Film: Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? (1989)

Director: Bae Yong-Kyun

The title of the film is a Zen koan — a paradox meant to aid meditation — that provokes the question of the distinction between leaving and arriving. This visually stunning film offers an evocative meditation on the cyclical nature of existence, not so much explaining the tenets of Zen Buddhism as illuminating the mysteries of life that lie behind them.

Introduction by Miliann Kang, Associate Professor in Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at UMass.  She is a member of the Contemplative Pedagogy Working Group and a Vipassana meditator in the tradition taught by S. N. Goenka.

Discussion moderated by Reiko Sono, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at UMass, where she teaches courses on Buddhism and Japanese religion.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC