The
legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog traveled to India in 2002 to make a
documentary on Kalachakra, the elaborate ordaining ritual for Tibetan Buddhist
monks. Every two or three years, nearly a half million pilgrims travel to
witness it at Bodh Gaya, India, where the Buddha sat under a tree and found
enlightenment. A sand mandala signifying the wheel of time is meticulously
created by monks and is meant to stir the seeds of enlightenment in Buddhists
of all stripes. This intricate creation stands for the world of phenomena, the
realms of consciousness, and the pure lands of the deities. Pilgrims from
Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka arrive in trucks or on foot.
They endure heat, hunger, and thirst to get there. Those who are more
well-to-do set up tents while the majority sleep on the ground.
Herzog
shares an interview with a monk who took three-and-one-half years to arrive at
Bodh Gaya: he did prostrations all the way for 3,000 miles. He has knobs on his
wrists and a wound on his forehead from touching the earth with his head
millions of times. What does he have to show for it? You can see in his eyes
and visage a serenity that comes from such discipline and devotion.
Meanwhile
thousands of other Buddhists are working on 100,000 prostrations facing the
tree where Buddha was enlightened. Herzog playfully captures a small child
kneeling on the earth and trying to mimic the prostrations of the adults around
him. Other pilgrims gather around a stupa that has healing powers.
There are
so many ways for the pilgrims to find happiness. One purchases a few birds and
sets them free. Young monks gather excitedly to serve tea to the elders; it is
considered an honor to be of service. One of the high points of the festivities
comes when the monks throw gifts to the crowds, including barley dumplings
which hold the promise of a long and prosperous life.
When the
sand mandala is finally finished, it must be enclosed in glass since one touch
or even a breath could destroy it. When the pilgrims learn that His Holiness
the Dalai Lama has joined them, they gather in long lines to enter the place
where he will speak. People toss their prayer shawls to the front just to have
them in his presence. But the Kalachakra initiation cannot be completed since
the Dalai Lama is not feeling well. His sadness spreads to the Tibetan
Buddhists who have waited so long to be with him in this gathering.
Herzog
travels to the next Kalachakra meeting, which is held in Graz, Austria, in
2002. The Dalai Lama is in good health again and 8,000 Eastern and Western
Buddhists gather in a convention hall for the ceremonies. Herzog interviews a
Tibetan Buddhist who has just been released from prison after serving 37 years.
He describes the ordeals brought on by two statements of liberation for his
people; he can't really put into words the joy he felt upon first seeing the
Dalai Lama. The sand mandala ceremonies are completed, and it is destroyed in
several minutes. Here is a stunning and unforgettable image of Tibetan
Buddhism's acknowledgment of the impermanence of all things. The sand is
gathered and released into a nearby river to flow out into the world as a
blessing.
Herzog's
engrossing documentary is a spiritual blessing for Buddhists and anyone else
fortunate to experience it. There are several brief interviews with the Dalai
Lama where he demonstrates his knowledge of Buddhist tradition and his hopes
that all religions will practice love, kindness, and compassion in a world
split apart by hatred, war, and misunderstandings. At one point, a smudge
appears on the lens of the camera and Herzog casually wipes it off with his
thumb. The director's sense of humor comes across when he photographs one
bodyguard still on duty in the nearly empty convention hall. Back in India, he
focuses on a single monk seated on his prayer cushion amidst 400,000 other
cushions. The closing shot is of Mount Kalish in Tibet, which has been called a
"precious jewel of snow." According to tradition, one three-day trip
around the sacred mountain can wipe away the sins of a lifetime. Herzog catches
the shimmering dots on the lake in front of the jewel shaped mountain in what
becomes a breathtaking visual delight.
