Everyman

In the Footsteps of Buddha (1993x19)

Air date: Nov 28, 1993

In the first of an Everyman series of four modern pilgrimages, Alexander Frater journeys through Nepal to Bodh Gaya in northern India, where Buddha gained enlightenment. On the way he watches Keanu Reeves on location in Bertolucci's latest epic Little Buddha, meets a 2-year-old reincarnated monk, gets caught up in the curfew following the destruction of the Ayodhya temple and enters a world tourists rarely glimpse. Archaeological digs in 19th-century India uncovered evidence of the life of Prince Siddhartha who, as Buddha, became the inspiration for a worldwide spiritual awareness. The discoveries revealed episodes in his life and became shrines: Frater retraces the trail from high up in the Himalayas to the plains of the Ganges.