2004
Distributed by International Film Circuit, 301 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010
Produced by Lesley Ann Patten (ZIJI Film and Television) and Kent Martin (National Film Board of Canada)
Directed by Lesley Ann Patten
DVD, color, 103 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Religious Studies, Sociology, Asian Studies
Reviewed by Charles J. Greenberg, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University
Recommended
Date Entered: 1/9/2007
How does one not only attain the body of a Buddha but also encounter a perfect teacher in our muddled, media-saturated age?
Encountering the film Words of My Perfect Teacher for the first time, I remembered an apt Buddhist reference point for how rare it is to find a perfect teacher: “… the best way to attain Buddhahood is to encounter a zenchishiki, or good friend. How far can one's own wisdom take him? If one has even enough wisdom to distinguish hot from cold, he should seek out a good friend…But encountering a good friend is the hardest possible thing to do. Thus the Buddha likened it to the rarity of a one-eyed turtle finding a floating log with a hollow in it the right size to hold him, or to the difficulty of trying to lower a thread from the Brahma Heaven and pass it through the eye of a needle on the earth. Moreover, in this evil latter age, evil companions are more numerous than the dust particles that comprise the earth, while good friends are fewer than the specks of dirt one can pile on a fingernail.” ¹
Director Leslie Ann Patten narrates an engaging and contemporary biographical documentary of finding, choosing and attempting to follow a Buddhist teacher and good friend, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (Khyentse Norbu), a Western-educated reincarnated embodiment of the Bhutan-based Khyentse lineage of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism. A short history of the Chinese invasion of Tibet early in the film describes the creation of refugees that relocated to their spiritual base in Bhutan in a less disruptive emigration than the violent persecution of other Tibetan Buddhist groups.
The film is segmented into chapters and scenes. Ms. Patton narrates the explanation of a number of recognizable Buddhist concepts. As director and narrator, she weaves in Rinpoche’s explanation of the special relationship between student and teacher. Rinpoche describes his role as a Buddhist teacher, to eliminate the attachment to material things that we mistakenly believe will deliver happiness. Ms. Patten, a filmmaker, introduces additional streams of on-camera narration from students of Rinpoche, including Luc Dierkx, a Canadian computer programmer, and Louis Rodd, a professional tarot reader. Mr. Dierkx narrates on camera how his role and relationship to Rinpoche became almost one of a personal valet for nearly six months of his visit to London. Ms. Rodd is filmed in communion and conversation with her aunt, her primary trusted influence when her mother passed away, until her encountering Rinpoche. Dierkx and Rodd make regular appearances throughout the film’s chronology.
Ms. Patton’s gently humorous narrative style also introduces viewers to Rinpoche’s global vision of Buddhist learning, supporting practitioners, publishing books, making films, and engagement with his traditional reverential status in Bhutan. By following Rinpoche around London and recording his spontaneous behaviors and words, we also observe the stimulation he finds in exploring urban scene, watching sports on television, and desiring to experience the soccer match in person.
During the film the three narrators react to an abrupt and unsentimental departure of Rinpoche from their lives for more than a year, seemingly cutting all communication. On camera the westerners question both Rinpoche’s and their own agenda in this apparent rejection. He forces them to deal with being apart and developing a devotion independent of physical proximity. The sutras or teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha often feature the same behavior of the original Buddha to disappear in order to develop the yearning of those seeking the Buddha, then his reappearance to continue teaching those of the same mind.
As you would suspect, Rinpoche himself reappears just in time to apparently attend a World Cup qualifying match with his disciples in Munich, Germany, diving into the fanatic crowds of rowdy English fans, dragging his students into the thick of a spontaneous street protest that turns violent on camera. The camera crew then follows Rinpoche into the soccer stadium, where he totally lives in the moment, leaving the would-be Vajrayanans sitting and meditating about 30 rows back. Remarkably, the underdog English national team beats the home German squad by 5-1. As a teachable Buddhist moment, the victory is an example of using belief in oneself (faith) to generate the outcome beyond expectation.
The metaphor of peeling an onion layer by layer is an appropriate analogy for this film's chronology. Over the 100 minutes of the film we start observing both teacher and students at an outer layer, starting with human contact and interpersonal behavior, good natured teasing and humor forming a basis uniting east and west. Rinpoche possesses an engaging and youthful personality, and it is particularly compelling to see him in his Bhutan home town speaking and listening to young people. By the end of the film, Rinpoche speaks on camera about his upbringing as a young student lama and the both the simple life and small number of distractions from a childhood totally devoted to faith, practice, and study. The filming in Bhutan also brings to life the revered role he modestly accepts. He relates the guidance not only from senior lamas, but also the gentle admonitions he received, to reflect on his identity as an integral, central component of Vajrayanan tradition and teaching. At the core of his belief is to relieve others of the Buddhist traditional sufferings: birth, old age, illness, and death. He speaks simply and eloquently on camera to Bhutan children and teens to practice the virtues of their heritage and belief: meditation, kindness, sympathy, and dharma. Suffering is not pain, but uncertainty, because the universe in Rinpoche’s explanation is always changing. In one telling sequence, the film audience witnesses chanted prayers and recitation to restore harmony between cops and criminals, a special favor requested by the police captain of the village.
What to make of the cameo interview appearances in Words of My Perfect Teacher of film notables Bernardo Bertolucci and Steven Seagal? There is no denying that Bertolucci did in fact use Rinpoche as a consultant for his film Little Buddha, or that Seagal believes himself to be an incarnation of Khyentse Tibetan lineage. Non-Buddhist film viewers may sit up and take notice when such Buddha star power manifests itself, but it seems as no more than a sprinkle of salt on the main course, a genuine relationship that has developed between Rinpoche and his contemporary followers, both in Bhutan and London.
Cinematography is vivid and engaging, integrating contextual scenery with the constantly moving quest to keep up with the frequently-sprinting Rinpoche. The natural setting of Bhutan is patiently explored in human faces and prayer rituals, together with the ancient symbolism of both art and Buddhist objects. The soundtrack adopts contemporary euro-pop, jazz, Bach cello suites, rap, and hip-hop in western urban situations, and the integration of voiceover narrative and subject interviews is well done throughout the film. Patten herself is an effective narrator, and it is her experience that forms the eloquent lens for us to experience her teacher, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.
Words of My Perfect Teacher is recommended for any secondary school or adult audience.
Awards:
- Rhode Island International Film Festival 2004, Best Foreign Film
- World Fest Houston International Film Festival 2004, Silver Award, Best Feature Documentary