DVD Corner

Compassion In Emptiness DVD Review

“Compassion In Emptiness” is a thought provoking DVD set.

“Compassion In Emptiness” is a 4 disc set that includes the Dalai Lama’s 3 days of teachings at Radio City Music Hall as well as a public talk session. His Holiness the Dalai Lama departs his wisdom by chatting about such subjects as family, anger, violence (and non-violence), compassion, suffering, meditations, existence, sutras, religion, and happiness. He also gives several readings from the Nagarjuna and Shantideva texts about Bodhicitta and Bodhisattva. I should point out that the public talk is certainly more accessible than the 3 day speakings as it’s more of a free form discussion and covers more topics.

Clocking in at nearly 14 hours, these deep public speakings can be a lot to consume. In fact, they are are better suited to being slowly digested. You also shouldn’t expect to understand everything here. This is more of a class/starting point for those of Buddhist faith. The more you learn about these texts, the more sense it will make (at least that’s what I took away from it). At any rate, while this isn’t the type of program I would normally watch on my own, there’s no denying that this is an interetsing, provoking collection that will at least leave people thinking about themselves and the world (which is the purpose of these speakings).

Note: There is a 2 page essay of sorts by Adam Yauch on the box art.

Video/Audio:

The 1.78:1 widescreen picture quality is as good as it gets for a public speaking recording.

The Dolby Digital Stereo is not the best, but it is adequate. The Dalai Lama can be hard to hear at certain times, but viewers do have the option of playing Englsih subtitles so that they don’t miss a word.

Extras:
* Richard Gere introduction.
* Trailers for “Treeless Mountain,” “Burma VJ: Reporting From A Closed Country,” and “Unmistaken Child.”

August 14, 2011 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Compassion In Emptiness DVD Review, Dalai Lama