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Monthly Movie Nights at The Buddhist Center

Mar 20, 2024 | 3 comments

Every month, The Buddhist Center hosts a community movie night in our beautiful gompa. These screenings are free and open to all! Bring your friends, family, and favorite movie snacks for a relaxing Saturday night.

AUGUST: THE MOUNTAIN PATH

August 30, 2025, 5:00 p.m.

Watch the trailer

The Mountain Path takes us into China’s Zhongnan Mountains in search of Buddhist hermits. The film recounts Buddhist Filmmaker Edward A. Burger’s personal journey, including how he found his teacher and entered this world of dedicated recluses. Along the trail we witness the practical everyday challenges of solitude, while the hermits share teachings on life, death, and the journey within.

SEPTEMBER 27: TALKING WITH BUDDHA

September 27, 2025, 5:00 p.m.

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A heart-warming journey among Tibetan Buddhist monasteries to seek guidance from some of the great Lamas of Buddhism including His Holiness the 17th Karmapa. All this against a backdrop of Himalaya mountains the rhythmic beat of monks in prayers.

OCTOBER 25: MISSION JOY

October 25, 2025, 5:00 p.m.

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Experience the incredible friendship between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu in this laugh-out-loud film. Despite difficult journeys, they made happiness a habit – finding joy in adversity and fighting for a better world.

NOVEMBER 29: THE MEDICINE BUDDHA

November 29, 2025, 5:00 p.m.

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This one-of-a-kind documentary narrated by Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley is a profoundly cinematic portrait of the renowned Mongolian Buddhist leader, Khama Lama Natsagdorj.  Faith and science are elegantly reconciled as we’re immersed in the Lama’s eclectic, relentless humanitarian efforts.

DECEMBER 27: INSIDE OUT

December 27, 2025, 5:00 p.m.

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When her family moves across the country, tween Riley Anderson’s animated emotions get carried away – quite literally – on a fantastical journey through her mind. This Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature offers one of the clearest, yet whimsical, depictions of the mind.

Past Movie Nights: 2025

JANUARY: BLESSINGS: THE TSOKNYI NANGCHEN NUNS OF TIBET

January 25, 5:00 p.m.

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A rare insight into the rich spiritual tradition upheld by the Tsoknyi nuns of Nangchen.

FEBRUARY: MONK WITH A CAMERA

February 22, 5:00 p.m.

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Nicky Vreeland, son of Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, gave up photography to become a Buddhist monk. Years later, he picked up his camera again to earn money to rebuild his monastery.

MARCH: THE BUDDHA

March 29, 5:00 p.m.

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The Buddha relates the life of the Indian sage who famously gained enlightenment as he sat beneath a fig tree two-and-a-half millennia ago.

APRIL: WHEEL OF TIME

April 26, 5:00 p.m.

Wheel of Time is Werner Herzog’s photographed look at the largest Buddhist ritual in Bodh Gaya, India.

MAY: WHEN THE DRAGON SWALLOWED THE SUN

May 31, 5:00 p.m.

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Seven years in the making, When The Dragon Swallowed The Sun shows an unprecedented inside perspective on the Tibetan community in exile, its young generation and their struggle to free their homeland Tibet.

JUNE: SEVEN WONDERS OF THE BUDDHIST WORLD

June 28, 5:00 p.m.

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In this fascinating BBC documentary, historian Bettany Hughes travels to the seven wonders of the Buddhist world and offers a unique insight into one of the most ancient belief systems still practised today.

Past Movie Nights: 2024

FEBRUARY: THE CUP

Source: JustWatch

Saturday, February 24, 2024

5:00–7:00 p.m.

Watch the trailer

While the soccer World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan refugees arrive at a monastery/boarding school in exile in India.

MARCH: FLIGHT FROM DEATH

Source: IMDb

Saturday, March 30, 2024

5:00–7:00 p.m.

Watch the trailer

Hailed by viewers as a “life-transformational film” and “one of the most ambitious documentaries ever made” by Australia’s 106.7, Flight from Death uncovers fear of death as a possible root cause of much of our everyday behaviors.

APRIL: THE BIG LEBOWSKI

Source: Amazon

Saturday, April 27, 2024

5:00–7:00 p.m.

Watch the trailer

The hilariously twisted comedy-thriller blends unforgettable characters, Buddhist philosophy, a case of mistaken identity and White Russians.

MAY: THE MOUNTAIN PATH

Source: IMBd

Saturday, May 25, 2024

5:00–7:00 p.m.

Watch the trailer

Edward A. Burger lived in China for over twelve years and is one of the few foreigners to have lived and studied with the hermits of the Zhongnan Mountains. The Mountain Path recounts his personal journey, including how he found his lifelong teacher and entered into the world of these dedicated recluses.

JUNE: MIDWIVES

Source: IMDb

Saturday, June 29, 2024

5:00–7:00 p.m.

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Midwives chronicles two women who run a makeshift medical clinic in western Myanmar, a region torn apart by violent ethnic divisions.

AUGUST: THE MATRIX

August 31, 5:00–7:00 p.m.

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Unveil the truth in a world beyond illusion with The Matrix. Dive into a mind-bending journey that parallels Buddhist themes of enlightenment and reality.

SEPTEMBER: PRECIOUS GURU

September 28, 5:00–7:00 p.m.

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The most extraordinary and least well-known story in the great religions reveals a radically relevant truth: the darker the times, the greater the opportunity for transformation.

OCTOBER: TUKDAM: BETWEEN WORLDS

October 26, 5:00–7:00 p.m.

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First document about a tibetan meditation that preserves the body from days to weeks after traditionally considered death.

NOVEMBER: WHEN THE IRON BIRD FLIES

November 30, 5:00–7:00 p.m.

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This film takes us on an up-close and personal journey, exploring the complex interactions between contemporary Tibetan Buddhism and western culture. It goes in-depth to portray the experiences and insights of both teachers and practitioners in the US and around the world.

DECEMBER: FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BEINGS

December 28, 5:00–7:00 p.m.

Watch the trailer

A film about the extraordinary life of His Eminence Garchen Triptrul Rinpoche.

3 Comments

  1. Nina

    This is great! Looking forward to the movie next Saturday 🙂

    Reply
  2. Benjamin Bowles

    Monthly movie nights are only at the center. They are not online. Sorry for late reply

    Reply
  3. Benjamin Bowles

    Sorry, Monthly movie nights are not online, only at the center. Sorry for late reply

    Reply

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