Sunrise / Sunset, a documentary by Vitali Mansky (available on Netflix)

It's probably true for most of us that we imagine Buddhist Monks living as we have viewed them in the films we've seen in class.  Living a life away from the world, free from material possessions and outside influence, one with nature and with time for contemplation.  This film is a documentary that follows the Dalai Lama throughout his day.  The narrator offers some brief explanation about the Dalai Lama's situation as a political exile in India, his lifestyle as a Buddhist leader and some words of wisdom from the man himself.

I was left with a rather tainted impression of the Dalai Lama.   My prior knowledge of the Dalai Lama was limited.  I only knew that he is a Buddhist leader and that he lives in exile from Tibet.  The film began by explaining that the common belief is that this Dalai Lama is living his 14th reincarnation and because of that his time moves at a rate 14x faster than ours.  The narrator goes on to explain that the Dalai Lama lives in India on a compound that is guarded by armed guards and Tibetan warriors.  The security people are obvious throughout the film.  There are scenes of the Dalai Lama walking among pilgrims who come to see him.  He is escorted by a large entourage of monks and security.  There is great pomp and fanfare, similar to what we are used to seeing with The Pope.  The film says that the Dalai Lama spends 5 months of the year in private meditation.  The remainder of the year is made up of tightly scheduled meetings with visiting dignitaries from around the world.  His residence is filled with figurines, flower arrangements, paperwork, and miscellaneous furniture that you would expect to find at your grandparent's house.  There was even a scene where he was watching Animal Planet and the BBC Channel, as well as one of him walking on a treadmill.

I could go on, but I don't have anything good to say about the rest of the film either.  There were comments about poverty, overpopulation and the need for non-violent birth control.  There was a voice over section with the Dalai Lama talking about the imbalance of wealth and poverty in this world and how that needs to change.  The director layered these words over scenes of terrible poverty in the streets of India, just miles from where the Dalai Lama lives in clear comfort.  Nothing I saw in this film was even slightly related to the readings and discussions we've had together in class about Buddhist philosophy.  There was one part where a televised prayer session was offered to pilgrims when a basic introduction to Buddhist beliefs was explained.  Aside from that, I was left with a decidedly materialistic, political and sour perspective on this man who is so respected around the world.  Thinking that something seemed off, I decided to do some quick research so I would better understand the role of the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama has his own website.  The site offers a number of readings aimed at helping explain the situation in Tibet, the Dalai Lama's contributions to the world and his views on the future of his position.  You can read these for yourself and draw your own conclusions.  Wikipedia offered some history and political understanding of the role which is clearly as political as it is spiritual.  I also found an article from The New Yorker that seemed to line up a little more with my own skeptical opinion.  NPR has an article that gives an interesting overview as well.

http://www.dalailama.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Dalai_Lama
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2008/03/31/080331crbo_books_mishra
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15321257