I know the novel takes the title from an Upanishad (hindu sacred text), but then, this version takes place in Tibet (buddhist). Now I've seen this movie many years ago and I can't remember if he's following a buddhist path or, nevertheless being in Tibet he's following some hindu guidance. Could anyone clarify?
shareLarry Darrell in the remake, Bill Murray version, goes to Srinagar (in Kashmir, India) where he meets the owner of the houseboat he's staying on and who takes him to a "Tibetan" Buddhist monastery, but which is located in Ladakh (not Tibet).
So in any case, the form of Buddhism that he is practicing there is of the Tibetan form, and it is Buddhist, but it is not in Tibet, it's in far northern India, in Ladakh.
However you are correct that the Upanishads are from Indian philosophy and hence are associated with Hinduism, however the scenes, again, are of a Vajrayana (Tibetan form of) Buddhism and though they don't actually show him actively practicing much, one assumes that it is Buddhism (in this remake).
Hope this helps.
Thanks for clarifying the matter. I wonder if in the original film of the 40's (and in the book) the main character was actually following hinduism...
shareTo be honest, I believe Larry's spiritual journey was kept vague enough to be inclusive of any quest for enlightenment, drawing from a variety of sources. Just my opinion.
shareYou guys just don't get it, do you?
An organized religion is not spiritual enlightenment. It is merely something to help guide you on your journey. True spirituality trancends all of the organized religions. It is something that you arrive at when you finally realize that the dogma of ALL faiths fall short of the TRUTH.
Don't ask me to explain it, because it is something you have to experience... Just as Larry had to learn about how to stay warm on the top of a mountain when he ran out of wood to burn. And yes, it IS as hard to walk as the razor's edge.
"An organized religion is not spiritual enlightenment. It is merely something to help guide you on your journey. True spirituality trancends all of the organized religions. It is something that you arrive at when you finally realize that the dogma of ALL faiths fall short of the TRUTH."
I'm not going to go so far as to agree with your post (being a Christian, I feel obligated to refrain from potentially discouraging anyone from embracing Christ, on the basis of my public upholding of such a universalist meme), however, its clear that this is the perspective of the 1946 film (I haven't yet gotten around to either reading the book, or seeing this later version, although both are planned), and if this remake (so to speak) is not a complete abandonment of the themes from the ealier film (and, presumably, the original novel), then its clear that any attemot to discern whether the character "is a HIndu or a Bhuddist," or whatever, is woefully misguided. The protagonist is more than just some up-and-coming sectarian adherent, irrespective of the sect in question (which is scarcely relevant to the story in question).
I don't think Darrell had much of an idea what he was going to dowhen he got to India and he sort fo fell in with the owner of the boat. I suspect that he could have just as easily ended up in a Hindu Ashram as a Buddhist monastary...just the way life works out.
shareBuddhist. Remember that he goes to India because he is prompted by the coal miner in England, who asks "You've never read the Upanishads?" That comment brings Larry to northern India, which is a crossroads of spiritual traditions, especially in the mountainous regions. So the mention of the Upanishads is yet another landmark on Larry's path, not necessarily a description of his ultimate achievement.
The film puts Larry at Tiksi Gompa, clearly a Buddhist monastery, among saffron-robed Buddhist monks. What he gains there is Enlightenment, the goal of Buddhists, and when he returns to France he is clearly portrayed as a Boddhisatva.
Compared to the people he worked and lived among, he WAS a Bodhisatva. Clarity and Calm and Light in the midst of turmoil. But Larry still had things to learn himself, as he states when Sophie (Teresa Russell) dies. He then says he is moving on, back to America. So even on his return to "civilization", he is still on the path to Enlightenment.
A Highly underrated film!
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He's a catholic guy, lied to by his teachers and peers on a search for enlightenment and finds some teachers on the way only to come back home to realize he can't change others.
:D
There are Christian, Budhist, Daoist, Taoist (yes there are two styles of Daoism), a little Muslim and some Hindu lessons all throughout.
I think the reason it's so confusing and hard to pick apart is to show how everything really is just a huge puzzle and you need certain perspectives to put certain pieces together.
Wow! Has anybody actually read the book? This movie is a perfect example of the way that uneducated filmmakers slaughter literature. This movie is okay (at best) by itself, but it slaughters the book.
The answer is Hindu.
If you are capable of actually reading, the answer is Hindu. Hindu. Hindu. Hindu.
But it doesn't really matter, because the movie, as based on the novel, is so far off the mark, it's a shame.
I've read the book multiple times and seen both movie versions. It would be a challenge to present the book in a way that is true unless it was in a multi-hour mini series format that allowed for the time to explore all of the underlying implications of his spiritual journey.
IMO it doesn't matter that this movie portrays his journey as Buddhist rather than Hindu. It is the enlightenment and self epiphany that matters, the journey not the specific path. I honestly don't think that Maugham would have cared; he was not pimping his religion through the book. His teacher (Sri Ramana Maharshi) was well known for supporting the paths of other religions.
That's interesting, I never caught that. I wonder if the film producers assumed that most of the audience wouldn't make the distinction. Good call!
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