Top Documentaries - Programmes and Films: February 2010

Monday, February 1, 2010

Yogis of Tibet

Since the invasion of Tibet over 50 years ago, China has systematically destroyed the Tibetan culture. One of the most profound losses is the tradition of the great master yogis. The entire system which supported these fascinating mind masters has been inexorably eliminated. In order to record these mystical practitioners for posterity, the filmmakers were given permission to film heretofore secret demonstrations and to conduct interviews on subject matter rarely discussed. This profound historical, spiritual and educational film will someday be the last remnant of these amazing practitioners.

Pic left -Milarepa - cave dwelling hermit sage and yogic master of the Tibetan Vajrayana lineage.

Tibet's Great Yog=i Milarepa: A Biography from the Tibetan being the Jetsun-Kabbum or Biographical History of Jetsun-Milarepa, According to the Late Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup's English Rendering

The Life of Milarepa: A New Translation from the Tibetan (Compass)

Watch Documentary - Yogis of Tibet

The Blue Buddha

The Blue Buddha - Lost Secrets of Tibetan Medicine

Twelve hundred years ago the people of Tibet developed a comprehensive medical system. They understood how the mind affects the body. They knew subtle ways of changing the body's chemistry with medicines made from plants and minerals. They blessed their medicines in lengthy rituals. And they encoded this knowledge in a series of elaborate paintings called thangkas. Blue Buddha: Lost Secrets of Tibetan Medicine traces the odyssey of traditional Tibetan medicine from it's roots in ancient Tibet, to a worldwide interest in it's traditional medical wisdom.

Healing from the Source: The Science and Lore of Tibetan Medicine

The Quintessence Tantras of Tibetan Medicine

Health Through Balance: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine

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We meet several leading physicians in India, as the program introduces us to the basic concepts of this ancient system of healing. We also trace the fate of the 77 thangkas that comprise the Atlas of Tibetan Medicine, the great mnemonic device that encodes the entire system of healing. From the snows of Siberia and the Himalayas to the vital culture of Tibet in exile, in Dharamsala, India, this is a stunning look at where Tibetan medicine has come from. Blue Buddha: Lost Secrets of Tibetan Medicine focuses on the life of a Buddhist monk and a doctor who practices traditional Tibetan medicine in Siberia. It hasn't always been easy. At times he's been hounded by the KGB and forbidden to leave the country. Through it all he's kept his faith in the power of Buddhist medicine. This documentary follows Tuvan Lama, in his role as vital member of this remote community, as he treats his patients, conducts traditional rituals and passes on this vast medical heritage to the next generation. Just as Buddhism informs the rituals of this community, Tuvan Lama believes Buddhism and Tibetan Medicine go together, as they are inseparable. He believes one has to know the foundation of Buddhism in order to understand the foundations of the medicine. To his mind, it needs to be understood with the body, the mind, and the soul."
CBC

Tibetan Ayurveda: Health Secrets from the Roof of the World

Bhaisajyaguru, Medicine Buddha Tibetan Buddhist Handmade Brocade Thangka

The Boy With Divine Powers

This Rare Documentary covers the story of the "Buddha Boy" in Nepal.

Ram Bahadur Bomjon (Sanskrit: राम बहादुर बामजान) (born c. 9 April 1990, sometimes spelt Bomjan, Banjan, or Bamjan), and also known as Palden Dorje (his monastic name), is from Ratanapuri village, Bara district, Nepal and is believed to be enlightened. It has been claimed by some of his supporters that he is the reincarnation of the Buddha, but Ram himself has denied this. Many Buddhist practitioners agree that he could not be, as the Buddha has entered nirvana and cannot be reborn.

He drew thousands of visitors and media attention by spending months in meditation. Nicknamed the Buddha Boy, he began his meditation on 16 May 2005. He reportedly disappeared from the hollow tree where he had been meditating for months on 16 March 2006, but was found by some followers a week later. He told them he had left his meditation place, where large crowds had been watching him, "because there is no peace". He then went his own way and reappeared elsewhere in Nepal on 26 December 2006, but left again on 8 March 2007. On 26 March 2007, inspectors from the Area Police Post Nijgadh in Ratanapuri found Bomjon meditating inside a bunker-like ditch seven feet square.

Large Hand Carved Gold Wooden Buddha Statue

On 10 November 2008, Bomjon reappeared in Ratanapuri and spoke to a group of devotees in the remote jungle.

Watch Documentary; The Boy With Divine Powers

Bomjon is a member of the Tamang community, of which a majority practices Vajrayana Buddhism. Bomjon's story gained popularity because it resembled a legend from the Jataka Nidanakatha about Gautama Buddha's enlightenment, so much so that some devotees claimed Ram was the reincarnation of a Buddha. However, on 8 November 2005 Dorje arose and said, "Tell the people not to call me a Buddha. I don't have the Buddha's energy. I am at the level of a rimpoche." A rimpoche is a teacher, which indicates he believes he has achieved a significant amount. He said that he will need six more years of meditation before he may become a Buddha.

According to his followers, Bomjon may have reached the stage of a Bodhisattva,a person on the path to attaining full enlightenment or buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. According to the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, there were innumerable Buddhas before him and infinite Buddhas to come. Proponents also claim that Bomjon might also be Maitreya Bodhisattva, the predicted successor to the historical Buddha. Scholars doubt the claims of his supporters. Mahiswor Raj Bajracharya, president of the Nepal Buddhist Council, has said, "We do not believe he is Buddha. He does not have Buddha's qualities"

Reincarnation: The Missing Link In Christianity

Captain Buddha and His Amazing Dukkha Machine

The Notion of Ditthi in Theravada Buddhism: The Point of View (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)

Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand (Buddhisms: A Princeton University Press Series)

His mother's name is Maya Devi Tamang, the same first name as Buddha's mother. It is reported that his mother fainted when she found out that her son intended to meditate for an indefinite period.

Those who have called him the "reincarnation of Buddha" have been criticised. Gautama Buddha taught that after parinirvana there is no more rebirth, therefore it is impossible to be a "reincarnation of Buddha", but it is possible to be another Buddha, another who has attained, or will attain, enlightenment. His disavowal of any claim to be a reincarnation of the Buddha accords with the beliefs of Theravada Buddhism, which holds that Buddhahood implies the end of the cycle of rebirth.
After about ten months of meditation, Bomjon went missing on 11 March 2006. He gave no explanation, and some believed he had been abducted. His followers theorized that he went deeper into the woods to look for a quieter place to meditate.
Police abandoned a search for him after the likelihood of foul play was eliminated. Suspecting money laundering, the authorities froze the bank account of the local committee managing the crowds, which had gathered more than Rs. 600,000, but they found no evidence.

On 19 March, a group of Bomjon's followers met with him about 2 miles (3 kilometers) southwest of his meditation site. They say they spoke to him for thirty minutes, during which Bomjon said, "There is no peace here," and that he would return in six years, which would be in 2011 or 2012. He left a message for his parents telling them not to worry. On 25 December 2006, villagers in Bara district spotted Bomjon meditating. He was carrying a sword for protection in the jungle, reminding reporters that "Even Gautama Buddha had to protect himself," and claimed to have eaten nothing but herbs in the interim.

He reiterated his six year commitment to Buddhist devotion, and said he would allow people to come and observe him, as long as they remained at some distance and didn't bother him. When a reporter pointed out that pilgrims to his meditation site would be making donations in his name, he asked for the donations to not be abused or used for commercial purposes.A new wave of visitors came to see him and pray at his new meditation spot.[9][10] On 8 March 2007 he left Bara district again to find a quieter place to meditate.

On 26 March 2007, Inspector Rameshwor Yadav of the Area Police Post Nijgadh, found Bomjon inside a bunker-like ditch seven feet square. A police team under Yadav's command had gone to the place after word had spread of Bomjon meditating underground. "His face was clean and hair was combed well," Yadav said. According to him, the bunker had been cemented from all sides and fitted with a tiled roof. Indra Lama, a local deployed as Bomjon's caretaker since the beginning of his intensive meditation, said the bunker was prepared per Bomjon's request. "After granting audience a week ago, he expressed his desire to meditate inside the ground; so we built it," he said.
Read On at wikipedia..Preaching in Hallori jungle...

Himalayas - Science Of The Mind

Light At The Edge Of The World:Himalayas The Science Of The Mind
Buddhism asks the fundamental question: What is life and what is the point of existence?

Wade Davis goes on an anthropological and spiritual journey into the Himalayas of Nepal to learn the deepest lesson of Buddhist practice. Parts of this documentary feature H.H.Trulshik Rinpoche and Matthieu Ricard.