Here is a computer animation by Stephen Heppel from Moving Vision, a new Right Livelihood business in the UK, illustrating the first two verses of the Dhammapada in translation by Sangharakshita. Stephen writes:
"Buddhism is an ancient tradition which is only just recently flowering in the west. Practices such as mindfulness are now common currency in the mainstream- but the fundamental teachings of Buddhism are still relatively unknown or misunderstood.
While the principles of Buddhism are timeless truths, each generation and each culture has to re-imagine the Buddha for themselves and re-interpret Buddhist teachings and practices in forms relevant to their own conditioning and situation. Part of Moving Vision Motion Graphics mission is to re-imagine the Buddha for the digital age.
The Buddhist tradition has always used symbols and images to convey it message - to engage our hearts and imaginations. Therefore, we believe motion graphics are a fitting medium to help communicate Buddhism to the modern world.
There are many films we would like to make: from stories of the great lives of the Buddha, Milarepa and Padmasamhava, Buddhist concepts such as Sunyata, Conditioned-co-production and the Niyamas, mind blowing tales from the Mahayana sutras, to guides to everyday practices such as meditation, ethics and kindness.
Above is an animated version of the first two verses of the Dhammapada, based on the translation by Sangharakshita."