Sami Aronson

Mrs. Hope
Honors Writers Workshop
9 November 2015

Analysis of Little Buddha

Religion plays a vital part in the movie Little Buddha. It tells a story where the
Tibetan monks set put to find their reincarnated teacher. They find three children who all
show characteristics to be the reincarnated Dalai Lama. Buddhism influences the monks
in this movie because they follow the beliefs of Buddhism. They live in a monastery to
practice Buddhism. Throughout the movie Lama Norbu, a Tibetan monk searching for the
reincarnated Lama Dorje tells Jessie and the other children the story of how Siddhartha
became the Buddha. Jesse, Gita, and Raju are the three children that Lama Doji has been
reincarnated into. Little Buddha eloquently portrayed Buddhism and overall conveyed it
accurately throughout the movie. It included Buddhism rituals and beliefs.
For example, one Buddhist belief is reincarnation and that was a major part of the
plot. The main conflict was that the Lamas could not find their reincarnated teacher, and
then when they found the children they couldnt tell which was Lama Dorje their teacher.
Another aspect of Buddhism that was shown in the movie was the strong value of
meditation. The monks mediated to clear their minds and focus; also Siddhartha
meditated for days to try and find a way to live life with no suffering. Another aspect of
Buddhism demonstrated in Little Buddha was sitting on the floor crossed legged, not
wearing shoes, and wearing red and yellow. This is because Buddha did sat this way

while he was searching for the way to end suffering. Also, Buddha wanted his disciples to
dress in ordinary colors and red and yellow were basic colors.
Similarly, Jesse, Raju, Gita all bonded and acted as if they were one person. They
were the puzzle pieces of Lama Dorje. Jesse found Raju in the huge crowd of people and
they connected instantly.