A dramatic reconstruction of the Life of the great Japanese monk Dogen who flourished in Japan in the 13th century. Dogen introduced Soto Zen Buddhism from China. The film shows that Buddhism was in a very corrupt state in Japan in the 13th century. In order to understand what the Buddha had really taught Dogen travelled to China, where he met the master Ju-ching, whose teaching was to have a life-long effect on the young monk: the practice of Zen is to have the mind and the body fall away, this falling away is the path out of ignorance and vice.
After returning to Japan in 1227, he wrote his first major work, which brought him some notoriety, but also persecution from the established sects. Even though he moved away from Kyoto to avoid persecution, the temple he founded there was eventually burned down and he was forced to retire to an even more remote location.
(Japanese. with Eng. Subtitles)
