User Reviews

My congratulations to Helene Zhuge. An astounding documentary indeed. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Master Jing Hui had foreseen in 1993 that how the week-long summer camp would help the youth, to find inner peace and thereby, they themselves would find answers to their own problems, within themselves. The responses of the participants and their one-on-one interactions with the monks is extremely informative. The cinematography is also smooth and flows along with the script. The shots of the main gate, the Devaraja Hall, the Hall of Attaining Perfection, the Mahavira Hall and the Vimalakirti Hall were superb. It was extremely pleasing to see the carved and gilded images of the Buddha, perhaps created during the Ming Dynasty. There is also a shot of a cypress tree, which reminds one that the Kangxi Emperor had called the temple as "The Everlasting Cypress Grove". When Master Ming Hai, Abbot of Bailin Temple, speaks about impermanence, one can easily see the reflections of Mahasiddha Virupa's Lamdre system of meditation. All over the temple, a feeling of the Hevajra, Vajrakilaya, Mahakala and Guhyasamaja tantras, is acutely felt. Overall, this film was highly entertaining and informative. The summer camp certainly makes a difference in the lives of the participants and in the words of Master Ming Hai, it touches the soul, lives, values, views and mindsets of the participants. Once again, I congratulate Helene Zhuge and the entire team, on- and off-screen, for creating this wonderful documentary.