Little Buddha Page #2

Synopsis: Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His search leads him to young Jesse Conrad, Raju, a waif from Kathmandu, and an upper class Indian girl. Together, they journey to Bhutan where the three children must undergo a test to prove which is the true reincarnation. Interspersed with this, is the story of Siddharta, later known as the Buddha. It traces his spiritual journey from ignorance to true enlightenment.
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Bernardo Bertolucci
Production: Miramax
  2 wins & 3 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.0
Rotten Tomatoes:
68%
PG
Year:
1993
123 min
1,980 Views


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!

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Rudy Wurlitzer

Rudolph "Rudy" Wurlitzer (born January 3, 1937) is an American novelist and screenwriter.Wurlitzer's fiction includes Nog, Flats, Quake, Slow Fade, and Drop Edge of Yonder. He is also the author of the travel memoir, Hard Travel to Sacred Places, an account of his spiritual journey through Asia after the death of his wife Lynn Davis' 21-year-old son. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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