Introduction: Major themes of Buddhism, as seen in the movie Little Buddha.
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Buddhism is a form of religion that seeks to liberate its followers from suffering and acts of selfishness. It has complex beliefs and history as well. Themes highlighted in the movie ‘Little Buddha’ that reflect on the teachings of Buddhism are stated below:
There is the concept of karma, which is the law of course and effect. The movie starts with a story that talks about a goat and a priest who wanted to sacrifice the goat to the gods. The goat laughs at the priest and tells him that he has been reborn 499 times as a goat, and now he will be reborn as a human being. The goat cries and tells the priest that he was crying for him 500 years ago. He, too, was a priest who sacrificed goats. The priest then goes on his knees and asks for forgiveness. He also says he will be the guardian of goats from then, a major teaching of Buddha about the reincarnation of life and rebirth and the cycle of life. This teaching relates to Buddha’s terms that say no living creature must be sacrificed.
Lama Norbu is a Tibetan monk at a monastery in Bhutan. He is looking for a child who is a rebirth of the great Buddhist teacher Lama Dorje. Norbu has been waiting for the boy’s information for almost nine years now. The boy is Jesse Conrad. He was born at 6:30, just like the dead monk. In Nepal, two more children who could be his reincarnation are also found. They are Raju and Gita.
Buddhism has no symbols made after it to recognize any god or mighty Deity. Pictures, however, have evolved after the religion to represent the teachings of Gautama. We see some students in the movie drawing and meditating using the eight-spoked dharma wheel in one corner.
The concept of truth is shown through the story of a prince called Siddhartha, who wants to solve the universal problem of suffering. He portrays the journey into looking through the nature of life, consciousness, and real life. The four noble truths that include the truth of suffering, the course of suffering, the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering are all described here. Siddhartha is told that beyond the castle walls only lays suffering. Along the way out of the castle, he sees old men who are shrunk and are told that old age does that to a man. He sees men working with clay tirelessly and also sees a sick woman crying. He asks what is death and is shown a dead man being carried. After the man was burnt and ashes drowned, the Prince learned about passion and suffering. He sees the course of suffering when the truth about poverty and hunger and sickness and death is right into his face. He tells his father that he will lift the curse of suffering. His father even orders that the gates be locked so that his son, who has just gotten a child, cannot run away. That is him trying to end the path of suffering. When they come across a group of men who live in the forest trying to gain enlightenment, he stops and gives his robes to a beggar. The tree that once bows on his day of birth notices his compassion and bows once more. The law of karma is present here. He makes his first disciples in the wild. He lives in the wilderness for six years, drinking rainwater and eating dried fruits or mad. He realizes he had been following the wrong path when he hears fishermen talk to his disciples for the first time, yet their words held so much truth. When his flowers see him accept a bowl of rice from a village girl, they believe he has given up the search for enlightenment. He, however, has now found himself. He has reached the path that leads to the end of suffering. He has now seen the whole reality of all things. He now knew that a course provoked every event happening in the world. There was no solution without compassion for the other beings, like the girl had shown compassion towards him with her rice bowl. From then on, Siddhartha was called the “awakening.”
The Prince battles Mara, the demon of ego, and goes through suffering when the demon tries to make him divert his energy and destroy him. Within the process, he is being enlightened and becomes the next Buddha. When Colossus is tempting and assaulting the Prince, he tells him that he is purely an illusion and does not exist. At this point, Siddhartha realizes that life is not permanent and that all we see is an illusion. It is the dinghy truth of impermanence.
The queen stops along the journey and turns towards the trees, where she remembers a dream she had when she was expectant. The child was born with almost no pain and was strong enough to stand on his legs. Lotus blossoms are said to have grown after his footsteps, which symbolizes that he was born within the confines of morality and was already enlightened through rebirth. The child was Siddhartha. Buddhism allows for the flexibility of worshipping areas and time. In its beliefs, one is allowed to worship both from home or in the temple. We can see the queen worship within the trees. It also proves the analogy by some scholars that Buddhism is a religion that is evolving and more tolerant. It has its spiritual tradition that helps one achieve Nirvana, just like the Prince, when he realized that worldly possessions were meaningless.
When Jesse goes to Bhutan, he is taught how to monk and even attends monastery activities.
References
Contreras, C. (1998). Depicting the Buddha, Teaching the Dharma. Asian Cinema, 10(1), 176-192.
Horton, R. (1994). Nonconformist–Little Buddha directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Film Comment, 30(4), 26.
Mullen, E. (2016). Orientalist commercialization’s: Tibetan Buddhism in American popular film. Journal of Religion & Film, 2(2), 5.