Hi everybody!
I've searched for a topic like this one here in the forum, and though I found some scattered here and there, I can't find no specific topics on this subject. So, I decided to open a new topic for indications of (Zen) buddhist or "zen-flavoured" movies, or even Dharma movies and documentaries, I guess it is great when we can find good movies about Buddhism/Zen, and, personally, it somehow motivates my practice even more and resonates in me and make me happy as a budhist.
Maybe it's a good thing to do with the local Sangha or sitting group or even during a more "informal" period on a Sesshin, I guess, and to do link to Dharma talks, studies, or only to chat about... :P
So here is a list of the movies I've seen so far. Hopefully I'll put its IMDB page and add some Trailers here too.
Please feel free to indicate the ones you watched and liked
** Buddhist/Zen/Dharma movies:
- Zen (The Life of Master Dogen)
Plot summary:
'Zen' Buddhist teacher Dogen Zenji is a very important religious person during the Kamakura period, 750 years ago. After his mother died, he decides to move to China and settle as a Buddhist teacher. One bright morning, enlightened, Zenji returns to Japan as a devoted evangelist of the 'new' Buddhism. However, this new form of Buddhism is not accepted in all communities.
Trailer:
- Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Plot summary: A young and truth seeking boy travels to an isolated lake, where an old Buddhist master lives on a small floating temple.
Trailer:
- Why Has Bodhidharma Left For The East?
Plot summary: Three people live in a remote Buddhist monastery near Mount Chonan: Hyegok, the old master; Yong Nan, a young man who has left his extended family in the city to seek enlightenment - Hyegok calls him Kibong!; and, an orphan lad Haejin, whom Hyegok has brought to the monastery to raise as a monk. (...)
Trailer:
- Enlightenment Guaranteed
Plot summary: Two very different brothers get together for a temporary stay in a Japanese zen monastry. The trip from Germany to Japan brings up some unexpected quests they have to manage. Soon both really have to leave their ordinary lifes behind and are on a voyage to themselves.
Trailer:
- Samsara
Plot summary: A spiritual love-story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, Himalayas. Samsara is a quest; one man's struggle to find spiritual Enlightenment by renouncing the world. And one woman's struggle to keep her enlightened love and life in the world. But their destiny turns, twists and comes to a surprise ending...
Trailer:
- Kundun
Plot summary: From childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.
Trailer:
- Travellers and Magicians
Plot summary: The two men embark on parallel, if separate, journeys. Their yearning is a common one--for a better and different life. Dondup, delayed by the timeless pace of his village, is forced to hitchhike through the beautiful wild countryside of Bhutan to reach his goal. He shares the road with a monk, an apple seller, a papermaker and his beautiful young daughter, Sonam. Throughout the journey, the perceptive yet mischievous monk relates the story of Tashi. It is a mystical fable of lust, jealousy and murder, that holds up a mirror to the restless Dondup, and his blossoming attraction to the innocent Sonam. The cataclysmic conclusion of the monk's tale leaves Dondup with a dilemma--is the grass truly greener on the other side?
Trailer:
- Phorpa (The Cup)
Plot summary: While the soccer World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan refugees arrive at a monastery/boarding school in exile in India. Its atmosphere of serene contemplation is somewhat disrupted by soccer fever, the chief instigator being a young student, the soccer enthusiast Orgyen. Prevented by various circumstances from seeing the Cup finals on television in a nearby village, Orgyen sets out to organize the rental of a TV set for the monastery. The enterprise becomes a test of solidarity, resourcefulness and friendship for the students, while the Lama, head of the monastery, contemplates the challenges of teaching the word of Buddha in a rapidly changing world.
Trailer:
- Milarepa
Plot summary: Milarepa is a tale of greed and vengeance - demons, magic, murder and redemption. It is the story of the man who became Tibet's greatest mystic.
Trailer:
- Un Buda ("A Buddha")
Plot summary: Un Buda follows two brothers orphaned as children when their parents were taken by the military during the "Dirty Wars" of the 1970s in Argentina. Tomas (Agustin Markert) is now a drifting and withdrawn young man who experiments with ascetic practices and has an instinctive compassion for others. His older brother Rafael, played by Rafecas, is a university philosophy professor, detached and alone. Their struggles with each other and the world around them in Buenos Aires take a dramatic turn when they find themselves at a rural Zen center.
Trailer:
- Little Buddha
Plot summary: Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His search leads him to young Jesse Conrad, Raju, a waif from Kathmandu, and an upper class Indian girl. Together, they journey to Bhutan where the three children must undergo a test to prove which is the true reincarnation. Interspersed with this, is the story of Siddharta, later known as the Buddha. It traces his spiritual journey from ignorance to true enlightenment.
Trailer:
- Seven Years On Tibet
Plot summary: True story of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber who became friends with the Dalai Lama at the time of China's takeover of Tibet.
Trailer:
- Siddartha
Plot summary: The story of a young Indian who embarks upon a journey to find the meaning of existence. Based on the novel by Hermann Hesse.
Trailer:
- Master Of Zen
Plot summary: History of Bodhidharma
Trailer: N/A
- Rikyu
Plot summary: Legendary tea master Sen no Rikyu is faced with his warmongering lord's unrealistic pretensions.
Trailer:
** Documentary:
- The Buddha
Summary: After 400 BC, a new philosophy was born in South east Asia, generated from the ideas of Buddha, a mysterious Prince from India who gained enlightenment while he sat under a large, shapely fig tree. Buddha never claimed to be God or his emissary on earth, only that he was a human being who had found a kind of serenity that others could find, too. This documentary tells the story of his life.
Trailer:
- Unmistaken Child
Summary: In Nepal, a venerable monk, Geshe Lama Konchog, dies and one of his disciples, a youthful monk named Tenzin Zopa, searches for his master's reincarnation. The film follows his search to the Tsum Valley where he finds a young boy of the right age who uncannily responds to Konchog's possessions. Is this the reincarnation of the master? After the boy passes several tests, Tenzin takes him to meet the Dalai Lama. Will the parents agree to let the boy go to the monastery, and, if so, how will the child respond? Central to the film is the relationship the child develops with Tenzin.
Trailer:
- Amongst White Clouds
Summary: A journey exploring the practices of Chinese hermits living in the Zhongnan Mountains.
Trailer:
- The Life of Buddha - BBC
Synopsys: A BBC/Discovery Channel co-production, this docu-narrative film describes the life of Siddharta Gautama, the process by which he arrived at the fundamentals of Buddhism and the archaeological findings confirming the traditional accounts of his life. In addition it also gives a glimpse of Buddhism today and features interviews by the Dalai Lama and other notable Buddhists.
Full documentary:
N/A
- Sit - (Short Documentary Film on Vimeo)
Synopsys: A film about purpose in life, seen through the eyes of a Buddhist monk and his son.
Full documentary:
- The Zen Mind
Summary: (from Youtube): This is real zen. It is a journey across Japan from the small zen centers of Tokyo to the enormous zen monasteries of remote mountains. It is a look inside the very private world of the zen mind - the mind searching for enlightenment. The superb Shakuhachi flute is by Christopher Yohmei.
Trailer:
- Shobogenka
Summary: (translated from youtube): Master Kosen Thibaut and his commentaries on the Shobogenka. The documentary "Song Of The Dharma Eye" ("Shobogenka") reflects the zen teachings at the Shobogenji temple, where the master Kosen comments one of the foundamental texts of Zen, the Song of The Immediate Satori ("Shodoka") from master Yoka Daichi.
Full documentary:
- El Canto Del Dragon
Summary: (in spanish) Documental por Joel Daguerre y el Maestro Kosen
Desde Europa hasta Latinoamérica descubra la esencia de la enseñanza del Maestro Kosen, sucesor del Maestro Deshimaru y 83 patriarca en el linaje del Budismo Zen
Un viaje hacia el corazón de una sangha contemporánea...
Full documentary:
- Buddhist Life: The Story of Gudo Nishijima Roshi - YouTube
Summary: (From youtube): Mid-90s documentary about the life of Gudo Wafu Nishijima Roshi.
Part 1 (Of 4) - You can find the other parts in sequence
- Words Of My Perfect Teacher (I liked so much the soundtrack!)
Storyline: A filmmaker sets out make a film sbout her Tibetan Buddhist teacher, meets all kinds of interesting people who tell their version of what suffering is. Things aren't as much fun as she thought it was going to be. But she learns a lot about herself in the meantime.
Trailer:
- Soto Zen Docummentaries:
SOTOZEN Buddhism
Soto Zen Buddhism, Daihonzan Eiheiji
Soto Zen Buddhism, Daihonzan Sojiji
** Some Dharma allusions in:
- The Matrix
Plot summary: A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.
Trailer:
- The Razor's Edge
Plot summary: He had everything and wanted nothing. He learned that he had nothing and wanted everything. He saved the world and then it shattered. The path to enlightenment is as sharp and narrow as a razor's edge.
Trailer:
- Groundhog Day
Plot summary: A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.
Trailer:
Peaceful Warrior
Plot Summary: A chance encounter with a stranger changes the life of a college gymnast.
Trailer:
Enjoy!
Gassho
Marcos
#SatToday
I've searched for a topic like this one here in the forum, and though I found some scattered here and there, I can't find no specific topics on this subject. So, I decided to open a new topic for indications of (Zen) buddhist or "zen-flavoured" movies, or even Dharma movies and documentaries, I guess it is great when we can find good movies about Buddhism/Zen, and, personally, it somehow motivates my practice even more and resonates in me and make me happy as a budhist.
Maybe it's a good thing to do with the local Sangha or sitting group or even during a more "informal" period on a Sesshin, I guess, and to do link to Dharma talks, studies, or only to chat about... :P
So here is a list of the movies I've seen so far. Hopefully I'll put its IMDB page and add some Trailers here too.
Please feel free to indicate the ones you watched and liked
** Buddhist/Zen/Dharma movies:
- Zen (The Life of Master Dogen)
Plot summary:
'Zen' Buddhist teacher Dogen Zenji is a very important religious person during the Kamakura period, 750 years ago. After his mother died, he decides to move to China and settle as a Buddhist teacher. One bright morning, enlightened, Zenji returns to Japan as a devoted evangelist of the 'new' Buddhism. However, this new form of Buddhism is not accepted in all communities.
Trailer:
- Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Plot summary: A young and truth seeking boy travels to an isolated lake, where an old Buddhist master lives on a small floating temple.
Trailer:
- Why Has Bodhidharma Left For The East?
Plot summary: Three people live in a remote Buddhist monastery near Mount Chonan: Hyegok, the old master; Yong Nan, a young man who has left his extended family in the city to seek enlightenment - Hyegok calls him Kibong!; and, an orphan lad Haejin, whom Hyegok has brought to the monastery to raise as a monk. (...)
Trailer:
- Enlightenment Guaranteed
Plot summary: Two very different brothers get together for a temporary stay in a Japanese zen monastry. The trip from Germany to Japan brings up some unexpected quests they have to manage. Soon both really have to leave their ordinary lifes behind and are on a voyage to themselves.
Trailer:
- Samsara
Plot summary: A spiritual love-story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, Himalayas. Samsara is a quest; one man's struggle to find spiritual Enlightenment by renouncing the world. And one woman's struggle to keep her enlightened love and life in the world. But their destiny turns, twists and comes to a surprise ending...
Trailer:
- Kundun
Plot summary: From childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.
Trailer:
- Travellers and Magicians
Plot summary: The two men embark on parallel, if separate, journeys. Their yearning is a common one--for a better and different life. Dondup, delayed by the timeless pace of his village, is forced to hitchhike through the beautiful wild countryside of Bhutan to reach his goal. He shares the road with a monk, an apple seller, a papermaker and his beautiful young daughter, Sonam. Throughout the journey, the perceptive yet mischievous monk relates the story of Tashi. It is a mystical fable of lust, jealousy and murder, that holds up a mirror to the restless Dondup, and his blossoming attraction to the innocent Sonam. The cataclysmic conclusion of the monk's tale leaves Dondup with a dilemma--is the grass truly greener on the other side?
Trailer:
- Phorpa (The Cup)
Plot summary: While the soccer World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan refugees arrive at a monastery/boarding school in exile in India. Its atmosphere of serene contemplation is somewhat disrupted by soccer fever, the chief instigator being a young student, the soccer enthusiast Orgyen. Prevented by various circumstances from seeing the Cup finals on television in a nearby village, Orgyen sets out to organize the rental of a TV set for the monastery. The enterprise becomes a test of solidarity, resourcefulness and friendship for the students, while the Lama, head of the monastery, contemplates the challenges of teaching the word of Buddha in a rapidly changing world.
Trailer:
- Milarepa
Plot summary: Milarepa is a tale of greed and vengeance - demons, magic, murder and redemption. It is the story of the man who became Tibet's greatest mystic.
Trailer:
- Un Buda ("A Buddha")
Plot summary: Un Buda follows two brothers orphaned as children when their parents were taken by the military during the "Dirty Wars" of the 1970s in Argentina. Tomas (Agustin Markert) is now a drifting and withdrawn young man who experiments with ascetic practices and has an instinctive compassion for others. His older brother Rafael, played by Rafecas, is a university philosophy professor, detached and alone. Their struggles with each other and the world around them in Buenos Aires take a dramatic turn when they find themselves at a rural Zen center.
Trailer:
- Little Buddha
Plot summary: Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His search leads him to young Jesse Conrad, Raju, a waif from Kathmandu, and an upper class Indian girl. Together, they journey to Bhutan where the three children must undergo a test to prove which is the true reincarnation. Interspersed with this, is the story of Siddharta, later known as the Buddha. It traces his spiritual journey from ignorance to true enlightenment.
Trailer:
- Seven Years On Tibet
Plot summary: True story of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber who became friends with the Dalai Lama at the time of China's takeover of Tibet.
Trailer:
- Siddartha
Plot summary: The story of a young Indian who embarks upon a journey to find the meaning of existence. Based on the novel by Hermann Hesse.
Trailer:
- Master Of Zen
Plot summary: History of Bodhidharma
Trailer: N/A
- Rikyu
Plot summary: Legendary tea master Sen no Rikyu is faced with his warmongering lord's unrealistic pretensions.
Trailer:
** Documentary:
- The Buddha
Summary: After 400 BC, a new philosophy was born in South east Asia, generated from the ideas of Buddha, a mysterious Prince from India who gained enlightenment while he sat under a large, shapely fig tree. Buddha never claimed to be God or his emissary on earth, only that he was a human being who had found a kind of serenity that others could find, too. This documentary tells the story of his life.
Trailer:
- Unmistaken Child
Summary: In Nepal, a venerable monk, Geshe Lama Konchog, dies and one of his disciples, a youthful monk named Tenzin Zopa, searches for his master's reincarnation. The film follows his search to the Tsum Valley where he finds a young boy of the right age who uncannily responds to Konchog's possessions. Is this the reincarnation of the master? After the boy passes several tests, Tenzin takes him to meet the Dalai Lama. Will the parents agree to let the boy go to the monastery, and, if so, how will the child respond? Central to the film is the relationship the child develops with Tenzin.
Trailer:
- Amongst White Clouds
Summary: A journey exploring the practices of Chinese hermits living in the Zhongnan Mountains.
Trailer:
- The Life of Buddha - BBC
Synopsys: A BBC/Discovery Channel co-production, this docu-narrative film describes the life of Siddharta Gautama, the process by which he arrived at the fundamentals of Buddhism and the archaeological findings confirming the traditional accounts of his life. In addition it also gives a glimpse of Buddhism today and features interviews by the Dalai Lama and other notable Buddhists.
Full documentary:
N/A
- Sit - (Short Documentary Film on Vimeo)
Synopsys: A film about purpose in life, seen through the eyes of a Buddhist monk and his son.
Full documentary:
- The Zen Mind
Summary: (from Youtube): This is real zen. It is a journey across Japan from the small zen centers of Tokyo to the enormous zen monasteries of remote mountains. It is a look inside the very private world of the zen mind - the mind searching for enlightenment. The superb Shakuhachi flute is by Christopher Yohmei.
Trailer:
- Shobogenka
Summary: (translated from youtube): Master Kosen Thibaut and his commentaries on the Shobogenka. The documentary "Song Of The Dharma Eye" ("Shobogenka") reflects the zen teachings at the Shobogenji temple, where the master Kosen comments one of the foundamental texts of Zen, the Song of The Immediate Satori ("Shodoka") from master Yoka Daichi.
Full documentary:
- El Canto Del Dragon
Summary: (in spanish) Documental por Joel Daguerre y el Maestro Kosen
Desde Europa hasta Latinoamérica descubra la esencia de la enseñanza del Maestro Kosen, sucesor del Maestro Deshimaru y 83 patriarca en el linaje del Budismo Zen
Un viaje hacia el corazón de una sangha contemporánea...
Full documentary:
- Buddhist Life: The Story of Gudo Nishijima Roshi - YouTube
Summary: (From youtube): Mid-90s documentary about the life of Gudo Wafu Nishijima Roshi.
Part 1 (Of 4) - You can find the other parts in sequence
- Words Of My Perfect Teacher (I liked so much the soundtrack!)
Storyline: A filmmaker sets out make a film sbout her Tibetan Buddhist teacher, meets all kinds of interesting people who tell their version of what suffering is. Things aren't as much fun as she thought it was going to be. But she learns a lot about herself in the meantime.
Trailer:
- Soto Zen Docummentaries:
SOTOZEN Buddhism
Soto Zen Buddhism, Daihonzan Eiheiji
Soto Zen Buddhism, Daihonzan Sojiji
** Some Dharma allusions in:
- The Matrix
Plot summary: A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.
Trailer:
- The Razor's Edge
Plot summary: He had everything and wanted nothing. He learned that he had nothing and wanted everything. He saved the world and then it shattered. The path to enlightenment is as sharp and narrow as a razor's edge.
Trailer:
- Groundhog Day
Plot summary: A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.
Trailer:
Peaceful Warrior
Plot Summary: A chance encounter with a stranger changes the life of a college gymnast.
Trailer:
Enjoy!
Gassho
Marcos
#SatToday
Comment