Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Legend of Dajian Huineng

Posted on July 10, 2020July 10, 2020 by Dharma Documentaries
A biography of the very influential Sixth Patriarch of Zen and some of his teachings.

Legend of Dajian Huineng

This is a film from China about the life of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, Dajian Huineng whose Platform Sūtra is one of the central texts of the Zen tradition.

The film is basically in two sections. The first part follows the story as related by Huineng in the sūtra, and tells of his birth, upbringing, and coming into contact with Dharma.

Soon afterwards he travelled to meet with the 5th Patriarch, Daman Hongren, who according to tradition then chose Dajian Huineng over his expected successor, Heze Shenhui, as the next lineage holder.

The second half of the film seems to be based on an elaboration of just one paragraph in the sūtra where Huineng says that he lived amongst hunters for 15 years, but setting the trapped animals free, and serving vegetarian food.

I do not know what the source is for the long story in the film, or if they have added it themselves, but this part of the film seems a little confused (or confusing) in its editing, and has poor sound quality occasionally.

We do get some of the teachings of the patriarch included in the film, but it is mainly in the course of telling his life story, and not too didactic.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Dharma, Ch'an, China, Mahayana, Zen

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe by Email Subscribe to our Feed

Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/4D0

Donations

This site has taken 10 years to build, and has 700+ documentaries on it. If you would like to support the expenses involved, you can do so here. Even small amounts help.

choose amount:  

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Journey of Xuanzang: An Introduction

Recent Posts

  • A Young Shaman’s Quest Across Mongolia
  • Himalaya, Land of Women
  • Urgan, Child of the Himalaya
  • The Mystery of Bezeklik
  • Hermits, Modern Chinese Practitioners
  • Our Only Home, a Climate Change Film
  • The Kingdom of Nature (in Cambodia)
  • Fire in the Blood
  • Sowers of Joy (Nuns Travel across India)
  • Life Beyond 2, The Museum of Alien Life

Random Posts

  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • Todaiji Temple in Japan
  • Naoto Kan: Experiences as Prime Minister during the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
  • Autumn in the Himalayas
  • Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World
  • Chinese Treasures in Japan: Ink Art
  • The Thangka Collection at Yale
  • Before the Flood
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 9-10 of 24
  • Towards a Sustainable Lumbini

Related Posts

  • Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou, China
  • Great Minds 17, Xuanzang and Chinese Buddhism
  • The Monk Bodhidharma, The First Patriarch of Zen
  • A Bright Moon, the Life of Hong-yi
  • Xuan Zang, Eminent Monk
  • Chinese Buddhism
  • Great Minds 25, Dogen and Hakuin
  • Chinese Treasures in Japan: Finding Muxi
  • Xuan Zang (2016 Film)
  • Fa Xian's Spiritual Journey, 3 & 4
© 2021 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme