Today we begin a 13-part series of films, in five playlists that look at the ascetic (dhutanga) traditions in modern China. This first playlist look at the monks on walk-about (cārika) and how they collect their almsfood. There are numerous strict rules about how many houses they can ask at, what they can accept, and when they can eat.
In the Mahāyāna tradition in China, there are still many monks very strictly abiding to the Vinaya tradition, who engage in all the ascetic practices (dhutanga), and live a very austere life.
This is the first three in a series of films about the Vinaya-trained monks from the Miao Xiang Sangha, based in Liaoning in north-eastern China (bordering North Korea), who are living such a life, and records their various practices.
These rules differ somewhat from those in the better-known Theravāda traditions, but the monks abiding to these rules are equally bound to living a strict and austere life and are equally sincere in their practices.
It is also to be noted that along with reflections on the meaning of the dhutanga practices themselves, there are also reflections on Dharma and why we practice and what goals we are trying to achieve.
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to see an album of screenshots click here