Thai Buddhist film festival seeks to spark faith

by Xinyan Yu, AP, June 22, 2012

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Religion can be a tough sell nowadays, so instead of waiting for disciples to make their way to temple, some promoters brought 36 films with Buddhist themes to the heart of modern Thailand earlier this month.

The International Buddhist Film Festival was an effort by the government and private religious groups to popularize Buddhist among the younger generations.

"It's like prescribing medicine to children, you have to add a little sweetener there," said Somchai Seanglai, the permanent secretary of Thailand's Culture Ministry. "City dwellers or our young people are not used to the traditional way of practicing Buddhist, so we insert Buddhist dharma into art and culture that people love to consume." Dharma refers to the Buddha's teachings on the meaning of existence.

Initiated by the California-based Buddhist Film Foundation, the movie festival came to Bangkok for the first time this year since its debut in Los Angeles in 2003, and pulled in 3,700 visitors.

"Now many youngsters think of Buddhist as a religion for old people, so the film festival is trying to engage Buddhist with the contemporary world," said Santi Opaspakornkij, executive director of the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, an education center dedicated to promoting Buddhist through new channels in Thailand.

About 90 percent of Thailand's population is Buddhist, but many view the religion simply as a rough guide to social do's and don'ts, with vague notions encouraging good behavior.

"I don't go to temples very often," said Napasamon Jeeramaneemai, a third-year architecture student at Bangkok's Thammasat University attending the festival. "Buddhism for me is just a better way to resolve bad situations. Sometimes when you blame them on 'karma,' it's easier to accept them." Buddhists believe "Karma" rules a person's destiny depending on their deeds throughout their existence, which can span many lifetimes.

To make sure the films would cause no major offense, the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives sought support from three leading Thai monks in the forefront of popularizing Buddhist, including the popular young preacher, Phra Maha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi, who posts his teachings on his Twitter account for more than 500,000 followers.

The films included "Crazy Wisdom," a documentary released in 2011 by American filmmaker Johanna Demetrakas. It portrays Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a controversial Tibetan monk who preached to thousands of students when he lived in the West but whose lifestyle was in defiance of many of Buddhist's ethical principles.

But many people considered his unconventional style a challenging but effective way of presenting Buddhist concepts.

"I personally don't agree with the way Trungpa Rinpoche teaches," Nittaya Weera, a freelance writer on telecommunication, commented on "Crazy Wisdom." ''But I understand the real essence of Buddhist is in the belief itself. The way to get there doesn't really matter."

"Crazy Wisdom" turned out to be the most popular films. Other crowd-pleasers included "Abraxas," a Japanese film about a married punk rocker turned Buddhist, and "Karma," a lighthearted Nepali film about two Tibetan nuns on a journey to get repayment of a loan.

Read More @ Source



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scholars discuss relevance of Buddha in modern world

Image
New Delhi, Nov 27 ( IANS ) More than 900 Buddhist scholars , leaders and practitioners from 46 countries Sunday began deliberating the relevance of Gautama Buddha 's teachings, 2,600 years after his enlightenment, at a four-day Global Buddhist Congregation here. The venue at Hotel Ashok sported a riot of saffron, burgundy and ceremonial colours as monks and senior lamas from 46 countries like Nepal, Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Germany flooded the premises. In a televised message, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama , who will attend the convention Nov 30, to deliver the valedictory address, said: 'There have been many opportunities for Buddhists to come together and to discuss issues of common concerns.' 'The congregation has provided a much-needed and crucial opportunity. Now, and in the future, we need to encourage and foster an exchange of knowledge and experience among our different traditions and improve communication a
Keep reading

Buddhist temple in Westminster destroyed in early-morning fire

Image
Enduring bitter cold Monday morning, a Westminster firefighter battles a blaze at the Lao Buddhist Temple. The building was a total loss. (Steve Nehf, The Denver Post) WESTMINSTER — Brutal cold mixed with cold reality for members of the burned-out Lao Buddhist Temple of Colorado on Monday as they mourned the potential loss of artifacts saved by generations of worshippers. "It's not good, it's not good at all," said an exhausted Tom Pong as dusk fell over the remnants of the temple. "There is lots of history, over 100 years of it, and it could be lost forever." Pieces charred or melted by the fire — which started just before 6 a.m. — included several Buddha figures. Worries about asbestos prevented Pong and other members of the temple from going inside to assess the damage. The temple is part of an older building that the congregation bought in the early 1980s and then expanded on a 6-acre parcel at 10685 Dover St. The older section has asbestos,
Keep reading

Danish Buddhist leader, Lama Ole, to visit in Snohomish

Image
SNOHOMISH -- An unconventional guest is coming to Snohomish County next week. Ole Nydahl, a 70-year-old Danish leader of Diamond Way Buddhism, is visiting followers here in the Pacific Northwest. Nydahl's school of thought can be described as an adaptation of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western culture, said Daria Novoselova, who will be hosting Nydahl's meeting with students in her Snohomish home. Nydahl, who is known as Lama Ole, is expected to arrive Monday. He is scheduled to give a talk at the University of Washington later that day. Novoselova, 29, felt drawn to Diamond Way Buddhism as soon as she met Nydahl. She remembers that very first lecture. She was 16 and living in Yekaterinburg, Russia, when her older brother brought her along to the lama's talk. "I immediately felt at home," she said. "I had all these ideas about the world, and, suddenly, everything came together." At the end of that lecture, she accepted a blessing
Keep reading