A Little Wisdom

Disturbing in several aspects, starting with that it reiterates how this monastery is under the Karmapa without explaining anything about who he is and showing almost all of the monks in a terrible and very unrealistic light-the younger monks cuss and fight throughout the movie. (Really? Or were there more than a few liberties taken with the translation?) Most of the few older monks offer very little supervision of instruction to the younger ones and they also show the head lama in a very negative light. So I have to wonder why they chose this poor little monastery and these particular students to focus on instead of a Rinpoche or at least a more typical monastery where the little monks have at least been taught about ahimsa and bodhicitta (really basic Buddhist teachings) and, speaking of, at least go into the basic teachings of Buddhism so non-Buddhists will not come away with a complete misunderstanding of an entire religion. And if a writer/director is going to focus on one of the Karmapa's monasteries then have the decency to show something more representative and focus a little bit on the Karmapa himself.

Whenever I see films like these I can't help but feel this is nog the best way for children to grow up - nor the best way to get into contact with the Dhamma. The same holds for the Hindu Gurukula's. It may be an old tradition, but traditions sometimes do need to change to maximize the happiness of humanity as a whole.