALA DAY

Reting Rinpoche sits cross-legged on the floor of this

brightly-painted, red room.

Across from him sits Lhamo, dressed in fine, yellow silk.

These are simple rooms, decorated with statues, deity

scrolls and mandalas, an altar to Buddha. Behind a glass

case are toys, mixed in with the Buddhist artifacts: dolls,

puppets, balls, blocks, trains.

Reting Rinpoche is speaking.

RETING RINPOCHE:

Centuries ago, a young boy was

born. His name was Gedundrub.

The night of his birth, robbers

came to his home and his family

fled hiding the baby in a cattle

pen. When they returned the next

day, the baby was safe. They found

him guarded by a pair of black crows.

He was the first Dalai Lama.

The Living Buddha of Compassion.

Now, you have chosen to come back to

this life once again.

Reting blows his nose.

RETING RINPOCHE:

We name you Tenzin Gyatso.

CLOSE on Lhamo - Tenzin Gyatso.

RETING RINPOCHE:

Your job is simple.

You are to love all living things.

Just love them. Care for them.

Have compassion for them.

"As long as any living thing draws

breath, wherever he shall be, there

in compassion, shall the Buddha

appear, incarnate."

At the curtain behind Lhamo, we notice the curly-toed shoes

of a monk, a man who must be standing in the next room.

INT. DALAI LAMA'S PRIVATE ROOMS DAY

In the room immediately adjacent to this bedroom, we now see

the three Monks who chased the young boy down the slippery

halls.

They are the Dalai Lama's personal attendants - the MASTER

OF THE RITUAL, the MASTER OF ThE KITCHEN, and the MASTER OF

THE ROBE. (It is the Master of the Kitchen who stands

directly behind the curtain.)

The LORD CHAMBERLAIN is also there. He is a monk. A tall,

angular man, with almost nordic features: large, round

eyes, a yellowish mustache, sharp nose.

All of these men will become quite familiar to us, as will

the man standing, listening, behind the attendants.

He is a sweeper, a man named NORBU THUNDRUP, age thirty. He

is tall, and gangly, with a wispy beard and a pock-marked

face.

INT. DALAI LAMA'S PRIVATE ROOM DAY

RETING RINPOCHE:

You will be the leader of

the Tibetan people when you come of

age. Until that time, I will be

your teacher, and as your Regent,

I will rule in your name.

I will tell your Lord

Chamberlain you are ready to

see him.

INT. ADJACENT ROOM DAY

The Regent walks through this room on his way out.

A passing look from Norbu lets us know that Reting

Rinpoche is not well-liked.

RETING RINPOCHE:

He will see you now.

The Lord Chamberlain goes to meet with the Dalai Lama.

INT. DALAI LAMA'S PRIVATE ROOM DAY

The Lord Chamberlain bows to the boy and then unpacks his

parcel.

He has a rolled, parchment document.

He has a beautiful, carved, wooden box.

The Lord Chamberlain points to the mural on the wall behind

the boy. It is an elaborate, story-painting.

LORD CHAMBERLAIN

Fifth Dalai Lama.

The boy looks.

The Lord Chamberlain points to a golden statue of a round

man in a peaked hat.

LORD CHAMBBERLAIN

Seventh Dalai Lama.

Tenzin Gyatso nods.

The Lord Chamberlain lifts a framed photograph of a bald,

charismatic man, with razor sharp eyebrows, pictured sitting

on a throne.

LORD CHAMBERLAIN

Thirteenth Dalai Lama.

The boy looks at the photo.

The Lord Chamberlain places the state seal in the young

boy's hands and indicates that the boy should bring the

heavy instrument down hard on the parchment.

The boy does. The Lord Chamberlain scribbles a little

something on a tab of attached paper, then bows to the boy.

LORD CHAMBERLAIN

Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

VIEW FROM A HIGH WINDOW

Outside, up a country path, young herders lead their cattle

in from the grazing fields. We can hear the boys singing -

a Tibetan street song.

TENZIN GYATSO (OC)

I am the good one. You be bad.

The bad man.

INT. DALAI LAMA'S PRIVATE ROOM DUSK

The view comes in the window and reveals the young Dalai

Lama, sitting on the floor with Norbu Thundrup, the sweeper.

Tenzin Gyatso has arranged a battlefield of soldiers -

little men, made of colored-dough.

NORBU THUNDRUP:

My name is Norbu,

Holiness. I will be good,

you be bad.

Tenzin Gyatso is ferocious in his strategy, taking Norbu's

men.

TENZIN GYATSO:

I'm on a big mountain

and hitting at the bad men.

And after the game, we're going

to trade. You just stay

over there, no, there!, Norbu,

and I will shoot at you.

I want your land. I take it.

I am stronger.

NORBU THUNDRUP:

I am braver.

Norbu Thundrup plays like a child. It is a fight to the

finish.

TENZIN GYATSO:

I have more men.

NORBU ThUNDRUP

I have smarter men.

Tenzin Gyatso has lost; he dissolves into tears.

NORBU THUNDRUP:

Today you lose. Tomorrow you

may win.

Norbu snaps his fingers.

NORBU THUNDRUP:

Things change, Kundun.

TENZIN GYATSO:

Why is your beard so funny?

Let me touch this.

Tenzin touches the soft, bald, chin of Norbu.

TENZIN GYATSO:

Soft.

And then, Tenzin Gyatso tries to snap his fingers. He

cannot.

INT. DALAI LAMA'S PRIVATE ROOMS DUSK

Tenzin Gyatso stands at the window, watching, listening.

His hands knead the colored dough into balls, ready to

create the next army, the future battleground, as he

recites, softly:

TENZIN GYATSO:

"As long as all living draw

breaths, there Buddha is."

Norbu Thundrup smiles as he polishes the floor, clearing it

of tsampa dough.

INT. GREAT HALL, THE POTALA DAY

The Great Hall in the Potala is the seat of Tibetan

Government.

These palace walls are hung with beautiful, old thangkas

(silk embroideries or paintings), depicting the life of

Buddha.

Inside the hall sits the acting government: the YIGSTANG

and the TSITANG - four monks, four laymen - all dressed in

their appropriate simplicity and elaborateness. These men

sit in two rows, facing one another. The senior monk and

the senior layman sit a bit forward. They are the speakers.

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