Little Buddha

To “know� rather than believing or wishing, not being afraid to examine anything and everything, including one’s own personal agenda is how one can truly believe in the Buddhist way. In the movie Little Buddha, two characters struggle to find meaning in their life and embark on a journey towards a new way, the middle way. In order to comprehend any given message one must examine and see firsthand. Siddhartha and Dean realized they had to embark on an individual journey in order to fully understand and feel a concept come alive. Only when they are able to see what is true, can then begin to genuinely understand anything. Until then, they have to suspend judgment and criticism and just observe. Dean and Siddhartha had to accomplish similar obstacles on their journey, to put aside preference in order to obtain an open mind, in order for them to have "awareness". Siddhartha experienced helplessness similar to Dean through demonstrating over devotion on their first journey in the search of meaning. In order to find the right “middle� path and overcome their self-contained ways, they had to experience helplessness.
To live life through stories is not enough, one must take a journey to expose the self to dive

To become aware Dean and Siddhartha must examine and exploring the most basic question of life, relying on the immediate experience in the present moment. It is not about belief, doctrine, formula, or tradition; it's about freedom of mind. Siddhartha displayed the ridding of his fathers preference when he told his father he could not live in seclusion, Siddartha’s journey was the beginning of his awakening. Siddhartha thought he could reach enlightenment through masking his suffering with a strong mind. Learning this was the wrong approach from the distant “voice,” he changed his ways and began to understand that one couldn’t find happiness in two extremes, and realized impermanence through the middle way (Siddartha’s found wisdom). Dean had similar revelations when he experienced his own child interacting with Buddhist children, he began to understand that individuals may be intellectually different but are emotionally the same in every way. Through this realization, Dean was able to communicate with the different culture and discover what was true. He was able to transcend beyond religion and realize what connected all of us in the beginning (Dean’s found wisdom). Both individuals had to be awake, alert, in touch with what was actually happening before they could understand and demonstrate true “awareness”, and develop their own wisdom.


Some topics in this essay:
Buddhism, Dean, Gautama Buddha, Shramana, Life, Suffering, Experience, Debut Albums, Jesse, Seattle,