Dharma Documentaries

Richard Salomon is one of the leading experts on Gandhāran languages and remains, and in this talk given online for the Tang Center for Silk Road Studies he discusses the various reliquaries that have so far been discovered from that region, and especially looks at the inscriptions, and what they tell us about the finds and the societies in which they were made.

This film is the extraordinary story of one Tendai monk in Japan who undertakes one of the most difficult and dangerous austerities I have come across, walking on foot round Mount Hiei 1000 times in a pilgrimage spread out over seven years, and covering a total of some 24,000 miles by completion. Besides this, after completing the first 700 circumambulations, the pilgrim will also undertake a death defying 9-day fast from food and water, which would be enough to kill an ordinary person, who can only survive 5 days without water. According to the narration at the end of the feat, the monks are looked upon as Living Buddhas, and are fit to pray for Emperor and Country, and they naturally have many followers once the course is complete. Up to the time of this film in 1991 only 6 monks had completed the course since 1945.

This is the first in a series of films I will be publishing about the role of dance in Asia’s cultures, which often is of central importance to their cultures. The first film is a very interesting film about the Japanese art of Kabuki, a theatrical form that is now four centuries old, and has been traditionally passed down in families of Kabuki actors. Kabuki is a highly stylised form of theatre in which every movement is carefully choreographed according to traditional characterisations. All the actors are male, including those who play female roles on stage. The film basically follows two stories, one of the professional actors in Tokyo, who are well supported and recognised throughout the country and who command huge respect for their work. We see three generations of one family and how they are passing on this art form to the newer generations. On the other hand we see the underfunded amateur, but still very important work on the so-called village Kabuki, who perform, not for money, but for the gods. They still preserve traditions that professionals from the cities are interested enough to come and see. These two stories are very well interwoven here and we learn a lot about the history of the art form, the difficulties it is presently facing, and the achievements of its performers in this 50-minute long film by Jerome Raynaud.

The making and playing of the Morin Khuur, or Mongolian Horse-Head Fiddle, is an art falling away in the modern world, but this film traces the efforts of old teachers and instrument makers to pass on their arts to a younger generation. Embedded in the arts is a whole way of looking at the world, which sees everything as related, and honoured, and nothing is done outside of its story-telling background, which explains the mythological origin of the instrument, and its especial relationship to the all-important horse. Four young children, two boys and two girls, go from the city to the steppes to learn how to play this instrument, and an old instrument teacher teaches his grandson how to make them. Along the way we learn about the lore surrounding the fiddle and the respect with which it is to be treated. It is also considered one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, and indeed it is this UN body which is sponsoring the making of the fiddle and the performances that are put on by the children at the end.

This is a very moving film centered around the stories of two children who escape from Tibet to come to India, where they can receive an education in their own language (as opposed to Chinese in Tibet), and learn about their cultural traditions, religion, etc. The journey they take across the Himalayas to get to India is very traumatic. The boy Sonam cannot understand why his parents abandoned him to the child smugglers who brought him across, and thinks they may have been arrested by the Chinese. The girl Dholma was brought out by her grandfather, but is evidently confused and very quiet, and it is hard to get her to interact with the other children at their Tibetan school in Mussorie. Besides hearing about their stories the film also introduces us to some of the children who came out before them, including one young woman who tries to help Dholma, and who herself lost touch with her mother back in the home country before she died. It is a shame indeed that people have to leave their own countries, communities and families to be able to get an education in their culture and traditions, and we can see the trauma this causes in these children. For many though this is now the only way their culture will get passed on to future generations.

In the 1990s South Korea produced a number of very fine and acclaimed Buddhist-themed films, including: Mandala, Passage to Buddha, and Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East? Come, Come, Come Upward, which is directed by Im Kwon-Taek, is another of these films, but one not so well known. Like the Bodhidharma and Passage films it also centres on a koan, in this case: Why does Bodhidharma not have a beard? A koan of course is not really looking for an answer in the traditional sense, but is something like a provocation to thought. It concerns a young woman, falsely accused at school, who joins a nunnery, only to be falsely accused there as well. She is forced to leave the nunnery and returns to lay life, marrying a drunkard and trying to reform him, and when he dies she gives herself over to saving unfortunates in different ways, including by working as a district nurse. Contrasted against her life is the life of a very severe young nun from the nunnery, and works hard to attain awakening, including doing three years of living in a damp cave. The zen master of the nunnery, who always seems to speak in zen riddles, falls ill, and seems to be waiting for someone to return. When the young nun comes it seems it must be her, but when the young woman comes it becomes clear she is the main inheritor of the master’s wisdom, and the last scene shows her disappearing into the unknown crowds as she vows to spread the master’s wisdom to everyone she meets.

This is the second in a series of films about the role of dance in Asia’s cultures, which is is often of central importance to their cultures. Today’s film is from the Drametse Monastery in eastern Bhutan, and follows the preparations for one of the important dance festivals of the year. We first meet with some of the masters of the monastery, including the dance master, who is passing his responsibilities on to a young disciple before retiring into retreat to prepare for his passing. We also follow a monk simply identified as Khenpo (Professor) on his journey to Timphou the capital, where we also see attempts are underway to preserve on film the complex dance that is unique to this monastery. We learn about life in the monastery and the different roles that people undertake, and how they interpret these roles, making them more meaningful. And eventually it leads up to the dance held in the monastery itself, which was no doubt meant to be the climax of the film: unfortunately it is all but rained off, and only portions of the dance are seen at the end. Still we see the efforts being made to preserve this important dance in Bhutan, and how young people are still taking up and preserving the culture that embodies their tradition.

This is a fairly complete mapping of the life of Milarepa that visits all the sites, both in Nepal and Tibet associated with the great yogi. Shots of the caves where he lived, and other places that are associated with him, are interspersed with some beautiful paintings illustrating his life, and some memorable scenic Tibetan landscapes. There are virtually no credits given at the end of the film (Thopaga Editorials), so it is hard to know who was responsible. It is not professionally made, and is evidently low-budget, but it is still a good attempt at presenting the information.

I Gusti Nyoman Lempad was probably the greatest Balinese artist of his generation, being an architect, sculptor, painter and teacher, his life which started around 1862 ended in 1978, when he was around 116 years old. This film, which was made at the request of his heir, centres around the cremation services that followed his passing, and explains in a vivid way the Balinese belief system, the intertwining of the spiritual and the mundane, and the role of art in the life of the people. Master Lempad was not only a great artists himself, but also a great teacher and many of the artists of Bali to this day studied with him. His most enduring monument remains the Pura Taman Saraswati (Saraswati Water Temple), one of many temples he built in Ubud. The film was made by Lorne Blair (whose other films about Indonesia I have posted elsewhere) and John Darling for ABC in Australia in 1980, and is a worthy memorial to the great man, and to his legacy.

This film, by Brian Thomas Swimme, who is a professor of evolutionary cosmology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, is about the unfolding of the universe, as we have come to understand it today, and the arising of consciousness. It traces evolution in both fields, starting from the singularity at the beginning of the universe, and eventually giving rise to homo sapiens and the self-awareness that gives them the ability to guide evolution. Of course along with ability comes responsibility, and it seems we have been very lacking in that area so far. But there is hope that as we understand the universe better, and our part in it, we will realise that our survival requires us to live in harmony with the world. The outlook is very much based on the work of Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry, and is an attempt to reposition how we think about ourselves and our place in the universe. We need more stories like this, if we are to stop destroying the very world we need to live. The film is actually part of a much larger course offered by Coursera called Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times which is a MOOC offered by Yale University, if you care to follow up on it.

Having watched the rise of the Ganges in the Himalayas and its flow through the plains of India, in the final episode we see the effect the river has when it meets the Bay of Bengal and forms the largest delta system in the world. The delta itself straddles both India and Bangladesh, part of which is the world's largest mangrove swamp, the Sunderbans, which is home not only to Giant Asian Honey Bees, which provide a bountiful harvest of honey for those brave enough to enter the swamp, but also to aggressive man-eating tigers which take many lives each year. The film follows a scientific team as they tranquilise and place a tracking-collar on a tigress, and follow her journeys through the swamps and temporary villages they hold in a hope of understanding more of how they live and survive in such inhospitable lands. The swamp also plays home to many other creatures, from mud-skippers, who are thoroughly adopted to their environment, and can use their fins to walk on dry land, to otters which are bred by fishermen and help drive fish into their nets. Astonishingly an otter may sell for up to US$100 they are so useful to the fishermen. The delta itself is also home to the largest density of human population of earth, in a land around the size of Britain, six times more people find their living, and all thanks to the river, which not only brings water, but also fertile mud to the area making 3 rice crops a year possible. We watch the changes the land undergoes through the dry season, where water levels can drop as much as 6 metres in 6 months, and into the rainy season, where water levels dramatically rise causing animals and humans alike to migrate as erosion takes its toll. The documentary ends by wondering once again whether the river can survive as populations increase, drinking and using up the precious water as it flows through the land, and sees hope in the reverence the river has always commanded from the Hindu religion and its adherents, as we watch 1,000,000 pilgrims gather at Sagar Island to give thanks to the river before it enters the sea.

The story of the river is taken up in this episode as it leaves the Himalayan foothills and enters the swamplands known as the Terai, here there are grasses that can grow 4 metres a year - so large they can even hide elephants. Other creatures also live in the Terai swamplands: White Rhinoceros and Tigers, as well as birds like Brahmany Ducks, Spoonbills and Indian Skimmers. We also see the extraordinary life of the gharial, a very distinctive form of crocodile. The monsoon when it comes brings back life to the river which has been drying up during the hot season and washes down an enormous amount of sediment from the mountains producing muds and soils that are estimated to be 3 miles deep in certain places. In the rice bowls that this fertile land produces we can see domestic birds like ducks, who help clean and fertilise the rice fields; and the Sarus Crane, which is the largest flying bird on earth, and its courtship dances. Emphasis is placed on the Hindu respect for all life forms, even dangerous ones like the cobra, which in certain villages are allowed to roam freely throughout the compounds; and the mischievous macaques who are quite violent when in search of food. This is contrasted with the devastation caused first by the Moghuls and their hunting practices, and even more so by the British, who not only hunted, but also destroyed habitats wholesale in their greed for commerce. The team also visit the Sonepur Mela in Bihar, the largest livestock fair in India, where cattle, horses and elephants, some of which can sell for up to BPS 10,000; and see villagers fighting off wild elephants in packs of up to 100 in Bengal. This episode closes by tracing the branch river, the Hooghly, as it flows through Kolkata, and looks at the effect large scale populations are having on the river itself, with their ever-increasing pollution, and asks whether the river, and its inhabitants like the Ganges River Dolphin, can survive the onslaught.

The first of the programmes, taking the legendary mythology surrounding the Ganges seriously, shows how the natural world and the spiritual world have always been entwined in Hindu thought and life, and explains how the gift of life that the river brings is the reason she is held is such high reverence. The film gradually follows the Ganges back along its course, ascending further into the Himalayan mountains, and encountering some of the fabled sources of the Ganges, and most Holy pilgrimage centres along the way. Beginning at Kedarnath as the thaw sets in in May and 100,000s of pilgrims start their annual ascent, we go up through Yamunotri - not the source of the Ganges but of its sister the Yamuna - Badrinath, which has one of the holiest temples on the route, and up to Gangotri. But geographically this is also not the source and the film follows the path up past Gaumukh and on to the Tapovan meadows, which is identified, at least here, as the true source of the river. All along this route we get glimpses of the varied wildlife that make their home here, from rare photography of the Snow Leopard in the mountains, to the Lammergeier which, with its 3 metre wingspan, is one of the largest birds of prey, and the Langur or Hanuman monkeys in the huge Deodar trees. It also visits Nandadevi, the second highest peak in India, and the Valley of Flowers which lies in its foothills, and has over 600 plant species, including the Himalayan Balsam which in Spring cloaks the valley in pink, and we also see something of the bird-life that thrives in the valley. The film then shows the effects of the monsoon hail storms and rains, which give the river half of its flow-waters in just a few weeks, and helps wash down an astonishing 2 billion tons of sediment into the plains of India, making it the most fertile soil on Earth. The film ends by following the river down from Devprayag, where the Alakananda and Bhagirathi rivers converge and the Ganges finally is identified as a separate river, and through the Holy cities of Rishikesh and Haridwar.

This is the final part of Christy Kenneally’s look at the world’s religions though their art and architecture, and here he looks at Buddhism through some of the monuments it has inspired. Previously subjects included Pagansim, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. This short film, after briefly relating the life of the Buddha, focuses on three iconic buildings it has inspired: the Sanchi Stupas, the Borobudur monument, and the Chuang Yen monastery in New York state, which in turn is based on Tang dynasty buildings. Despite some inaccuracies in the film, something we find regularly with western interpreters, we nevertheless get a reasonable overview of certain aspects of the religion, and an introduction to some of its artistic heights. The film features some very good photography, and one can’t help wondering what could have been achieved if he had had more time in which to discuss the matters at hand. As it is the film comes across as slight, barely touching on its subject.

Although it is only 30 minutes long this is a remarkably clear presentation about the history of seed and the role it has played in our societies and how that is all being changed now by corporations trying to take over control of food production throughout the world. Along with reduced diversity, which entails the loss of traditional crops, comes an increased reliance on seed production which is controlled by the few, and has to be bought anew each year as the genetically modified seed doesn’t reproduce itself correctly. All the GM seeds are also dependent on pesticides and fertilisers for their success, even within the season, but this leads to a further destruction of traditional seed in other fields. The last section of the film shows how there is hope yet if we can get a return to traditional, non-destructive methods of farming. The film has been made by Jess Philimore for the Gaia Foundation & African Biodiversity Network, and is is narrated by Jeremy Irons. It is divided into four sections: The Evolution of Diversity The Road to Industry Controlling Seed Seeds of Hope and features some of the world’s leading ecologists. including Dr Vandana Shiva (India) Liz Hoskein (UK) Dr Melaku Worede (Ethiopia) Rakmon Herrera (Mexico) Gathuru Mburu (Kenya) Caroline Lucas (UK) Zac Goldsmith (UK) Henk Hobbelink (Spain) Kumi Naidoo (Netherlands) Mphatheleni Makaulule (South Africa) and also many traditional farmers throughout the world, speaking about the role that seed has in their lives, and how that is being changed by agri-business.

16th Gyalwa Karmapa was one of the most respected and loved Tibetan teachers of his time. Born in 1922 he left Tibet at the time of the Chinese invasion in 1959, and moved to Sikkim, where he had already established a monastery, and he lived there until he died of cancer in 1981. During that time he trained four main disciples whom he had brought from Tibet when they were still children, and whose life-task would be to train his own reincarnation. The Karmapa always identifies where he will be reborn, on what day and who his parents will be before he dies. <blockquote>Unfortunately, however, as everyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism knows, there has been a long standing and still unresolved dispute about just who the reincarnated Karmapa is, with two contenders being identified, and some quite acrimonious debate involved, partly because the identification letter left by the Karmapa is normally quite cryptic and therefore inconclusive</blockquote> The documentary, which was made in 1983 includes historical footage of the Karmapa mainly from the time after he left Tibet, and includes his visits to America, where he established various centers. There are also interviews with his disciples and with Chogyam Trungpa, who first invited him to the States and who was present at his magnificent funeral in Sikkim. We don't hear much from the Karmapa himself, but his loving presence is clear, and the witness of the various people who met him, including the astonished doctors in the States who were treating him when he was dying, is ample testimony to the man who was regarded by many as a living Buddha.

Thich Naht Hanh gave a talk at Phor Thay High School in Penang in July 2010. Around 2,500-3,000 people turned up for the talk. That is quite a turn out for a Dhamma event in Penang and shows how much respect he commands here. The talk was preceded by a wonderful chanting of Namo Avalokitesvara complete with Gongs, Violin and Cello, with which the video below begins.

This is a film about the New Zealand milk industry and the detrimental environmental effect it has on the country and the planet. It covers most aspects of the problem, having interviews with experts, activists, and it gives contextualisation and statistics (some of which I have included in screenshots below). The results needless to say are appalling, and include documented mistreatment of animals, culling, the inefficiency of animal farming, heavy pollution of land and water, and evasion of responsibility by corporations and governments. Animal farming in its modern mechanised form is the worst polluter of the planet that we have, far outstripping such things as fossil fuel driven engines, but it hardly gets a mention, and even when it does most people think it is only meat production, and do not understand how destructive dairy farming is. The documentary covers all of these issues. Towards the end of this film we do get to see some interesting developments, as it is now possible to produce meat without the animal, and milk without the cow. This is expected to lead to the end of the present, incredibly inefficient, ways of growing animal food within a decade. I certainly hope so, as literally billions of animals are living in tortuous circumstances and having their lives cut short prematurely just to feed our greed for animal-based products. It is far better to develop our compassion and cut down, or cut out, meat and dairy now.

This is an unusual and interesting film about Ven Bodhidharma, the great Buddhist missionary to China, from Doordharshan, which was first released in the early 90s. The title would be more accurately be The First Patriarch of Zen in China, as he was considered to be the 28th in India. The film is an odd compiliation of stage sets, actors, voice-over, narration, travelogue and even downright propaganda, based around, and many times deviating from, the life story of the central character. Still we learn something of the legendary early life story in India, from where no records remain; and even more legendary missionary activities in China which were recorded in later histories and chronicles. The first half of the film is situated in India, and the second in China, and we see some of the places that are now associated with the great monk and his times.

This is the last of five films about people who were connected with Dunhuang, and their roles in its history. The films are largely elaborations based on legends surrounding the outpost on the western edge of China. When the Library Cave was opened and the huge manuscript collection was discovered there was also a statue of Hong Bian overlooking the collection. This is because of was Hong Bian’s family memorial cave before it was sealed off. This episode looks at who Hong Bian was, and the important role he played in Dunhuang’s history, which begins with the occupation of the city by the nomadic Tubo peoples. At that time the whole of the Hexi Corridor was under Tubo rule, and the heartland of China was cut off from the western regions. Hong Bian played a major role in bringing it back under Han control, and trained an army of monks to help in the fight to regain control of the city. Later, when that was accomplished he had a cave excavated and dedicated to his family memorial. How that cave eventually became the Library Cave is not properly understood, but it did, and this film uncovers Hong Bian’s history.

This is the fourth of five films about people who were connected with Dunhuang, and their roles in its history. The films are largely elaborations based on legends surrounding the outpost on the western edge of China. This episode is set in the 7th century, a period that saw a revival of Buddhism in China. It was also the time when Xuan Zang went to India to bring back authentic Buddhist scriptures, and when Wu Zetian rose from concubine to Empress of China. These events are interweaved somewhat because one of the sutras Xuan Zang brought back with him was the Great Cloud sutra which predicted that Maitreya would one day rule in female form, a prediction Wu Zetian used to further her own ambitions. Her story is long and complex and only an outline is given in this episode. I hope to show a series devoted to her extraordinary life soon. Meanwhile the Mogoa Caves are seen to expand and the Yin family, hoping to impress the empress commission the largest Maitreya statue in the world – in the likeness of the empress herself.