It does not seem likely in the near future nor in my lifetime to get to Nepal – the Himalayas, so all the more finding this Japanese program fascinating. Here’s a clip from this documentary that airs tomorrow night on TV Japan. Click here.
This facebook page has a preview video of a documentary that aired in Japan last year …titled “Death and Eros in Nepal”… that would be the straight English translation. Even though it’s in Japanese, I think anyone can appreciate the visuals and be intrigued.
In fact, after it aired in Japan, one of the comments on Twitter was …
(さすがNHKBS、グルメも娯楽もない。) “Shout out to NHK (similar to NPR in Japan), no gourmet foods; no leisure travel entertainment but a sobering documentary…”
(ハードボイルドですね。) “so hard-boiled.”
as the documentary is a look at Birth, Death and Creation concept in the land of the Buddha. The travel guide in this documentary is an actress who later touches on the similarities and differences between Tibetan customs and Japanese customs as far as Buddhist worship (esp. in funeral customs) is concerned. When it comes to religion, Japanese practices Shinto at birth; Christian when getting married and Buddhist at death – a joke but… it’s a bit that way… probably weird from the perspective of Westerners who are steeped in Christian ideas of birth, and then you die and go to heaven, if you were good and hell, if you were bad during your lifetime.
By the way, there was no country called “India” while there was country called “Nepal” at the time when the Buddha was born. Turns out Buddha was born in a small kingdom called Kapilavastu, where his father was the king, which was situated on both sides of today’s Indian-Nepalese border. His actual birthplace, Lumbini, is today in Nepal. So birthplace of Buddha is Nepal … while Nepal is part of Indian subcontinent so guess you can say that he was born in India. Buddhist teachings spread mostly Eastward through the Chinese continent and then even to Japan … so it is noted in the documentary how there are many similarities shared in the practice BUT shocking rituals unthinkable in today’s Japan …where there’s no clear dividing line between birth and death and the grieving for the dead is also a time of great celebration – that is something so distant in our modern life. The documentary reminds us how it used to be and how it really is: that celebration of new life is as valued as celebration for the grieving for the life parted…SA TA NA MA…It’s all a full circle into Oneness… interconnection we have sort of lost touch with as death is a taboo and scary subject best be avoided.
“Death is not the opposite of life but an innate part of it. By living our lives, we nurture death.”
― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
I might be accused of being morbid again… so here’s sharing of an upcoming birthday party we are invited to:) It’s Flowers-Festival – a celebration !
Buddha’s birthday coming up! Celebrated at a local Buddhist temple… Party time:)
What’s real; what’s an illusion?
