The Cross and the Bodhi Tree:
Two Christian Encounters with Buddhism

This fascinating film is about two unique individuals, a French Catholic priest and an English Protestant nun and the powerful influence of Buddhism on both of them. Father Francois Ponchaud, a published author, writes on Cambodian politics and history and speaks fluent Khmer with Cambodian villagers. Mother Rosemary leads a life of silence and prayer in a convent in Oxford.
Yet both the active missionary priest and the contemplative Mother Superior practice Buddhist meditation. For Father Ponchaud, who lost nearly all his students in the Cambodian "killing fields," meditation sustains him in the face of tragedy, as well as in everyday life. For Mother Rosemary, this meditation lent support to her life of prayer when "prayer seemed to go dead."
In the era of globalization, when human ventures and ideas are being thrown together an unprecedented rate, Father Ponchaud and Mother Rosemary point a way forward both for institutional religions and for seekers of truth outside the confines of convention. They shed light on the character of Jesus Christ, the path of the Buddha and the call to holiness. They demonstrate that it is possible to retain deep roots in one tradition while being profoundly enriched by another.

43 min. Video or DVD. Sale $ 295. Video rental $55.