The Way of Buddha a drama based on Dhammapada staged in New York
The drama, which was very well attended, was a great success! It was a unique and fascinating experience for me. There had been an introductory conducted tour of the art and artifacts which had been the inspiration behind the project and then it was time for us to take our places on stage. As I sat on stage on a high cushion with the spotlight trained on me, I could see the audience making their way to their seats. For a few seconds, I felt a fluttering in my stomach. Was this what was called stage fright? However, when the gong sounded for the beginning of the production sounded, my training as a Theravada Buddhist monk took over and I conducted a short meditation in the traditional manner.
As we moved through each of the selected Gathas, I chanted the verses in Pali giving full expression to the words. Pali is normally regarded as a dead language but I tried to emphasise that to monks of the Theravada tradition, Pali, the language in which the words of the Buddha were first recorded, is very much still alive.
As we stood on stage to acknowledge the applause of the audience, we were joined by Tim, the producer of this project and manager of the museum, who formally presented each of us with a khatha, the traditional white silk scarf. I gave mine to Jessica as a thank you for all she had done to look after me and make my visit so comfortable.
After the production, many people came to me and expressed their admiration of everyone’s contribution to the drama.Most of them mentioned that it would have been good if the meditation had been longer. Some also told me that they had been very touched by the teachings from the Dhammapada. Finally, a very modest person came to me and introduced himself. He was Mr. Rubin, the founder of this wonderful museum. I gave him my blessings and thanked him for his great generosity in promoting Buddhist art and culture.
I have to mention thankfully Tim the producer of this project and the manager of the museum who is a very nice a great Buddhist art admirer.
It was drama for the cast but was a great Dhamma evening for me. I think that at the end most of them felt that it had been a spiritual evening rather than a drama.
I wish everyone who supported this great Dhamma Dana happiness and good health.
Below are the artists who performed the Drama. This introduction is from website of Rubin Museum of art.
Nicole Ansari is a prolific stage, film, and television actor who has recently completed her first American feature Retribution, for which she was also Associate Producer. Of her many theatrical roles, including Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac, Irma in Irma La Douce, and the title role in Alma, Ansari most recently appeared in the West End premiere and Broadway productions of Tom Stoppard’s Rock N’ Roll. She directed the documentary Padim@PS 3 and wrote and directed the short film Tina Goes to Town. She can also be seen in the last season of HBO’s Deadwood.
Brian Cox is recognized as one of Britain’s major acting talents. His performances (of which Titus Andronicus with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1987, and King Lear at the National Theater 1988 stand out) led to his being awarded the honor of Commander of the British Empire in recognition of his contribution to British theater. In 2002, he appeared as a spymaster in The Bourne Identity, a hostile recluse in The Ring, a smug screenwriter in Adaptation, and as Ed Norton’s father in 25th Hour. Cox has been most recently seen on Broadway in Tom Stoppard’s Rock’n’Roll. His other notable film roles include the original Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter and Agamemnon in Troy. Other diverse film credits include L.I.E., Rob Roy, Braveheart, and X2: X-Men United.
Michelle Beck received her training at SUNY Purchase Acting Conservatory and has begun a career in New York City and regional theater as well as in Europe, with the German Theater Abroad. In New York she played Caroline in the city premiere of My Juilliard with Theater for the New City, and has taken part in readings for the Red Bull and Flea Theaters. Elsewhere around the country she has played Ophelia in Hamlet for the Shakespeare Theater, D.C.; Mariane in Tartuffe for Yale Rep; and performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her film credits include Mark Brokaw’s Spinning into Butter and Thunderbolt.
Ellen Burstyn’s illustrious acting career encompasses film, stage, and television. In 1975 she became only the third woman in history to win both the Tony Award and the Academy Award in the same year, for her work in Bernard Slade’s Same Time, Next Year on Broadway and in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, for which she also received a Golden Globe nomination and a British Academy Award for Best Actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award five other times and was the first woman elected president of Actors Equity Association (1982-85). She has also served as Artistic Director of the famed Actors’ Studio, where she studied with the late Lee Strasberg. Burstyn holds four honorary doctorates, and her memoir Lessons in Becoming Myself, was a national best-seller. Burstyn can be seen playing Barbara Bush in the upcoming film W, opening on October 17.
British actor Linus Roache has had an acclaimed 25-year career on stage, screen, and television, and for the past 14 years has been a devoted student of evolutionary enlightenment. He is the managing director of the New York Center for EnlightenNext, a global network dedicated to creating a revolution in consciousness and culture, founded on the spiritual teachings of Andrew Cohen. Roache currently appears on Law & Order as chief executive ADA Michael Cutter. He began his career on the long-running British serials Coronation Street and The Onedin Line. His film credits include The Wings of the Dove, Hart’s War, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Batman Begins.
