The film, Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East? directed by Bae Yong – Kyun, follows the lives of three monks: a child, an adult, and an old master. The film title does not explain literally in the film, but is a reference to Bodhidharma which is a 6th – century Buddhist monk from India who transmitted Zen to China. “Why have we all left the world?” This question asked by the child monk (Hae – Jin) can be answered from the entire move, and from that the film becomes a koan. In the scene where an ox breaks free from the stall and wanders through the forest which symbolizes the motivation for the individual’s spiritual search. In the film, the image of the ox represents Kibong’s who escape the confinement to reach enlightenment, as well as his