Film Review: “The Lady,” Luc Besson’s Aung San Suu Kyi biopic
Film Review: “The Lady,” Luc Besson’s Aung San Suu Kyi biopic |
- Film Review: “The Lady,” Luc Besson’s Aung San Suu Kyi biopic
- Tassajara Zen Mountain Center honors Suzuki Roshi with a torii gate
- Fr. Patrick Hawk, American Zen teacher, dies at 69
- Read Beastie Boy Adam Yauch’s 1995 interview with the Dalai Lama
- Scent of a pristine dew
- Buddhist art exhibit and lecture series opens Thursday in Vancouver
- Minnesota Tibetan foundation receives 2012 Asian Pacific Leadership Award
| Film Review: “The Lady,” Luc Besson’s Aung San Suu Kyi biopic Posted: 09 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT The Lady, which was released for awards consideration late last year, is now playing in limited release throughout the U.S. and Canada. At the time Danny Fisher saw the film at an advance screening, Burma was in the news as Hillary Clinton became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit Burma in more than fifty years. Since then, the country, ruled by a military dictatorship for five decades, has shown even more signs of democratizing. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy won 43 out of 44 seats they contest in last month's parliamentary elections, and she took her seat in parliament last week, after ending the NLD's boycott of swearing an oath to the country's military-drafted constitution. Watch a trailer for The Lady above. Here now is Fisher's advance-screening review. History seems to be in the making in Burma as Luc Besson's The Lady, about National League for Democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, screens in New York and Los Angeles (where I saw it) this week for Academy Awards consideration. Hillary Clinton became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit Burma in over fifty years last week, signaling that the recent "reforms" in the country, which has been ruled by a brutal, repressive military dictatorship since 1962, might be real. (Though violence against ethnic minorities flared very shortly after her departure, and many, many political prisoners remain in the country—including U Gambira, the leader of the 2007 Buddhist monastic uprising known as the "Saffron Revolution.") The aspect of Secretary Clinton's visit that received the most attention was, of course, her meeting with "Daw Suu," who was released from her latest house arrest just over a year ago. (She has spent a total of 15 of the last 22 years under house arrest.) With the world focused again on "The Lady," as she is known within Burma, the arrival of a major motion picture about her is timely to say the least.
 Photo: Vanessa Karam The Lady helps the viewer come to understand Daw Suu (played by Michelle Yeoh) and her nonviolent, Buddhist-influenced leadership by focusing squarely on her marriage to the late Oxford Tibetologist Michael Aris (David Thewlis). The daughter of the assassinated General Aung San, a revolutionary who was key to gaining Burma its independence from Britain, Daw Suu spends her days as wife and mother to Alex (Jonathan Woodhouse) and Kim (Jonathan Raggett), and her nights finishing her own Ph.D. and writing and reflecting on her father and her country. Looming over their quiet life is the possibility that someday Daw Suu, given her family history, may play a role in the shaping of her country. That possibility becomes a reality when her mother Daw Khin Kyi (Marian Yu) falls ill. Daw Suu rushes to her bedside just as the 8.8.88 uprising – the massive, student-led demonstrations against the military government that ultimately resulted in a violent crackdown, claiming the lives of over 3,000 protestors – occurs in Rangoon. Daw Suu is subsequently approached by students and intellectuals in the movement: they know that they need an imposing face (and prime minister candidate) for their National League for Democracy, and believe that it can only be her. She accepts and goes on to be elected in a landslide, only to have the junta nullify the results, threaten her life, place her under house arrest, cut her off from the family, and undermine her work. All the while, Daw Suu insists on nonviolent response, leading through powerful, inspirational example. Meanwhile, the film also tracks Michael and the boys back in the U.K., frequently kept from wife/mother, and their efforts to adjust to their new reality and serve the cause as best they can. Michael recruits help to nominate his wife for the Nobel Peace Prize (which she receives in 1991), negotiates personally with the generals, and coordinates with such figures as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker to apply pressure where it is needed. The film takes an absolutely devastating turn (just as the real story did) when Michael is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which the generals attempt to leverage against Daw Suu. Despite entreaties from and considerable efforts by Pope John Paul II, the UN, the Dalai Lama, and others, the two are forbidden from being together as Michael dies; the generals won't allow Michael into the country, and if Daw Suu leaves she will not be permitted to return. Here, the vision, idealism, and considerable sacrifices of this family on behalf of a nation of oppressed people, is brought into starkest focus. Yeoh, the Malaysian-born star of Ang Lee's Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies among many others, is nothing short of miraculous. Not only does she completely transform into the Daw Suu we all recognize – it would not be an overstatement at all to say that it's as though she's channeling her – but she also manages to convincingly bring out those aspects of her inner and interpersonal life that have not been so public. It's a robust, heartrending, simply astonishing performance that not only does justice to the film's subject, but will probably also stir many viewers to go out and learn more about the real-life "Lady." (There couldn't be a higher compliment for Yeoh, who, personally inspired by Daw Suu, was the driving force behind getting this film made.) Though Yeoh's performance alone would be enough to make it a must, The Lady contains a second remarkable piece of film acting in David Thewlis' take on Daw Suu's late husband. Best known to American audiences as Harry Potter's "Professor Lupin," Thewlis comes through with what is perhaps the most affecting performance in his distinguished career as the devoted Michael Aris (and also his twin brother Anthony). In the final analysis, The Lady is less about an individual than it is a marriage – the title may be a bit of misnomer, in fact – so he's every bit as important to this story as she is. Thewlis exquisitely conveys the intelligence, patience, longing, adoration, and dedication of his character. He breaks your heart. As director, Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) is predictably right at home with the more suspenseful aspects of the story and in depicting the horrors of vicious Generals Ne Win and Than Shwe's junta. Additionally, as he demonstrated with Léon: The Professional (his best film), his storytelling panache is often very well suited to emotionally-charged material: as unusual as the pairing of material and director may seem here, his unique visual sense often serves The Lady quite well indeed. One breathtaking, richly metaphoric moment, for example, has Daw Suu lighting a candle on the floor beside her mother's bed in Rangoon General Hospital, at once bringing a much-needed quality of warmth and personality to the seemingly hopeless surroundings, and sending hoards of cockroaches fleeing underground. In addition, the re-enactment of the real-life moment when Daw Suu faced down a potential firing squad is at once pitch-perfect and a quintessentially Besson moment. (It was this incident that also inspired the iconic U2 anthem to Daw Suu, "Walk On".) Though Rebecca Frayn's script wisely keeps the drama focused on Daw Suu's sacrifices in terms of her family, it's flat, without much in the way of compelling dialogue (mostly it's used to telegraph information). In addition, the film contains just enough flashes of genuine greatness to leave the audience wanting more. One beautifully performed scene, for example, which depicts the frustrated Kim and the distraught Daw Suu speaking by phone as Michael dies in hospice, brilliantly captures the tension between agape love and family love that is at the very heart of this story. Daw Suu awkwardly and unnecessarily tries to explain to her son (and herself) the reasons that she's not there with them, as Kim listens in adolescent silence, clearly struggling with the impending loss of his father, the absence of his mother, and the hopeful vision of a democratic Burma that the whole family shares. It's a powerful moment of conflicting, messy emotions, one of a handful in the film, which suggest the possibility of a much greater work of art. These scenes represent The Lady at its best; in between, though, this is not necessarily 2011's most scintillating piece of cinema. But it all works nonetheless. (At the screening I attended, the soft sounds of sobs and sniffles in the theater permeated all of the scenes intended to elicit such a reaction.) What's more, The Lady isn't trying to be Citizen Kane. Indeed, it's after the final scene fades out that the real mission here is perhaps most apparent. The first end title card notes that over 2,100 political prisoners remain behind bars in Burma, including 17 video journalists – several of whom contributed footage from within Rangoon specifically for use in the film. In addition, the credits have a "thank you" to certain persons within Burma for assistance with the film, noting that, for their safety, they cannot be identified by name. The Lady is first and foremost a passion project by film artists wanting to educate audiences about the still-dire human rights situation in Burma, and the truly extraordinary sacrifices of those trying to change things. It's "edu-tainment," activist art, and, clearly, everyone involved in the production is OK with and primarily committed to that. The movement for democracy and human rights needed a film like this, for those unaware of the situation to go into and emerge educated, inspired, and motivated. They will. In a recent interview, Besson talked about screening the film with Burmese refugees, who wept while watching. Referring to this effect on those who have a lot riding on the success of the film, Besson said, "I'm a happy man." He should be: The Lady is exactly what it needs to be. Read More @ Source Rathnamali Gatha with sinhala meaning 
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| Tassajara Zen Mountain Center honors Suzuki Roshi with a torii gate Posted: 09 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT  Photo by Shundo David Haye During the most recent practice period at Tassajara, a torii gate was built to mark the path leading to the onsite ashes of the late Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, founder of the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) and Tassajara. While torii are often found in Japan at Shinto shrines, where they mark the entrance to a sacred place, they are also common at Buddhist temples. The gate was honored with a ceremony during the 50th anniversary Alumni Gathering, before the guest season at Tassajara started on Friday. Myogen Steve Stücky, a co-abbot of the SFZC, honored Suzuki at the ceremony. "Through your quiet, dedicated effort, your willingness to meet whomever appeared," Stücky said, "you planted the flag of dharma in American soil." His full speech can found at the SFZC blog. Tassajara is one of three practice communities of the San Francisco Zen Center, which includes City Center in San Francisco, Green Gulch Farm in Marin, and Tassajara in the Ventana Wilderness. For more information about the Zen Center, visit its website. Read More @ Source
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| Fr. Patrick Hawk, American Zen teacher, dies at 69 Posted: 08 May 2012 07:00 PM PDT
Our condolences to his family, friends and sangha. For remembrances by those who knew him, please see the obituary at Sweeping Zen. Read More @ Source
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| Read Beastie Boy Adam Yauch’s 1995 interview with the Dalai Lama Posted: 08 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT  Photo: Sue Kwon As our Facebook friends saw, a new interview is available in which Adam Yauch — the Beastie Boy, Buddhist and Tibet activist who died on Friday — sat down with the Dalai Lama in 1995 to talk about interdependence, the political situation in Tibet, and the importance of practicing compassion. Yauch originally conducted the interview for Rolling Stone, which ended up only printing a short excerpt. The full interview was published in a 1996 issue of Grand Royal, the eclectic pop culture magazine the Beastie Boys put out from 1993 to 1997. You can read the interview here. Also, see the Shambhala Sun's 1995 interview with Yauch, in which he talks about hip hop, helping people, and his relationship to Buddhist's Bodhisattva Vow. Read More @ SourceHigher Criticism by Ajahn Brahm 
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| Posted: 08 May 2012 03:00 PM PDT by Kooi Fong Lim, The Buddhist Channel, May 8, 2012
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia -- It was once said that meeting a good teacher is like having the chance of waking up high in the mountains and taking in fresh, pristine air. A breath like that is priceless, almost immeasurable.
But if you attempt to explain such an unexplainable experience to someone who has never done it, you'd probably be questioned "What is the scent of a pristine dew?" Good teachers and wise people, like the pristine morning dew are never seen. They can only be experienced. And the experience can only take place in their presence, where both conditions meet and when both are present at the same moment. Like clear, fresh morning dew, the teacher that is Venerable Dagpo Rinpoche has touched many people with his humble presence, despite his low key nature. His many students vouch for the deep Dharma emanating from this gentle man, despite not knowing the language that he speaks, which is Tibetan. Dagpo Rinpoche, also known as Bamchoe Rinpoche, was born in 1932 in the region of Kongpo, located in southeastern Tibet, Dagpo Rinpoche was recognized by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Dagpo Lama Jampel Lhundrup when he was only two years old. At age six, Rinpoche entered Bamchoe Monastery where he first learned to read and write, studying Tibetan Buddhism.
When Dagbo Rinpoche came to Malaysia in 1990, little did he realize the impact he would make on the small community of Buddhists here in Petaling Jaya. Over the years, the Kadam Tashi Choe Ling (KTCL) Buddhist Centre has become the home of Dagbo Rinpoche's teachings. It is through this KTCL centre many have become devout Buddhists not just by label, but Dharma practitioners reflective of the great tradition and lineage of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism. Despite this prestigious and noble spiritual lineage, Dagpo Rinpoche of today remains a master whose great simplicity, kindness and infinite patience makes him extremely accessible and allows his numerous following to benefit from his remarkable teachings and skilful spiritual guidance. As reflection of Wesak 2012, his students here in Malaysia give their views of how Dagbo Rinpoche and his teachings have made a difference in their lives. Like pristine morning dew, their words are refreshing and invigorating, a testimony that Buddha Dharma is timeless, in whatever age we live in. ------------ "Rinpoche's voice exudes calmness and it is very pleasant to my ears. Upon meeting him for the very first time he struck me as being a very kind figure. Years later in following his retreat and teaching, I discover that he is indeed very virtuous in his thoughts and actions." - Cheryl Tan "Though I only see Dagpo Lama Rinpoche once or twice a year, I do not feel the distance affects the relationship shared by a teacher and disciple. His words and presence are always beside me." - Sylvia Tjakra "Through Rinpoche's invaluable commentaries on the scriptures, I find eye opening insights on the causes of suffering, what stops it, and more importantly, how to stop it. But this was just a passageway which lead to a staircase taking me up to higher levels of understanding. At each landing, the corridor runs left and right with doorways leading to more gems of knowledge. As I exit each door, I'm happy with what I've learnt and yearn to open more doors …" - Gene Lim "I fully believe that access to Dagpo Lama Rinpoche's teachings given his lineage of previous incarnations of renowned Tibetan Buddhist Masters, the large number of oral transmissions he has personally received and his dedication in providing very precise and thorough teachings to his followers is a clear privilege." - Claire Featherstone "Venerable Dagpo Lama Rinpoche's kindness to us is so great. He epitomizes the perfect role model - whatever Rinpoche teaches, he 'lives' by it. His love and compassion to us is greater than a mother's love for her only child." - Lim Yan Pok "With perseverance and Rinpoche's blessings, I was able to gradually make some sense of it. I now know that my life is truly precious and full of good fortune and not only that, I am able to make use of it for many beings sake." - Sean Tan "Serving in KTCL makes my life meaningful because I realize that it is so extraordinay and precious to have such a rare opportunity to do so. This is because our precious master's wish for the centre is so far reaching since Rinpoche's wish is for the centre to benefit all sentient beings so that they can ultimately attain true happiness and be freed of sufferings." - Vivien Pun "Rinpoche's teachings Lam Rim provides a roadmap on the path to enlightenment. Lam Rim teachings are quite different from Abhidharma teachings or any usual subjects taught in schools in that it requires more than just intellectual understanding of the subject matter. As one listens to the teaching one simultaneously receives the lineage transmission passed down from one lineage master to another which could finally traced back to the Lord Sakyamuni Buddha himself (without breakage). As such there are tremendous blessings from the merit field, blessing one's mindstream. It helps one to purify and increase merit." - Tan Chin Szu "The pure altruistic motivation and sincerity shown in the members of KTCL definitely draw people to participate in your Dharma activities and thus promote Buddhadharma." - Lam Chook Hong Read also: Dagbo Rinpoche's Wesak Message On the web: Kadam Tashi Choe Ling (www.ktcl.org.my) Read More @ SourceTimeless Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2 of 3) by Ajahn Siripanno 
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| Buddhist art exhibit and lecture series opens Thursday in Vancouver Posted: 08 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT
Buddhist scholar Dr. B.J. Terwiel will be speaking about Thai Buddhism on May 18, and Robert Thurman will give a talk on Buddhist and art on May 27. A conference on contemporary Buddhist art is scheduled for July 6-8. For full details on all events, please see here. Read More @ Source
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| Minnesota Tibetan foundation receives 2012 Asian Pacific Leadership Award Posted: 08 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT  TAFM logo The Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM) was honored on Monday with the 2012 Asian Pacific Leadership Award for "outstanding service and achievements in preserving Tibetan culture." The Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans (CAPM) presented the award for the Foundation's variety of social and educational programs. TAFM has served Minnesota's Tibetan community since its founding in 1992, serving a community of around 3,000 Tibetans. One other organization and four individuals also received 2012 Leadership awards this year in a ceremony held in St. Paul. Accepting the award on their the organization's behalf, TAFM president Namgyal Dorjee said, "We recognize the value of working together for the benefit of the community and Minnesota." For more information on the TAFM, please visit their website. Read More @ Source
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