Monday, April 2, 2007

Jason watches "A Zen Life"

So after I saw "The Host" this really just filled a time slot until it was time for the first "Sleazy Sunday". Not enough time to go home and come back, so it was either catch a flick or go to a bar and drink for a couple of hours. For the record, I'm glad I saw this movie (and I had plenty of time to drink a beer before "Sleazy Sundays", which is all I really wanted).

Anyway, "A Zen Life" is a documentary about the life of D. T. Suzuki, the man who, more than anyone else, brought the Zen Buddhism philosophy to the West. The movie mixes a fairly straightforward telling of his life with interviews from influential artists, philosophers, religious leaders, and psychologists (but he's a cool enough guy I won't hold the psychologists against him) whom he's influenced. An interesting man, and an interesting movie. I particularly liked his metaphor of religion as a mountain, and it doesn't really matter which path you take to the top, the summit is the same any way. It probably would've been more interesting if I was a Buddhist, or religious at all.

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