THE 17TH JOURNEY OF COMPASSIONi 乘願再來九百年 (2016)
TAIWAN｜2016｜DOCUMENTARY｜45 min
DIRECTOR:KWAN Pun-leung, Clara CHOI
PRODUCER:Karma Rasel
PRESENTED BY:2047 Inc.
SYNOPSIS
Life is unpredictable and indecipherable. But it is precisely this element of elusiveness which makes it interesting.
This film came about under an ordinary circumstance. In 2010, the directors were invited to go to India to film the 900th anniversary celebrations of Karmapa (Seventeenth Karmapa), the leader of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, and a winter dharma assembly. It was originally a simple assignment to film these events
It would appear to be a just a working assignment. The two directors saw this as an opportunity to have their dream of making a spiritual short film come true. However, much to their surprise, soon after the shooting started, the film assumed a life of its own.
It took the crew on an amazing and unusual journey. Following in the footsteps of Buddha, they travelled from Bodhgaya where the celebration events were held, to Sarnath, Gridhakuta Hill, Kushinagar, and the remains of Nalanda University which represents the height of Buddhism. In the end, all that they saw and encountered, each brick and mortar of the holy places they visited became their journey in search of the meaning of life.
The directors were very grateful to Karmapa and the Rinpoches who unfailingly gave them guidance and enlightened them from their delusions about life.
“Day after day, our futile and mundane life takes us round and round like a turning wheel.
But where is it taking us?
Life, is it just about waiting, experiencing the pain of disappointments, and then finally death?
If life is just a repetitive series of suffering, then behind the endless samsaric cycles
of death and rebirth, what is the meaning of life?”
The seventeenth Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje has experienced 16 reincarnations. This 900-year-old soul makes it clear to everyone that the world is beyond their comprehension and man’s ability does not end in death. “The Buddhist dharma is a wonderful way of educating people. However, many see it as a religion or as something that is part of a sect. But it does not belong to a religion or a community. It is the truth we all seek.” Karmapa has made it very clear that the journey to explore truth once started will bloom like flowers and make everything evident. It is just like this film, it is beyond the imagination or ability the directors had at the beginning. Everything comes about with a reason.
SALES CONTACT
Sin Wang
E-mail: ivymavis@gmail.com
Tel.: +886-2-7730-2648 ext.305
