PORTRAYING A TANTRIC QUEEN – A Virtual Event
(4/20/21) PORTRAYING A TANTRIC QUEEN, presented by Sky Lake, is part of Art and the Artist, a series of personal dialogues investigating the mark of dharma on the artistic process.
Joanna Rotté delves into the development and performance of a unique theatrical event featuring the incredible life of Yeshe Tsogyal, tantric yogini; and shares pivotal excerpts from the play.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/juxv75f3cys7z8g/JoannaRotte_April20_2021.mp4?dl=0
(8/22/20) INTO THE ABSURD: A Virtually Existential Dinner Conversation w Joanna Rotté
Video Conversation hosted by Tina Brock, Artistic Director of The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium
https://www.facebook.com/221018947912324/videos/2774243459462008
Dharma Film Series Sept/2019-Jan/2020
(produced, curated & hosted by Joanna Rotté)
September 15
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring, a beautiful timeless narrative set in South Korea, reveals unexpected moments in the upbringing of a child in the care of a solitary Buddhist monk. Living in a temple that floats on a lake entirely surrounded by nature, the boy passes through the four seasons from childhood to manhood. He uniquely meets the aggression, joy, sorrow, anger and transcendence of being human. The director, Kim Ki-duk, appears in glorious form in the “Winter” segment of the film.
Respondent: Doyeon Park, Won Dharma Center, Hudson, NY. Reverend Park is an ordained teacher in the Won Buddhist tradition and represents Korean Buddhism at the United Nations.
October 20
Dhamma Brothers, a documentary set in 21st century USA, tracks the development of four men incarcerated for murder at the Donaldson maximum security Correctional Facility in Alabama. Against dramatic odds, they painstakingly learn the practice of meditation, experiencing real effects of contemplative practice on their hearts and minds. The film features two intrepid mindfulness/awareness teachers, including our guest speaker Jonathan Crowley.
Respondent: Jonathan Crowley, Dhamma Dhara Vipassana Meditation Center, Shelburne Falls, MA. Mr. Crowley is Assistant Teacher of Vipassana meditation in the tradition of S. N. Goenka.
November 17
Kundun, a biographical feature film set in Tibet from 1937-1959, directed by Martin Scorsese with an all-Tibetan cast and with music by Philip Glass. Reveals the finding, installation and education of the child Tenzin Gyatso as the 14th Dalai Lama. Culminates in his clandestine and harrowing escape from Tibet amidst the terror of the Chinese invasion and occupation.
Respondent: Robert Thurman, Menla, Phoenicia, NY/Tibet House, NYC. Columbia University Professor Thurman is most recently the author of a graphic novel depicting the life of the Dalai Lama.
December 15
Unmistaken Child, a documentary set in Nepal in the early 2000s, directed by Israeli filmmaker Nati Baratz. Follows a young English-speaking Tibetan Buddhist monk searching rural Nepal, on the border of Tibet, for the reincarnation of his beloved teacher, a renowned lama. Charts the monk’s emotional journey in his arduous quest, the result of which will be approved or not by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Respondent: Ani Depa, Kagyu Thubten Choling, Wappinger Falls, NY. A Tibetan Buddhist nun ordained by Kalu Rinpoche and a teacher, Ani Depa completed two 3-year-and-3-month retreats.
January 19
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island, an influential samurai narrative set in early 17thcentury Japan, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, and starring the great Toshiro Mifune. This is the third film in a trilogy depicting the social and spiritual development of Japan’s most renowned swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. Finds Musashi rejecting the patronage of the shogun for a farmer’s life, experiencing the love of 2 women, and abandoning the sword — until challenged for a final duel.
Respondent: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt. Tremper, NY. Shugen Roshi is the abbot and resident teacher of ZMM and Head of the Mountains and Rivers Order.