Bae Yong-kyun s Zen masterpiece. Acclaimed by critics and audiences throughout the world Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? is simply one of the most ravishing films ever made. In a remote monastery high up in the mountains an old master a young monk and an orphaned boy devote themselves to their Buddhist teachings. As the master faces death he becomes more desperate to lead his disciples away from the outside world and point them toward their quest for enlightenment. This magnificent film astonishingly rich in its formal beauty and affirmation of life is not only a cinematic gem but a transcendent evocation of the mystery and humanity of Zen Buddhism. Selected by three international film critics as One of the Ten Best Films of All Time in the 1993 Sight & Sound Critics Poll.