Product Details

• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 4
• Studio: Mystic Fire Video
• VHS Release Date: January 26, 1999
• Run Time: 300 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6305228957
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #337,176 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama held a series of advanced teachings in the West, several of which have been captured in extensive video collections. The Wisdom of Manjushri is one such video document: the record of three days in May 1998 when His Holiness was joined in New York City by Venerable Master Sheng-yen of the Ch'an lineage to discuss the central Buddhist teachings on wisdom. The Tibetan tradition, a Vajrayan tradition, incorporates tantric practices guided by a Lama along with more analytical meditations. Manjushri, one among the pantheon of tantric meditational deities, is the embodiment of Buddha's wisdom.

In the first tape, His Holiness addresses the core understanding of wisdom in Buddhist teaching: the right understanding of emptiness. Emptiness is thoroughly described in the Prajnaparamita Sutra (known in the West as the Heart Sutra, or teaching), but His Holiness goes also to the Four Noble Truths--particularly to the Third Truth of the Cessation of Suffering--for the root of wisdom. In the second tape, His Holiness discusses the three phases of Manjushri's wisdom: (1) Renunciation, or transcendence of suffering; (2) Cultivation of Bodhichitta, or the desire to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings; (3) Development of the wisdom of emptiness. The second tape also contains a powerful, personal moment for the Dalai Lama. In discussing his own life and struggles as a student of Buddhism, he stresses how difficult it is to achieve a clear understanding of emptiness. Then, pausing, he begins to weep. He reflects on the great strength he has found in his life from his faith and admiration for altruistic past masters. His tears are of thanks and joy. The third tape, in contrast, is a deeply intellectual discussion of the many philosophical interpretations--from Tibet, India, and elsewhere--of the nature of reality. Here, the Dalai Lama's impressive scholarship is readily apparent, though the discussion is infused with his compassion for the many views. In the final tape, His Holiness gives the Buddhist precepts and the Manjushri empowerment. Finally, Master Sheng-yen and His Holiness join for a dialogue on emptiness, a historic discussion that merges two of the greatest unbroken lineages in the Buddhist tradition. --Patrick O'Kelley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing dialog btn two great minds, October 28, 2009

By 

Jonathan Goldstein (Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Spirit of Manjushri [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The fourth and last VHS tape, which contains a historic dialog between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Chan (Zen) Master Sheng Yen, is amazing. Here you really see how the two masters' wisdom at work. It's less of a debate than a sharing of common grounds. What was interesting is that the Dalai Lama in this discussion draws primarily from his learnings of the Kagyu and Nyingma schools (the teachings of Mahamudra and Dzogchen) and less from the Gelug school in which he belongs. Sheng Yen's discussion of seeing "self-nature," or the nature of emptiness, in Chan is impression, which the Dalai Lama was very curious about and asked a lot of questions.