ABOUT THE FILM
Read the filmmakers essay on “crafting cinema in a contemplative buddhist gaze”
MAKING ONE MIND
For over 15 years, director Edward A. Burger has lived and practiced among Buddhist communities in China. After years studying in the hermit huts of the Zhongnan Mountains (as documented in “Amongst White Clouds”) his teacher advised him, that to deepen his meditation practice he’d have to study in a meditation hall at one of China’s great Zen Monasteries. Edward already had a strong interest in Zhenru Chan Monastery after visiting there years before on a research trip with his professor and mentor. So that’s where he headed. Edward became a regular visitor to Zhenru, sitting meditation in their meditation hall and learning the intricacies of monastic discipline. Inspired by the natural life of the community, and struck by the role that storytelling plays in what he calls the “alchemy of monastic life”, Edward decided to produce ONE MIND. He filmed over five years and four seasons to create a cinematic portrait of the natural ebb and flow of spiritual life within this community. Within the forested hills and fortress-like corridors of Zhenru Monastery, he turned his camera toward centuries-old traditions and practices largely unknown even to China’s citizens, and never before captured on film. Wildlife sound-recordist and sound designer Doug Quin (“Encounters at the End of the World”) joined the team in post-production to build the rich and nuanced sound-design that gives ONE MIND its immersive and visceral dimension. The year Edward arranged to film the famously austere, “Zen Seven” winter retreat at Zhenru, he was so impressed by the intensity and austerity of the retreat, the following year he left his camera at home and went to Zhenru to sit two weeks of the retreat. One evening, an elder monk shared a story with Edward - one he could not find in any sutras or scriptures and the monks assured him had been passed down directly from master to monk over centuries - a distinctively Zen rendering of Sudhana’s great pilgrimage. Hearing this story, which explained the dramatic ritual performed by monks during this period of intense meditation, broke open a fresh new way for Edward to see monastic life. Suddenly the nuanced names, iconography and architecture of that place came to life like a living organism, embracing these men and guiding them in their daily lives together. He saw an external life that manifested an internal journey. And Edward set forth to make a cinematic rendering of what he’d discovered. Though ONE MIND is just a sliver of the depth of this carefully crafted spiritual life, as a Buddhist filmmaker he hopes ONE MIND will be a voice in the conversation about modern “buddhist cinema”.
FILM SUMMARY
ONE MIND is a rare cinematic portrait of life inside one of China’s most austere and revered Zen communities. The monks at Zhenru Chan Monastery continue to uphold a strict monastic code established over 1200 years ago by the founding patriarchs of Zen in China. In harmony with the land that sustains them, the monks operate an organic farm, grow tea, and harvest bamboo to fuel their kitchen fires. At the heart of this community, a group of cloistered meditators sit in silence for 8 hours every day. Suggesting a Zen version of the critically acclaimed film Into Great Silence, ONE MIND offers an intimate glimpse into a thriving Buddhist monastery in modern China.
Director Edward A. Burger (Amongst White Clouds) has lived and studied with Buddhist communities in China for over 15 years, and is the first Western filmmaker to be granted such unprecedented access to the daily rituals and traditions practiced in this remote mountain monastery.
But more than a portrait of life within this monastic community, ONE MIND is an experiment in Buddhist filmmaking. A markedly quiet and contemplative film, Burger has set forth to craft a documentary that is not ‘about’ Buddhism, but rather a ‘Buddhist film’. Taking inspiration from traditional Zen stories and lessons told to him by elder monks and teachers at Zhenru monastery, each chapter of the film explores the trials and challenges we all must face when we set forth to become wiser, kinder human beings. In ONE MIND we learn that this journey begins when we turn our gaze inward. That no matter how far we have traveled and how many mountains and valleys we have crossed, the true adventure awaits us within the landscapes of our own mind.
WHY ONE MIND MATTERS
China is a rapidly changing society, struggling to find a new identity while rectifying its tumultuous past. Over the past century, many old traditions and cultures have been lost, leaving an empty space in the hearts of many Chinese people. Most believe that these traditions are lost, or are corrupt in their current forms. There is little awareness, even in China itself, that communities such as Zhenru Monastery still exist. The potential for such traditions and communities to become a wellspring of hope and healing for people is enormous. Therefore it is important to let the world know these traditions not only exist, but are in the process of revitalization in China.
Moreover, in recent years, the West has become very interested in Buddhism, its philosophies, cultures and spiritual technologies. “Mindfulness” is a household word now, appearing even on the front page of major magazines. But there are still many misconceptions about mindfulness and meditation practices which ONE MIND seeks to address. Moreover, as environmental issues become a pressing topic to everyone across the globe, communities like Zhenru are a model for ecological living, where a community not only remains conscious of their consumption of resources, but actually seeks after a kind of direct and intuitive understanding of how our lives are affected by the natural landscapes we live in, and vice-versa. One does not need to be Buddhist to gain something from this cinematic experience.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Genre: Feature Length Documentary
Running time: 78 minutes
Production date: 2016
Filming location: People’s Republic of China
Language: Mandarin w/ English Subtitles
Copyright: One Mind Productions, LLC
Filming format: HDV, 50i
Screening format: HD 2K, BluRay / DCP / ProRes
CREDITS
Directed by Edward A. Burger
Written by Edward A. Burger and Agnes Lam
Produced by Agnes Lam and Edward A. Burger
Edited and Recorded by Edward A. Burger
Original Music by Douglas Quin
Sound Design Douglas Quin
Executive Producers: Agnes Lam, Kate Freed, David Noble, Ching Smith