Buddhism can't be this bad, can it?
I think it's important to start by saying that I've been meditating for at least 10 or 12 years, every single morning. It's also important to note that I am fascinated by the discoveries being made about the mental powers of Buddhist monks (see for example Sharon Begley's fine book, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain.)
If you mention the Dalai Lama's name to me, or Buddhism in general, I generally react very positively.
Which makes it all the more difficult to confront what I'm feeling about the new documentary, "Unmistaken Child." What I am about to write might make a lot of people mad. Before you get mad, see this movie, by young Israeli director Nati Baratz, who had extraordinary access as he filmed for five and a half years (taking 200 hours of film!)
This real-time documentary follows a Buddhist monk's search for a reincarnated form of his master, Lama Konchog, who spent 26 years in isolated meditation in a mountain cave. Apparently, Lama Konchog was regarded as one of the greatest Tibetan Masters of our times.
In 2001, after Lama Konchog's death at the age of 84, his devoted follower, Tenzin Zopa, is absolutely heartbroken. He is instructed by the Dalai Lama to search for the reincarnated version of the Lama.
The search takes young Tenzin Zopa into the mountainous wilds of Nepal, where he follows tips from a Chinese astrologist, who among other devices, uses a kind of Etch a Sketch to divine where the reincarnated child will be born.
Ultimately the monk finds a child in a remote valley. The first clue that this chubby-cheeked boy is the reincarnation of the deceased Lama comes when the child is willfully attached to the crystal rosary beads that had been used by the Lama.
There are more tests, all of which the child passes with flying colors (to me, honestly, the child seems prompted during the tests.)
So what happens?
The child is taken from his parents (with their permission, but of course, they've been pressured in so many subtle and not-so-subtle ways.) The pain in their faces is heart-wrenching.
But the story is disturbing for other reasons. I never realized before seeing this film how much "god worship" there is in Buddhism, the gods being little humans who are chosen reincarnates (and of course there is plenty of worship of the older Lamas.)
In a scene toward the end of the film, the little boy, now outfitted in full vermillion Buddhist garb, his round little head shaved clean, is standing beside the Dalai Lama. A gazillion folks are in a mass worship ceremony, and they begin filing up for blessing. The baby is touching each of their heads and occasionally throwing a white silk scarf over their necks. Folks present him with little gifts, like cars and airplanes, and in between the blessings, he plays with the toys.
To me, it was a dreadful thing. In the eyes of these masses, I saw the sort of adulation that I recall from my Catholic upbringing, the kind I thought was reserved for the Vatican and the Pope. 
I thought the point of Buddhism was the elimination of ego. I thought the commitment was to here and now enlightenment through meditation. I never realized the level of fanaticism of some of the monks, the obsession they have to find the reincarnated form of Lama "egos" that have passed away.
So, I would say, see the movie. See what you think.
If you do, pay special attention to the very last scene, where the monk and the young boy are sitting very close to one another, laughing and playing. To me the scene (I won't tell you what they are playing with) suggests something quite sinister about the relationship between the 30ish year-old monk, and the 3 or 4-ish year old boy.
I hope it's just me.
I did not see any mention of this scene in any other reviews. I did not read about anyone asking the director what he might have been suggesting by ending there. Maybe it's just me, and my paranoia, paranoia that comes from reading way too much about the behavior of priests who have access to beautiful little boys.
Follow Claudia Ricci on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RicciCJ
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Please don't equate one branch with the whole tree. Per my current understanding, Tibetans are the only Buddhists in the world that go looking for reincarnated masters and hold elaborate ceremonies for them. I have much respect for Tibetan Buddhism, even if I may not agree with their practices.
Also, I like what was said about not judging Tibetans based on one documentary. More research and a more discerning eye would have made this blog post a whole lot better.
I would have to agree that this isn't so much about Buddhism, as it is about certain Tibetan customs. The Buddha never spoke about looking for monks after they die or even suggested that it was possible or worthwhile. In fact, if you read the words of the Buddha, the only people who seem to be able to remember their past lives are experienced meditators who have quieted their minds.
I hope you continue to remain interested in Buddhism and meditation, and continue to benefit from it.
Much research was needed before this commentary was published. It isn't "worship" as it may be understood by a westerner. You certainly may have been meditating for 10-12 years, but it doesn't sound like you are affiliated with any Buddhist practice, far less a Tibetan one.
I was definitely amused by the Tibetan rituals/customs when I first started off. I connected it by making assumptions based on my Catholic understanding. I was skeptical and a bit conflicted by it, but as I continued, I read, studied, meditated, and asked questions to my own guru, I realized that what I had understood to be was not the case. Furthermore, the customs & rituals were just one of many things that I misunderstood about Buddhism.
As a gay Latino former Catholic-then turned atheist-now practicing Buddhist, I am not inclined to dogma, but after quite a number of years of practicing under the Tibetan tradition, I get it. I now understand why it is important to find the reincarnation of this revered lama.... just like it is important for me that in my next lifetime, I am hoping that I have done a great amount of good work to be reborn in a good family, in a great environment, with great opportuninities to continue practicing Buddhism for the benefit of all sentient beings! Nothing has been greater in this world, even as my work in HIV/AIDS and LGBT activism.
Thanks for this opportunity to comment!
This is a rather surprising review. I am a Buddhist in the Tibetan tradition and I have some doubts about the tulku system of taking little kids and elevating them to a status of near-divinity, but I also think it would have been far more helpful if you had done a little research about the system, perhaps talking to actual tulkus who have been recognized in this way (and there are plenty of them), and tried to sort out your emotions before writing this review. Maybe I am asking too much for a movie review, but the review has a negative, somewhat hysterical tone, which alarms me as a member of an unestablished religious minority in the United States. Do you see what I'm getting at? I do not think you intended it to come off this way, but our speech can be dangerous, and a knee-jerk, negative emotional reaction has perhaps less in common with the egoless goals of Buddhism than the tulku system. Be mindful!
In the Tibetan school of Buddhism, the Guru is considered the most important and when we take refuge, we take refuge in the Guru first, then the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. What role does the Guru play and why is he or she so central would take too long to go into here. I suggest you read 'Gurus for Hire, Enlightenment for Sale', by H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, which addresses this very issue.
Tibetan Buddhists have a tradition of Masters reincarnating back to continue their work from a previous life. I have not watched the 'Unmistaken Child' but the search for a Guru or Master who has passed on and reincarnated back is considered normal. I have had the privilege of meeting these Masters and hearing about their unique prowess at spiritual development which throws no doubt on their unusual levels of attainment.
Before we judge on something we may not be familiar with, I would suggest finding out more about this tradition and not just rely on one documentary which may or may not be accurately portrayed.
Sharon
http://www.twitter.com/sharonsaw
Excuse me, but doesn't your opening paragraph sum up the reason for the criticism that Guru worship gets tossed in it's direction?
Some might consider this a little too fundamental, but let's examine the final words and actions of the Buddha:
After the Buddha had instructed Ananda that his parinirvana was without the marks of having been a great man, he taught the bhiksus that following his death they should take refuge only in the Dharma (D II.100), and that the proper way to honor the tathagata is by practicing the Dharma.
"Look within!
You are the Light.
Take refuge in yourself.
Do not take refuge in others.
The Light is the Dharma.
Take refuge in the Dharma.
Do not take refuge in anything,
other than the Dharma."
It doesn't matter if one translates it as "light" or "island" from the Pali original... to put it simply, the Buddha never said take refuge in the Guru, but quite to the contrary.
In Tibetan Buddhism, we understand that there are three vehicles or "yanas." What you quoted belongs to what Tibetan Buddhism calls the "Hinayana," the first yana (an offensive term to some, but I use it here for accuracy). Guru devotion belongs to Vajrayana.
"he taught the bhiksus that following his death they should take refuge only in the Dharma..."
And yet all Buddhists take refuge in the Three Jewels, the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, not just the Dharma.
I haven't seen the film, but this is Tibetan Buddhism. It is my experience that different Buddhisms are virtually different religions. The difference between followers of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism and of Theravada Buddhism is much greater than the difference between Southern Baptists and Russian Orthodox. If this particular branch of Buddhism gives you pause, don't judge all Buddhisms by it.
Also, we Westerners have created a Buddhism for ourselves that is pretty far removed from ethnic Buddhisms in the home countries. You write , "I thought the commitment was to here and now enlightenment through meditation." I don't know where that comes from, but it doesn't come from any traditions of Buddhism.
To tar the 300,000,000 Buddhists worldwide with the brush of a "documentary" movie about a few members of one sect of one branch that encompasses less than 20% of those millions is unskillful, it seems to me.
Every religion has within it those who view its teachings and rituals with varying degrees of fanaticism. It is no more accurate to judge Tibetan Buddhists by that movie -- even if literally true -- than to judge Evangelical Christians by the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses, themselves well-meaning if oddly-guided souls.
We must remember, too, that the practices of other cultures are not be be measured by our own. We in the West have exhibited that arrogance for far too long.
I second the first comment that only Tibetan Buddhism plucks little kids out of their families to be adored as a reincarnated master. Other Buddhist traditions do accept children of a certain age into their monasteries but usually it is because the family can't afford to raise them. Rather then allow them to be orphans they send them to the monastery where they will be fed, schooled and otherwise cared for.
All Buddhists aren't from Tibet. This is one small segment of Buddhism from one region of the world.
To the uninformed, this makes it look like all Buddhists all over the world follow these customs and traditions.
Ciao Claudia,
It's not about Buddhism; it's about people. Your question should be, "People can't be this bad, can they?" And we all know the answer to that. How badly do we want the Tibetans to be better than the rest of us! I lived as a monk for eight years among them, eighteen months of it in complete immersion in Sera Monastery: 100 monks, 300 boys, 0 women. My memoir The Novice will be launched in September. No, it's not an exposé of callous evil, but it's no hagiography either. Visit www.schettini.com.
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Would you want to do an interview in anticipation of your book publishing? I have a novel out and I'm publishing my second, hopefully, this fall. If you do, let me know!
I'm certainly interested. Where would it appear, and in what format (print, blog, podcast, etc)? Your book seems to have been well received; I'll take a look. Is it selling well?
"It's not about Buddhism; it's about people." Exactly. Thank you. I look forward to your book.
Did their dogma run over their karma?
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