Buddhist films and discussion for the Tricycle community
This biographical portrait tells the remarkable story of renowned insight meditation teacher and author, Larry Rosenberg, and how his life-long search for self-discovery has helped thousands find freedom from suffering. Stream the film now through February 4, 2022!
Take a glimpse inside the extraordinary mind of Thomas Merton in this meditative film compiled of audio tapes from his final years living as a hermit in the woods of Kentucky. Stream the film now through February 4, 2022!
Kunsang Kyirong animates a tale of three Tibetan children’s relationship with the Yarlung river and death with charcoal in this enchanting short. Stream the film now through February 4, 2022!
21 days after the death of his mother, Jin and his father navigate loss, grief, and their new lives without her. Stream the film here.
In this award-winning short, two young Buddhist monks find their friendship strained as they contend with how to spend the little money they have. Stream the film now through February 4, 2022!
Celebrate the New Year with Tricycle’s Buddhist Shorts Film Festival! This January, we’re featuring five short films documenting Buddhist diversity around the world. Among the cinematic journeys in store, we’ll take a glimpse inside the mind of Thomas Merton, enjoy an animated tale about the Yarlung river, and follow the story of a strained friendship […]
How does a spiritual leader cope with a terminal cancer diagnosis? Rachel Cowan, a beloved Rabbi, a mindfulness teacher, civil rights activist, and community organizer meets her mortality head-on in this documentary about the last years of her life.
For many Burmese people, poetry has been a source of hope and resiliency, helping them survive the military dictatorship’s total control over the country. In this 2017 documentary, take a cinematic trip to Myanmar and see the country through its people’s eyes and poetry. Burma Storybook centers around the 70 year-old activist and writer Maung Aung Pwint, as he navigates life after his imprisonment and the long-awaited return of his son returning home after two decades of political exile.
What Do You Believe Now? takes a look at the religious lives of young Americans through interviews with six millennials— Buddhist, Catholic, Pagan, Jew, Muslim, and Lakota—who share their struggles and aspirations, first as teens in 2001 and again as 30-somethings in 2018.
Join Japanese American director Renee Tajima-Peña on her road trip exploring the Asian American cultural landscape at the end of the 20th century. Tackling the topics of racial politics, xenophobia, and immigration with curiosity and irreverence, Tajima-Peña tries to answer the question “What does it mean to be Asian American?”
How hard could it be to start a new Buddhist temple? Quite hard indeed, the Chinese businessman Mr. Hu discovers during this documentary, as unforeseen tensions with the sponsoring monastery in China threaten his dream of founding a temple in the Netherlands.
Soto Zen monks Chiken and Ryugyo, two classmates, grapple with the trauma of Japan’s post-Fukushima socio-economic crisis while trying to lead their respective temples. Tenzo freely blends fact and fiction in a genre-bending experimental tale based on real Soto Zen monks.
For decades, Tibetan Buddhist nuns and their allies fought for the right to receive their religious tradition’s highest academic honor, the geshe degree (called geshema for women). The Geshema is Born follows the inspiring story of Namdol Phuntsok, an exceptional young nun, as she earns top honors and becomes one of the first of a new class of esteemed women scholars.
“The really wonderful thing that happened to me when I was in space,” says astronaut Mae Jemison in Planetary, “was this feeling of belonging to the entire universe.” Through stunning footage and wide-ranging interviews, this documentary delivers one central message: Everything on our fragile planet is interconnected.
“Compassion in action” is the philosophy of Karuna-Shechen, a Buddhist nonprofit cofounded by monks Matthieu Ricard and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche. Karuna tells the uplifting stories of the women in India and Nepal empowered by the organization’s education and job training.
Ten years ago, Japan was devastated by a tsunami, which some survivors say tore a hole in the veil between the living and dead. Zen priest Reverend Kaneda counsels people who believe they are possessed by the spirits of the drowned in this sensitive film about a community recovering from trauma.
On Meditation is ten films in one, presenting portraits of meditators whose lives and careers have been transformed by their practice. Learn firsthand from the late Zen master Peter Matthiessen, Insight Meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg, US Congressman Tim Ryan, Nepali monk Venerable Metteyya Sakyaputta, and others.
Without equanimity, we can engage to an extent that we burn out or get lost in the situation we’re trying to help. Without fierce compassion, we won’t have the strength to stand up to injustice and address the real suffering that is ever-present. Both of these qualities help us to keep our hearts open and connected to deep care guided by wisdom.
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