find your zen ...
Still from Mark Vekerk's compelling 'Buddha's Lost Children'
The Melbourne Buddhist Film Festival will enlighten you.
Is the Seattle grunge band the only Nirvana you know of? Think a 'Noble Truth' is when Prince Charles is being honest?
Well, we're here to broaden your horizons. The first ever Melbourne Buddhist Film Festival aims to raise awareness of Buddhist values and culture. And if you think it will all just be about meditating monks and Richard Gere, you're (wonderfully) wrong.
Mark Verkerk's Buddha's Lost Children tells the true story of an unorthodox Buddhist monk who devotes himself to helping orphaned children in Thailand's notorious Golden Triangle; while Bari Pearlman's Daughters of Wisdom is an intimate glimpse into Kala Rongo, a rare Buddhist monastery for nuns that offers women unprecedented access to educational and religious training.
Michael Goldberg's A Zen Life - D.T. Suzuki explores the influence of Dr Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, a man credited with bringing Zen Buddhism to the West.
And Khyentse Norbu's The Cup is a genuine crowd-pleaser, traversing geographical, political and cultural divides through its depiction of a group of Tibetan monks who become gripped with soccer fever during the 1998 World Cup.
These films (and more) will be introduced by a keynote speaker and end with a Q&A session with special guests. Plus, there's a rare opportunity to participate in an authentic, traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
The Dalai Lama once said, "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness" and indeed, this festival is less a celebration of religion than a celebration of humanity.
For full screening details head here
Published Thursday, 16 October 2008
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