preparation of the shaman - the great teacher savior - who, having faced the unknown in himself, can now convey and apply this experience to us." Mythology in Contemporary Buddhism Hagiographies of Buddhist saints Hagiography is one of the most popular forms of contemporary myth in Buddhist cultures. These come in the form of biographies, sometimes autobiographies, of revered monks or other spiritual practitioners. These stories typically draw on basic elements of the hero's journey as exemplified in the Buddha's life: special signs in youth, renunciation, struggle, awakening, teaching, and establishing a legacy. However their form is that of the modern biography, with more or less inclusion of paranormal events. Such hagiographies are one of the staple forms of literature in the Thai forest tradition. In Thailand, the primary example is the biography of Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, the founding father, by one of his students, Ajahn Maha Boowa. The hagiography of Ajahn Mun has become a major modern legend in Thai Buddhism. It established many of the standard features of such biographies: accounts of struggles with sexual temptation, meeting with tigers and ghosts in the forest, and exciting tales of psychic or meditative prowess. It is controversial, however, since it depicts events such as meeting with long-dead arahants, a phenomenon that is impossible according to orthodox Theravāda. In the Chinese tradition, we find the biography of Hsu Yun (Empty Cloud), which similarly relates stories of spiritual and psychic prowess in the very long life of this Chinese Buddhist master. Likewise, the Tibetan tradition contains many biographies of famous teachers such as the Dalai Lama, including one recent comic book adaptation. A unique mythic feature of this tradition is the story of the identification of the master as a reincarnation of a former master. Contemporary depictions in media Numerous films have been made depicting the life of the Buddha. Bertolucci's Little Buddha included elements of the Buddha's story as part of a more contemporary tale. Recently the film Siddhattha was made in Sri Lanka, which focused on the emotional tensions around the decision of the bodhisattva to go forth. The Saiyūki (西遊記, lit. "Journey to the West"), also known by its English title 'Monkey', was a Japanese TV series that told the story of the pilgrimage of Xuan Zang to the India to retrieve the Buddhist sutras. More recently, a popular series on the life of the Buddha has aired on