Temptation of a Monk

This being Christmas, and after reading my Dharma Brother, Barry's, recent blog http://www.oxherding.com/my_weblog/2008/12/this-is-it.html I decided that it was time that I shared my favorite Zen movie with you all. This is such a wonderful depiction of what a seeker of the dharma goes through and doesn't feign a single point. As for the Dukkha, this movie is full of the genuine 'suffering' of life. The movie deals with all of the issues of life head on and is not meant for a "G" audience. If you don't like explicit sex or violence, don't watch this movie. It is not exploitive in its deliverance of the sex and violence, it merely supports one man's journey through life. The zen lessons are so powerful in the end of this movie, that I am in awe of the writers and directors. If you have a few bucks to spend, please watch this movie, you won't be disappointed.

There is also great humor in this video, as well as a great story line. It does follow a great warrior into a life of redemption and solitude. The diffuculties don't leave him, but the end result will leave you with a marked impression of what it means to practice the Dharma.

This melodramatic epic martial arts and Zen Buddhist film from Hong Kong filmmaker Clara Law is set in 7th-century China and center's on a disgraced warrior's quest for redemption. Formerly a general, he trustingly made a devil's bargain with a rival general that resulted in the assassination of his troops and the prince he was sworn to protect. Though every part of him aches for bloody vengeance, the fallen fighter follows his mother's last dying wish and becomes a peaceful wanderer. He tries, but things don't go the way he hoped for everywhere he goes. His nemesis attacks, and, before long, kills everyone the good general cares about, including his lover, a beautiful princess. He finally finds solace in a remote Buddhist temple where he undergoes instruction from a community of Zen Monks that look like something out of a Doctor Seuss novel, but the Zen Master is the real deal here. This time trouble comes in the form of a beautiful widow, a woman who looks exactly like his slain love. On the heels of her betrayal comes the wicked general and before the heroic warrior can find lasting peace, he must survive one last battle.