My Reincarnation

An Odyssey Of Self-Discovery: An Intimate Contemplation Of Responsibility, Religion, And Familial Ties
Jennifer Fox's documentary "My Reincarnation" was, literally, over twenty years in the making. Maybe that's why it feels so unique, so enlightening, and so quietly powerful. It shows how someone can change and evolve through time, how we become the people we are truly meant to be. Essentially, this is a story of self-discovery written across the years and played out with an unexpected intimacy and intensity. It deals with weighty issues such as the troubled bonds between father and son, the path to enlightenment, and the familial responsibilities that hold you back or set you free. The central family within Fox's film have an unusual lineage. The patriarch, Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, is a Tibetan Buddhist Master. But the movie is seen largely through the eyes of his son, Yeshi, at various points through the years. Resistant to his heritage and alienated from his father, we see him come to terms with what seems to be his birthright--but it's a long and difficult path...

Ordinary Magic - The Process of Life - Unfolding Naturally
But, even though life unfolds naturally, even beautifully, that doesn't mean it will be easy....

This documentary is perhaps the very best of many I have seen about Buddhism, and Tibetan culture and dharma. The documentary aspect is like being a fly on the wall of Namkhai Norbu's family's life, and especially his son Yeshi's, over a period of 20 years. And the content is very real and honest and uncontrived. It reminded me of times I've spent living with and around Lamas, the little lessons, the expectations and frustrations. And this is what living (and practicing dharma) is really all about.

What I like about this movie is that it shows the dilemma of living our individual lives, our individual destinies. The dilemma of not forcing the unfolding, not pushing or expecting it to go a certain way. The dilemma of honoring the past without repeating it's mistakes.

In this case the son, although identified as the reincarnation of an important lama (his...

A Meaningful Return
This film is a warm and compassionate exploration of the many facets of life for the renowned Tibetan Dzogchen teacher Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, as well as Yeshi, who not only has the burden of being the son of such a world-famous master, but the additional one of his own reincarnated legacy to navigate and embrace.

Most gratifying and quietly amazing is the graciousness of both father and son for allowing such close cinematic observation for so long. Twenty years of access to this family also allows for a view of impermanence, which subtly colors the events in the lives and attitudes of the principals. What a privilege, for filmmaker Jennifer Fox and for us, to be allowed to spend such a generous amount of time with them, and to get a sense of the fresh challenges which are imposed upon life when it is radically encompassed by Tibetan Buddhist worldviews. For an average person, encountering the possibility that your uncle has been reborn as your son, may well transform your...

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