General Knowledge - Books and Authors - Discussion

Little Buddha is a 1994 feature film by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Bridget Fonda and Keanu Reeves. Made by Bertolucci's regular partner, British producer Jeremy Thomas, it marked the team's return to the East after The Last emperor. Little Buddha is a story about the quest of a group of several monks, led by Lama Norbu (Ruocheng Ying), to seek out the rebirth of his great Buddhist teacher, Lama Dorje (Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen). In the story, the Lama Norbu relates Buddha's life story, which is also enacted as a story line within the movie. In this depiction, a Hindu prince called Siddhartha (Keanu Reeves) sets on a journey to achieve greater awareness. As he progresses, he learns profound truths about the nature of life, consciousness, and reality. Ultimately, he battles Mara (a demon representing the ego), who repeatedly tries to divert and destroy Siddhartha. Through concentrated non-attachment and final realization of the illusory nature of his own ego, Siddhartha attains enlightenment.