For details and a description of the films: http://dharmarising.eventbrite.com/ DHARMA RISING Is Western Buddhism becoming Dharma . . . Read More.]]> There’ll be a screening of Dharma Rising, David Cherniack’s recently completed two part film about Buddhism in the West on Dec 8 at Innis Town Hall at 7 pm.

For details and a description of the films: http://dharmarising.eventbrite.com/
DHARMA RISING
Is Western Buddhism becoming Dharma Light? Can the fundamental teachings of Buddhism withstand the influences of modernity? What can our Western Buddhist Teachers offer us?

A two part documentary that takes a fascinating look, through the eyes first generation Western Buddhist Teachers, at the challenges facing Buddhism as it encounters contemporary culture in America and Europe.

Thursday December 8, 2011 7:00 pm  (Q & A with director - Dave Cherniack - to follow screening)
Innis Town Hall Theatre 2 Sussex Ave on the University of Toronto campus (Tickets will not be available at the door)

Buddhism is now widely accepted as the fastest growing ‘convert’ religion among educated Westerners. There are reasons for its appeal: its comparative freedom from reliance on faith in dogmas that are hard to accept for pragmatic, scientifically inclined, Westerners; its inclusive attitude to the natural world; its ecological approach; its compassionate, forgiving, and non-violent nature. Dharma Rising introduces us to a generation of Western Dharma teachers who are leading the way in the integration of Buddhism in the West, and share with us how that adaption is taking shape within a culture that runs on the engines of competition and greed, where many consider cruelty to be kindness and ignorance to be knowledge.

Part One examines the new roles Dharma teachers and institutions are adopting as they face the challenges of modernity: democratization, transitioning from monasteries to centres, from top-down to different forms of organization, and new forms of teachers and teachings.

Part Two takes a looks at how the fundamental tenets of Buddhism are being re-interpreted between the opposing poles of tradition and reform. The nature of Buddhist Enlightenment and the reality of Rebirth are being questioned. On the horns  of this dilemma the question arises: Is Western Buddhism becoming Dharma Light? Or is it entering modern culture through social engagement, mindfulness practice, and a new non-sectarian scientific, and ethical, paradigm?

Featured in the films: Jack Kornfield, Stephen & Ondrea Levine, Robert Thurman, Jiun Hogen Roshi, B. Alan Wallace, Zenkei Blanche Hartman, Mel Sojun Weitzman, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, Ajahn Sucitto,Sylvia Wetzel, Judith Simmer-Brown, Lama Tsultrim Allione, Reginald A. Ray, Lama Shenpen Hookham, Jan Willis, Stephen Batchelor,  Bernie Glassman, Mathieu Ricard, John Crook, Sangkarakshita.

The Sun Behind the Clouds is a powerful documentary on . . . Read More.]]> “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom”: at the 2011 Amnesty International Film Festival, Vancouver
Friday November 18, at 7:15pm, at SFU Harbour Centre – 515 West Hastings Street – Room 1900

The Sun Behind the Clouds is a powerful documentary on the Tibetan struggle, made by the award winning filmmaking duo Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam.
Canada Tibet Committee is delighted that this film will be screened along with a host of other compelling films. The film festival runs from Nov 17 to 20.
Mati Bernabei, of Canada Tibet Committee, will introduce The Sun Behind the Clouds.
Amnesty Film Festival program and ticket purchase information:http://www.amnestyfilmfest.ca/vancouver.html

Description of “The Sun Behind the Clouds”
Film by Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam / India-UK / 2009 / 79m
50 years have passed since the fall of Tibet. In March 2008, the biggest uprising since China took control, spreads across the Tibetan Plateau. Exile Tibetans in India march on their homeland, convinced that this is the only action they can take to support their countrymen. There is a huge groundswell of international sympathy for Tibet. This is a year of dramatic possibilities. Can the Dalai Lama’s strategy of non-violence and compromise finally make a breakthrough in his efforts to resolve the Tibet issue and silence the growing voices of dissent among his own people?

The film explores the interplay between the personal and the historic, spirituality and politics, and the tension between the Dalai Lama’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Tibet situation based on compromise and dialogue, and the impatience of a younger generation of Tibetans who are ready to take a more confrontational course.

Film website: http://thesunbehindtheclouds.com/
Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi175376153/

The movie “Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche” is also a potential candidate for entry in the Arclight Documentary Film Festival, if enough of the public “Like” it on the Arclight YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzZRiE7C_Ac

Here’s a link to the Buddhist Feature on the site: http://www.viff.org/e-blasts/viff-2011/outreach/Buddhism.htm

The film documents the life of Sister Elaine MacInnes, age 87, her journey, and her current activities with her Freeing The Human . . . Read More.]]> Victoria’s CHEK TV will air the award-winning 2005 documentary, The Fires That Burn, as part of their Docs from the Edge series.

The film documents the life of Sister Elaine MacInnes, age 87, her journey, and her current activities with her Freeing The Human Spirit Foundation, that aims to promote spiritual understanding and bring meditation and yoga instructors into prisons across Canada.

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/movie-guide/CHEK+award+winning+documentary/5453407/story.html#ixzz1Z9PGdt9Y

For more information about the film, click HERE.

For more information about the Freeing the Human Spirit Foundation, click HERE.

Dharma Rising airs on The Brand New ONE starting October 17

By the 1960′s Buddhism had arrived in the West to stay. Challenges of modernity were always its nemesis, but now that Buddhism is attracting unprecedented numbers, . . . Read More.]]> Can you find enlightenment in the modern Western World?

Dharma Rising airs on The Brand New ONE starting October 17

By the 1960′s Buddhism had arrived in the West to stay. Challenges of modernity were always its nemesis, but now that Buddhism is attracting unprecedented numbers, how is it adapting to modern materialism? This three part documentary series looks at the changing face of Buddhism in contemporary culture.

Dharma Rising Part One
October 17, 2011 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Dharma Rising looks through the eyes of the first generation of Western born Buddhist teachers at the changing face of the Dharma as it encounters the West.  It examines the new roles Western Buddhist teachers and institutions are adopting as they face the challenges of modernity.

Dharma Rising Part Two
October 18, 2011 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Part Two looks at how the fundamental tenets of Buddhism are being interpreted between the twin horns of tradition and reform. The nature of the Buddhist Enlightenment is questioned, with some wishing to discard the ‘mystical’ state of non-duality that others maintain is central, if not the ultimate goal, of the practice. For the latter, rebirth is a given, a realization in advanced state of meditation. For the former it is a cultural artefact of Buddhism’s Indian roots and should be dispensed with as Buddhism adapts to modernity.

Dharma Rising Part Three
October 19, 2011 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Part 3 looks at the work of Alan Wallace, a scientist, meditation teacher and former Buddhist monk who believes that the contemplative and scientific traditions must join together to study the nature of the mind if we are to solve the growing problems of modernity. It follows him leading an eight week retreat in Thailand for 35 Westerners as they grapple with trying to understand and discipline the mind.

A David Cherniack Production in association with The Buddhist Broadcasting Foundation for The Brand New ONE.

THE BRAND NEW ONE is the TV channel where Body, Mind, Spirit and Love intersect to make A Better You. ONE presents the smartest, freshest shows on yoga and meditation, weight loss and fitness tips, sex and relationships, natural health and nutrition, and alternative medicine. Get inspired by our experts with practical ways to achieve your maximum potential and happiness.

Where to find The Brand New ONE:
Rogers Digital –  265
Bell TV – 606
Shaw Direct – 225/575
Telus TV – 152 (Quebec 232)
Sasktel – 106
MTS – 294
VideoTron – 100
Or check your local listings

Kidding aside, however, Glenn has been involved in more than 20 Buddhist-inspired development . . . Read More.]]> Glenn Mullin is a Canadian Buddhist author, teacher and tour guide living in Mongolia. Here he is in a humorous but fascinating video tour of Erdeni Zuu Monastery in Mongolia:

Kidding aside, however, Glenn has been involved in more than 20 Buddhist-inspired development projects in Mongolia and is currently working on 10 more. Here is a link to his official website for more information… http://www.glennmullin.com/new/mongolia_projects_001.php

It lends an important contextual perspective to Québec film-maker Geneviève Brault’s new film, Tibet: Land of the Brave, premiering this month (see . . . Read More.]]> Ann Henderson’s 1991 film, A Song for Tibet, is available for free online viewing through the National Film Board of Canada’s website: http://www.nfb.ca/film/a_song_for_tibet/

It lends an important contextual perspective to Québec film-maker Geneviève Brault’s new film, Tibet: Land of the Brave, premiering this month (see our related post just before this one).