Documentary - The Lost Temple of Java

This documentary (found at Snag Films) takes an in-depth look at Borobudur, the "Lost Temple of Java" (Indonesia). Here is some background from Wikipedia, much of which is covered in the nearly 2-hour film:

Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.[1] A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside a perforated stupa. 

 

Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple's design in Gupta architecture reflects India's influence on the region. It also depicts the gupta style from India and shows influence of Buddhism as well as Hinduism.[2][3] The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades.

Enjoy.

The Lost Temple of Java

Director: Phil Grabsky

 

Borobudur in Central Java is unique. In the shape of a pyramid, with four square terraces leading to three circular ones, this extraordinary building is covered with 3 miles of carvings. Situated on a lush palm-covered volcanic plain, this is a building that deserves the title of 'eighth wonder of the world'. Remarkably, this massive construction lay deserted and obscured by jungle for over 1000 years, only to be to be re-discovered by none other than famous Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. Following a recent complete renovation of its 1.6 million blocks of volcanic stone, many questions can only now be answered surrounding this enigmatic temple.

Werner Herzog's "Wheel of Time" (Tibetan Buddhism)

Werner Herzog's Wheel of Time, a documentary film ostensibly about the two Kalachakra initiation ceremonies in 2002, has a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.1 rating at IMDb . . . with good reason. The film is as quirky as are all of Herzog's documentaries, and beautifully filmed, as is also true of his work over the last 20 years.

Enjoy!

Wheel of Time (2003) - A Film by Werner Herzog

 

Wheel of Time is a 2003 documentary film by German director Werner Herzog about Tibetan Buddhism. The title refers to the Kalachakra sand mandala that provides a recurring image for the film.

The film documents the two Kalachakra initiations of 2002, presided over by the fourteenth Dalai Lama. The first, in Bodhgaya India, was disrupted by the Dalai Lama’s illness. Later that same year, the event was held again, this time without disruption, in Graz, Austria. The film’s first location is the Bodhgaya, the site of the Mahabodhi Temple and the Bodhi tree. Herzog then turns to the pilgrimage at Mount Kailash, after which the film then focuses on the second gathering in Graz.

Herzog includes a personal interview with the Dalai Lama, as well as Tibetan former political prisoner Takna Jigme Zangpo, who served 37 years in a Chinese prison for his support of the International Tibet Independence Movement.

This episode of On Being is from 2009, but I had never heard it before, so it was a welcome discovery as I browsed through the archives of the show. Thich Nhat Hanh is a renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk (Bamboo Forest Tradition), and founder of Engaged Buddhism (a term coined in his 1967 book, Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire) and the Order of Inter-Being.

From Wikipedia:

Nhat Hanh's approach has been to combine a variety of traditional Zen teachings with insights from other Mahayana Buddhist traditions, methods from Theravada Buddhism, and ideas from Western psychology—to offer a modern light on meditation practice. Hanh's presentation of the Prajñāpāramitā in terms of "interbeing" has doctrinal antecedents in the Huayan school of thought,[28] which "is often said to provide a philosophical foundation" for Zen.[29] 

Nhat Hanh has also been a leader in the Engaged Buddhism movement (he coined the term), promoting the individual's active role in creating change. He cites the 13th-century Vietnamese King Trần Nhân Tông with the origination of the concept. Trần Nhân Tông abdicated his throne to become a monk, and founded the Vietnamese Buddhist school in the Bamboo Forest tradition.

Among his many popular books are Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm, Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child, True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart, and Be Free Where You Are.

BROTHER THAY: A RADIO PILGRIMAGE WITH THICH NHAT HANH

June 4, 2009

Zen master and poet Thich Nhat Hanh was forcibly exiled from his native country of Vietnam more than 40 years ago. We visited the Buddhist monk at a Christian conference center in a lakeside setting of rural Wisconsin. Here, Thich Nhat Hanh offers stark, gentle wisdom for living in a world of anger and violence. He discusses the concepts of "engaged Buddhism," "being peace," and "mindfulness."

Listen

• Radio Show/Podcast (mp3, 53:09)
• » Thich Nhat Hanh Unedited Interview (mp3, 39:45)
• » Cheri Maples (mp3, 21:19)
• » Larry Ward (mp3, 19:06)

Voices on the Radio

Larry Ward
Ward is co-director of the Lotus Institute in Encinitas, California and an ordained Baptist minister. He also owned a management consultant firm for Fortune 500 companies.


Cheri Maples
Maples is a licensed attorney and consultant on justice and community corrections. She was ordained as a dharma teacher by Thich Nhat Hanh in 2008.

Learn

• Books + Music
• Krista's Journal
• Links + Resources
• Particulars
• Transcript

Poems You Heard and Others You Didn't

Walking Meditation with Thich Nhat Hanh
by Tess Gallagher

For Warmth
by Thich Nhat Hanh

Selected Audio

Mindfulness of Anger: Embracing the Child Within - A 2003 dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh during a morning meditation session at The Green Lake Conference Center in Wisconsin.

About the Image at the Top

Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen monk, poet, and peacemaker. He co-founded the An Quang Buddhist Institute, the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Vietnam, and Plum Village, a Buddhist training monastery in France. He is the author of many books, including Being Peace, The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation, and Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals 1962–1966.