Portrayal of Tibetan Buddhism in Hollywood Movies

Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Bakalářská diplomová práce 2013 Sylvie Mynarčíková Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Sylvie Mynarčíková Portrayal of Tibetan Buddhism in Hollywood Movies Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr. 2013 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Acknowledgement I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr., for his guidance and time. I am grateful for his helpful suggestions and valuable advice. Table of Contents 1 Introduction.................................................................................................................1 2 Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism............................................................................3 2.1.The Fourteenth Dalai Lama.................................................................................6 2.2 Teachings........................................................................................................... 9 3 Buddhism in America.............................................................................................. 12 4 Kundun...................................................................................................................... 16 5 Little Buddha............................................................................................................. 29 6 Conclusion..................................................................................................................40 Appendices..........................................................................................................................43 Works cited.........................................................................................................................47 1 Introduction Hollywood is a magical land where the dreams may come true. It is also a place where almost everything must serve the artistic purpose of many people included in the making of movies - directors, producers, screenwriters, etc. Ideology, as unstated assumptions and perspectives, is at work in the myriad choices made in the process of production, choices of subject and narrative, scriptwriting, casting, shooting, and editing. Every feature of a film is consciously selected to produce a film that says, as precisely as possible, what its producer and director want it to say. however, there may be considerable dissonance between a director´s intent and the messages viewers with diverse perspectives and interests receive. (Miles 81) Which is especially true for religions. And when a filmmaker comes across such a topic he should be extremely cautious of how he approaches it or the film might end up very unreadable for the end consumer – the general viewing audience. Overriding purpose of Hollywood films is to make money not to change opinions or minds of American society, or to teach it, and even films that seem to do so generally subvert to the power of Hollywood conventions and very often fail to deliver upon their promised message. In the Nineties a religion that caught the attention of many Hollywood artists was Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism in particular, and led to many people trying to mediate the message to general public (or simply use it for profit). Such a topic may be considered very un-Hollywood like. Its focus on non-violence and mundane and routine daily practise is not something that would ensure a gut wrenching movie experience that an audience would 1 remember for the rest of their lives. Despite that it found its way onto the screen and into the hands of prominent movie directors, screenwriters and studios. One of the reasons why Buddhism in America was so popular in the Nineties may be their insecurity in their own heritage, trying to deal with their racist and violent history. "We want not to be the culture of oppression our history makes us, we want to be the liberators our ideals guide us to be. To avoid the darker realties of our national culture, we seek those things which would allow us not only to escape those realities but to surmount them, as well" (Mullen). So they turn elsewhere, somewhere where everything is streamlined (at least in their own view) and there are clear bad guys and good guys (Tibet and China), furthermore trying to bend these cultures to fit the American audience demand. In my thesis I will take deeper look into successes and failures that Hollywood had with the topic of Tibetan Buddhism on the example of two intended blockbusters – Kundun and Little Buddha. I will try to analyze the message and knowledge that their makers put into them, but also the critical and general reception they got at the time of their release. But before that I will briefly outline the history of the religion at question and the time period of the birth of these two films, which had a great influence on conception and final result of these two movies. 2 2 Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Mahayana Buddhism1 that is being practiced not only in Tibet itself but also in the countries of Mongolia, Buryatia and amongst the Kalmyk people on Volga (Russia). One of the specific traits of Tibetan Buddhism is the fact that it mixes old monastery rules of Sarvastivada2 with cultic and highly imaginative methods of Vajrayana3, which throughout the centuries have led to a vast variety of symbols that became extremely important in the practices and rituals of Tibetan Buddhism. Original Tibetan religion was Bön which started to be replaced by Buddhism in the 7th century when king Songtsen Gampo (618 - 650) introduced it to Tibet through his two marriages with Nepalese and Chinese princesses, by which he also formed strong and peaceful bonds with these two countries. After a brief return back to Bön subsequent kings started to widen the knowledge of Indian Buddhism and through scholars they sent out started to form their own form of Buddhism. One of the most important figures of Tibetan Buddhism was Padmasambhava (invited to Tibet by king Thisong Decän – 755–797), who fused Bön religious pantheon with Buddhism, making it more acceptable to general public, and who later became the patron saint of Tibet. He was also the founder of one of the four lineages of Tibetan Buddhism - 1 Mahayana Buddhism - one of the discourses of Buddhism which opens the way to awakening for vast number of people. A student of Mahayana wants to help as many people as possible to achieve awakening after his own awakening. One of the most important characters of this discourse is Boddhisattva and his mercy. Unlike in other Buddhist discourses even a lay person can achieve awakening. (For more information see Lexikon východní moudrosti 272; Werner 163-186.) 2 For more information see Lexikon východní moudrosti 386. 3 Vajrayana has evolved from Mahayana and is rich in rituals which is one of the main means of achieving awakening. (For more information see Lexikon východní moudrosti 500; Werner 192- 202.) 3 Ningmapa. This lineage is known for its practices of foretelling, exorcism and magical healing. The last two kings who were of Tibetan nobility were Ticug Decän and Langdarma. They both were murdered from political reasons (the latter by a monk) which threw Tibet into 200 years of political turmoil, darkness and civil war. The second period when Buddhism flourished and started to establish itself as national religion of Tibet was when Atisha (982 - 1054) came to Tibet and took Tibetan Buddhism to the cult of Avalokiteshvara – bodhisattva of compassion. Later on every Dalai Lama was considered a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara on Earth. Atisha also founded Tibetan school of rigid monastery discipline Kadampa which was later on (15th century) assimilated by Gelugpa lineage which adopted Kadampa´s cult of Avalokiteshvara and monastic discipline. Second important lineage of Tibetan Buddhism is Sakyapa (founded by Dogmi). Sakyapa honoraries also played an important part in politics of Tibet. Kagyupa was founded by Gampopa (1079–1153). Its teaching is based upon theories of Marpa (1012–1096, one of the most prominent teachers of Tibet). Marpa teaches that with help of yogic practice one can reach final awakening within duration of one´s life or in the moment of death or at least during one of the after death periods of bardo. The fourth main Tibetan lineage – Gelugpa – had developed in the 14th century. Its founder Congkhapa (1357–1419) put great emphasis on rigorous monastery rules and changed the ordination of monastic succession from heritable to succession by reincarnation. Since the rule of the fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682) the Dalai Lamas became not only spiritual leaders but also political leaders of Tibet. Every new rebirth was then found by a special search party and then the recognized boy was entrusted to a regent who was responsible for his upbringing. 4 This practise lead to regents often murdering their wards, because they wanted to keep their power longer. After coming of age the fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lozang Gjamccho (1617–1682; later called "the Great Fifth") became a very powerful force in Tibet. He enforced the political and spiritual power of Gelugpa School, but at the same time recognized the equality of all the other Buddhist schools. In the 18th century Tibet turned to China with a plea for help with expelling

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