[ 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.
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."
[ 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!
6:30! Very special! 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 house.
[ Kenpo ] Ah, yes. Very exciting. It's very exciting for him.
- 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 2,500 years ago...
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?
"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...
that no doctor could cure."
[ 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 ]
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 ]
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 ] This would be the hardest good-bye.
His heart was torn,
but his mind was made up.
[ Baby Cooing ]
[ Whispering ] Channa.
- [ Jesse Reading ] A magic mist had descended over everything. - Channa.
The whole court had fallen into a deep sleep.
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 ]
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.
- [ Crickets Chirping ] - [ Thunder Rumbling ]
[ Flies Buzzing ]
[ Thunder Rumbling ]
[ 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.
[ 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.
[ Grunting ]
[ Bleating ]
[ Gasps ]
[ 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.