An exploration of a 2,500 year old practice of freedom in the land of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Transcription

1 An exploration of a 2,500 year old practice of freedom in the land of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Seeking Heartwood follows the journey of Adam Eurich, a successful young engineer in Washington DC, as he leaves his life behind and sets out on a three-year road trip to explore what possibilities lie in the ancient tradition of Buddhism. Already familiar with the challenges of navigating the various cultural waters of Buddhism, Adam seeks out the first generation of American Buddhist teachers. These Western practitioners, many brought up in the counter-cultural movement of the 60's and 70's, left the comforts of their modern lives as well, traveling halfway across the globe to train with Asian masters in lineages that date back to the Buddha himself. Now, with a lifetime of practice behind them, they share their experiences and challenges with a whole new generation of Americans, influencing everything from bumper-stickers to neuroscience. Eschewing a traditional interview format of stock questions and standalone answers, Seeking Heartwood instead documents sincere, personal dialogues with these teachers - revealing the ups and downs that come from taking on a practice which opens up life's deepest struggles. As Adam's journey into American Buddhism winds through the back roads and natural beauty of the American landscape, it forces him to confront and reevaluate his own inner landscape of assumptions and ideas about truth, meaning, happiness, and above all... Buddhism. Release Date: Spring 2015 Projected Runtime: 100 minutes Contact Info: Adam Eurich adam.eurich@gmail.com

2 D I R E C T O R ' S N O T E : At the end of 2010, I took my savings, left my life behind, and set out to explore a tradition that I have been fascinated with my whole life: Buddhism. Armed with a couple of cameras, I began a journey that would take me all across America in a search for the best Buddhist teachers I could find. My waking life has been spent participating in hundreds of Buddhist communities, meditating on lengthy retreats, poring over ancient texts and modern bestsellers, cultivating kindness and compassion, all while filming everything I can. Now the third largest and fastest growing religion in America, I see so many people, especially in my generation, genuinely interested in Buddhism. Whether they are attracted to Buddhist views on compassion, stimulated by its profound philosophical ideas, or just interested in reducing stress through its meditative practices, I am not the only one who feels, there might actually be something to this. Unfortunately, their curiosity, like mine, is often greeted by a confounding overabundance of books, wildly different practices, and confusing cultural traditions. My own early fascination with Buddhism quickly landed me in Burmese Theravadan retreats, Korean Zen riddles, Japanese and Chinese Mahayana rituals, and chanting Tibetan mantras while visualizing images for which I had no cultural context. I did stick with it however, because even though the forms were foreign, they opened me up to my own life in ways that I had not learned from my own culture. My education had taught me a worthwhile occupation and the means to function well in this society, but I needed to learn something much more subtle. As life seemed to rush me ever forward toward goal after goal, I needed time to sit, be with my experiences, and grow the compassion and wisdom that comes from that kind of receptive attentiveness. The passing of each day only saw my need grow stronger, and as I shared it with others, I found that it actually connected me more and more with those around me. The final break that began this journey was never about leaving my life it was about moving into life, into a deeper connection with humanity, with the hope of creating a film that would give expression to that movement. Each time Buddhism ventures into a new time and place, its expression shifts and changes to meet the needs of those who are willing to explore it. This film documents a voyage into the heart of Buddhism, to find the universal, human core at its center, and to express it in a way that is uniquely American.

3 P R O D U C T I O N S T I L L S To see more, please visit

4 F I L M E D F O R T H E P R O J E C T Meido Barbara Anderson -Former Director of Penn State s Peace Studies Program and founder of its Center for Sustainability Ashin Ariyadhamma -Burmese Theravada Monk -Meditation teacher & Abbot of Buddhist monastery in Austin, TX James Baraz -Co-Founder of Spirit Rock -Meditation teacher for 36 years -Author of Awakening Joy Stephen Batchelor -Former Tibetan Monk -Bestselling author of Buddhism Without Beliefs and Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist Leigh Brasington -Meditation teacher with a focus on the Jhanas states of meditative absorption Willoughby Britton -Director of Brown University Contemplative Studies Initiative -Researcher of the adverse effects of meditation Bhikkhu Cintita -Ordained monastic in both Zen and Burmese Theravada traditions -Authors of a blog on Buddhism in America Ayya Dipa -Former member of the military -Ordained as a Buddhist nun in 2012 Stephen Asma -Columbia Professor of Philosophy -Author of Why I Am a Buddhist Bhikkhu Bodhi -Theravada Monk -Translator of the Buddha's Discourses Martine Batchelor -Former Korean Zen nun -Meditation teacher -Author of 6 books on Buddhism Tara Brach -Clinical Psychologist and leading teacher at IMCW -Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge Rev. Harry Bridge -Resident Minister of the Buddhist Church of Oakland -Instructor at the Institute of Buddhist Studies Shaila Catherine -Founder of IMSB and Meditation teacher for 18 years -Author of 2 books on meditative concentration Chas Dicapua -Resident teacher at IMS in Barre, MA -Meditation teacher since 1998 Rev. Danny Fisher -Professor and Director of the Buddhist Chaplaincy Department at the University of the West

5 Gil Fronsdal -Primary teacher at IMC -Teaching since Trained in both Zen and Insight Traditions Joseph Goldstein -Co-Founder and Guiding Teacher of IMS -Meditation teacher since Author of One Dharma Ayya Gunasari -Burmese Theravadan Nun -Abbess of Mahapajapati Monastery Rev. Heng Sure -Abbot of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery -Ordained as a Buddhist monk since 1976 Brother Han Huang -CEO of the US wing of Tzu Chi, a Taiwanese Buddhist aid organization founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen Geshe Jangchup Choeden -Tibetan monk and Buddhist teacher -Abbot of Gaden Shartse Monastery in Tibet Noah Levine -Founding meditation teacher of Against the Stream -Author of Dharma Punx and Heart of the Revolution Ken McLeod -Translator of Tibetan texts -Director of Unfettered Mind -Author of Wake Up to Your Life Gary Gach -Mindfulness Teacher -Poet and author of Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism Richard Gombrich -Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, Pali, and Buddhist studies -Author of What the Buddha Thought Rick Hanson Ph. D. -Neuropsychologist -Founder of the Wellspring Institute -Bestselling author of Buddha's Brain Sensei Craig Horton -Zen Shin teacher at the Cleveland Buddhist Temple -Author of Sun Breaks through Gray Skies Daniel Ingram -Medical Doctor -Meditation teacher -Author of Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha Rev. Doug Kraft -Unitarian Universalist minister -Meditation teacher -Author of Buddha's Map David Loy -Professor of Buddhist and Comparative Philosophy -Author of A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency Phillip Moffitt -Former CEO & Editor-in-Chief of Esquire magazine -Author of Emotional Chaos to Clarity and Dancing with Life

6 Shoho Michael Newhall -Zen priest and resident teacher at Jikoji Retreat Center -Artist and former teacher of the arts at Naropa University Charles Prebish -First scholar of American Buddhism -Professor at Penn State for over 35 years Sharon Salzberg -Insight Meditation Teacher -Co-Founder of IMS at Barre, MA -Best-selling Author of Lovingkindness Flint Sparks -Zen Preist in the Soto Tradition -Head teacher at Appamada in Austin, TX Possesses over 25 years of practice in psychotherapy Thanissaro Bhikkhu -Translator of the Pali Canon -Theravada monk for 37 years -Abbot of Metta Forest Monastery Bhante Vimalaramsi -Theravada monk for 28 years -Founder of first American Forest Tradition Monastery -US Rep. for Kobe Japan World Buddhist Conference Shinzen Young -Ph.D. in Buddhist studies -Trained in all three major Buddhist Traditions -Consults widely in meditationrelated research Andy Olendzki -Senior Scholar at BCBS -Pali Scholar and translator -Author of Unlimiting Mind Bhante Punnaji -Sri Lankan Theravada Monk -Pali Canon Scholar -Meditation teacher and author Jason Siff -Former Buddhist monk -Co-Founder of Skillful Meditation Project -Author of Unlearning Meditation Lama Surya Das -Bests-selling Author -Dzogchen Meditation Teacher -Poet, activist, and speaker Dave Vago Ph. D. -Instructor of Psychology in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory at Havard Medical School Brad Warner -Soto Zen priest -Author of Hardcore Zen and There is No God and He is Always With You Zhaxi Zhuoma -Head of the Xuanfa Institute and Meditation teacher in Sacramento, CA Jeff Zlotnik -Director of The Meditation Initiative, whose goal is to teach meditation to everyone -Served more than 15,000 people for free since 2009

7 P R E S S / A W A R D S / R E C O G N I T I O N Seeking Heartwood was a recent recipient of a grant from the Shinnyo-en Foundation, a philanthropic arm of the Shinnyo-en Buddhist Order. Through its grant-making and collaborations, SEF hopes to bring forth deeper compassion among humankind, promote greater harmony, and nurture and empower youth towards building more caring communities. Seeking Heartwood also received a contribution from BCBS, a non-profit educational organization with a center in Barre, MA that provides a bridge between scholarly understanding and meditative insight. Adam Eurich is also working closely with BCBS on a short documentary film about Secular Buddhism. Last year, Seeking Heartwood successfully used the online crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to raise over $30,000 for the production of the film. The campaign was promoted by the nationwide publications Shambala Sun, Tricycle, and Buddhadharma, as well as various blogs such as Buddhist Art News, Awakening 360, Full Contact Enlightenment, Dharma Cowgirl, Wisdom Quarterly, Sumeru Books, BuddhaFest, Embracing Samsara, and many more.

8 Adam Eurich was interviewed twice for the Secular Buddhist Podcast, the official podcast of the Secular Buddhist Association, a grass-roots driven effort to answer the needs of Buddhist teachings and practice for contemporary society. After settling into Long Beach, CA to begin post-production, the project drew the attention of the local newspaper Long Beach Post. You can read the article at lbpost.com ( )

9 F U N D R A I S I N G & B U D G E T It is no small task to produce a film. Even the smallest independent film can cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. Fortunately, I was able to finish the production phase of Seeking Heartwood with a budget just over $100,000. I utilized my own savings, online fundraising efforts, and the special kind of cost-savings that comes from living out of a car and applying a background in engineering to teach myself lighting, audio recording, cinematography, editing, producing, and directing. While getting through production is a major milestone, the post-production phase of any film is still considerably demanding. I have some incredibly wise and compassionate voices and messages in this film, and I feel these voices deserve a professional polish and extensive distribution. To do this, I need to enlist the experience of other established professionals in the field of filmmaking. I have come up with a detailed budget for post-production with a final sum of $115,000. This budget would cover the following items: Professional Consultants to advise in Direction, Production, Editing, etc. Editing Suite & Office Rental Storage & Backup Solutions Color Correction/Grading Narration Animation Final B-Roll Footage Production Sound Design/Mixing/Recording Music Composition/Musicians/Recording Additional Music Clearances Archival Researcher/Footage Clearance Graphics/Titles/Credits Web Designer/Manager Graphic Designer Captioning/Subtitles Festival Fees/Screener Discs Conversion to Digital Cinema Package Online VOD Fees (itunes, Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, & more) Accounting Fees Legal Fees Promotional Material/Services/Travel

10 For this final phase of fundraising, the California based organization Unfettered Mind has graciously agreed to be the non-profit fiscal sponsor for Seeking Heartwood. Unfettered Mind is a Buddhist service organization that provides instruction, training programs, and guidance in Buddhist methods for being awake and present in your life. Unfettered Mind is qualified as exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3), and a verification letter from the IRS can be provided upon request. This sponsorship allows donors to make tax-deductible contributions to Seeking Heartwood. With this in mind, I am looking for larger contributions from individual donors, corporations, and grantmaking foundations. If you, or anyone you know of, can assist me with reaching out to any organizations or individuals who would appreciate donating to this film, please let me know. Any assistance would be profoundly appreciated. All donations can be made out to Unfettered Mind, with a note that the contribution is to be put aside for Seeking Heartwood, and sent out to this address: Unfettered Mind 264 S. La Cienega Blvd., Suite 1083 Beverly Hills, CA If you have any questions about Seeking Heartwood please feel free to contact me at any time. Adam Eurich adam.eurich@gmail.com