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'Meeting with Bodhisattva' by U-Theatre

  • Publish Date:2015-09-30
'Meeting with Bodhisattva' by U-Theatre

  • Chinese Title: 「金剛心」
  • Artistic Director: Liu Ruo-yu
  • Music Director: Huang Chih-chun
  • Set / Lighting Designer: Lin Keh-hua
  • Costume Designer: Tim Yip
  • Performed By: U-Theatre


  • Scene 1: Receiving
  • Scene 2: Sword of Spirits
  • Scene 3: Confronting
  • Scene 4: Conquering
  • Scene 5: Sword of Wisdom Scene
  • Scene 6: One Cudgel, Which Is Not a Cudgel



Be water when entering water,

be light when entering light,

be empty to attain emptiness,

be indestructible to attain indestructibility.


"Meeting with Bodhisattva” is a journey of a man who chooses to face his fear of the unknown, a spiritual transformation from questioning to accepting everything as it comes.


Divided into six scenes, the story is derived from four Buddhist verses: "One cudgel, like the sword of Wisdom; one cudgel, like looking for a snake in the grass; one cudgel, like the roar of a lion; one cudgel, which is not a cudgel.”


The verse is developed as a warrior's path - one who becomes frightened when faced with the unknown and goes on a quest to rid himself of all such worries and to attain wisdom.


Because he holds a sword, the warrior sees his own cowardliness, but it's also precisely because he holds a sword that he finds the courage to face life.


Bodhisattva is the god of wisdom in the Tibetan Buddhism. His right hand holds a sword towards his brain; his left hand reaches out with a book.


The image of Bodhisattva suggests that people should have the courage to cut off all fears and worries in the search for self-realization.


'Meeting with Bodhisattva' by U-Theatre

"It is an exquisite, overwhelming spectacle, one that forces you to move your body in time as the drums’ reverberations echo in your heart.” – Willamette Week’s Kelly Clarke


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"Given its mantra of calmness, its mixture of Asian art forms and its theatricality, this production is a good choice to start a celebration of cultures." – Adelaide's Brian Godfrey


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"A synthesis of theatre, percussion, martial arts and meditation." ─ The Times, London