Filmed over 20 years by acclaimed documentarian Jennifer Fox, My Reincarnation—streaming in its entirety on PBS through September 20—chronicles exiled Tibetan Buddhist master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and his Western-born son, Yeshi. As Norbu rises as a teacher in the West, Yeshi, recognized from birth as the reincarnation of his father’s uncle—Buddhist master Wangchug—breaks away to embrace the modern world. Can the father convince his son to keep the family’s spiritual legacy alive? With intimate access to both the family and H.H. The Dalai Lama, Fox distills a decades-long drama into a universal story about love and destiny.
Watch the trailer below or visit PBS.org for the full documentary.
For viewers interested in Norbu’s first hand account of his upbringing under master Wangchug—the man that would later be reincarnated as his son, Yeshi—also be sure to check out The Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds: The Life and Times of a Realized Tibetan Master. In the book, Norbu presents an engaging account of the life of Wangchug, a realized Tibetan tulku (reincarnated lama or teacher). Norbu’s historical references also provide a detailed portrait of Tibet on the verge of invasion by Chinese forces in the decades leading up to 1959 when Chinese repression led the Dalai Lama to take refuge in India.
Watch the full My Reincarnation on PBS.
Winner of the Silver Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival and Top 20 Audience Award at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam.
