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buddhism
September 2009 
Mind Mirror [4] Buddhist films
gary
having explored movies AS buddhist
let's now explore buddhist movies
Is Gone with the Wind
About Impermanence?
There isn't an Oscar for Spiritual Cinema, at least not yet, but tens of millions of people enjoy it when they see it. Themes include the nature of reality and identity and time, mythic quests, and the power of love. Within this unofficial genre, there are Buddhist films a-plenty, as testified to by the International Buddhist Film Festival. Their first call for entries in 2003 pulled in 300 films, from around the planet.My personal all-time favorite has a longish title, Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East? a koan which is asking, in effect, "What is the meaning of Buddhism?" " Is it worthwhile?" A young man renounces city life and makes his way to a remote Korean mountain monastery. The first words we finally hear are, "There is no beginning, no middle, no end." It took producer-writer-director-editor Bae Young-kyun five years to put this intimate spiritual epic together, and it's deservedly made it to the top of many Top Ten lists since. The 2001 of zen films. G. G. says "Check it out."
More films of Buddhist interest include The Razor's Edge (compare the 1946 and 1984 versions), Afterlife (1998), Caravan (a.k.a. Himalaya) (1999), Jacob's Ladder (adapted from The Tibetan Book of the Dead, 1990), Beyond Rangoon (1995), Enlightenment Guaranteed (2000), Fearless (1993), Heaven and Earth (1993), Oseam, and Samsara (2003).
Documentaries include The Jew in the Lotus (1996), Peace Is Every Step, The Saltmen of Tibet (1998), Chasing Buddha, Genghis Blues, Jews and Buddhism: Belief Amended, Faith Revealed (1999), Regret to Inform (2000), Rivers and Tides (2001, Words of My Perfect Teacher, Home Street Home (2003), and Ellen Bruno's films about Tibetan, Burmese/Thai, and Cambodian women (Satya, Sacrifice, and Samsara).
-/ to be continued
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-=| excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to
Understanding Buddhism (second edition) by Gary Gach
(Alpha Books, 2004) used with permission of the publisher |=-
Access: Public
