自1970年代起，藏傳佛教開始出現以西方身份被認證的轉世上師。這些有著西方外貌、接受西方教養長大的祖古，面對與西藏截然不同的社會、文化與信仰環境時，將如何承續與延續其肩負的宗教使命與傳承重擔？他們的西方身份又將會面臨哪些與轉世身份相關的內／外挑戰—包括個人信仰、宗教傳承、文化轉換、身份認同、階層差異等衝擊？這些議題將是本文探討的重點。當代著名藏傳佛教上師受到西方媒體的報導與關注之餘，也間接帶動了電影產業對藏傳佛教相關議題的呈現與吸納，尤其是佛教紀錄片在質量上的俱進，將佛教電影的研究推向了另一個嶄新的局面。在本文中，便將聚焦在晚近西方出品的藏傳佛教轉世紀錄片《祖古》（Tulku, 2009），討論片中藏傳佛教轉世上師與宗教傳承的相關議題，並分析透過電影媒介、以現代（西方）視角呈現轉世議題時，是否開展出有別於西藏傳統的另類詮釋與反思？特別是《祖古》片中解構、自我反射式的敘事特質，使轉世議題的當代詮釋傾向於後設、開放與多元，展現迥異於藏傳佛教傳統的「西方佛教電影」特性，也反轉了二十世紀西方佛教電影歷來對西藏與藏傳佛教的「東方」想像。在當代轉世議題的表述中，《祖古》提供了一個廣泛且有趣的實證視角，耐人深思。

Recognized western tulkus (the reincarnated masters) started to appear in Tibetan Buddhism in the 1970s. This was unprecedented and challenging because the tulkus born and raised in the west may have lacked a firm, supportive religious system and community in which to grow as tulkus unlike in Tibet. Cultural and religious distinctions differ as does the self-identity and training of western tulkus. The family situation of the western tulkus might aggravate the problems in some extent. How do they face this issue after their recognition and enthronement, and response to their religious requirements and obligations? The situation and difficulties of western tulkus, especially their reincarnated identity and status, are presented and discussed in this paper. Meanwhile, when contemporary famous Tibetan Buddhist masters travelled and visited the western world, for example, the 14^(th) Dalai Lama and 16^(th) Gyalwa Karmapa, who drew the attention of the mass media and then influenced the western film industry to develop an interest in Tibetan Buddhism and adopt related materials for cinematic representation. In this trend towards Buddhist films, documentary has gained more emphasis. Therefore, this paper focuses on the Tibetan Buddhist documentary, Tulku (2009), which was directed by Gesar Mukpo, an American/Canadian tulku, in order to discuss the dilemma of western tulkus regarding their lineage, identity, and education. Since the narration of Tulku is full of destructive, self-reflexive features which shown a touch of postmodernist and anti-orientalist style, it brings a new scope of interpretation, anticipation and reflection about western tulkus.