“When the Iron Bird Flies” — An interview with director/producer Amber Bemak
“When the Iron Bird Flies” — An interview with director/producer Amber Bemak |
- “When the Iron Bird Flies” — An interview with director/producer Amber Bemak
- A day in the life of Phap Van Buddhist Temple
- Buddhism and the Environment
- Every Lost Country
- The “strip-club Buddha”
- Das Racist, Lou Reed, Philip Glass, Stephin Merritt and more to rock Feb 13 Tibet House benefit
- Review: Awesome Nightfall, by William R. LaFleur
| “When the Iron Bird Flies” — An interview with director/producer Amber Bemak Posted: 07 Feb 2012 08:02 AM PST  In production: Amber Bemak (left) and fellow producer/director Victress Hitchcock By Danny Fisher for Buddhadharma News Last week, Shambhala SunSpace told you about, and shared video from, When the Iron Bird Flies – "a documentary-in-progress, seeking to give the world a comprehensive look at the impact Tibetan Meditation is having on Western culture" – and how you can help the filmmakers finish the project. I spoke to Amber Bemak, one of the film's two directors and producers (the other is Chariot Productions founder Victress Hitchcock) for more about this important documentary. What can you tell us about When the Iron Bird Flies — the film itself, as well the production up to this point? The film is an honest and direct exploration of the contemporary cultural interactions which are taking place between Tibetan Meditation and Western Culture from as many angles as possible. It weaves together an intricate tapestry of interviews with contemporary teachers of Tibetan Meditation, stories of Western practitioners, archival footage, and striking images of modern life that illuminate and make accessible the Buddha's core teachings. Our characters include: - A German nun who we see become the first woman in the history of the Tibetan Buddhist world to receive the degree of Geshe (equivalent to a PhD). - A young man who, after living on the streets as a homeless youth, moves to India and begins an intensive study of Buddhist philosophy in an all-Tibetan college. - A man who spent thirteen years in prison, where he developed a deep connection with Tibetan Buddhist practice, and who now teaches all over the world. We see his personal life integrate his understanding of the teachings with the care of his dying partner. - A young woman who leaves her job and a fast-paced party life in New York City to spend five months in solitary retreat in the mountains of Colorado. We have recently finished our three-year production period on the film, and are now in the middle of post-production. The film is scheduled to premiere this summer at BuddhaFest. Why did you choose the subject of Tibetan Meditation coming West? The subject was chosen by Tsoknyi Rinpoche, a Tibetan lama who has been the main inspiration behind this project. Vicki (my collaborator) and I both thought that since we are in such an interesting moment, really the birth and beginning of Tibetan Meditation going all over the world, that a film would be an appropriate medium in which to share this moment with a wide audience. Did Tsoknyi Rinpoche say anything about why he saw this subject as an immediate priority for a film versus another subject? Here's a quote from Tsokyni Rinpoche which is on our Kickstarter page: "I am an increasing believer in the power of inspired filmmaking to convey the essence of living dharma. Many people, dharma students or not, who have seen Blessings, a film about the Nangchen Nuns in Eastern Tibet, were deeply affected, and for some it changed their lives in a meaningful way. I am pleased to again be working with the makers of Blessings, Victress Hitchcock and Amber Bemak, on a new film that tells the evolving story of how Tibetan dharma, moving from the monasteries and retreat caves of the East to the rapidly changing and speedy modern world, is affecting the 21st century. I have faith that this film will inspire many people to explore these precious and ever-timely teachings. I know that the film will be of great benefit in these difficult times." Speaking of Kickstarter, you've just launched your campaign for the film there. Would you tell us about that, and other ways interested readers can help serve the film?
Kickstarter is a great place for people like us, who have already received a lot of support for our film, but who need a final contribution to fully finish it. The great thing about Kickstarter is that even if you contribute $ 5, it adds up! Another way to help out the film is to spread the word to friends or different groups who may be interested. This is going to be a very important film, and we are really excited about the Kickstarter campaign for it. You note in the literature about the film that you all are "a group of experienced filmmakers who are longtime Tibetan Buddhist practitioners." As both a seasoned dharma practitioner and filmmaker, I'm curious to hear you say a little something about the meeting of those two things in your life. How has practice influenced your filmmaking? Similarly, how has your life in the arts influenced you as a practitioner? My Buddhist practice and my film practice are always completely functioning together. My deepest artistic influence is what arises from the simple practice of looking at the mind. The mind creates stories and patterns, and so does film. Through Buddhist practice, we have a chance to investigate these stories, their structural makeup, and the way they function and interact with external factors. Through filmmaking, we also have the opportunity to do this. I believe film has an incredible power to help foster awareness in viewers, on outer, inner, and deep levels. On a less philosophical note, film reaches a lot of people and is easy to digest. We are living in a heavily media-saturated society. So I think it is important to have Buddhist films in the world. What have you learned about the issue of Meditation coming West as a result of making this film? From the process of making this film, I have learned that Tibetan Meditation coming to the West is an extremely diverse issue. Even the word "West" embodies so many different realities and countries. I have gotten the opportunity to speak with a wide range of people about their interpretation of Tibetan Meditation, and how they are integrating the practices into their lives or their communities. Also I've had the chance to speak with many Tibetan Lamas and Buddhist teachers about how they see Dharma fitting into Western culture. Through speaking with all of these people, I've realized that "the West" has something to offer back to Tibetan Meditation as well. Historically, Meditation takes on qualities of the cultures it takes root in. There are some ways in which Tibetan Meditation could benefit from liberal Western cultural values, for example, issues surrounding women's rights. So I have come to begin thinking of this as more of a back-and-forth exchange, as opposed to a situation where "the West" gets to just take/appropriate from Tibetan Meditation. I think it is an exciting time for this exchange to be taking place. Read More @ Source
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| A day in the life of Phap Van Buddhist Temple Posted: 07 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST
From Quill & Quire: There is nothing subtle about the moral map Heighton draws here. Lawson embodies pure will, a superman who wants to rise above petty and "soft" humanity. Dr. Book, formerly of Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian who can't resist the impulse to reach out to others in need. Recurring motifs, like the safety rope that connects climbers to one another, help to make the point. Lawson sees this rope as a drag, something weighing him down. Elsewhere, however, the rope is likened to an umbilical cord, representative of human connection and responsibility. Survival is linked to love, family ties, cooperation, and mutual aid. Isolation – from the group, the tribe, the family – leads to death. This is all rather obvious – reminiscent of Ian McEwan at his most schematic – and made more so by Heighton's willingness to toss in the occasional heavy authorial pronouncement. There are, however, a lot of action scenes that keep driving up the tension along the parallel narrative tracks. The writing moves skilfully through a range of registers, from tragic to (darkly) comic, intimate to political. And the magnificent setting is dramatically evoked on a lush canvas. Every Lost Country is an ambitious novel, at turns both rough around the edges and overpolished (the ending, in particular, is too tidy). But it has an expansive moral vision wedded to a thrilling plot. Perhaps not a match made in heaven, but one that works well enough. Globe & Mail Review: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/article1560484.ece Toronto Star Review: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/809774–every-lost-country-drama-at-the-top-of-the-world The original events which inspired this novel were witnessed by more than 100 people and captured on film. Details of that are available on YouTube, and were first covered on Sumeru in April of 2009. Here is our previous post on the subject: http://www.sumeru-books.com/2009/08/murder-in-the-snow/ Read More @ Source
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| Posted: 06 Feb 2012 12:00 PM PST
That's right. It's the sign for a Portuguese strip club called the Buda Bar. It came to my attention by way of Bruno Fernandes, who knows a thing or two about deftly blending Buddhist thought with modern approaches; Bruno is the vocalist and lyricist for the excellent metal band, The Firstborn, whose lyrical content is very much informed by Bruno's Buddhist practice. (I've covered The Firstborn, who describe their music as "Extreme Metal with Oriental influences and a concept dealing with Buddhist philosophy" a few times before on The Worst Horse and in the Shambhala Sun magazine, too.) Bruno sent me the above photo with a note: "Recently opened, right next door to our rehearsal room… Talk about karma!" So I asked him if it really is a strip club, and he answered, "That and much more, or so I'm told… I've never gone inside so I don't know if there's some sort of Buddhist theme in regards to interior design and decoration, but I can assure you the people don't seem to come out enlightened, only lighter on their wallets!" Like Bruno, I try to have a sense of humor about these things. Still, I'm left wondering: Why would they do this? It's not even that it's offensive — which, to many, it certainly will be — it's more that there's nothing "sexy" about this at all. Just who are they trying to attract with this unusual signage? And how do you react when you see this kind of thing? (PS: The Firstborn have a new album coming out, called Lions Among Men. Check them out online, here.) Read More @ SourceDanno Budunge...... 
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| Das Racist, Lou Reed, Philip Glass, Stephin Merritt and more to rock Feb 13 Tibet House benefit Posted: 06 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST
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| Review: Awesome Nightfall, by William R. LaFleur Posted: 06 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST  This book is superb. In fact, it lives up to its title, being an awesome account of the 'nightfall' of a poet into old age, as well as the descent of feudal Japan into unprecedented civil war. The translator, William R. LaFleur has done an excellent job, not just of translating the Japanese verse into English, but of setting the scene in such a clear historical context in the first part of the book. If he didn't receive any awards for his fantastic efforts in producing 'Awesome Nightfall,' it's something of an injustice, to say the least. As hinted at above, the book is divided into two parts, the first being called 'The Life and Times of Saigyo,' and the second 'Poems of Saigyo.' Sometimes introductory sections of books can be somewhat dry, even boring - occasionally superfluous - to the main course. Not with this book. LaFleur clearly has a great love of his subject, and has spent decades studying Saigyo, also. This gives him an insight into an otherwise mysterious figure that many translators would never have. Which, in turn, sheds light on the poems themselves, and helps the reader to make more sense of them. He sums Saigyo up neatly thus: "Much of the time Saigyo, originally a samurai, grappled with the implications of having become a monk. And, because he lived in 'interesting' times, he struggled to understand and articulate the connection between his religious tradition and the social chaos he witnessed firsthand. Rightly known to many Japanese today as an unusually perceptive celebrant of nature's beauty, Saigyo's sensitivity toward human conflict was equally deep. War was much on his mind. And he wrote about it more than any other poet of his era." ('Awesome Nightfall,' p.1) Saigyo (1118-1190) was an intriguing character. As La Fleur admits, the information that we have of the poet is sketchy, and without corroborating sources, it's difficult to know if even this is true. What is undisputed is that Saigyo was born into a samurai clan, and that when still a young man he decided to become a Buddhist monk, something that cannot have been easy. Even before this, he wrote poetry, which was popular in the court of retired - but still very powerful) Emperor Toba. After ordination, Saigyo adopted the life of a wandering monk, contemplating Buddhist teachings and composing poetry. He has been the inspiration for numerous Japanese poets since, most notable the greatest of them all, Basho. Many poems appear in the long section referred to above, where LaFeur explores them with his expert eye, explaining the significance of a phrase here and a proper name there, as well as detailing the historical context in which they were written. They are all waka, a Japanese form of five line poetry that has! enough brevity to contain elements of vagueness (mystery), and as well as enough room for more descriptive prowess than found in that more famous Japanese form of verse, the haiku. LaFeur's analysis of the poems in full of interesting insights: "I wish I knew the fate of my father, and I'd like to know too if his place in flames will also be mine. There seems to be something more here than the quasi-formalized sentiments of a dutiful son. Saigyo, who can be assumed to have performed rites to pacify his deceased warrior father, Noriyasu, seems to be existentially worried that the warrior, in a killing profession by definition, may have a karmic burden so great that it cannot be easily removed. And that, in turn, makes him anxious about his own future." (Ibib. p.46) As to the poems themselves, LaFeur has translated them beautifully, retaining both the meaning and the feeling of the originals, as far as this reviewer can tell. Saigyo's sensitive nature and worries come through aplenty. As do his love of cherry blossoms, his Buddhist worldview, and the confl! ict that he felt between the two, as he appeared to believe he was overly attached to the former. As encouragement to practice, and a source of reflection, this work is of much value to Buddhists, who might even achieve a direct experience tof this present enlightened moment through its words. For both Buddhists and poetry lovers alike, this book is wonderful. Meticulously researched and superbly written, it stands as work of art in itself, lit by the light of the unique talents of Saigyo and LaFleur. It comes highly recommended by this reviewer, who cannot praise it enough. Below are a selection of verse from the book to give the reader a taste of its beauty. "Waking me up to the spring that's come, water trickles down the valley, and long crag-bound ice now cracks open, slides free." (Ibid. p.74) "This leaky, tumbledown grass hut left an opening for the moon, and I gazed at it all the while it was mirrored in a teardrop fallen on my sleeve." (Ibid. 86) "Nothing lost… since in satori everything thrown away comes back again: the life given up for an 'other'" (Ibid. p.111) "Yoshino Mountains: blossoms tumble to the foot of trees, fastening my heart there with them waiting still for my return." (Ibid. p.126) "In e! arly win ter's rain I'm pleased when up at the peak clouds spread open to show me the moon I longed to see: a storm that knows compassion." (Ibid. p.146) The above book is published by Wisdom Publications, and is available from their website at:  Evening / Morning Chanting 早课/晚课(Pali/English) 
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We've talked here of "Dharma-Burgers," which, as I've said, aren't some new fast-food sandwich — though they can be every bit as dubious as a Mc-DLT and a super-sized "New Coke." A "Dharma-Burger" is, actually, any example of Buddhist ideas or imagery employed in the marketing or production of (usually non-Buddhist) services and consumables. Sometimes they're okay. Sometimes, they're beyond the pale. What do you make of this one?
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