Zen Mind Documentary by Jon Braeley [Empty Mind Films][DVDRIP]

I apologize, I do not have the encoding info for this, this is a reup from another site from 5 years ago. Sorry :(

Note: This is English subtitles over Japanese speech, but I categorized it as English because it is an English documentary about Japanese tradition.

Soji Monastery, Kyoto Zen Center, Dogen Sangha-Tokyo, Tenruji temple, Nanzenji temple

Directed by Braeley

Empty Mind Films August 28, 2006

The Zen Mind is a journey across Japan to explore the practice of Zen. We reveal the daily routine of a zen monk and take you inside the walls of the zen monastery and into a world never imagined by outsiders. Step inside the zendo or meditation hall, where the monks sit in zazen - searching for the middle path to enlightenment - it is a long hard journey. Every aspect of zen is uncovered - from a zen center in the middle of the bustling streets of Tokyo, to the mountains above Kyoto. Includes interviews with major zen masters and roshi.

"A look at the essence of Japanese Zen, in this beautifully produced and coffee-book equivalent DVD. The Zen Mind is highly recommended. --Video Librarian, June 2006 Issue.

The director, Jon Braeley's extensive journeys across China and Japan and his expertise in martial arts and zen combine with his film making to create his unique documentary films. This unique background spanning 30 years, have given Jon rare access into the highest levels of martial arts and the spiritual faiths such as zen and many other mind and body disciplines. His ability to go where very few Westerners are allowed has resulted in rare and exciting footage, from the Shaolin Temple to the peaks of Wudan Mountain to the tournament floor of the Budokan in Japan. In his latest release The Zen Mind, he was given permission to enter JapanÕs largest zen monastery, Soji -ji, and film openly and unrestricted - a privilege he attained only after many years of contact with the zen monks. Jon Braeley's films both inform and entertain with an eclectic mix of rare images, interviews and compelling narrative fused with music by world-class musicians renowned for using native local instruments.

The Zen Mind features life-long disciples of Zen and their masters and instructors and disciples.

The Zen Mind is a journey across Japan to explore the practice of zen. We take from the crowded streets of Tokyo to the mist covered mountains near Kyoto. You will step inside the zen temples and monasteries and into the zendo or meditation hall where monks practice zazen or seated meditation. We reveal the daily life of the zen monk. It is life never imagined by outsiders. It is a life dedicated to reaching a state of mind that is rid of ego and self doubt that leads to a self realization or satori. This is enlightenment. This is the Zen Mind.

This film has gotten many mixed reviews and definitely has its obvious flaws. The director is certainly uninitiated and adds a little too much drama to something so subtle. I'd say watch it at least once for its own sake.

Synopsis from website

A travelogue across the breadth of Japan to explore the practice of modern day zen. We will take you from the bustle of rush-hour Tokyo to the tranquil mountains of Kyoto. From zen centers hidden among city skyscrapers to the zendo in a remote monastery. With unrestricted access, we will take you into a world outsiders rarely see or hear about. It is a world where material wealth is exchanged for spiritual wealth. Where the mind is trained and conditioned like an olympic athlete.

Zen training is explored in The Zen MInd through the practice of zazen or sitting meditation and kinhin (walking meditation). With interviews, demonstrations of sitting and actual practice, we take the lid off the many misconceptions that abound in zen meditation. While the cloistered lifestyle of the zen monk is in decline in Japan, zen meditation is spreading rapidly in the west. Typical of this modern approach to dharma practice is the Dogen sangha, a zen center in Tokyo where commuters stop on their way home for zen meditation. It is a complete contrast to the remote mountain monasteries where formal buddhist rituals are zelously maintained. This contrast heightens as we enter Japan’s largest Soto zen monastery and join the monks in their everyday workplace, cooking and cleaning. Before and after their work is done they will sit in zazen. We will take you into the zendo or meditation hall and like a fly on the zendo wall, witness the monks as they begin what will be many hours of zazen and sometimes through the night. Only the abrupt crack of the roshi’s stick on the monks shoulder breaks the silence as he summons them to focus, flushing out any thoughts… erasing self-doubt and ego… clearing a path to self-realization.

The Zen Mind soundtrack is by Christopher Yohmei, a grandmaster of the shakuhachi flute.

Director

Jon Braeley
Run time

60 minutes
Language

Japanese with English subtitles
Featuring

Major Zen Monasteries of Kyoto and Soji Zen Monastery