Any books/movies where one sets off travelling in search of meaning or finding himself etc etc??

zenmyste

So far ive read;

Pilgrimage.

Little buddha.

Compass.

Monk who sold his ferrarri.

Anyone know any more please?

robot

Try Ghost Rider by Neil Peart.
After losing his daughter to an accident then his wife a short time later to cancer his grief was very intense. He gave up his music and went on a continent wide motorcycle trip. It's a really good read.

Hotei

Life of Pi kinda fits that mold.

lobster

Pi - yum
http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0138704/

Dakini

"Siddhartha", by Hermann Hesse.
"Lion King".

karasti

Into the Wild is like that, guy gives up his inheritance and takes just a few things to live in the wilderness in Alaska.

The Camino, by Shirley Maclaine. This is a really good book and I've read it multiple times. It is her story about hiking the Camino in Spain. The Camino is a spiritual pilgrimage.

chela

Ah, I was going to say "Into the Wild" but @karasti covered it.

riverflow

Akira Kurosawa's IKIRU (1952)

'This is one of the few movies that might actually inspire someone to lead their life a little differently.' ~ Roger Ebert

Invincible_summer

Island Etude is supposed to be a pretty good film, a bit hard to find though.

Also, it can be argued that The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien is about self-discovery.

Florian

Try The Conference of the Birds (Attar). A famous classic tale of the search for one thing and the finding of another.

Cinorjer

Forrest Gump

He finally found his purpose, like Mama said.

Zengo

Spring Summer Autumn Winter Spring is by far the best Buddhist movie out there

vinlyn

"The Razor's Edge"

lobster

Start a blog or diary of your own journey . . . just an idea . . .

nenkohai

"Man of Steel" theatrical trailer #3.

yea, no kidding.

Jimyo

I suppose The Alchemist falls into this category. A fantastic and inspiring read however you'd describe it. Soon to be a film too, if rumours are to be believed.

zenmyste

lobster said:

Start a blog or diary of your own journey . . . just an idea . . .

I work 6 days a week ! 11 hoursa a day! When i finish work, i eat and sleep!

What could i write about and any suggestions on making it interesting? lol

rivercane

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance yet, although it has a lot less to do with Zen then you would think but is a good example of a person travelling in search of meaning.

It's been a long time since I read it, but if I remember correctly it it involves a man and his son on a motorcycle trip across America. They guy (who I believe was a philosophy professor) had recently had a nervous breakdown after becoming obsessed with what is "quality" and what is "beauty".

In the book, he explores these philosophical concepts in depth, recovers his mental health, and talks quite a bit about motorcycles.

Lee82

Have added a few of the above mentioned films to my Amazon wish list to pick up at some point, thanks.

misecmisc1

please watch this movie Life of Master Dogen:

Beej

Jitterbug Perfume- by Tom Robbins

sndymorn

"The Razors Edge"
Kind of odd but meets your criterion.
Oh, Vinlyn already suggested this.... I love Sommerset Maugham !

Jeffrey

Up in Smoke, by Cheech and Chong. haha just kidding around.

Lee82

Watched 'Into the Wild' last night, brilliant film, already wanting to watch it again!

Watched Ikiru last week too, was ok but it lost me when it switched from present time to reflecting on the past. Was like they ran of time and just missed out months of the story, spoiled it for me.

Wanting to watch Spring Summer... next but will have to buy cause it's not online or on Netflix.

Sabre

http://amaravati.org/downloads/pdf/Rude_Awakenings_web.pdf

is quite nice.

karasti

rivercane said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance yet, although it has a lot less to do with Zen then you would think but is a good example of a person travelling in search of meaning.

When I was a young kid, I found this book sitting on my dad's bookshelf. Along with a lot of Foxfire manuals and other things that looked so boring. Funny how as I ge tolder, I'm so like my dad who I felt so unlike when I was younger.

Glow

One of the most life-changing books I've ever read is an out-of-print gem called Vagabonding In America: A Guidebook About Energy by Ed Buryn. It's a poetic, philosophical, and quirky guidebook about hitch0hiking through the U.S. in the 1970s. It made me see this country in a different light.

Lee82

Kind of related, I watched Seven Years in Tibet last night. Not sure of the authenticity of the goings on in Tibet but was a good insight and some things tied in with the Dalai Lama's autobiography of his childhood years. Worth a watch.

Zayl

He doesn't exactly go traveling, but he certainly seems to find himself. "Alone in the Wilderness" is a documentary filmed entirely by one person, who decided to live entirely alone in Alaska, far from any civilization. It goes through the first year of his life, the building of his cabin, how he lives, personal thoughts, etc. t was filmed on 16mm film in the late 60's, so the quality of the film itself isn't the highest, but, they did a good job of sharpening it up and such.

OH right, a link http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437806/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

sndymorn

riverflow said:

Akira Kurosawa's IKIRU (1952)

'This is one of the few movies that might actually inspire someone to lead their life a little differently.' ~ Roger Ebert

One of my favorite movies ever... Such an eye opener.