Ever wondered just how the Buddhist lamas of the Himalayas search out and recognize reincarnated masters in chubby baby boys between 12 and 18 months old?
I just discovered a 2008 documentary film, "Unmistaken Child," which follows a young Nepalese monk as he searches and tests the possible reincarnation of his beloved master lama, whom the monk had attended for most of his life.
While the search, test, and recognition process is followed and revealed in a respectful, unobtrusive way, it is the monk's journey from heartbroken grief at his master's death, to hope and then joy at finding the child-form of his master, that is the most compelling part of this film. This young monk had been a boy when he began attending the elder lama, and wound up as the nurturing mother-father, "Big Uncle," to a bright two-year-old boy.
I enjoyed this film too, and loved how it showed the relationship transition between the monk and two lamas!
ReplyDelete-Bonnie