The 6-part film below is called “The Burning Times”. It explains what went on during the period from 1450 to 1700. That period of time in history is actually referred to as the ‘burning times’. Thousands of witches (either practicing or falsely accused) were burnt to death, tortured, hung, stoned and drowned… all because a few influential people created rumours about what witches believed in.
Rumours slowly started spreading about how witches were eating babies… flew in the night skies… worshipped the devil… destroyed people by casting satanic spells. They were labeled as evil. No one bothered to properly find out what was really true. All that they heard was ‘witches are evil’ and they believed without question.
In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued an edict that made those practicing witchcraft a primary target of the Inquisition. The Inquisition fought against heretics, and those practicing witchcraft were committing heresy. So for the next 250 years, thousands of people who stood up for their own beliefs were tortured and murdered.
The highest number of murders occurred in Germany, where one small town lost their entire female population to the flames of “heresy”. And, it wasn’t just women who were accused and murdered – men were too.
Do take a look at this documentary. It’s very interesting…
Tsem Rinpoche
The Burning Times, Part 1
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/TheBurningTimesDocumentary-Part1.mp4
The Burning Times, Part 2
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/TheBurningTimesDocumentary-Part2.mp4
The Burning Times, Part 3
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/TheBurningTimesDocumentary-Part3.mp4
The Burning Times, Part 4
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/TheBurningTimesDocumentary-Part4.mp4
The Burning Times, Part 5
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/TheBurningTimesDocumentary-Part5.mp4
The Burning Times, Part 6
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/TheBurningTimesDocumentary-Part6.mp4
The below was added in the YouTube comments section of these videos. I thought that it was very well-written and wanted to share it with all of you:
This beautifully crafted film is an in-depth look at the witch-hunts that swept through Europe just a few hundred years ago. False accusations and trials led to massive torture and burnings at the stake, and ultimately to the destruction of an organic way of life. The film advances the theory that widespread violence against women and the neglect of our environment today can be traced back to those times. This is Part Two of a series of three films on women and spirituality, which includes Goddess Remembered and Full Circle.
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Sad reading and watching those video tells all. Its all about the witchcraft trials and persecutions that swept Europe in the 15th-17th centuries . Women been discriminated, tortured and even executed, often by fire or hanging. False accusations and trials led to massive torture and burnings at the stake. Mostly women were targeted women and persecuted as witches. Horrified by what happened to these people, women were simply the victims of the misogynistic societies of their times. They should have given the rights to practice and worship to what they want.
Same goes to Dorje Shugden practice, practitioners been are segregated and discriminated, made as scapegoat by the Tibetan Leadership. Great masters and Lamas cannot be wrong in their practice. All these should not have happen if they looked deeper to the history .
Thank you for sharing those videos.
The burning times showed a single-minded and uncompromising campaign against a group of people labelled as witches, who are classified as having unacceptable views or behaviour, possess the ability of witchcraft. The “witches” or anyone found or believed to be witches will be subjected to unfair or malicious persecution. It is proof that humans are truly capable of such injustice and blasphemous judgement, playing God all the time.
Sad to know about the burning times that was last for over 200 years. Spirituality and religion practice kindness if not they are not spirituality and religions. Women always became the scapegoat for failure of men. We can still see this in today’s world in many asian and Middle East countries. Women always being seen as sinful to the men who committed sin. It’s all about political power to control the weaker one due to fear.
Dorje Shugden is the scapegoat for the failure of CTA. If Dorje Shugden people stays quiet and not speak up, that means we are allowing those sad stories to begin again in today world. The women we burned and tortured being abused as witches because the poke said so. Dorje Shugden practice we’re ban and the people are being segregated, discriminated, without questioning because HHDL said so!
People shut the door and rejected Dorje Shugden people without any knowledge of what’s happening, simply because HHDL said so. Religion is not something to be used to confront or discriminated one another. Religion is to ambrace love and care. Dorje Shugden practice has brought protection and benefits to millions Dharma practioners for hundreds of years. Do not stain the holy practice of Buddha with political power. We can read we can think and we can find out the truth. Do not let political issue blind your hearts and let it take over the holy Dharma.
Although it is common knowledge that witches were burned and many innocent people were killed, it is important to know the background why this happened. It is shocking that for power and “religion” so many people had to die and many were influenced to talk bad about others which would mean horrible torture and their dead sentence.
This documentary explains about important historic facts and how after thousands of years of connection and communion with nature we became more and more disconnected to the point of not knowing the old rites and healing herbs.
But knowing how the witch trials did benefit some, it explains how some people get influenced on simple hear-say and start to hate and discriminate people only because of their beliefs or religion such as Dorje Shugden,eventhough there was/is nothing wrong with their practice. It has unfortunately been shown in history and also here during the “Burning Times” personal gain was motivating such horrible crimes. This should never happen as religious choice is personal and depending on ones preference.
从这部影片里，一个民间文化可刹那之间转化为魔鬼崇拜, 更可悲的是 也没有人去探讨它的真实性，然而成千上万的为自己的信仰而奋斗的人遭到了酷刑和谋杀，我没有资格批评任何的宗教，我的观点是宗教，权力，贪婪和偏见导致这些事情发生。
而在这新时代， 有如藏人行政中央政府向藏人撒播不正确的信息和恐吓关于多杰雄登信仰，可惜这个时代也越来越多的人开始探讨它真实性，事实上是藏人行政中央政府滥用权力来掩盖自己的真正失败，把多杰雄登作为替罪羊。
Sad and cruel history how women has discriminated by Euro sociaty by Christianity over 15 century till 17 century. Religion has use as powerful tool to control sociaty by discrimination women who practice witchcraf and accusing them are evil and harmful. Such thing is still happen even at this modern age.
In tantra practice, we can’t put down female energy because female energy represent wisdom. If we want to acheive full enlightenment. Discriminate women are not allow, otherwise we will not able acheive wisdom and compassion together to get full enlightenment.
Women has contribute so much to raise the kid, take care husband for their own community. Women power has become stronger and important leading the country in this modern now.
We don’t have to look very far behind in order to find something similar to what happened depicted in these videos. Look at the Central Tibetan Administration doing to their own people. It is the same method via religion and fear. What depicted in these video is something similar in what is happening in during the past where women are generally looked down upon everywhere in the world. We see women these days taking important roles in governments and companies but they are literally treated as slaves and the scapegoats of whatever happened. Same case to what Dorje Shugden is being highlighted as by CTA, demonizing and smearing the name in order to gain support and blamed upon for their frailties.
It’s equality of gender. As a woman myself, facing such terrible accusation could bear me so much fear, disagreement and unfairness. Back to the 14th century, women are not been respected though they are the mothers, daughters and giving birth children. It’s unlike now where women are treated as equal with men. Imagined people are so unexposed and they only trusted on words and rumors that provoke such incredible history.
Discrimination exist long time ago. It’s the result of power game which causes suffering to the other party. In this case we see the women being ostracised, discriminated and tortured for their capabilities. Instead of rejoicing and being supportive there are group of people taking this opportunity to create suffering for their selfish benefit.
This is the same as how Dorje Shugden community being discriminated and ostracised. There are a group of people that misused their power to cover their wrong doing and distract people from their real failure. Instead of uniting their people to make a strong government CTA would rather split and suppressed their own people.
At this modern era, after we have learn from the past and realise everyone in this world is dependent on each other, we should create an environment for everyone to live in peace and harmony. Everyone should respect each other differences and not create harm or disharmony.
This shows how an organised establishment can segregate, convert and control people through religion and fear. By using women as scapegoats during the era when male chauvinism was prevalent was a ‘perfect’ means for their objectives to be met. This is similar to the Tibetan establishment, the Central Tibetan Administration, which targeted Dorje Shugden as their scapegoat and injecting the element of fear into Tibetans into believing and submitting to the claim that Dorje Shugden is a demon, which is totally untrue.
Horrified to see the tortured and hear the stories of how women were tortured. How cruel to enforce your beliefs onto others just for the sake of power.
Even till now, this is still happening. In the case of discrimination because of your religion, we have the infamous CTA discriminating Dorje Shugden practitioners to the extent of publishing photos and names on their website, spreading rumours and even threatening. Just like the time of witches, it is only based on hearsay and rumours with no evidence to support the claims. People are so susceptible to it. Instead of moving towards to the modern era with common sense and education, people are still stuck in the dark era. We should be more open and learn instead of being stuck with our own projections.
Very interesting article which i enjoyed reading and watching those ducomentary videos.
The Burning Times” are a period many centuries ago when witches were persecuted fiercely throughout Europe. Over a period of 300 or more years about nine million deaths There was a widespread popular belief that evil witches existed were seen as evil persons, mainly women whom acted as an healer.
The Black Death epidemic killed a sizeable part of the European population. Witches were accused of poisoning wells and spreading disease.The persecution peaked during the Reformation, one of the worst periods of religious warfare.
Many believed in the supernatural and misfortune was thought to be the work of the witches.They made scapegoats for anything from a death in the village to the failure of crops. Just because rumours created by some irresposible people about what witches believed in. Modern history is littered with such witch-hunts, the Holocaust being the most extreme example.
(The story of the thousands of so-called witches who died a gruesome death many centuries ago still holds lessons for today.),, …BBC News
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these very interesting documentary videos with us.
Modern medicine and science can be considered “miraculous” – like electricity – we can use electricity to execute people with an electric chair or we can use electricity as a life support machine
practitioners of “witchcraft” were often lonely old women who talked to their pets, perhaps skilled in areas that were becoming more obsolete, maybe midwives, practitioners of herbal/traditional medicine, “wise women”, etc, in the old testament we have the story of the witch of Endor:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_of_Endor and in The Old Testament there is the admonition of not suffering a witch to live:http://www.chick.com/ask/articles/witch.asp also Buddha shakyamuni reproached his disciple Pindola Bharadvaja for djowing off with his miraculous powers without it benefitting anyone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pindola_Bharadvaja & http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/pu/pindola.htm http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Pindola_Bharadvajahttp://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/2_26lbud.htm
so – miracle powers exist, Buddha tells us not to use them unethically
In the old western folklore days, a witch was depicted as an old hag, wearing a long distinctive black-coloured hat, with a same coloured cloak and clothing, purportedly said to be riding atop a flying broom. She is believed to possess supernatural satanic powers of black magic. In that era all witches were traditionally classified as satanic and devilished. Witch-hunts were ordered to be carried out due perhaps to prejudiced and biased hearsay and beliefs pertaining to witches’ spiritual practices and activities, which were regarded as evil. When caught, they would be biasedly condemned, either to be burned alive at the stakes, tortured, hung, stoned or drowned. The fate of these “poor devils” were vertually at the hands of these influential and powerful few who said to be the creator of these hearsay. Those were the “Burning Days”. It is said,”Where Ignorance is our Master, there is no possibility of real Peace.”
Dear Rinpoche,
When I was in high school, in History class we studied the Salem witch hunts that happened in 17th Century US and it was astonishing just how easily people could be accused and brought to trial. I couldn’t believe the tests that were carried out to “prove” a witch. One test supposedly had the accused touch a victim who was having a fit. If the fit stopped, the accused was said to have caused the condition in the first place.
I’m sure during the Salem trials, all accused were convicted. Of course, this was quite a handy piece of legislation – if someone possessed something of desired value or if there was some other thing that person possessed of worth, one could make an accusation against that person.
Personally, I have never been a great believer in this sort of thing (although I don’t entirely dismiss the paranormal). Throughout history, countless people have suffered through nonsense superstition and many have lost their lives. I am quite fascinated by how seizures and other conditions were once genuinely believed to be brought on by demons who possessed a body. Now we know the actual cause of such conditions, which can easily be medically treated. It makes me think of what we take to be paranormal activity today – could there be a rational explanation available in 20, 30, 50 years’ time?
Kind regards,
Sandy