Little Buddha

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."

Now, then, what does this ancient tale teach us?

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!

Show us something of your previous life, huh?

Telegram for Lama Norbu.

I've been waiting for nine years...

to receive this.

- Is it about Lama Dorje? - Yes.

- Have they found him? - Perhaps!

We shall all pray for the success of your mission.

And, uh, remember to take your medicine.

Wait.

This is Lama Dorje's bowl.

You will need it for your search.

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. - It's so wonderful to see you again,

- but you must be very tired after such a long flight.

Yes, a little tired.

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.

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...

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!

Also I teach astrology. Mostly astrology.

How unusual.

We Tibetans have a very advanced system of astrology.

- Excuse me. - Go! Play! Go!

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!

- 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!

I wrote her last week.

I mentioned that an important lama wanted to see her.

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- 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. - Very beautiful.

Yes.

- Mrs. Conrad? Is it okay if I go?

- Yes, It's fine, Maria. It's fine. Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow.

Very exciting. It's very exciting to me.

- Really? - Yes.

Can I get you some- 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.

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. - 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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

- Honey, I need a scotch. - Mmm.

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.

- Lama Dorje had a great sense of humor.

This is Champa, and this is Punzo.