2010 January 21 « Rev. Danny Fisher

James Zito’s New Film Inquiry Into the Great Matter: A History of Zen Buddhism is Now Available on DVD!

Our friend and past interviewee James Zito is pleased to announce the DVD release of his new documentary Inquiry Into the Great Matter: A History of Zen Buddhism. At the film’s website, James describes it this way:

This film tracks the evolution of Zen Buddhism from its beginnings in the China of the T’ang Dynasty to its transfer to Japan in the 11th century and up to the present day. In three parts the film examines the growth and development of Zen by profiling the lives of some of its greatest masters who embody and exemplify various important phases in Zen’s long, illustrious and mysterious history.

1. ZEN BEGINNINGS

The first part looks at the place of Zen within the continuum of Buddhism as a whole examining its origins in China and the beginning of Zen’s transfer to Japan. In addition to profiling the important Zen masters Eisai, Dogen and Muso Soseki, it also contains an examination of the etiology and aesthetic of the Zen garden.

2. RISE AND FALL

The second part traces the arc of Zen’s golden age in Japan from its steep rise and tremendous growth through its period of aesthetic excess and spiritual decadence to a period of great destruction and eventual renewal. Here the lives of Japan’s most important masters such as the great Daito Kokushi, the iconic Zen master Ikkyu Sojun and the greatest Zen master of the last 500 years Hakuin Ekaku as well as the humble Ryokan are examined. In addition there are segments examining the role of the tea ceremony in Zen and a look at the evolution and function of Zen art and calligraphy.

3. ZEN COMES WEST

The third part deals with the current state of the Zen Institution in Japan and discusses the current dissemination of Zen to the West. It also examines how Zen’s core values are being essentialized in their journey to the West and contains an examination of the fundamental role of meditation in the practice of Zen Buddhism.

In a post for elephant journal, I dubbed James’ previous film, Compassion and Wisdom: A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, the best movie I have yet seen about Buddhism. I’ve seen two parts of the new film, and it’s similarly extraordinary. Trust me: this is a film you should see as soon as possible.

Order your copy of Inquiry Into the Great Matter: A History of Zen Buddhism at http://www.historyofzendvd.com.

FYI: I have an interview with James appearing in the upcoming issue of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Stay tuned for more on that.

A Gift of Dharma for 1.21.10

Today’s quote comes from the late Beat poet Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997).

The author of the earth-shattering work Howl and Other Poems and Kaddish and Other Poems, Michael Schumacher describes him this way:

Renowned poet, world traveler, spiritual seeker, founding member of a major literary movement, champion of human and civil rights, photographer and songwriter, political gadfly, teacher and co-founder of a poetics school. Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) defied simple classification.

Poets are commonly known only within their circles of readerships but like Walt Whitman, Ginsberg’s name was recognizable to millions who had never read so much as a single word of his poetry. Like Whitman, the foundation of Ginsberg’s work was the notion that one’s individual thoughts and experiences resonated among the masses. “It occurs to me that I am America”, Ginsberg wrote, and while the statement was intended to be humorous, it also illustrated his idea that democracy begins with the raising of a single voice. At the height of his celebrity, Allen Ginsberg was, arguably, as symbolic of America — or at lease a large segment of the country — as anyone.

As I mentioned in a recent post about the upcoming Ginsberg biopic Howl, his contributions to the development of Buddhism in America in the last 75 years were substantial. After studying Krishnaism and traveling through India, he become a devoted student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche after meeting him randomly on the street in New York City. Along with fellow Beat writer Anne Waldman, Ginsberg founded the Jack Kerouac School for Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University (my graduate alma mater) in 1974. He was also the basis for the character “Alvah Goldbook” in his friend Kerouac’s much-beloved “novel” The Dharma Bums. For more on Ginsberg and his extensive relationship with the Buddhadharma, take a look at Tony Trigilio’s Allen Ginsberg’s Buddhist Poetics and Michael Schumacher’s Dharma Lion: A Critical Biography of Allen Ginsberg.

This is the quote–his memorable response to the question “Is there any cause for optimism?” for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review for their Fall 1995 issue (vol. 5, no. 1):

Well, personally, yeah. Everybody’s got a life to lead and they’ve got a bodhisattva tendency, everybody wants to do good, so I just think on a personal level, yeah. On a larger scale, there doesn’t seem to be any hope unless compassion becomes a more widespread important teaching on how to live. Compassion to self and others.

Rev. Danny Fisher

January 21, 2010

James Zito’s New Film Inquiry Into the Great Matter: A History of Zen Buddhism is Now Available on DVD!

January 21, 2010

A Gift of Dharma for 1.21.10

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