Brilliant Moon: Glimpses of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (2010) Directed by Neten Chokling   Tibet/ USA, 2010, 57mins Language English / Tibetan Genre Drama Type Vajrayana

Actor, director, monk:  NetenChokling, who also gave us Milarepa, has just given us Brilliant Moon: Glimpses of DilgoKhyentseRinpoche is a one-hour biographical documentary on the life and extraordinary achievements of a monk who went into exile in 1959 but who, despite great difficulties, continued to practice and teach with great intensity.  The film, narrated by actor Richard Gere and rock star Lou Reed, does a beautiful job of showing how a sincere man can improve the lives of thousands of people all around the world.This film is the best of a number of recent films investigating not only the life of a great teacher but also the next life—the search for a reincarnation. 

Sky Dancer Directed by Jody Kemmerer   Tibet, 2010, 45 mins Language Tibetan with English subtitles Genre Documentary Type Vajrayana

We often think of the religious teacher within a church or temple or monastery, probably in an urban area with a larger population. Many recent Buddhist films also show the “transnational monk” who travels the world to spread knowledge of the religion or even to locate a reincarnation. Director Jody Kemmerer’s Sky Dancer (2010), however, is set in a remote area of the Tibetan plateau. It is a 45-minute biographical documentary centered on the compassionate and masterful teacher KhandromaKuzangWangmo. This teacher is a rare example of a female who has achieved prominence within the largely masculine monastic world of Tibetan Buddhism, and she is noteworthy for having brought dharma to her Chinese and Tibetan students in vivid and “enlightening” ways.

Milarepa (2006) Directed by Neten Chokling   USA, 2006, 90mins Language Tibetan Genre Drama Type General Audience/Vajrayana

Neten Chokling is the multi-talented monastic directed Milarepa (2008). Based on The Life of Milarepa, the classic masterpiece of world literature about Milarepa’s journey from deepest sin to sainthood, this film tells the first half of the story. The hero learns black magic to avenge the theft of his rightful inheritance. Feeling great remorse after destroying his victims, Milarepa enters a serious quest and purifies himself of bad karma, becoming a great saint in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The director is working on the sequel to this film—and we hope to have him appear at a future Asian Buddhist Film Festival, perhaps when the sequel appears.

A Zen Life – DT Suzuki (2006) Directed by Michael Goldberg   Japan, 2006, 59mins Language English Genre Documentary Type General Audience/Zen

While Buddhism is undoubtedly one of the major threads stitching Asia’s numerous cultures into a larger community, it is now a genuine “world religion,” one that is arguably the fastest growing religion in Europe and North America. How did this happen? Post-WWII migrations from the Far East, Southeast Asia, and South Asia only tell part of the story Michael Golding’sA Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki is a one-hourbiographical documentary about the great 20th-century Buddhist scholar D.T. Suzuki, a man whose significance to the popularization of Mahayana Buddhism in the United States and Europe cannot be overestimated. His teacher participated in the 1893 World Parliament of Religions—the most influential gathering in history, in terms of the proper introduction of Buddhism and Hinduism to Western audiences—and Suzuki’s teacher send him to the United States to support this teaching mission at the beginning of the 20th century. Suzuki was actually a Christian, and so he can also be considered as an exemplar of inter-faith dialogue. He touched the hearts and minds of avant-garde writers, musicians, and scholars until Zen became a household name in the English-speaking world.

Echoes of the Rainbow (2010) Directed by Alex Law   Hong Kong, 2010, 117 mins Language Cantonese / English / Mandarin / French Genre Drama Type General Audience

Echoes of the Rainbow (2010) is set in Hong Kong and portrays the struggles of a family to retain its values in a modernizing world—one in which the values of the past appear increasingly transient. This feature-length film, directed by Alex Law, focuses on a young boy who—wearing a fishbowl on his head—wishes to be an astronaut. Children trapped in a fishbowl want to see the larger world, and parents want the best for their children. The boy’s parents struggle to make this dream come true, but typhoons, economic distress, and various kinds of social conflict affect us all, whether we live in the Hong Kong of 1969 or in contemporary Singapore.

My Reincarnation (2010) Directed by Jennifer Fox   USA, 2010, 95mins Language Italian/ Tibetan / English Genre Documentary Type Vajrayana/ General Audience

When Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche escaped Tibet in 1959, he settled in Italy, where he married and had two children, of which Yeshi was the first. Yeshi was recognized as the reincarnation of Rinpoche’s uncle, a famous Dzogchen master, who died after the Chinese invaded Tibet. Yeshi grew up in Italy and never wanted to have anything to do with this legacy. He didn’t want to be a Teacher like his father, nor did he want to return to Tibet and the monastery of his previous life, to meet the students waiting for him since his birth – something that his father continually admonished him to do. Instead, he dreamed of a normal life, away from the hoards of devoted students that always surrounded his father.

As the story unravels what is at stake is Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche’s spiritual tradition; for Yeshi it is his own identity. Will Yeshi’s Western lifestyle replace his family tradition and his spiritual roots? Will his father succeed at transplanting the vanishing Tibetan heritage to the Western world? The stories of both the father and the son combine to make MY REINCARNATION a universal drama that taps into the classic narrative of family and inheritance. As time moves forward, both father and son begin to change, giving the film the scope and depth of great fiction.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead (2003) Directed by Hiroaki Mori and Yukari Hayashi   Japan/France/Canada, 2003, 87 mins Language English  Genre Documentary Type Vajrayana

What happens when we die? Vajrayana Buddhist teachings contained in the Bardo Thodol indicate that the consciousness moves from its old form to some new form within a 49-day period, perhaps taking human rebirth or, in less fortunate circumstances, rebirth in the animal or even hell realms. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Parts I and II captures these essential ideas in a beautiful and memorable documentary film.  Directed by the team Hiroaki Mori and Yukari Hayashi this film presents the Tibetan guidebook to the afterlife in down-to-earth terms.  The film combines beautiful photography, impressive animation, and interviews with the Dalai Lama, senior and junior monks, and ordinary practitioners. Death visits all people in all countries: the film takes us into hospice situations in Himalayan Ladakh and in the modern world. It explores the rituals, prayers, and sometimes secret practices that are believed to secure a beneficial rebirth. Death comes to all, but very few of us have read the instruction book—this might be the most important film you ever see!

The Buddha (2007) Directed by Krismant Wattananarong   Thailand, 2007, 108mins Language English  Genre Animation Type Theravada

A great happening on earth takes place in the sixth century before the Common Era – The Birth of Lord Buddha – one of the greatest blessings to mankind. Born into a royal family, the infant is given the name “Siddhartha”. The prediction reveals; either he will become the Great King or the Buddha. Twenty nine years later, the prince leaves the luxuries of the palace and his royal household in quest of cures to the suffering of life. Thus, he decides to abdicate his very throne and finally leaves for ordination.

Qi Xia Temple (2005) Directed by Zheng Fang Nan   PRC, 2005, 100mins Language Mandarin  Genre Historical Drama Type General Audience/ Mahayana

On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army entered the Chinese capital of Nanking. Thousands of terrified civilians were looking for a place to hide, and some went to the 1,500-year old Qixia Temple which means “Monastery where the red clouds roost.” The monks were alarmed; they did not have the food, medicine or space to house refugees and their arrival would certainly bring in their wake the Japanese military. They adviced closing the gates.
But the abbot Ji Ran disagreed. It was their Buddhist duty to let everyone in, he explained. More than seeking to free himself from earthly desire, a monk has a responsibility to save those who are suffering. And so began the story of Abbot Ji Ran’s extraordinary contribution in protecting his countrymen during the war. Exhausted by the ordeal, Ji Ran died that year, aged only 40. In 1940, his grateful countrymen erected a monument to him. The film is a tribute to his valour and compassion, a must-watch.

Uppalavanna (2007) Directed by Sunil Ariyaratne   Hong Kong, 2010, 117 mins Language Sinhala Genre Drama Type General Audience/ Theravada

Uppalavanna (2007), directed by Sunil Ariyaratne,is a strikingly original feature-length film set in war-torn Sri Lanka. This drama treats violence and the human passions that cause it insightfully, suggesting that the path of non-hatred is difficult but worthwhile in a society that very often promotes the spirit of vengeance. The nun Uppalavanna faces a dilemma when an injured man who has committed political violence seeks her help. This film also gives audiences an intimate glimpse into the lives of monastic nuns, who must balance spiritual discipline with ordinary community relations at all times.