Summary: Although they may not look exactly like their counterparts in China, North America's Chinese Buddhist temples are closely linked to them through symbolism and traditions that go back more than 1,500 years. This video looks at structural symmetry, north/south building orientation, and interior layout; architectural elements like pagodas, columns, and courtyards; the lotus flower as a design...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: In addition to trade goods, religious beliefs also followed the ancient Silk Road into China. Today, a vibrant minority of more than 20 million Chinese Muslims of various ethnic groups live harmoniously among an overall population of more than a billion. This program traces the history of Islam in China while illustrating the Muslim way of life there, including prayer, religious education, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: After the Chinese Nationalist Government fled to Taiwan, Soong Mei-ling remained in the public eye as the distant and mysterious "Madame Chiang." She continued the role she had played during her years in mainland China, remaining prominent in foreign affairs and devoted to her work with women and charitable causes. This program examines the second half of Madame Chiang's life: her...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Born into a prominent family in China, Soong Mei-ling was nonetheless thoroughly Western in thought and philosophy, having studied in America-one of the first Chinese women to do so. After marrying Chiang Kai-shek, the couple led a China embroiled in years of war and political intrigue. During World War II, she became the first Chinese national ever to address a joint session of the U.S....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program examines the Japanese matsuri or "summer festival," perhaps the best elucidation of that country's ancient polytheism. Ceremony footage from Tokyo and surrounding areas illustrates various festival activities and explores the Japanese cultural emphasis on community, cooperation, and folk worship. Commentary by Japanese cultural scholar Yoshi Morikatsu, interviews with festival...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Did the Soviet Union collapse under external pressure or its own weight? What enabled free market forces to assert themselves in China? Is socialism dead, or has it simply evolved? This program addresses these and other questions, focusing on the political, cultural, and economic factors behind the fall of the iron curtain regimes. Outlining the Cultural Revolution and its consequences, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: It is not a religion in itself-rather, Hinduism is more of a family of faiths that focus on God in different ways. Nevertheless, the majority of Hindu traditions share the same colorful festivals, reverence for sacred animals, and scriptural use of Sanskrit. This program sifts through perspectives from four practitioners of the Hindu faith who discuss both unified and divergent ways in which...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: China's economy is booming-and so is its Christian community. This program examines the rise of the country's nondenominational Protestant movement, its basic structure and organization, and its relationship with the government. Spotlighting new, moderate religious freedoms in Chinese society, the film visits Christian churches in Nanjing Province and interviews a number of ministers and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: Buddhism holds that life and the physical world are illusions, transcended by emptying the mind and simplifying one's life. In reality, Buddhism is complicated-no unified teaching exists. This program presents ways of articulating Buddhist thought from six straightforward and insightful practitioners who explain parallels and distinctions between Buddhist traditions. Commentators include Geshe...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Why are many of today's spiritual seekers looking beyond the world's mainstream religions for fulfillment? And is technology eclipsing the concept of God? This program goes to the heart of those questions through interviews with Marilyn Ferguson, author of The Aquarian Conspiracy, as well as leaders of New Age organizations such as the Naropa Institute, the Krishnamurti Foundation, and the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program reveals the pristine vistas of winter in Kyoto. Set against a backdrop of snow, New Year's festivities-the Okera-mairi ritual at Yasaka Shrine, the tolling of the bell at Kiyomizu Temple, pilgrimages to the temples of the seven gods of fortune, the calligraphy festival at Kitano Temmangu Shrine, the naked dance at Hokaiji Temple, and other events-as well as the Devil Dance festival...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Drawing on ancient spirituality, most pagans sum up their chosen form of worship within a modern "green" context. Some follow druidry, others wicca, while a third brand promotes the shamanism of hunter-gatherer cultures. This program sheds light on various examples of pagan devotion put forward by four observers of ancient religious rites and customs. Through straightforward explanations and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program savors the peaceful splendor of autumn in Kyoto. First, visits to Kozan-ji Temple, an example of early Kamakura architecture and repository of a painting by Toba Sojo; Sanzen-in Temple, immortalized by 18th-century poet Ueda Akinari; and many other temples offer views of the region's beautiful red-colored maples. Then, the video covers the autumn festival in Arashiyama, the Jidai...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program explores the glories of summer in Kyoto. The video starts with a tour of the Kurama-dera Temple, spotlighting its history as a shrine to the Sonten trinity, its fire festival and bamboo-cutting ceremony, and the locale's natural beauty. It continues with visits to the gardens of the Tendai Buddhist Manshu-in Temple and Zen Buddhist Ryoanji Temple, as well as to the Gion festival,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Transitioning from ancient Jewish narratives to the emergence of the Jesus story, this program follows theologian Robert Beckford as he studies the authorship of the Gospels and subsequent New Testament books. Beckford's itinerary stretches from Jerusalem and Bethlehem to the Turkish ruins of Ephesus, then westward to Rome, London, and Bible-Belt America-underscoring the textual evolution that...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine honors and venerates the spirits of Japanese soldiers and officers-including convicted and executed war criminals. This program explores the history of the Shinto shrine, the complexity of its functions, and the controversies generated when political leaders appear there. Interviews with visitors, an inside look at the shrine's adjacent museum of war memorabilia, and a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program captures the essence of spring in Kyoto. First, the program presents the region's gorgeous displays of cherry blossoms and other flowers at Heian Jingu Shrine, built to commemorate Kyoto's 1,100 years as capital of Japan; in Maruyama Park; by Togetsu Bridge; and at a number of famous temples. Next, traditional seasonal events are profiled, including the Miyako-odori and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: One of the most visible issues facing Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is the role of women serving religion. Because of religious and cultural conditioning in the past, women in all three religions have experienced limited roles. Today, though, their voices are being heard. This program traces women's roles in religious tradition and what it means to be a woman in these three religions today....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: It is a philosophy that seeks to replace religion with rites of passage based on compassion and rationality. Despite its overarching goals, Humanism divides into several groups-from hedonism to secularism. This program delineates viewpoints from five articulate humanist proponents who, through thoughtful explanations, evoke the multifaceted landscape of Humanist thought. Participants include...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Apart from their outward differences in ritual and doctrine, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam share an inward-pointing imperative to know God. In this program, clergy, theologians, and others with religious vocations delve into the esoteric aspects of three of the world's great religions. The use of meditation and contemplation as vehicles for transcending the mundane and drawing closer to the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Filmed on location in India, Japan, and elsewhere, this program provides insights into Hinduism; Mahayana, Hinayana, Tantric, and Zen Buddhism; and Shintoism. Religious leaders including 112-year-old Sri Swami Shivananda, deputy director of the Divine Life Society; Master Thich Nhat Hanh, founder of the Plum Village Zen community; His Holiness the Dalai Lama; and The Venerable Mr. Hatakake,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Whether for pardon, healing, inspiration, or enlightenment, a pilgrimage can be a journey through the kingdom of spirit. In this program, Paul Coelho, author of The Pilgrimage; His Holiness the Dalai Lama; the director of the Tiberias Center for Kabbalah and Healing; and others reflect on the history and significance of major pilgrimage destinations, including Santiago de Compostela, Mecca,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Among the many religions of the world one can still clearly observe the shamanic imperative to enter the realm of the sacred-and some practitioners will do whatever it takes to reach that elevated state. This program looks at rites and rituals designed to achieve spiritual awakening through physical pain and bodily injury. A village in Nepal welcomes the New Year with a tongue-boring ceremony....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: Using multilingual Hong Kong as a case in point, this program makes the hot-button phenomenon known as language-mixing easily accessible to any viewer through interviews with dozens of Hong Kong residents. Their explanations of why and when they mix Cantonese and English reveal much about cultural identity in cosmopolitan populations and the effects of globalization. Scholarly analysis is...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006