To the Land of Bliss

To the Land of Bliss is an intimate portrayal of the Chinese Pure Land Buddhist way of dying and living. In 1998, filmmaker/anthropologist Wen-jie Qin returned to her home region in Sichuan Province in southwest China to research the post-Mao revival of Buddhism. During her fieldwork on the sacred mountain Emei, an eminent monk named Jue Chang passes away. Wen-jie Qin captures the poignant time following his death when community members mourn the departure of their beloved teacher. The film follows those same people as they gather to escort the monk's body through a rite of fire, and to ultimately observe his consciousness rise to a paradise known as the Land of Bliss of Amita Buddha.