The 1993 film Groundhog Day features egotistical weatherman Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, reliving the same day over and over. While the movie is beloved as a comedy, many religious scholars consider it an “underground Buddhist classic” for its depiction of the cycle of death and rebirth. After 30 years, Buddhist-inspired message of 'Groundhog Day' still holds spiritual power WOODSTOCK, Ill. (RNS) — Part Hollywood love story and part secular spiritual parable, the 1993 film shows For a lot of people, Groundhog Day is simply a timeless time loop comedy that holds up just as well now as it did more than 30 years ago. On the other side of the coin, there are practitioners and devotees to the Buddhist lifestyle that maintain it speaks to them on a much deeper level than simply being a wildly entertaining ride, which isn’t Groundhog Day wonderfully exemplifies the power of approaching each moment as though it were a completely new experience. This is perfectly conveyed in Buddhist practice. When the bell rings in a Despite almost no mention of God or religion, the filmmakers of "Groundhog Day" made one of the more spiritual films of the era. “You can argue about whether it is a Buddhist, Christian or Jewish movie — but it is deeply religious,” said author and Boston University religion professor Stephen Prothero, who has shown the film in his classes. Personal redemption holds the key to enlightenment Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, the detestable, egotistical weatherman in Groundhog Day. The 1993 film shows Murray repeatedly experiencing a Ever since the movie Groundhog Day came out in the early '90s, many people, especially Buddhists, feel that the movie holds some kind of profound, existential message concerning spiritual practice and the spiritual path. Harold Ramis’ 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” is so entertaining, you’ll want to see it again, and again, and again. Explore meanings and central themes in the movie. Woodstock Willie, perhaps the second most famous groundhog in the country, saw his shadow Thursday (Feb. 2), predicting another six weeks of winter. The early morning prediction, viewed by a crowd who braved below-freezing temperatures, was part of a five-day celebration of the release of “Groundhog Day,” a now classic film starring Bill Murray released in 1993 and filmed in this small A few years later, in 2001, Groundhog Day was screened as part of a Buddhist film series organized by Michael Wenger, a Sōtō Zen priest who was then the dean of Buddhist studies at the San Francisco Zen Center. In a subsequent lecture, Wenger argued that Groundhog Day not only illustrates the law of karma, but also “parallels Buddhist He answered, “Well, I’m a practicing Buddhist, and we believe in Buddhism that it takes 10,000 years to perfect the human soul, and that is the story of ‘Groundhog Day’—the perfection of the human soul.” Groundhog Day is a movie about a bad-enough man—selfish, vain, and insecure—who becomes wise and good through timeless recurrence. Phil Conners (Bill Murray) is Groundhog Day, the 1993 film Ramis directed and co-wrote with Danny Rubin, became an underground Buddhist classic, despite the fact that the words “Buddhist” or “Buddha” never appear in the script, or that neither Ramis nor Rubin intended it to be Buddhist or Christian or Jewish or any of the other denominations that say it speaks to The film Groundhog Day demonstrates the wonder of living each moment as a totally new event. It follows a day in the life of weatherman Phil Connors, a sarcastic curmudgeon. He wakes upon the same day, Groundhog Day, again, and again, and again. In an essay entitled “Groundhog Day The Movie, Buddhism and Me,” Spiritual Cinema Circle co-founder Stephen Simon calls the film “a wonderful human comedy about being given the rare Buddhist monasticism is itself “Groundhog”-like with the same routine, clothes and daily rituals — for decades of practice. Harold Ramis’ 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” is so Groundhog Day, the 1993 film Ramis directed and co-wrote with Danny Rubin, became an underground Buddhist classic, despite the fact that the words “Buddhist” or “Buddha” never appear in the script, or that neither Ramis nor Rubin intended it to be Buddhist or Christian or Jewish or any of the other denominations that say it speaks to ‘Groundhog Day’ (1993) is a stonecold classic, Bill Murray is peerless as sarcastic weatherman Phil, who finds himself inexplicably repeating the same day over and over. I’ve thrown together a few bits and bobs that connect the film to Buddhism. As with all of my resources, there will be spelling mistakes and typos so please be careful. Article on Christian, Jewish and Buddhist spiritual aspects of Groundhog Day, 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and directed by Harold Ramis, that is being shown as part of Museum of Modern Art's
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