The Dalai Lama (XIV) - [Participant]
Takna Jigme Sangpo - [Participant]
Mattieu Ricard - [Participant]
Thupten Tsering - [Participant]
Celebrated filmmaker Werner Herzog turns his attention to one of
the largest Buddhist gatherings in the world in this documentary.
Each year, thousands of Buddhist pilgrims travel to the village
of Bhod Gaya in India (the place where the Buddha is said to have
attained enlightenment) to take part in the Kalachakra Initiation.
As the visitors stream into Bhod Gaya, many traveling on foot and
often stopping to prostrate themselves as a sign of devotion, a
team of monks create a beautiful and intricate sand painting on
Mount Kallash, which is scattered to the winds by the Dalai Lama
at the end of the 12-day celebration as a symbol of the impermanence
of existence. Herzog documents the ancient rituals of this ceremony
as well as profiling the Dalai Lama and some of the many Buddhists
who travel to India for this event. Wheel of Time was originally
produced for German and British television, though it enjoyed a
theatrical release in the United States. |