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Film Screening
Buddhism after the Tsunami:
The Souls of Zen
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August 9, 2015, 3:00-5:00 PM
Berkeley Buddhist Temple
Following the conclusion of the International Association of
Shin Buddhist Studies' biennial meeting, a special screening followed by discussion of
Buddhism after the Tsunami: The Souls of Zen will be held at the Berkeley
Buddhist Temple.
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Buddhism after the Tsunami: The Souls of Zen
Synopsis
The documentary Buddhism after the Tsunami: The Souls of Zen presents perspectives on Buddhism as practiced by clergy, lay adherents, and families in Japan by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork on the daily life of Buddhist temples, monastic education, prayer practice, mortuary rituals, and Japan's tradition of ancestor veneration in the wake of the triple disasters of March 11, 2011. From March through December, Tim Graf and Jakob Montrasio filmed footage of the greatest religious mobilization in Japan´s postwar history. This film is the only documentary based on sustained attention to the everyday lives of Buddhist professionals in the disaster zone.
In an ethnographic journey from Tokyo to the hardest-hit
prefectures (among other regions in Japan) this film offers insights and
opinions from scholars, clergy, and lay adherents with a focus on Soto Zen
and Jodo Pure Land Buddhism. The filmmakers visited rural graveyards, urban
temples, modern funeral halls, prayer monasteries, and public festivals to
deliver a detailed account on Buddhism in the midst of Japan´s recovery from
the triple disasters.
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