Customer Reviews

Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East [VHS]

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Those viewers wanting an entertaining evening at the movies may wish to stop reading this review now. Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? is not an entertainment in any traditional sense. The purpose of this film is to help us make connections with the world as it is. As we patiently watch the screen we may be gently or not so gently startled by what we experience. It may be that what we thought we knew we see truly for the first time.

Korean director Bae Yong-Kyun accomplishes this awakening in three ways. First he presents a story of two monks and a young orphan boy. The old Zen master, Hyegok, rescued the boy, Haejin from poverty in the city and brought the boy to a Zen mountain retreat to live. The young novice monk, Kibong, leaves his blind mother in the city to seek enlightenment. Kibong is directed by a Zen priest to go to the mountain retreat to assist the old master, who is dying. The master instructs his student and the young boy with few words, the example of his own life, and an occasional sharp remonstrance.

One important lesson the master teaches is the illusion of self and the interconnectedness of all beings. Suffering arises from the false desires of the self. The novice suffers deeply because he is confused about the right action to take and the purpose of his life. He feels guilt for having left his blind mother. At one point the novice goes down the mountain to buy medicine for the master in the city. He looks in on his mother without announcing himself and then quietly leaves her alone. He has made the decision to care for his master, not his mother.

The orphan has his own story. What little action takes place in this film centers on the activity of the boy. First, he throws a rock and stuns a bird which falls in the water. He quickly retrieves the bird and tries to nurse it back to health. Next, he himself is almost drowned by a group of boys who continue to dunk him under water as a screams in his fear and anguish. Soon after his encounter with the boys, he is standing on a rock face above the water and he is startled by the mate of the bird he wounded. He falls from the rock into the water and almost drowns. At the last moment he relaxes completely and begins to float.

The screech of the bird directs us to the second important element in the film. Sound is carefully used to bring us back to attention from our slumbers. This movie is so quiet and peaceful at times that we may be so relaxed we begin to doze off. The scream of the boy in the water, the screech of the bird, the gong struck by the novice, even the opening frame of the film in which the noise of a train passing alerts us to pay attention to all that will follow.

The peace I mentioned directs us to the final ingredient to be discussed. This film takes place in the beautiful mountains of Korea. Wind and water, fire and air, forests and fields are all lovingly shown and tell their own story of change and interconnectedness. For much of 137 minutes we watch from the mountain top the beauty of the world unfold before us. The master directs the attention of his novice to the breathtaking beauty and reality of what is right there for him to experience.

After my first viewing of Bodhi-Dharma, I waited a couple of days and then picked a quiet time to watch the film again. The elements I have mentioned in this review became more clear with the second viewing. This is one of those films that repay study for those who want to understand director Bae Yong-Kyun's vision. Why has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? is his only film and it was seven years or more in the making. This film justly deserves the praise and attention it has received. Highly recommended.

There are not nearly enough Korean films available in the West, and this is the kind of movie which reminds me that we're missing out. A Buddhist monk and his apprentice live in a temple up in the mountains, and contemplate life and all of its meanings. This is the basic premise for a film which lasts for 2½ hours. And it took 10 years to make. But this is no criticism. Plenty of Zen Buddhist philosophy abounds despite sparse dialogue. While the film has a very challenging duration to endure, people who do stick with it will learn something of this popular religion (which I for one find interesting), and will also be treated to a lot of simply beautiful, captivating and breath-taking Korean natural scenery. If you can't watch a film without action, or a dialogue-driven drama, then don't torture yourself. This is not for you. Everyone else however will find a damn good film with depth-aplenty. Highly recommended.

Watched this movie with my wife. She disliked it for its "stark realism" - I loved it for it's breathtaking imagery. True, it deals with life issues with a no nonsesnse stark reality way, and without the honeycoating of a hollywood movie - but for me the visual beauty of the film was wonderful. In addition, for those interested in things philosophical, the story line holds together well and the themes are explored with regard the title of the film (which is a zen ko-an).

Don't really know of another film like it - we bought it because we were looking for a 'slow' film like 'Scent of Green Papaya" which we love. This is nothing like 'scent' but it creates a 'spaciousness' which we both loved. If you want car chases, explosions, girls in bikinis, and sword fights, leave this one alone!

I am seeing this movie third time. Frankly speaking I doubt that common western viewers can understand fully the stories without background of introductory Zen. I think this movie is full of symbolism on Zen and eastern philosophy. For example, the positions, moving rhythms, and angles of camera usually are from the observer or the shelf. Karma is a main principle supporting the story. Even without any knowledge on Zen, this movie is still meditative, or very boring to make you sleep peacefully.

I heard that the original movie was luckily found by the director himself for DVD production. Original sound is mono. English translation seemed to be good and concise. The director is a professor in Korea, and this is the first and last movie he made for public. I heard that he spent seven years for this movie in the Ji-ri Mountain in the southern Korea.

I found this movie by chance and am so glad that I did. I have studied Zen as well as several other different lineages of Buddhism for most of my life and found this movie to be a wonderful depiction of the philosophies of the East. Beautifully filmed. A must see for those who look for the positive in all they see! I will admit that this movie is not for everyone. With the films that most of us are used to this will appear to slow for many. But, if your in a quiet, meditative mood and yearning for a something completely different - Check this one out!

As the item itself states, the movie's title is a Koan. A Koan is a riddle given by a Zen master to his disciple for him/her to meditate on it to go beyond intellectual thinking. This movie in itself is a Koan for anyone to appreciate and reflect upon. This is not a movie about Zen practice, but actually about the truth of human suffering. I strongly recommend this movie for anyone, but especially for Zen practitioners whom I believe will appreciate the deep message contained within this wonderful film.
Gassho.

As a Buddhist from a devout Buddhist family, I was delighted to find a film about the Mahayana. I bought it and brought it to California with me on a recent trip when I visited my family, and even invited our teacher, a Vajrayana lama to watch with us.

I going to try to word my words respectfully. Though I appreciate what the author has done and I fully applaud all efforts in Buddhist filmmaking, I was left disappointed with 'Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East.'

The movie is indeed shot beautifully, with gorgeous images and very poetic scenes. However, imagery does not a movie make.

I can see the director's intentions, but some parts terribly misrepresent the path of cultivation. For instance, the old monk's body is in its current damaged state because he meditated up against a block of ice in attempt to conquer sleep. Not only is this not advisable and detrimental to health, but misrepresentative of the practice. Buddha starved with the ascetics only to come to the conclusion that to put his body through so much suffering is extremist, and instead, we should opt for moderation and the middle way. And why should we want to conquer sleep, anyway? What's the point? When Buddha walked the earth with us, even he had to bow to the physical limits of his nirmanakaya form and ate, slept, and cared for his body.

The Dharma should bring its followers peace of mind, fulfillment, contentment, and more and more happiness as we practice it more and more. However, this movie portrays monks undergoing mental torment and anguish throughout the movie. It seemed as if the movie piled more and more anguish on the monks as the movie progressed. The only scene I saw where they were at ease and happy was when the old monk pulled a tooth from the boy monk with the help of his other disciple. In my opinion, it should have been the other way around, with them growing freer and freer, happier and happier, more and more peaceful as the movie went on.

Zen is not abstract, it is actually a very straightforward practice, but I fear non-Buddhists who watch this and base all their opinions off it will take away the wrong message of not only Zen, but Buddhism in general. The concept of Bodhicitta (vast, impartial love for all beings) that is the very heart of all Mahayana practice isn't even addressed (a slight reference is made to compassion).

I would consider a successful Buddhist film to be one that inspires its viewers to arouse bodhicitta themselves and, like the Buddha, go forth into the world bravely to alleviate the suffering of the world. That was not the goal, however, with this film. It instead focuses on Zen, but without portraying and emphasizing the bodhicitta (or growing, budding bodhicitta) of the monks and how they progress towards that goal using Zen as a means of practice, the concept of "Zen" itself becomes pretentious, useless, and hollow. With this movie, it's as if the very heart of the practice- love, compassion, tolerance for all beings- was left out. Zen is just a way of practice. If Zen is the ship and wisdom the anchor, compassion is the wind that powers the sails. To make a movie just about "Zen" without giving equal (if not more) emphasis to the other two- wisdom and compassion- is to have a boat lost and just sitting out at sea. That's how I felt about the movie, that it had no sense of direction or point at the end.

That's how I feel about the movie, that it lacks heart. If you're looking for a Buddhist movie with plenty of heart, I would suggest the movie "The Cup" over this one (it was nominated for 'Best Foreign Film' from Bhutan, but lost the Oscar to 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'). It's absolutely delightful and wonderfully represents active compassion in practice.

I'm sorry if I offend anybody who enjoyed this film-- it's just one person's opinion =)

Loved it. As a student of Zen I felt as if i'd been on on 7 day retreat after watching. If the subtitles had been in yellow, it'd been a 10 day one for sure,

My family and I love this movie, which we have watched 3 or 4 times. It is amazing just to watch how lovely each shot of film is. The relationships among the 3 Buddhist monks living in a mountain hermitage, the basic issue of the movie, is very touching, and the spiritual development of the middle monk (in age) is moving.

If what you want is shoot-'em up action, or meaning laid out on a platter for you, this movie is not for you. But if you enjoy sitting back and letting the story flow over you (and the story is indeed a stretch for the western mind), then this is for you. I can easily see why it has been named one of the top 10 movies of all time.

UPDATE: This is still my favorite DVD, however, even though I already had this one, I purchased the newer, updated release. I am glad I made this second purchase -- better sound, better visual rendering, and more scenes not found in this version. Nevertheless, here is my former review that applies to both releases:
"I was thinking (first mistake!) of saying, "Top Five." Then I realized that this is more than even "Top Three (or Two)" of all the movies I have in my collection, or have ever viewed, for that matter. The real perplexity is that I don't know why, exactly, except for the fact that it is the only movie that I think about and view more than any other DVD that I have. And so that is why it stands foremost (Doctor Zhivago has now been relegated to the silver podium, at least for these reasons) above of all the other DVD's in my assorted collection. True, as some have commented here, it is not astutely a portrayal of Zen Buddhism as it might be explicated in the truest sense of its dogmas. How would you depict and encapsulate the essence of Zen through the modality of a visual, i.e., movie experience anyway? Pretty tall order, even for The Buddha, I would imagine. This movie for me, however, is a catalyst for SOME things that are related to Zen Buddhism. But overall it leaves that stage and affords me with a visual, meditative experience, be it akin to Zen Buddhism or something other (even Christianity -- for me). Needless to say, this is not a film for everyone; it is not of the "Saturday Night at the Movies" genre; it just touches me in a deep, esoteric psychological and spiritual way. Perhaps this movie is something as to what Paul Valery stated: "To see is to forget the name of the thing one sees."