Meet Matthew Cooke, a Stranger reader who has vowed to do everything The Stranger suggests for the entire month of February. Look for his reports daily on Slog and Line Out. âEds.
Sundayâs Stranger task sent me back to the Grand Illusion for a documentary that, frankly, could have bored the piss out of me.
Not that Iâm uninterested in Buddhism, or at least my half-assed interpretation of itâthe idea of reincarnation appeals to me, both for its humble logic and its relative lack of judgment compared to Christianityâs unbending hell/heaven, saint/sinner dualities. But I wondered if I could actually get my brain to work after a long weekend of sunshine, frivolity, and breasts.
The story of Unmistaken Child is told through the experience of Tenzin Zopa, a monk whose 84-year-old master has recently passed away. Zopa is devastated by the loss, and as the film begins he is bewildered by the implications of living without a man who was not just a father figure, but the only source of direction and purpose in his life. Without him, Zopa is not just emotionally broken; heâs spiritually and fundamentally adrift.
Redemption comes in the form of a quest, bestowed on him by the Dalai Lama himself: Find his former masterâs reincarnation. Zopa, humbled and nervous, throws himself into the search, following a winding path of omens and divinations and eventually locating a child who seems to fit the bill.
And this is where it gets interesting. Zopa is profoundly devoted to his pursuit, at one point calling it âthousands and thousands of timesâ more important than his own life. Yet he credulously follows shaky leads, and one suspects he may be less interested in finding the right child than finding one he can believe is the right child.
Heâs still grieving badly, and like anybody whoâs lost someone important he grabs at any thread of that person, any last hope they might not be totally and truly gone forever. How can he possibly be an objective judge? Why should anyone trust his ability to find this missing soul when his own soul is in such chaos?
Zopa is a fascinating subjectâhis trusting face and plain-spoken nature made me root for him, no matter how troubling his state of mind. But in the end, Iâm not sure what to think. Maybe he did find his beloved reincarnated master, and maybe his quest was noble and true. My suspicion is that the movieâs tale is much darker than that. Your own opinion will depend on your capacity for faith and your ability to accept hard truths.
