Siddhartha, Kundun

Read Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse

Watch Martin Scorsese's Kundun

Biographies of all the Dalai Lamas prior to the 14th:

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200105/07_newsroom_dalai/bios.shtml

Useful sites for history: http://www.friends-of-tibet.org.nz/tibet.html

and background: http://dalailama.com/

film script: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/kundun.html

Literature is the question minus the answer. -Roland Barthes

Come up with a deep question that connects the two works.

Set about to answer your own question in some way that you can show us.

• What is the meaning of life, and how does one find it?
• How does one find wisdom? for instance, why does the Dalai Lama keep asking questions? Does it only come when you're NOT looking for it?
• Is violence human nature? Can humans attain peace?
• Are humans essentially good, or essentially evil?
• How does an idea like reincarnation become the belief of millions of people?
• In what ways are we all teachers for each other?
• How can one fight if one is committed to non-violence?

Remember, you're not on your own trying to answer one of these unanswerable questions. What do this book and this movie suggest about it? Be sure to discuss specific moments in both. What conclusions can you draw?