A meditative film dealing with Seon Buddhist views on life, Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? follows the lives of three Buddhist monks: a child, an adult, and an old man.

The film's title, although not explained literally in the film, is a reference to Bodhidharma, a 6th century Buddhist monk from India who transmitted Zen to China.

The three main protagonists are Haejin, an orphan boy, Kibong, a young monk, and Hyegok, the Zen master.

Haejin injures a bird while bathing; its mate does not leave the bird, but stays around, as if to see what becomes of its mate. Heijin takes the injured bird away to heal it (but it would inevitably die).

The abbot instructs a young monk to assist a Zen master living alone in the mountains. The young monk has renounced his life of hardship in search of peace, in search of perfection.

The Zen master is a recluse, living in a high mountain, and has come to realise the vanity of knowledge, and he knows the secret of everlasting peace. Dogged by chilblain (inflammation of the hands and feet caused by exposure to cold and moisture), he tries to lead others to the same realisation, a realisation which comes only with ardent devotion, not simply through knowledge or worship.

The young monk takes leave of the old monk and goes to town, where he manages to buy medicine with the alms. He also visits his blind mother, who is having a hard time tending to herself. The young monk leaves, disillusioned, and appalled at his own selfishness in renouncing his destiny, which was to serve his mother and his family.

He returns to the old monk and communicates his desire to go back to life, to embrace the filth, and face the turmoil of day-to-day existence in the swarm of people. He is severely reprimanded by the monk, who however does not prevent him. Fully realising that the old monk needs someone to help him in his last days, the young monk leaves, only to face an insurmountable obstacle in the form of a flash-flood. He is found, nearly drowned, by the boy monk.

When the young monk regains consciousness, he is informed by the boy that his Master had been in meditation for quite a while and is severely ill. Kibong realizes that the Master had traded his own life to save him. Deeply moved, he visits the old Master, who extracts a promise from Kibong to do his last rites as he wished.

News of a festivity on the approaching full-moon day reahes Kibong, who wishes to attend it with the boy. Hyegok gives them leave, assuring Kibong that he would manage well himself, and asks them to bring kerosene for him.

Kibong and Heijin watch the enthralling dance, while it is made known that the dancer is none other than the old monk himself, in another form. In his monastery, he is slowly making preparations himself. On a bright full-moon night, Heijin and Kibong make their way back. They boy is the first to realise that the medicine is burnt; quickly they find out that the old man is no more.

True to his promise, with the true meaning and meaninglessness of death, possession, desire and vanity dawning on him every passing instant, Kibong stuffs the dead body in a ready-made coffin and slowly starts a difficult trek to the hillsides. By night he reaches the burial ground, but the fire goes out in the drizzle. He suddenly remembers his master's words. He returns from the monastery with both the bottles of kerosene and sets fire to the coffin. He spends a night by the side of the burning body, tortured by his feelings, weighed down each instant by self-pity and remorse.

In the morning he scatters the dead man's ashes over water, earth, trees, and plants. Then he returns home, heartbroken. He seeks out Heijin and entrusts him with the Master's possessions. Then he takes his leave.

In a magnificent final sequence, we see the boy coming of age: remembering the old man's lessons, he burns the Master's personal belongings. He wakes up the next day and goes to the stream to collect water. As usual the dead bird's companion chirps to distract him, but this time he does not even notice it, his education is complete. He enters the Master's room and closes it after him. A new Master makes his beginning. The bird flies away, liberated. The wandering cow returns with a man (possibly Kibong), it too has found peace.

From Wikipedia