Buddhism
A list of Buddhist movies I would like to watch.
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26 titles
- DirectorLesley Ann PattenStarsKhyentse NorbuLuc DierckxLouise RoddIt's a beautiful day today. We'll go for a walk and see some of the city.
- DirectorNati BaratzStarsTenzin ZopaIn Nepal, a venerable monk, Geshe Lama Konchog, dies and one of his disciples, a youthful monk named Tenzin Zopa, searches for his master's reincarnation. The film follows his search to the Tsum Valley where he finds a young boy of the right age who uncannily responds to Konchog's possessions. Is this the reincarnation of the master? After the boy passes several tests, Tenzin takes him to meet the Dalai Lama. Will the parents agree to let the boy go to the monastery, and, if so, how will the child respond? Central to the film is the relationship the child develops with Tenzin.
- DirectorVictress HitchcockAmber BemakWHEN THE IRON BIRD FLIES takes us on an up-close and personal journey, exploring the complex interactions between contemporary Tibetan Buddhism and western culture. The film goes in-depth to portray the experiences and insights of both teachers and practitioners in the US and around the world. Along the way, it illuminates the wide ranging dialogs taking place between Buddhist teachings and science, psychology, gender theory and the arts. The film creates a vivid and entertaining portrait of the world of Tibetan Buddhism, as it is manifesting in the West and asks the vital question - 'In these increasingly chaotic modern times, can these age old teachings help us to find genuine happiness and create a saner, more compassionate 21st century world?'
- DirectorMark VerkerkStarsPhra Khru Bah Neua Chai KosittoKhun EadPan SeanBuddha's Lost Children is a feature-length documentary film about a Thai Buddhist monk who - armed only with his faith and skills and master boxer skills - wages an inspirational battle to help orphaned children, fight drug abuse, and preserve a vanishing way of life.
- DirectorBanmei TakahashiStarsKankurô NakamuraYuki UchidaRyushin Tei'Zen' Buddhist teacher Dogen Zenji is a very important religious person during the Kamakura period, 750 years ago. After his mother died, he decides to move to China and settle as a Buddhist teacher. One bright morning, enlightened, Zenji returns to Japan as a devoted evangelist of the 'new' Buddhism. However, this new form of Buddhism is not accepted in all communities.
- DirectorMark ElliottStarsDilgo Khyentse Yangsi RinpocheShechen Rabjam RinpocheRecognized as the reincarnation ('yangsi') of one of the most revered Tibetan Masters of the 20th century, Ugyen Tenzin Jigme Lhundrup must train to perpetuate this legacy, starting with an enthronement before thousands at age four. 'Yangsi' follows this process, from childhood up to the time he embarks on a world tour at the age of eighteen to fully assume the mantle of his predecessor. Filmed in large part in Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, over a period of 14 years, Yangsi tells a unique coming of age story as it explores the doubts and hesitations along with the unusual strength of character of the 'Yangsi'.
- DirectorGesar MukpoStarsGesar MukpoDylan HendersonAshoka MukpoEnlightened Tibetan masters return as recognized "tulkus" -- reincarnated buddhas. In the 1970s, tulkus began to be born in the West, confusing both the Tibetan system and the lives of the Western children involved.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsTenzin Thuthob TsarongGyurme TethongTulku Jamyang Kunga TenzinFrom childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsBrad PittDavid ThewlisBD WongHeinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsKeanu ReevesBridget FondaRuocheng YingAfter the death of Lama Dorje, Tibetan Buddhist monks find three children - one American and two Nepalese - who may be the rebirth of their great teacher.
- DirectorSasha MeyerowitzStarsAni Pema ChodronArjia RinpocheKhandro RinpocheA documentary film interviewing some of the most famous Buddhist luminaries, such as His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje and Sogyal Rinpoche, author of the best-selling book called "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying", Ani Pema Chodron, the author of such highly acclaimed and successful books as "The Wisdom of No Escape" and "Start Where You Are". Ideally suited for Western viewers interested in knowing more about Milarepa's significance for Buddhism as a whole, these teachings also show how we can incorporate Milarepa's determination, honesty, clarity and compassion into our lives. Some of the best known Buddhist luminaries give commentaries and insights about the life of one of the best known historical Buddhist figures, Milarepa, Tibet's greatest yogi and spiritual warrior.
- DirectorJennifer FoxStarsYeshi Silvano NamkhaiChögyal Namkhai NorbuTibetan Buddhist Master Choogyal Namkhai Norbu watches as his western-born son, Yeshi, who was recognized at birth as the reincarnation of a famous spiritual master, considers departing from tradition to embrace the modern world.
- DirectorNeten ChoklingStarsOrgyen TobgyalKelsang Chukie TethtongJamyang LodroMilarepa is a tale of greed and vengeance - demons, magic, murder and redemption. It is the story of the man who became Tibet's greatest mystic.
- DirectorEdward A. BurgerA journey exploring the practices of Chinese hermits living in the Zhongnan Mountains.
- DirectorEilona ArielAyelet MenahemiStarsKiran BediThis is the story of an ancient meditation technique named Vipassana, which shows people how to take control of their lives and channel them toward their own good.It is the story of a strong woman named Kiran Bedi, the former Inspector General of Prisons in New Delhi, who strove to transform the notorious Tihar Prison and turn it into an oasis of peace. But most of all it is the story of prison inmates who underwent profound change, and who realized that incarceration is not the end but possibly a fresh start toward an improved and more positive life. These people have shown that reform can work if it is self-reform. Their success has been so dramatic that recently the Indian Government decided to apply Vipassana in all the country's prisons. Other countries are becoming interested as well. The filmmakers spent about two weeks inside Tihar Central Prison in New Delhi and Baroda Jail in the Indian state of Gujarat. They interviewed inmates and jail officials, and filmed in places rarely accessible to film crews, whether Indian or foreign.
- DirectorKhyentse NorbuStarsTshewang DendupGup Kado DubaDasho KadoThe two men embark on parallel, if separate, journeys. Their yearning is a common one--for a better and different life. Dondup, delayed by the timeless pace of his village, is forced to hitchhike through the beautiful wild countryside of Bhutan to reach his goal. He shares the road with a monk, an apple seller, a papermaker and his beautiful young daughter, Sonam. Throughout the journey, the perceptive yet mischievous monk relates the story of Tashi. It is a mystical fable of lust, jealousy and murder, that holds up a mirror to the restless Dondup, and his blossoming attraction to the innocent Sonam. The cataclysmic conclusion of the monk's tale leaves Dondup with a dilemma--is the grass truly greener on the other side?
- DirectorKhyentse NorbuStarsOrgyen TobgyalNeten ChoklingJamyang LodroWhile the soccer World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan refugees arrive at a monastery/boarding school in exile in India. Its atmosphere of serene contemplation is somewhat disrupted by soccer fever, the chief instigator being a young student, the soccer enthusiast Orgyen. Prevented by various circumstances from seeing the Cup finals on television in a nearby village, Orgyen sets out to organize the rental of a TV set for the monastery. The enterprise becomes a test of solidarity, resourcefulness and friendship for the students, while the Lama, head of the monastery, contemplates the challenges of teaching the word of Buddha in a rapidly changing world.
- DirectorAndrew KukuraJenny PhillipsAnne Marie SteinStarsGrady BankheadRon CavanaughJonathan CrowleyEast meets West in the Deep South. An overcrowded maximum-security prison-the end of the line in Alabama's correctional system-is dramatically changed by the influence of an ancient meditation program. Behind high security towers and a double row of barbed wire and electrical fence dwells a host of convicts who will never see the light of day. But for some of these men, a spark is ignited when it becomes the first maximum-security prison in North America to hold an extended Vipassana retreat, an emotionally and physically demanding course of silent meditation lasting ten days. The Dhamma Brothers tells a dramatic tale of human potential and transformation as it closely follows and documents the stories of the prison inmates at Donaldson Correction Facility who enter into this arduous and intensive program.
- DirectorPan NalinStarsShawn KuChristy ChungNeelesha BarthelA spiritual love-story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, Himalayas. Samsara is a quest; one man's struggle to find spiritual Enlightenment by renouncing the world. And one woman's struggle to keep her enlightened love and life in the world. But their destiny turns, twists and comes to a surprise ending...
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsBalinese Tari Legong DancersNi Made Megahadi PratiwiPuti Sri Candra DewiFilmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsThe Dalai LamaLama Lhundup WoeserTakna Jigme SangpoWheel of Time is Werner Herzog's photographed look at the largest Buddhist ritual in Bodh Gaya, India.
- DirectorYong-Kyun BaeStarsYi Pan-YongSin Won-SopHae-Jin HuangAbout three monks in a remote monastery; an aging master, a small orphan and a young man who left his city life to seek Enlightenment.
- DirectorMarc RosenbushStarsDuane SharpKim ChanDebra MillerA nameless 'noir' detective, still mourning the loss of his wife, investigates a mysterious death in a Buddhist temple, but his logical, left-brained crime-solving skills are useless in the intuitive, non-linear world of Zen.
- DirectorKhyentse NorbuStarsShahana GoswamiSwaroopa GhoshDevesh RanjanIn rural India, a young woman named LILA and her mother VINATA, a temple dancer wed to a Hindu god, find themselves on the fringes of society, struggling to make ends meet.