Movies: Zen

Ku Shen Chai, an artist in his early 30s, still lives with his mother, but he is suddenly shaken by the arrival of Yang Hui-ching, a mysterious princess on the run. Yang brings Ku into her circle of protectors, including a nameless monk whose spiritu...

About three monks in a remote monastery; an aging master, a small orphan and a young man who left his city life to seek Enlightenment....

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...

Two middle aged German brothers - one New Age and recently divorced, the other uptight and sceptical - travel to a Zen monastery in Japan in search of enlightenment, or perhaps just in search of themselves....

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

Tsutomu lives alone in the mountains, writing essays, cooking Zen food with the vegetables he grows and the mushrooms he picks in the hills. His routine is happily disturbed when Machiko, his editor and love interest, occasionally visits. Tsutomu see...

Hidden in the wooded mountains on the west coast of Japan lies the small Zen monastery Antaiji. A young woman sets off to immerse herself through autumn, winter and spring in the adventures of monastic life. The young woman is Sabine Timoteo from Swi...

In a world full of constant change, we are always aware of what’s going on and what we think about it. This gives us a sense of who we are related to what we are aware of. This documentary reveals that awareness itself is not what you think....

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Experience uproarious comedy with five stand-up stars at Arizona's Reiki Academy, blending laughter and serenity for an unforgettable show....

Frank, an introspective astrophysics major, visits a remote lab to work with his mentor; doctor Roberts. After his arrival, he finds that Helen; a young woman seemingly from another world, a metaphysical realm, has been taken in by the doctor. The un...

Vietnam 1791. Old Truong, the Emperor’s Master of Arms, feels the end of his life coming. But he has yet to find a successor. The country has to be prepared for war and the Emperor is furiously impatient. He gives Master Truong two weeks to find the ...

An immigrant in Istanbul, the Russian filmmaker finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place: on the one hand, his legal status becomes uncertain amid the turbulence of Turkish presidential elections, on the other hand, the crackdown on disse...

Two monks on a mission choose very different paths...

2012 documentary on John Cage celebrating his 100th birthday in the form of a re-edit of partially unused film material shot for the film 'Time is Music’ in 1987. Includes interviews and recordings of performances with the influential zen composer....

Through poetic cinematography and stories of teachers sharing their wisdom with children from a range of backgrounds, the film showcases the benefits of mindfulness as a way out of violence and suffering, and as an attainable solution for younger gen...

Reeling from his sister’s death, a NYC playwright searches for fulfillment in a sex-and-drug filled odyssey. When he’s reunited with a childhood love, their shared journey of self-discovery catalyzes a profound, existential awakening....

Evoking a cinema verite feel not found in most sports documentaries, Fast Break examines the 1977 Portland Trailblazers basketball team in a surprisingly personal and compelling fashion. Inter-cutting excerpts from the 1977 playoff / championship sea...

In the last fifty years the culture of Zen has spread far beyond Japan. Zen centers and zen retreats have sprung up throughout America and Europe. When Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen, brought Zen to Japan from China 800 years ago, it quickly took ro...

The entangled relations between the son of a seductive tea-ceremony teacher and the women in his father's life. Based on the novel by Kawabata Yasunari....