Hi Folks !
Here I am with more stories from 'The Inner Path'. the Buddhist Film Festival of March 2015!
The four films I had mentioned in a previous post were -
The Cup - about a Football World Cup final, a monastery in a time - warp and an adorable football - crazy little monk.
My Mandala - about a conman leaving his insensitive, crime - filled life behind and a couple coming to terms with their only son's death,
The Sun Beaten Path in which a young lad comes to terms with his mother's death and learns about attachment and impermanence.
Avalokiteswara - about a precious statue with mystical powers and a girl called Little Lotus.
Now let me tell you most inadequately about an exciting, mind - blowing and jaw - dropping visual treat !
Director John Bush is respected the world over for his magnificent documentaries shot with sensitivity and compassion and all the 3 films from his 'Journey Into Buddhism / The Yatra Trilogy' were shown in this festival !
In Sanskrit, Vajra also means diamond. In Buddhism, ' it is thunderbolt of illumination flashing from the vastness of an open sky that cuts through illusion''.
Which is what Vipassana does!
The film Vajra Sky Over Tibet takes one to the Drepung Monastery Festival with all its stunning colours and rituals.
When you think of Tibet, you think of the plateau as a vast, brown, endless open space, desolate and tired.
In this film, we see clear turquoise lakes, dancing rivers, hundreds of shades of green and gold and red and yellow, ranges of snow - capped mountains and the most revered monasteries and temples which are still standing and conducting their colourful festivals. There is a huge, huge thangka of the Buddha which is unscrolled on the side of a hill - yes, it is that big, and thousands come there to pay respects and dip into a quiet, meditative atmosphere.
The Dharma River - Let me quote from the Synopsis - ' this is a lyrical journey through South east Asia's great spiritual and cultural treasures. Visiting vanished civilizations, legendary sites and living wisdom traditions of Laos, Thailand and Burma, the film powerfully conveys their continuing relevance for contemporary audiences. Ancient temples, mystical landscapes and wonderful shrines provide a rich visual tapestry'.
Prajna Earth takes you to Cambodia, Bali and Java. The visuals of the temples of Angkor, the sites in Bali and the 7 - leveled Stupa of Borobudur are simply stunning.
To quote from the handout, Prajna Earth is a pilgrimage to sacred intersections where Buddhist and Hindu wisdom traditions merge with the animist worship of nature.Monks and nuns travel on foot for days to reach a full moon gathering near Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the world.
Apart from the Dance of the Devatas, there is the Ramayana dance and music from Bali and street processions of Ubud, a hill town.
These three films, an hour and a half long, each, were like going on a sacred pilgrimage and were interspersed with other films which had stories and issues.
Kung Fu Nuns is a true story about nuns in a Himalayan monastery who learn this martial art and are finally allowed - for the first time in history, to perform the Dragon Dance in public. It's a gentle look at their determination, hard work and satisfaction.
Pad Yatra ; A Green Odyssey - This is an absolutely amazing, unbelievable true story of how the head of a sect can use his people's love for him and his benign authority over them to clean up the mountains and respect nature..
The Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen, is the head of the Drukpa Lineage school. He himself set off on a 700 km Pad Yatra - (it means pilgrimage on foot) in the Himalayas, cleaning up garbage along the way and making people who were living in remote areas aware about how the hazards of plastic and all kinds of waste was poisoning their pristine backyards.
It is a visual treat too. The preparations had been going on for months before hand. Experienced trekkers and hikers who would pitch in with collecting garbage, help in whatever was required were asked to apply. They had to be fit physically and mentally.
It is a wonderful film and I think you can see it on you tube.
On The Road is a Korean film about 4 women who have decided to become nuns and join an order deep in the forests.
The Temple does not open itself to public, so the lives of the inmates, their daily chores, routine and studies,small and big joys, tenacity and faith is captured with compassion and respect.
108 Yaks : A Journey of Love and Freedom - Like the Pad Yatra, this one is also about a positive intervention by the head of a Sect to save animals. Lama Zopa Rimpoche was pained to hear that in Nepal, a large number of yaks were being bought to be slaughtered. His disciple Geshe Thubten Jinpa, an ordained Buddhist monk, with support from their Animal Protection Fund and the Singapore based Amitabha Buddhist Center, arranged to buy the whole lot and herded them to safe grasslands very high in the mountains of Nepal where they would be taken care of by villagers.
Luckily for us, he managed to shoot this journey too - he is the Director of this lovely film.
This film is about their journey over treacherous passes - one as high as 18,000', steep, narrow climbs, deep valleys and freezing rivers to cross. With 22 Nepalese porters and herders, he lovingly led the gentle giants to their freedom. This is an awesome film available on you tube.
Click all the names of the films mentioned here, you will find a lot of information and thought processes so different from the usual dark / cynical / depressing ones.
Keep your minds open, turn towards light and start to empty yourself so that it passes through you to others.
Enjoy -
The Cup - about a Football World Cup final, a monastery in a time - warp and an adorable football - crazy little monk.
My Mandala - about a conman leaving his insensitive, crime - filled life behind and a couple coming to terms with their only son's death,
The Sun Beaten Path in which a young lad comes to terms with his mother's death and learns about attachment and impermanence.
Avalokiteswara - about a precious statue with mystical powers and a girl called Little Lotus.
Now let me tell you most inadequately about an exciting, mind - blowing and jaw - dropping visual treat !
Director John Bush is respected the world over for his magnificent documentaries shot with sensitivity and compassion and all the 3 films from his 'Journey Into Buddhism / The Yatra Trilogy' were shown in this festival !
In Sanskrit, Vajra also means diamond. In Buddhism, ' it is thunderbolt of illumination flashing from the vastness of an open sky that cuts through illusion''.
Which is what Vipassana does!
The film Vajra Sky Over Tibet takes one to the Drepung Monastery Festival with all its stunning colours and rituals.
When you think of Tibet, you think of the plateau as a vast, brown, endless open space, desolate and tired.
In this film, we see clear turquoise lakes, dancing rivers, hundreds of shades of green and gold and red and yellow, ranges of snow - capped mountains and the most revered monasteries and temples which are still standing and conducting their colourful festivals. There is a huge, huge thangka of the Buddha which is unscrolled on the side of a hill - yes, it is that big, and thousands come there to pay respects and dip into a quiet, meditative atmosphere.
The Dharma River - Let me quote from the Synopsis - ' this is a lyrical journey through South east Asia's great spiritual and cultural treasures. Visiting vanished civilizations, legendary sites and living wisdom traditions of Laos, Thailand and Burma, the film powerfully conveys their continuing relevance for contemporary audiences. Ancient temples, mystical landscapes and wonderful shrines provide a rich visual tapestry'.
Prajna Earth takes you to Cambodia, Bali and Java. The visuals of the temples of Angkor, the sites in Bali and the 7 - leveled Stupa of Borobudur are simply stunning.
To quote from the handout, Prajna Earth is a pilgrimage to sacred intersections where Buddhist and Hindu wisdom traditions merge with the animist worship of nature.Monks and nuns travel on foot for days to reach a full moon gathering near Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the world.
Apart from the Dance of the Devatas, there is the Ramayana dance and music from Bali and street processions of Ubud, a hill town.
These three films, an hour and a half long, each, were like going on a sacred pilgrimage and were interspersed with other films which had stories and issues.
Kung Fu Nuns is a true story about nuns in a Himalayan monastery who learn this martial art and are finally allowed - for the first time in history, to perform the Dragon Dance in public. It's a gentle look at their determination, hard work and satisfaction.
Pad Yatra ; A Green Odyssey - This is an absolutely amazing, unbelievable true story of how the head of a sect can use his people's love for him and his benign authority over them to clean up the mountains and respect nature..
The Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen, is the head of the Drukpa Lineage school. He himself set off on a 700 km Pad Yatra - (it means pilgrimage on foot) in the Himalayas, cleaning up garbage along the way and making people who were living in remote areas aware about how the hazards of plastic and all kinds of waste was poisoning their pristine backyards.
It is a visual treat too. The preparations had been going on for months before hand. Experienced trekkers and hikers who would pitch in with collecting garbage, help in whatever was required were asked to apply. They had to be fit physically and mentally.
It is a wonderful film and I think you can see it on you tube.
On The Road is a Korean film about 4 women who have decided to become nuns and join an order deep in the forests.
The Temple does not open itself to public, so the lives of the inmates, their daily chores, routine and studies,small and big joys, tenacity and faith is captured with compassion and respect.
108 Yaks : A Journey of Love and Freedom - Like the Pad Yatra, this one is also about a positive intervention by the head of a Sect to save animals. Lama Zopa Rimpoche was pained to hear that in Nepal, a large number of yaks were being bought to be slaughtered. His disciple Geshe Thubten Jinpa, an ordained Buddhist monk, with support from their Animal Protection Fund and the Singapore based Amitabha Buddhist Center, arranged to buy the whole lot and herded them to safe grasslands very high in the mountains of Nepal where they would be taken care of by villagers.
Luckily for us, he managed to shoot this journey too - he is the Director of this lovely film.
This film is about their journey over treacherous passes - one as high as 18,000', steep, narrow climbs, deep valleys and freezing rivers to cross. With 22 Nepalese porters and herders, he lovingly led the gentle giants to their freedom. This is an awesome film available on you tube.
Click all the names of the films mentioned here, you will find a lot of information and thought processes so different from the usual dark / cynical / depressing ones.
Keep your minds open, turn towards light and start to empty yourself so that it passes through you to others.
Enjoy -
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