The Shambhala Sun has been proud to be a sponsor of several showings of filmmaker John Bush’s acclaimed, gorgeous Journey Into Buddhism trilogy, which includes the films Dharma River (which takes us to Laos, Thailand, and Burma), Vajra Sky Over Tibet, and Prajna Earth (Bali, Cambodia, and Java). And now our friends in the L.A. [...]
Via Red Bull China comes a new video that uses Buddhism’s cultural cachet to move those skinny little cans of liquid speed — while also giving us a glimpse of the monastic mindful life. The question is: while this is quite obviously a promotional video, is that all it is, or does it present some [...]
Based on his acclaimed semi-biographical/semi-fantasy manga series, here comes Osamu Tezuka’s “Buddha 2,” an anime film scheduled for a February 2014 release. Watch the high-energy trailer, which has English subtitles, here.
“When ‘tasted’ deeply, life itself is more genuine, less guarded,” writes Bonnie Myotai Treace in her review of William Scott Wilson’s “The One Taste of Truth: Zen and the Art of Drinking Tea,” from our May magazine. One person who understands that is Jesse Jacobs, the owner of Samovar, a San Francisco tea lounge previously [...]
We told you last year about Planting Seeds, a documentary produced by Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village community and the group at Peace is the Way films to teach children about mindfulness. The film uses animation, songs, stories and engaging activities that children, parents and teachers can use. The film is currently in post-production, and the [...]
At the recent TEDxMiddlebury conference, Polly Young-Eisendrath gave this talk on happiness. The key to being happy, she says, is getting free of self-importance. A Jungian analyst in private practice and a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont, Young-Eisendrath is attuned to how we deal (or, don’t deal) with our emotions. [...]
Our friends at The Pema Chödrön Foundation invite you to join them in celebrating Pema’s 77th birthday by taking part in their second annual “birthday retreat.” Pema has filmed a teaching just for this occasion, offering advice, encouragement, and meditation instruction. All you need to do is register online and the Pema Chödrön Foundation will email you [...]
The Phuket News tells us today about Saint Young Men, a Japanese manga tale which has now evolved into an animated film. As we’re told, the artist behind it “portrays Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, the founders of Christianity and Buddhism, as two cool guys who share an apartment on their trip to Earth. The [...]
April 18, 2013 – 12:31 pm
In response to Monday’s bombings at the Boston marathon, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has recorded this video, offering messages of support for those affected by the explosions and guiding viewers through a compassion and loving-kindness meditation.
There’s just a week left to help support the birthing of On Meditation, a beautiful documentary-in-progress on, well, meditation. “Our goal is simple,” write the filmmakers, “and ambitious: to demystify meditation and make it more accessible to a mainstream audience.” The film follows 5 principals so far: Congressman Tim Ryan, actor Giancarlo Esposito, Buddhist monk [...]
March 28, 2013 – 10:59 am
Made by Canadian filmmaker David Cherniack, the new documentary film Retreat follows thirty-five Westerners — some who are beginners at meditation — “as they attempt an intense, eight-week, silent retreat in Thailand with the American Buddhist teacher, B. Alan Wallace. The meditation practice they’re learning is shamatha, or calm abiding, stilling the mind with sustained, one-pointed, [...]
Is Wolverine a Buddhist? Well, that may be pushing things, but as Jeffrey Kripal’s book Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal says, “Wolverine spent some time in Japan as a boy, speaks fluent Japanese, and practices Zazen.” (He also, as Kripal adds, has practiced tai chi.) And now that he’s got [...]
Need a little help putting that device away? Maybe you can take inspiration from our friend/contributor Michael Stusser. Michael wrote the recent Shambhala Sun articles, “Speak No Evil, Tweet No Evil,” and “The Tweeting, Yelping, Flickring, Foursquaring, TripAdvising Mentality” and now has a new film, “Sleeping With Siri,” co-made with Marty Riemer. The film is [...]
You know meditation really is being embraced by the culture at large when different-thinking companies begin to hire “mindfulness ambassadors” to reach and teach their customers. That’s just what the climbing and yoga gear company Prana has done, picking Mark Coleman for the gig. You might remember Mark for his Shambhala Sun story, “Awake in [...]
It was “2 years ago today,” says the Facebook page of Mike DeStefano, that “we lost our brother.” DeStefano, you may recall, first came to national attention on NBC’s televised comedy competition, Last Comic Standing, and in “The Junkie and the Monk,” a famously intense and personal installment of the storytelling series, The Moth. (Video [...]
