Sacred Ponds

<p><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Community. Charity. Conviction.</strong></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Three principles ever intertwined but never perfectly integrated in the span of a thousand years. In each of three portraits characters challenge what is presumed infallible but never dismiss it; instead they seek to see it for what it is and decide how they will incorporate it into their own lives.</span></p><p></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Charlemagne's Empire (800 AD):</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> The focus on the one and only religion and the fear of science cause two monks to leave for a more open Arab society. Eventually they must decide where they belong.</span></p><p></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Meiji Japan (1800 AD)</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>: The transition to an industrial society leaves many behind. Buddhist introspection and Shinto traditions are valued over actions until a woman starts a new charitable movement-one that is met with resistance by the establishment.</span></p><p></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Nepal (2000 AD)</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>: Dreadful acts were committed as the country struggled to oust a king deemed the incarnation of a Hindu god and elect a communist government. Now the children of a hero of the revolution must deal with their father's actions and determine which beliefs from the past are worth keeping.</span></p><p></p>