Self
Self
17 Feb 2006
This documentary is the third part of The Yatra Trilogy created by John Bush. Vajra is the Sanskrit word signifying the thunderbolt of illumination, and yatra is the word for pilgrimage or spiritual journey. This film offers a cinematic pilgrimage to central Tibet, bearing witness to the indomitable faith of its endangered Buddhist community and the imminent threat to its very survival.
26 Jun 2014
Following in the footsteps of his father, Folco Felzani embarks on an epic journey on foot in search of Mustang, the last lost kingdom, in northern Nepal. The story of a king without a kingdom. The adventure of a son without a father.
04 Jul 2024
Buddhist monk and photographer Matthieu Picard as he returns to the Asian country in the Himalayas where he spent a decade after seven years away, revisiting breathtaking landscapes and experiencing local traditions.
01 May 2006
How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.
01 Oct 1979
After World War II a group of young writers, outsiders and friends who were disillusioned by the pursuit of the American dream met in New York City. Associated through mutual friendships, these cultural dissidents looked for new ways and means to express themselves. Soon their writings found an audience and the American media took notice, dubbing them the Beat Generation. Members of this group included writers Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg. a trinity that would ultimately influence the works of others during that era, including the "hippie" movement of the '60s. In this 55-minute video narrated by Allen Ginsberg, members of the Beat Generation (including the aforementioned Burroughs, Anne Waldman, Peter Orlovsky, Amiri Baraka, Diane Di Prima, and Timothy Leary) are reunited at Naropa University in Boulder, CO during the late 1970's to share their works and influence a new generation of young American bohemians.
10 May 2007
A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life.
16 Apr 2008
Buddhist monks open up about the joys and challenges of living out the precepts of the Buddha as a full-time vocation. Controversies swirling within modern monastic Buddhism are examined, from celibacy and the role of women to racism and concerns about the environment.
12 Jun 2014
Street art, creativity and revolution collide in this beautifully shot film about art’s ability to create change. The story opens on the politically charged Thailand/Burma border at the first school teaching street art as a form of non-violent struggle. The film follows two young girls (Romi & Yi-Yi) who have escaped 50 years of civil war in Burma to pursue an arts education in Thailand. Under the threat of imprisonment and torture, the girls use spray paint and stencils to create images in public spaces to let people know the truth behind Burma's transition toward "artificial democracy." Eighty-two hundred miles away, artist Shepard Fairey is painting a 30’ mural of a Burmese monk for the same reasons and in support of the students' struggle in Burma. As these stories are inter-cut, the film connects these seemingly unrelated characters around the concept of using art as a weapon for change.
13 Dec 2005
The influential life and powerful messages of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh are explored in this biographical documentary. For more than 50 years, this amazing social activist has preached self-awareness and compassion for all living beings. Follow him as he travels through France and the United States—including a stop at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.—spreading peace by teaching mindfulness and forgiveness.
01 Jan 2010
Brilliant Moon chronicles the life of the writer, poet, and meditation master Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Tibet's most revered 20th-century Buddhist teachers. Spiritual guide to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Royal Family of Bhutan, his life and teachings were an inspiration to all who encountered him. Richard Gere and Lou Reed provide the narration for his dangerous journey out of China, the subsequent spread of his influence and the search for his reincarnation after his death.
08 Dec 2011
The films looks through the eyes of the first generation of Western Dharma teachers at the myriad issues Buddhism faces and how it is adapting within a culture that runs on the engines of competition and greed, where many consider cruelty to be kindness and ignorance to be knowledge. But throughout its history Buddhism has adapted to new cultures with almost chameleon-like ease. So if its past is any judge, the sublime path our colonial forefathers dubbed Buddhism has begun a migration that over time will leave it, and quite possibly modernity itself, greatly transformed.
01 Jan 1972
A documentary about the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in London.
29 May 2017
A cinematic journey through the world. Non-verbal.
24 Nov 2015
Arguably one of the most fateful and resonant events of the last half millennium, the Pilgrims journey west across the Atlantic in the early 17th century is a seminal, if often misunderstood episode of American and world history. The Pilgrims explores the forces, circumstances, personalities and events that converged to exile the English group in Holland and eventually propel their crossing to the New World; a story universally familiar in broad outline, but almost entirely unfamiliar to a general audience in its rich and compelling historical actuality. Includes the real history of the "first thanksgiving".
27 May 2020
Shannon Harvey was working in her dream job as a radio news journalist when, at the age of 24 she was diagnosed with a devastating auto-immune disease. Determined to find a solution, she began researching cutting-edge mind-body medicine. Is it really possible, she wonders, that a simple practice that can be done anywhere, any time, by anyone, can ease suffering and promote physical and mental healing? Synthesizing the work of leading scientists with the ways of mystics, she undertakes a year-long experiment, with herself as the subject. Will meditation revolutionize her health and well-being, or is it just another over-hyped self-help fad? This compelling account of her journey provides fascinating insights about how to be well and happy in the modern world.
01 Jan 1998
Developed by Thích Nhất Hạnh himself, the exercises taught here combine simple stretching and graceful gestures with mindfulness meditation. Join Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village monk Brother Michael to explore ten unique movements. Practice them before or after sitting meditation anytime you have a few minutes to refresh your body and quiet your mind.
16 May 2018
Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.
01 Jan 1999
In this fascinating and unusual conversation, writer and physician Deepak Chopra talks to religion professor Robert Thurman about the connections and differences between two of India's most important philosophical beliefs: Vedanta and Buddhism. Chopra explores the foundation of Vedanta, while Thurman -- the father of actress Uma Thurman -- provides the Buddhist point of view in this meeting held in 1999 at New York City's Tibet House.
21 Sep 2023
When Danish filmmakers Mira Jargil and Christian Sønderby Jepsen try to find balance in their stressful lives, they seek guidance from a renowned Danish HIV researcher turned monk deep in the mountains of Sri Lanka. But their filming process goes differently than expected. When they hear that the renowned Danish doctor and HIV scientist Jan Erik Hansen has burned all boats to live as a Buddhist monk on a mountain in Sri Lanka, the two Danish documentary makers Mira Jargil and Christian Sønderby Jepsen decide to make a film about him. to make. Jan Erik Hansen, as monk Bhante, has become an important voice in the Buddhist community. He has a YouTube channel with many followers, and people from all over the world ask him their life questions. The film project ends unexpectedly when the monk and the filmmakers appear to have different ideas about the film.
05 Dec 2007
Over 2,500 years ago, one man showed the world a way to enlightenment. This beautifully produced Buddhist film by the BBC meticulously reveals the fascinating story of Prince Siddhartha and the spiritual transformation that turned him into the Buddha.