Free Buddhism Documentaries

This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life...

An unforgettable journey into the hidden tradition of China's Buddhist hermit monks Amongst White Clouds is an intimate insider's look at students and masters living in scattered retreats dotting China's Zhongnan Mountain range.

Death is real, it comes without warning and it cannot be escaped. An ancient source of strength and guidance, The Tibetan Book of the Dead remains an essential teaching in the Buddhist cultures of the Himalayas.

Gendun Choephel (1903-1951) is a legendary figure in Tibet, not simply because he was believed to be the reincarnation of a famous Buddhist lama but also because this promising young monk eventually turned his back on monastic life and became a fierce critic of his country's religious conservatism, cultural isolationism and reactionary government.

Bernard Glassman teaches a distillation of Zen wisdom that can be used as a manual for business, social ventures, peacemaking or just life.

The tenets of Buddhism - equality and democracy, universal peace, steadfast love for all life and a secular practice that can help humanity to end suffering has attracted followers from all across the world to Buddha and Buddhism.

The Long Search was a 1977 BBC documentary television series spanning 13 episodes. Presented by theatre director Ronald Eyre, the series surveyed several major world religions, including Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic Christianity.

Join historian Bettany Hughes as she explores the different beliefs and practices that form the core of the Buddhist philosophy and investigates how Buddhism started and where it travelled to, through visits to seven of the most spectacular monuments built by Buddhists across the globe.

There has been considerable worldwide interest in Buddhism in Tibet. However, the fact that Tibetan Buddhism, its deities and mandalas, were all developed in the Indian University of Nalanda, is not known to many.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead is a two-part series that explores ancient teachings on death and dying. It was filmed over a four-month period on location in the Himalayas where the original text still yields an essential influence over people's views of life and death.