Amongst White Clouds

AMONGST WHITE CLOUDS ultimately impressed me. This is filmmaker/Zen Student Edward Burger's interview documentary with Ch'an (Zen) hermits living in seclusion in the Zhongnan Mountains of China in keeping with an ancient tradition of Chinese Buddhist hermitage. Most of them live alone or in small communities.This tradition was thought to have been undone in Mao's Cultural Revolution, but it clearly survived that period of repression as it has since time immemorial.Although the film starts out slowly and is a little tiresome to listen to (for non-Chinese speakers there are English subtitles to follow), it builds on itself as we are introduced to more and more of the monks and we become more immersed in their state of existence and way of thought.From the 20-ish monk whose family came three times to kidnap him back to town to the 90 year old man who looks and acts like a sage of antiquity, we discover a wide divergence in the types of men and women who elect this life. At the same time, we find a striking similarity in the fact that most of these practitioners outright reject the hurly-burly of daily life in favor of quiet contemplation. Most of the monks do not live in caves. They live in well-built huts. Some have electric lights and running water. Some go to town (apparently within walking distance) regularly, while others refuse to leave their bucolic setting. Comparing and contrasting the views Burger gives us of the natural environment of the mountains with the mad rush of city life, it is not hard to understand why.A previous reviewer states that the film is short on the "Why" of Zen practice: WHY do they choose this life, WHY do they feel impelled toward Enlightenment? The answer is that there is no answer. Zen is like that. There is no "Why" to practice, merely the doing of it.AMONGST WHITE CLOUDS answers no questions, it merely invites us to be amongst white clouds.

I ordered this after hearing a reference to it by Zen priest, Karen Maezen Miller, about ascetics living in remote mountains in China. Fascinated with why and how monks choose this life and how young men follow and what is the value of this existence - I wouldn't say I understand much more about these ascetics altho I am thrilled I ordered it. Already have watched a few times, so much to absorb. . . mostly subtitles as conversationis in Chinese. Scenery and mountains are Remotness at its most reverent. The host traveler took on a daunting search, you just have to watch it these five unique monks in their chosen asceticism.

A meditative and quite absorbing look at hermit monks and nuns living on a remote mountain top in China, this film had me thinking throughout it "I could do something like this."Of course, I almost certainly couldn't, but I actually think it is a testimony to the film-makers art that he can create such an intimate and unpretentious piece. The camera lingers on the hermits' faces and their simple dwellings, for the most part allowing the hermits to speak and tell their stories. Inspired in part by the wonderful book by Bill Porter (Road to Heaven - an absolute must-read), this is a fascinating insight into a way of life that is ancient and, I fear, endangered.And what a charming bunch they are. A cheerful, chubby-faced old nun takes us up to a mountain spring while she siphons her drinking water, and a half-mad old monk admonishes a junior member of his community to speak up so that the camera crew can hear him better.This is a film free from didacticism or any clumsy attempt to create some sort of artificial narrative. It is a simple journey amongst hermits, going from one to another as any pilgrim would, sitting at their feet and absorbing heir wisdom, at times profound and at times mundane.I absolutely loved it, and found that watching this film was itself a meditative process, and exercise in contemplation. Wonderful stuff.

Because beautiful is only one of the ways to describe this amazing documentary. Everything that is said during these short "interviews" with the Buddhist monks and nuns is almost worthy of writing down for future reference. Many of us have wanted to take off and find solitude, and the maker of this film has done just that. He packed it all up, moved to China, learned Chinese, and spent months tracking down the whereabouts of the elusive mountain hermits, and thats only the first 5 minutes of the film. If you are interested in seeing China from a mountain hermits perspective, just purchase this film. It is ensightful as well as inspiring. I have watched it twice in a week and I am looking forward to watching it again.

I've seen a few videos about various hermit sects..This one is ok... I was expecting to see some insight into their training...what do they do... didn't really dive into any of that. It more about daily life in the places they live and living with nature with out outside help.I found the other movies about the Zen monks / tibetan monks / Indian gurus much more interesting...What I did find fascinating was the story behind the young man finding these monks. That was a great story just flying to China and trying to find these people. But once he got there it didn't deliver for me. I'm an acupuncturist/energy worker/long time mediation and have to say that the other monk videos, the practitioners, had much more energetic presence. I didn't get that hit with these practitioners.... They had joy and open hearts but the transcendence aspect did not come through...

I recommend Amongst white clouds. The movie was well made and the scenery was nice. There are Monks and a Nun practicing in the remote mountains of China. The interviews are short but do offer some teachings and you get a brief look at how and where they live. This is most likely not going to be seen at the local multi screen theater. If you liked the book Road to Heaven by Bill Porter you will Probably like this also. Its nice to know there is still a few places in today's modern world where people can still live and practice this way.