First Zen Institute

Zen Film Series -- Free Screenings on Friday Nights at 113 East 30th Street

Friday March 12, 2010 7:30 PM.

An old Buddhist monk is living on a floating temple in the middle of breathtaking scenery, and a young boy comes into his life. The monk raises the child, who becomes his protégé. Later, the boy grows up and falls in love with a young woman who visits the temple for a cure.

“Award – winning Korean writer/director Kim Ki-duk has crafted a lushly exotic yet universal story about the human spirit and its evolution, from innocence to Love, Evil to Enlightenment, and ultimately to Rebirth that Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News calls ‘a beautifully composed canvas, the sort of film one falls into, resurfacing at the end with great reluctance.’” Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring is spoken in Korean with English subtitles.

Friday February 12, 2010 7:30 PM.

Asoka was the first Buddhist King of India, an Emperor of the Mauryan empire. As a boy, Asoka was brought up as a sword-fighter and a warrior. Well liked and highly intelligent, his older half-brothers became wary of him as a possible successor to the throne. As the commander of several Mauryan army regiments, he successfully quelled an uprising in Taxshila, a city in the Punjab. His half-brothers, wary of his growing popularity, persuaded his father, King Bindusara, to send him into exile. While in exile in Kalinga, and living incognito, he fell in love with a fisherwoman named Kaurwaki (a princess of Kalinga in the movie), who historically became his second or third queen. He was called out of exile by his father to quell a violent uprising in Ujjain. Wounded in battle, he was nursed back to health by Buddhist monks and nuns, and fell in love with his personal nurse, a woman named Devi, who he married upon recovering from his injuries. After his father’s death, his older half-brother sent assassins to murder his wife and child, but the assassins killed his mother instead. Asoka retaliated against them, seized the throne and expanded the boarders of his empire to the point where – in some places – they exceeded those of present day India. In one particularly bloody conquest, he conquered and destroyed the state of Kalinga, killing 100,000 people in the process. It was after this conquest that he underwent a change of heart and became a follower of the Buddha’s teachings. The movie is a loose rendition of the story of the historical Asoka, complete with cavalry charges, beautiful dancing girls and battle elephants. It includes several song-and-dance numbers which – although well executed – appear to be designed for less-sophisticated Indian audiences. This is not the History Channel, but is nevertheless, a fun, interesting, entertaining film. Asoka is spoken in Hindi with English subtitles, and is being presented at the First Zen Institute courtesy of First Look Home Entertainment.

Friday January 8, 2009 7:30 PM.

     Buddhist Philosophy (30 Minutes) © 2001 The Teaching Company
     Buddhist Tantra (30 Minutes) © 2001 The Teaching Company
     The Theory and Practice of the Mandala (30 Minutes) © 2001 The Teaching Company
     The First Diffusion of the Dharma in Tibet (30 Minutes) © 2001 The Teaching Company

These films are the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th lectures in the Teaching Company series "Buddhism," featuring Professor Malcolm David Eckel of Boston University. In 1998, Professor Eckel received the Metcalf Award for Teaching Excellence, which is Boston University’s highest award for teaching. He holds a PhD. in Comparative Religion from Harvard.

In Buddhist Philosophy, Professor Eckel discusses discusses Buddhist philosophy as “practice seeking clarification,” and touches on the philosophy of Nagarjuna, the Madhyamaka school of philosophy, the Svatantrikas and Prasangikas, the Yogacara school, Asanga and Vasubandhu.

Buddhist Tantra discusses the historical emergence of Tantric Buddhism in the sixth century, Tantra as a pan-Indian (Buddhist and Hindu) phenomenon, the Vajrayana, the Mantrayana, wrathful buddhas, and the story of Maitregupta.

The Theory and Practice of the Mandala introduces the mandala as a meditational device, the Buddha Akshobhya, the mandala as a symbol for the world, the chakras, the three-dimensional mandala at the Kumbum in Gyantse, Tibet, and use of mandala in the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

The First Diffusion of the Dharma in Tibet discusses the destruction of Buddhist monasteries in India, the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet during the seventh century, a line of Tibetan kings who protected and fostered the growth of Buddhism in Tibet, founding of the first Tibetan monastery, the great teacher Padmasambhava, and the Bon tradition.

Friday December 11, 2009 7:30 PM.

Into Great Silence takes the viewer into the Grand Chartreuse, the head monastery of the Catholic Carthusian order. The monastery was founded by St. Bruno in 1084, although its present construction dates from 1676. As the title implies, the film is mostly in silence. We see the monks at prayer in their private cells, performing Gregorian chants, attending Mass, working in the kitchen, the vegetable gardens, chopping wood, sewing robes and reading spiritual texts. The monastery is located in a remote valley high in the alps. The film features two newcomers just admitted to the order, and tracks the course of life in the monastery through the seasons. The walls of the monastery are devoid of artwork except for a few crucifixes, the food is plain, and most modern electronic equipment is lacking -- a notable exception being a laptop computer used by the abbot. Rather than giving the viewer verbal discussions of Catholic philosophy or practices, the film puts the viewer face to face with the monks and gives a sense of how they live.

Friday November 13, 2009 7:30 PM.

On Life & Enlightenment: Principles of Buddhism with His Holiness the Dalai Lama is about Tibetan Buddhism in all its multifaceted complexity. The cinematography is spectacular, with shots of Tibetan towns, temples and monasteries set against towering mountains, mainly in Ladakh, in northern India. The film features Tibetan chanting, dances, rituals, ceremonies, philosophy, food, medicine, meditation practices, and lively dharma debates. Also included is some footage of the Chinese takeover of the Tibetan Capital of Lhasa in 1951. The episode on the Bardo deals with the passing of a Lama and his reincarnation as a small boy several months later. The episode on Tibetan medicine touches on various ancient medical techniques, herbal remedies, the Medicine Buddha and Tibetan acupuncture. The film features interviews with Tai Situ Rimpoche, Drubwang Penor Rimpoche, Sakya Trizin Rimpoche, Menri Tirzin Rimpoche, Anila Tenzin Palmo (a British nun), Ngagspa Karma, Tulku Anjam and the Dalai Lama.

Friday October 9, 2009 7:30 PM.

Samurai, The Last Warrior is a documentary film about the Samurai, featuring Dr. Stephen Turnbull, who holds an unusual combination of degrees: MAs in theology and also military history. He is considered one of the world's foremost experts on the samurai, and has authored more than twenty books on military history, many of them dealing with the samurai. Stephen Turnbull is currently a professor at the University of Leeds, where he received his PhD. Another Samurai expert featured prominently in this film is David Lowry, who is the author of many books on the Japanese martial arts. This film should not be confused with the film, "The Last Samurai," which is a full-length movie featuring Tom Cruise.

Secrets of the Samurai Sword is a NOVA film which looks at the science and ancient technology behind the manufacture of the katana, the razor-sharp sword used by the samurai. It features discussions with professional metallurgists, and swordsmiths employing ancient techniques. Also included are shots of the katana in action, as used by some modern descendents of the samurai.

Friday, September 11, 2009, 8:00 PM

     Mahayana Buddhism and the Bodhisattva Ideal (30 Minutes) © 2001 The Teaching Company
     Celestial Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (30 Minutes) © 2001 The Teaching Company
     Emptiness (30 Minutes) © 2001 The Teaching Company

These films are the 10th, 11th and 12th lectures in the Teaching Company series "Buddhism," featuring Professor Malcolm David Eckel of Boston University. In 1998, Professor Eckel received the Metcalf Award for Teaching Excellence, which is Boston University’s highest award for teaching. He holds a PhD. in Comparative Religion from Harvard.

In Mahayana Buddhism and the Bodhisattva Ideal Professor Eckel discusses the Lotus Sutra in general and the Parable of the Burning House in particular. He also discusses the ideal of the Bodhisattva who puts off entering Nirvana so that he can return to the human world to save all sentient beings. A featured bodhisattva is Vimalakirti (from the Vimalakirti Sutra), a famous layman who has knowledge of dharma which surpasses that of the Buddha's monks. Other bodhisattvas mentioned in this lecture are Queen Srimala, Sudhana and Samantabhadra.

Celestial Buddhas and Bodhisattvas also delves into the Lotus Sutra, and discusses the compassion of Avalokiteshvara (Chinese Kuan-yin), variously presented either as a male or a female. Professor Eckel mentions the famous Tibetan mantra OM MANI PADME HUM, and the celestial bodhisattva Maitreya, "the future Buddha". He also discusses Manjushri and Amithaba, the Buddha of "Infinite Light."

Emptiness -- the docterine of emptiness is presented as a very difficult concept to grasp. It is treated as an extension of the Buddhist docterine of "no self," and Professor Eckel mentions its Upanishadic roots. "Emptiness" is an english translation of the sanskrit "shunya." Emptiness is presented here as a kind of buoyancy, lightness and freedom. Professor Eckel also mentions an anecdote about a lecture given by the Dalai Lama on emptiness.

Friday, August 7, 2009, 8:00

Lost Treasures of Afghanistan discusses the destruction of the giant Bamiyan Buddha statues by the Taliban in 2000, and the Taliban's destruction of Afghanistan's cultural heritage in general. The film highlights the efforts of heroic Afghans who refused to allow their culture to be destroyed. Featured prominently is Russian archiolgist Viktor Sarianidi, and his 1978 excavations of "Six golden burials" at Tillya Tepe. Also discussed is Afghan archaeologist Zemaryalai Tarzi's discovery of a large ancient buried reclining Buddha statue in the Bamiyan valley. The flim shows a simulated re-enactment of Hsuan-Tsang's visit to the Bamiyan valley more than 1000 years ago, and a presentation of what the giant Bamiyan Buddha statues probably looked like when they were new and freshly painted.

A Zen Tale is a film short directed by Magdalena Sole as part of her Film MFA program at Columbia University. Filmed on location right here at the First Zen Institute, this humerous film presents a well-known anecdote about dharma-combat.