Movies: Buddhism

In the early 1200s, Dogen brought Chinese Zen philosophy to Japan, and established the Japanese Zen school of Buddhism. He taught that a person was capable of realizing Buddhahood within himself, by way of Zazen. Zazen is extended hours of sitting an...

A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life....

In 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 ...

A deeply intimate and highly cinematic documentary featuring the Dalai Lama, who, at nearly ninety year of age, offers practical advice for navigating the 21st century's challenges....

After going down in the fifth round, boxer Bud Gordon bowed out of the limelight. Now residing in a fixer-upper apartment in New Jersey with his girlfriend, Bud longs for his former Manhattan glory. In an effort to get back in the game, he makes a de...

CRAZY WISDOM explores the arrival of Tibetan Buddhism in America through the story of Chögyam Trungpa, who landed in the U.S. in 1970. Trungpa became renowned for translating ancient Buddhist concepts into language and ideas that Westerners could und...

After a series of bad relationships, a man orders a mail order bride and receives more than he bargained for....

An epic fantasy loosely based on Buddhist mythology, it is set in the mythical realm of Asura — the dimension of pure desire which is threatened by a coup from a lower heavenly kingdom....

In his new film, Erwin Wagenhofer is looking for the good and beautiful in this world....

Jonas Elrod woke up one day with the ability to see and hear angels, demons and ghosts. Filmed over the course of three years, this documentary follows Jonas and his girlfriend as they try to understand the phenomenon....

Over 2,500 years ago, one man showed the world a way to enlightenment. This beautifully produced Buddhist film by the BBC meticulously reveals the fascinating story of Prince Siddhartha and the spiritual transformation that turned him into the Buddha...

Street art, creativity and revolution collide in this beautifully shot film about art’s ability to create change. The story opens on the politically charged Thailand/Burma border at the first school teaching street art as a form of non-violent strugg...

Brilliant Moon chronicles the life of the writer, poet, and meditation master Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Tibet's most revered 20th-century Buddhist teachers. Spiritual guide to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Royal Family of Bhutan, his life and t...

There is a series of Buddha statue thefts in Kyoto. Beniko, a high school girl, gets the Buddha statue at her family's temple stolen and has her parents killed at the same time. She needs to know what caused the death of a parents and dreams of reven...

Jaded by a series of failures in Seoul, unknown poet, Sun-ho returns to his hometown to help his elderly parents work their farm. Fed up with having to clean up after their cow, he sneaks out one night to sell off the bull at a cattle market. Followi...

Jason Lu, a Hongkonger living in LA, works a shift at a restaurant and finds himself in a bizarre situation, and facing a deadly problem....

Rennyo was the key figure responsible for the restoration of Shin Buddhism in Japan, in particular the Honganji lineage that had a slump in its fortunes during the Middle Ages. According to the legend, his motivation was a pivotal childhood incident ...

The daily life of the Dalai Lama is brought home with remarkable intimacy in SUNRISE/SUNSET. Granted total access to His Holiness for 24 hours, this is a day in the life of the Dalai Lama from when he wakes up at 3 a.m. until his bedtime at dusk....

There are saints living in Tokyo, Japan: Buddha the Enlightened One, and Jesus, Son of God. After successfully bringing the previous century to a close, the two share an apartment in Tachikawa while enjoying some well-earned time off down on Earth. B...

The long awaited second film in the Wicked Priest series is a masterpiece of sword swinging fury as Shinkai is asked by a man on the run to bring his young son to live with his grandfather, the master of a ju-jitsu dojo during the Taisho period of th...