Directed by Mark Waters, this documentary follows a filmmaker whose life is quietly upended after a chance encounter with a wandering Buddhist monk. What begins as a simple meeting unfolds into a contemplative exploration of presence, impermanence, suffering, and the relentless pull of the thinking mind. The film blends personal narrative with Buddhist philosophy, using stillness, simplicity, and lived inquiry rather than spectacle.
Why It’s Relevant 🌿
Plant medicine often reveals the futility of chasing insight, happiness, or enlightenment through effort alone. Chasing the Present supports integration by pointing back to presence as the ground of peace—helping viewers recognize how subtle striving, even spiritual striving, can obscure the very awareness being sought.
Directed by Mark Waters, this documentary follows a filmmaker whose life is quietly upended after a chance encounter with a wandering Buddhist monk. What begins as a simple meeting unfolds into a contemplative exploration of presence, impermanence, suffering, and the relentless pull of the thinking mind. The film blends personal narrative with Buddhist philosophy, using stillness, simplicity, and lived inquiry rather than spectacle.
Why It’s Relevant 🌿
Plant medicine often reveals the futility of chasing insight, happiness, or enlightenment through effort alone. Chasing the Present supports integration by pointing back to presence as the ground of peace—helping viewers recognize how subtle striving, even spiritual striving, can obscure the very awareness being sought.