The Journey of the Lady Buddha (1998)

Nine years after Mei Mei, D. Roberts documents her search for a better understanding of her mother’s worship of Kuan Yin, an Asian Buddhist goddess of compassion and mercy. We heard of Kuan Yin in Mei Mei, as a divine intervention that saves her mother during a suicide attempt. In The Journey of Lady Buddha, we go deeper. We learn about 33 iterations of Kuan Yin that are embraced by Asian women of a certain generation. Roberts dramatizes the most popular parable of Kuan Yin, in which a princess gouges out her eyes to save her abusive and controlling father. The princess transforms into Kuan Yin after releasing all hatred, and ascends to enlightenment with her body restored in multitudes. Roberts hears these stories and considers her own strained relationship to religion, and how that has affected her connection to her mother and grandmother. We speak of gegu, the Chinese practice of a child using its own flesh to nourish a dying parent. Roberts jokes “good thing Ma’s life doesn’t depend on gegu!” This playful banter between interview, narration, and dramatization is Roberts’ signature style, and it gives this piece a theatrical flare that captures the fantastic essence of both her deity and her mother. Awards: Heart of America