Zen (2009 film) of Buddhism, which has had a huge cultural influence but is little understood — let alone practiced — by ordinary Japanese." The film premiered in Japan in 2009. The following year, it had its US debut at the International Buddhist Film Festival. The film was released on DVD and includes a short documentary entitled "The Zen of Dogen" with Kazuaki Tanahashi. Zen (2009 film) The film is a biography of Dōgen Zenji, a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher. After travelling to China to study, Dogen founded the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. The Buddhist Film Foundation described it as "a
Shambhala Buddhism the teachings of the Shambhala lineage derive from the "Epic of Gesar" as propagated by Mipham the Great. Trungpa Rinpoche was deeply influenced by his friend Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, a Japanese Zen master who was one of the first accomplished teachers to present dharma to Westerners. As a result of this influence, certain attributes of form in Shambhala Buddhism are derived from Zen, rather than Tibetan Buddhism. The shrine rooms in Shambhala Buddhism, reflecting the Zen aesthetic of "Kanso" (簡素) or simplicity, tend to be sparsely furnished and decorated, whereas traditional Tibetan Buddhist shrine rooms are elaborate, ornate, and colorful.