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JOHN: I ALWAYS WONDERED HOW IT HAPPENED - ALL THROUGHOUT ASIA,

HOW DID SO MANY OF THE GREAT BUDDHIST CIVILIZATIONS

JUST SIMPLY VANISH?

IN TIBET I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND.

WE WENT AS PILGRIMS TO TIBET -

NO PERMISSION FOR FILMING WAS ASKED

OF THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES AND NONE WAS GIVEN.

WE CHOSE NOT TO INCLUDE INTERVIEWS

OF TIBETANS LIVING THERE BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE REPRISALS.

WE WILL SHARE WITH YOU WHAT WAS FREELY SHARED

WITH US ON THIS PILGRIMAGE.

YOU WILL HEAR THE VOICES OF ME THE FILMMAKER AND

OF TWO TIBETANS IN EXILE -

TENZIN L. CHOEGYAL AND THE ACCLAIMED SINGER DADON.

VAJRA IS A SANSKRIT WORD -

THE THUNDERBOLT OF ILLUMINATION

FLASHING FROM THE VASTNESS OF AN OPEN SKY.

VAJRA IS THE INDESTRUCTIBLE POWER OF TRUTH

AT THE HEART OF THE TIBETAN'S STRUGGLE FOR THE SURVIVAL

OF THEIR CULTURE.

SPREAD OVER A MOUNTAINSIDE AT NEARLY 15,000 FEET,

GANDEN MONASTERY WAS BUILT IN 1409 AND WAS ONE OF TIBET'S

GREATEST CENTERS OF LEARNING.

I FIRST ENCOUNTERED TIBETAN BUDDHISM ON YATRA IN

INDIA 35 YEARS AGO.

THIS ANCIENT FAITH ASTONISHED ME WITH THE RELEVANCE

OF ITS CONCEPTS FOR MODERN TIMES.

GANDEN IS THE TRADITIONAL CENTER OF THE GELUGPA ORDER,

THE YELLOW HATS, THE LINEAGE OF HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA.

THE MONASTERIES OF TIBET HELD VAST LIBRARIES

OF WRITINGS ON THE SCIENCE OF THE MIND AND

COMPASSION OF THE HEART - UNIQUE ROADMAPS

FOR THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS.

TENZIN: THIS REVERED PLACE OF LEARNING WAS, BY FORCE,

ABANDONED AFTER THE CHINESE COMMUNIST TAKEOVER

AND LATER WAS DESTROYED.

MUCH OF GANDEN STILL REMAINS IN RUINS -

YET IN RECENT DECADES SOME OF THE MONKS WHO HAD FLED,

RETURNED AND BEGAN REBUILDING IT.

ONCE HOUSING AS MANY AS 7000 MONKS -

GANDEN IS NOW HOME TO A MONASTIC COMMUNITY OF ABOUT 400

AND UNDER CLOSE SCRUTINY.

JOHN: THE JOURNEY FROM GANDEN TO THE CAPITAL OF TIBET,

THE LEGENDARY CITY OF LHASA, TAKES ABOUT TWO HOURS.

FOR MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS, MILLIONS OF PILGRIMS

HAVE COME FROM ALL OVER TIBET TO CIRCUMAMBULATE THE BARKHOR:

A CIRCULAR JOURNEY OF BLESSINGS WITH NO BEGINNING OR END.

IT FOLLOWS THE PERIMETER OF THE MOST REVERED TEMPLE IN TIBET -

THE JOKHANG AND ITS ENVIRONS.

THE BARKHOR IS THE OUTER CIRCLE OF A MANDALA.

THE PRAYER WHEELS ARE FILLED WITH SACRED MANTRAS

HERE I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD THAT THAT EACH TURN OF THE WHEEL

IS THE EQUIVALENT OF SAYING ALL THE PRAYERS

WITHIN AND SENDING THEM INTO THE WORLD.

SHARING THEIR BLESSINGS WITH ALL SENTIENT BEINGS.

TENZIN: AS A TOUCHSTONE TO THE PAINFUL PUZZLE OF LIFE IN TIBET,

A STATUE OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA IS SOLD ALONGSIDE

ONE OF THE COMMUNIST DICTATOR MAO TSE TUNG.

BEHIND THEM BOTH IS MANJUSHRI HOLDING

THE FLAMING SWORD OF WISDOM THAT CUTS THROUGH DELUSION.

JOHN: PILGRIMS FIRST VISIT THE MANY SMALL TEMPLES AND

SHRINES AROUND THE BARKHOR.

OFFERINGS OF MONEY REPRESENT A REAL SACRIFICE,

AND ARE CELEBRATED AS SPIRITUAL GENEROSITY.

WITH THE EXILE OF THE GREAT DHARMA MASTERS THE TEACHINGS

HAVE GREATLY DECLINED.

TIBETANS ALONG THE WAY REPEATEDLY TELL US -

WE WANT OUR TEACHERS BACK.

TENZIN: THROUGHOUT TIBET ARE IMAGES OF PADMASAMBHAVA.

ALSO KNOWN AS GURU RINPOCHE -

HE BROUGHT TANTRIC BUDDHISM TO TIBET FROM INDIA.

IT WAS HE WHO COMPOSED THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD.

DADON: ON THE WALLS OF THIS TEMPLE ARE THE MASTERS

OF THE BURIAL GROUND.

THEY REMIND PILGRIMS OF THE EPHEMERAL NATURE

OF EARTHLY EXISTENCE AND TO FEAR NOT.

TENZIN: THE JOHKANG IS THE MOST REVERED TEMPLE

IN ALL OF TIBET.

UNTIL RECENTLY ITS SETTING WAS AN INTIMATE

LABYRINTH OF LANES AND BYWAYS AT THE CENTER OF THE BARKHOR.

SOME YEARS BACK, THE AUTHORITIES RAZED THESE

EXTENSIVE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS, DISPLACING THE

TIBETANS AND CREATING THIS LARGE EMPTY PLAZA.

THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT TO WESTERNIZE THE SITE,

TO ALLOW SURVEILLANCE AND QUICK MILITARY ACCESS.

LHASA IS THE CAPITAL OF TIBET

YET MORE THAN HALF OF ITS POPULATION IS NOW TRANSPLANTED

HAN CHINESE.

THE GOVERNMENT IS NOW BUILDING A TRAIN SYSTEM

OVER THE MOUNTAINS LINKING TIBET TO EVERYWHERE IN CHINA.

TIBETANS FEAR THE ONGOING

FLOOD OF PEOPLE IT WILL BRING WILL BE THE ULTIMATE THREAT TO

THE VERY SURVIVAL OF THEIR CULTURE.

YET ONE CAN STILL WITNESS THE TRUE DEVOTION TIBETANS FEEL

FOR THEIR BELOVED JOKHANG TEMPLE AND

THE LEGENDARY JOWO BUDDHA INSIDE.

JOHN: WITHIN THE OUTER WALLS OF THE JOKHANG COMPLEX,

PILGRIMS WALK THIS NEXT CIRCLE OF THE MANDALA

AROUND THE TEMPLE.

THIS IS A TIMELESS PRACTICE I ALSO WITNESSED IN INDIA

AND THROUGHOUT SOUTHEAST ASIA.

YATRA OR PILGRIMAGE IS THE PROCESS OF SHEDDING

WORLDLY ATTACHMENTS AND SEPARATENESS TO ENTER INTO

A CYCLE OF SACRED SPACE AND INTER-CONNECTION.

ENTERING INTO THE JOKHANG TEMPLE WE STEP INTO 1500 YEARS

OF CONTINUOUS WORSHIP BY THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST COMMUNITY.

HERE THE PANTHEON OF VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM IS PORTRAYED IN ITS

MANY SHRINES AND CHAPELS.

TENZIN: AVALOKETESVARA IS THE GREAT BODDHISATTVA OF

COMPASSION. HE IS SHOWN HERE IN HIS FORM OF ONE THOUSAND ARMS

ACTIVELY REACHING OUT IN TO RELIEVE THE SUFFERING

OF ALL BEINGS.

FOR TIBETANS, THE DALAI LAMA IS

A HUMAN INCARNATION OF AVALOKETESVARA.

TARA IS THE FEMALE EMANATION OF AVALOKETESVARA.

AS THE MIRACULOUS FULFILLER OF HOPES AND

THE DISPELLER OF FEARS; TARA IS THE SAVIOURESS OF TIBET.

SHE IS KNOWN AS THE MOTHER OF ALL BUDDHAS.

MAITREYA IS THE FUTURE BUDDHA - THE ONE WHO IS COMING.

JOHN: HIS HAND IS IN THE GESTURE, OR MUDRA,

OF TURNING THE WHEEL OF DHARMA.

HE REPRESENTS AN UNBROKEN LINEAGE OF BUDDHAS

THROUGH TIME APPEARING IN THE WORLD TO REVEAL

THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT.

THE DHARMA CHAKRA IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE GREAT WHEEL OF LAW.

AT ITS VERY CENTER ARE THE THREE JEWELS OF BUDDHISM -

THE BUDDHA, THE DHARMA, AND THE SANGHA -

THE EIGHT SPOKES ARE THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT.

THE DHARMACHAKRA IS ALSO A CLASSIC MANDALA FORM WITH ITS

INNER TRUTH RADIATING OUT IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

TIBETAN MANDALAS GUIDE THE PRACTITIONER ON A JOURNEY

INTO THE INNER SANCTUM OF A MEDITATION DEITY.

THE MANDALA IS A LUMINOUS MIRROR INSPIRING ONE TO SEE

THE SACRED SPACE WITHIN AND THE CIRCULAR UNITY WITHOUT.

TENZIN: ON THE ROOF TERRACES OF THE JOKHANG PREPARATIONS

ARE MADE FOR THE AFTERNOON'S DEBATE.

A YOUNG MONK VIGOROUSLY DEFENDS

A TRADITIONAL POINT OF VIEW AGAINST

ALL WHO CHALLENGE HIS UNDERSTANDING.

FROM THIS WINDOW, THE VISITING DALAI LAMA WOULD INSPIRE

THE FEATURED DEBATERS TO EVOLVE THEIR CRAFT.

JOHN: DEEP IN THE OLD TIBETAN PRECINCT WE VISITED

THE ANI SANGKHUNG NUNNERY.

TIBETAN NUNNERIES HAVE BEEN ACTIVE CENTERS OF PROTEST

CALLING FOR GREATER RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.

HERE, FOR MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED YEARS,

WOMEN HAVE GIVEN UP TRADITIONAL DOMESTIC ROLES

TO GO MORE DEEPLY INTO THEIR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE.

DADON: THESE YOUNG NUNS, AS PART OF THEIR DAILY SPIRITUAL

PRACTICE, PREPARE THE PRAYERS THAT GO INTO PRAYER WHEELS.

POWERFUL MANTRAS ARE PRINTED ONTO PAPER

WITH CARVED WOODEN BLOCKS.

THEY ARE CUT INTO STRIPS, ROLLED UP, WRAPPED IN CLOTH

AND SEALED - READY TO BE PLACED ON A SPINDLE THAT GOES

INSIDE A PRAYER WHEEL.

IN VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM, WISDOM IS UNDERSTOOD

TO BE THE FEMALE ENERGY.

TIBETAN SCRIPTURES SAY THAT WOMEN WHO PRACTICE DILIGENTLY

MAY REALIZE FULL ENLIGHTENMENT MORE QUICKLY THAN MEN.

TENZIN: THE JOKHANG INTERIORS WERE COMPLETELY DESECRATED

BY THE RED GUARDS DURING THE CHINESE CULTURAL REVOLUTION.

MOST SCULPTURES WERE LOOTED OR DESTROYED.

PART OF THE TEMPLE BECAME AN ANIMAL SLAUGHTERHOUSE

AND THE INNER SANCTUM WAS EVEN USED AS A PIGSTY.

WITH THE LIBERALIZATION POLICIES IN CHINA

OF THE 1980S, RESTORATION OF WHAT WERE NOW SEEN AS CHINESE

NATIONAL TREASURES BEGAN.

THE JOKHANG, IN A MASSIVE FACE SAVING EFFORT,

BEGAN TO BE RESTORED; SIMULATING WHAT IT WAS

THROUGH THE CENTURIES.

THE MONASTIC COMMUNITY OF THIS TEMPLE,

HOWEVER, FEELS COMPROMISED BY YEARS OF INFILTRATION

AND STRICT CONTROL BY THE AUTHORITIES.

A UNIQUE ASPECT OF VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM

IS HOW IT ACTIVELY WORKS WITH DARKNESS AND NEGATIVITY

TRANSFORMING THEM INTO LUMINOUS WISDOM.

WITHIN VAJRAYANA MEDITATION PRACTICE THE WRATHFUL DEITIES

ARE WELCOMED AS INTENSE AND OVERWHELMING

DESTROYERS OF EGO.

OPENING TO THE WRATHFUL DEITIES BECOMES

A WAY TO FACE THE DEEPEST FEARS OF ONE'S SUBCONSCIOUS ...

AND TO BECOME FREE OF THEM.

JOHN: LONG LINES OF DEVOUT TIBETANS FORM TO VISIT THE

HALLOWED SHRINE OF THE JOWO BUDDHA.

MOVING TOWARD THE CENTER OF THIS SACRED MANDALA

WE FEEL PRIVILEGED TO SHARE IN THIS AUSPICIOUS RITUAL.

THE JOWO - A GOLDEN IMAGE OF THE YOUNG SAKYAMUNI

BUDDHA IS THE MOST REVERED STATUE IN TIBET.

HE HAS LOOKED OUT OVER THIS LAND FOR NEARLY 1200 YEARS.

TENZIN: TOWERING OVER LHASA IS THE POTALA PALACE.

THIS MARVEL OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE IS THE HOME OF

THE REINCARNATED LEADERS OF THIS FAITH -

THE DALAI LAMAS.

HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA INHERITED A THEOCRACY

THAT HAD BECOME CORRUPTED.

HE HAS DESCRIBED IT AS A MEDIEVAL SYSTEM WITH

SOCIAL INEQUITIES NEEDING TO BE CHANGED.

THE POTALA INTERIOR, ONCE A SPLENDID AND SACRED SHRINE,

IS NOW LIKE A MUSTY MAUSOLEUM.

WHILE PORTRAITS OF THE OTHER DALAI LAMAS REMAIN -

ALL IMAGES OF THE 14TH DALAI LAMA HAVE BEEN REMOVED.

HIS PHOTOGRAPH IS NOW ILLEGAL EVERYWHERE IN TIBET.

DADON: FOR TIBETANS THE DALAI LAMA IS OUR

LIVING BUDDHA ON THIS EARTH.

AND WITHOUT HIM THERE IS ONLY DARKNESS.

SINCE HIS HOLINESS WAS FORCED INTO EXILE IN 1959

OVER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND TIBETANS HAVE LEFT EVERYTHING

MAKING THE DANGEROUS TREK ON FOOT

ACROSS THE HIMALAYAS TO INDIA.

FOR MANY, TO STAY BEHIND MEANT BEING IMPRISONED,

TORTURED OR MURDERED FOR THEIR BELIEFS.

THOSE WHO REMAIN FEEL AN EXILE IN THEIR OWN HOME -

AN ANGUISHED HEART, THE LONELINESS OF SEPARATION,

AN EMPTINESS OF FUTURE.

ON THE ROOF OF THE POTALA,

OPEN TO THE LIMITLESS SKY, ONE FEELS A SUDDEN RELEASE

FROM THE IMPOTENT IDEOLOGIES THAT CAN BIND THE HANDS

BUT NOT THE HEART.

TENZIN: TWO MILES WEST OF THE POTALA;

THE NORBULINKA, OR JEWEL PARK,

IS THE SUMMER PALACE OF THE SUCCESSION OF DALAI LAMAS.

HELD EVERY YEAR THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES,

THIS IS THE TIME OF THE TIBETAN OPERA FESTIVAL.

BOTH CHINESE AND TIBETANS SHARE COMMON GROUND

IN THIS CULTURAL CELEBRATION OF THE OPERA.

TEMPORARY PAVILIONS ARE CREATED

ON THE PARK GROUNDS FOR FEASTING, SINGING AND

SIMPLE GAMES OF CHANCE.

THIS IS NOW ALSO A CHINESE AFFAIR.

JOHN: BEFORE 1949 CHINA WAS THE LARGEST BUDDHIST NATION

IN THE WORLD WITH A MONASTIC COMMUNITY OF

OVER 20,000,000 MONKS AND NUNS.

AFTER THE COMMUNIST VICTORY IN THE CIVIL WAR,

MILLIONS OF CHINESE BUDDHISTS WERE ALSO PUNISHED, IMPRISONED

AND MURDERED FOR THEIR BELIEFS.

ALL FORMS OF RELIGION WERE OUTLAWED ...

AND BUDDHISM ALL BUT DISAPPEARED IN CHINA.

SINCE THE MID 18TH CENTURY THE DALAI LAMAS AND

THEIR ENTIRE RETINUE WOULD COME IN A GRAND PROCESSION

FROM THE AUSTERE HEIGHTS OF THE POTALA TO THE

WOODED PARK OF THE NORBULINKA.

EACH DALAI LAMA CAME TO THIS JEWEL PARK TO MEDITATE

AND ENJOY THE PLEASURES OF NATURE.

DADON: "REALIZING THE GROUNDLESS NATURE OF IGNORANCE

MY FORMER AWARENESS, CLOUDED AND UNSTABLE

LIKE REFLECTIONS OF THE MOON IN RIPPLING WATER

BECOMES TRANSPARENT, CLEAR AS SHINING CRYSTAL" -

FROM THE ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND SONGS OF MILAREPA

TENZIN: THIS WAS THE NEW RESIDENCE OF HIS HOLINESS

THE 14TH DALAI LAMA.

THESE ARE THE ROOMS HE LIVED IN AND WHERE HIS MOTHER

WOULD SOMETIMES TAKE RESIDENCE.

IT WAS ALSO WHERE HE WOULD MEET WITH FOREIGN DIGNITARIES AND

ADMINISTER TO MATTERS OF STATE.

IN 1959 THERE WAS A POPULAR UPRISING ALL OVER TIBET

AGAINST THE COMMUNIST OCCUPATION.

HIS HOLINESS WAS IN IMMINENT DANGER

OF DEATH OR IMPRISONMENT BY THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES.

OVER 30,000 TIBETANS CAME HERE TO NORBULINKA TO PROTECT HIM -

PUTTING THEIR BODIES BETWEEN HIM AND THE CHINESE ARMY.

DURING THIS CRISIS, TO PREVENT MASSIVE BLOODSHED AND

TO PRESERVE THIS WISDOM TRADITION HE ESCAPED,

DISGUISED AS A TIBETAN SOLDIER GOING SOUTH

ACROSS THE HIMALAYAS ON HORSEBACK

FOR THE SAFE HAVEN OF INDIA.

JOHN: THE EXUBERANCE OF THE TIBETAN SUMMER IN

FULL BLOOM SIGNALS CYCLES OF NATURAL RETURN.

THE PROMISE OF COMING AGAIN, THE HOPE OF NATURAL RECONCILIATION.

OUR JOURNEY WEST FROM LHASA TO GYANTSE TAKES ABOUT 6 HOURS

AND GOES THROUGH A MOUNTAIN PASS OF OVER 17,000 FEET.

MY OWN TIBETAN TEACHERS TAUGHT THAT THE ULTIMATE EXPRESSION

OF THE VAJRAYANA TEACHINGS SEES THE HEART-MIND

AS ALREADY EXISTING IN A STATE OF INNATE ENLIGHTENMENT.

THIS PANORAMIC AWARENESS IS SUPPORTED BY DEEP MEDITATION

PRACTICE, GROUNDED IN EVERYDAY LIFE.

IT AFFIRMS THE NATURAL STATE OF ONE'S EXISTENCE

BEYOND THE DUALISTIC PATTERNS OF CONDITIONING AND THINKING.

TENZIN: 'ELEVATE YOUR EXPERIENCE

AND REMAIN WIDE OPEN LIKE THE SKY.

EXPAND YOUR MINDFULNESS AND REMAIN PERVASIVE

LIKE THE EARTH.

STEADY YOUR ATTENTION AND REMAIN UNSHAKABLE LIKE A MOUNTAIN.

BRIGHTEN YOUR AWARENESS AND REMAIN SHINING

LIKE A FLAME.

CLEAR YOUR THOUGHTFREE WAKEFULNESS AND REMAIN LUCID

LIKE A CRYSTAL' - DAKPO TASHI NAMGYAL

(A 16TH CENTURY TIBETAN BUDDHIST MASTER)

JOHN: THIS HILLTOP ZONG OR CASTLE OVERLOOKS THE ONCE

PROSPEROUS TOWN OF GYANTSE.

ONE OF THE GREATEST CULTURAL TREASURES OF TIBET THE

GYANTSE KUMBUM WAS CREATED IN 1439 AND

IS ONE OF THE FEW GREAT SITES REMAINING INTACT.

THE CHINESE PREMIER CHOU EN LAI COMMANDED

THE RAMPAGING RED GUARDS TO SPARE IT

FROM EMINENT DESTRUCTION.

KUMBUM MEANS THE PAGODA OF 100,000 BUDDHA IMAGES.

THIS IS A COLOSSAL, THREE DIMENSIONAL MANDALA,

TRANSPORTING US INTO CELESTIAL REALMS OF THE VAJRAYANA.

SOME OF THE ORIGINAL SCULPTURE HAS BEEN RECENTLY REPAINTED

BY THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES IN GARISH COLORS.

THE WALL PAINTINGS, HOWEVER, ARE UNTOUCHED

AND SHOW THE REMARKABLE SYNTHESIS OF NEPALI, INDIAN

AND CHINESE PAINTING STYLES SO UNIQUE TO TIBETAN ART.

EACH DEITY POSSESSES MANY ASPECTS -

BOTH BENEFICENT AND WRATHFUL.

TENZIN: THE ELABORATE ORNAMENTATION OF TIBETAN TEMPLES

IS IN EXTREME CONTRAST TO THE AUSTERITY OF THE LANDSCAPE.

A DELIBERATE DEVICE - THE JOINING OF FORM AND FORMLESS.

DANON: THE MANIFESTATIONS OF TARA ARE INNUMERABLE.

AND ALL TRANSMUTE NEGATIVE ENERGY INTO WISDOM.

AFTER TARA TOOK THE BODDHISATTVA VOW TO RELIEVE

THE SUFFERING OF ALL BEINGS - SHE TOOK A SECOND VOW -

TO WORK FOR OTHERS FOREVER IN THE FORM OF A WOMAN.

TARA REMAINS ETERNALLY A FEMALE BUDDHA.

JOHN: THE VAJRAYANA PRACTICE OF YIDAM VISUALIZATION

IS A POWERFUL METHOD OF TRANSFORMATION

ONLY TO BE INITIATED UNDER THE GUIDANCE

OF A TRUSTED MASTER.

IN THIS ELABORATE PRACTICE THE MEDITATOR VISUALIZES

EVERY DETAIL OF A CELESTIAL BEING.

THROUGH THIS VISUALIZATION THE QUALITIES OF THE DEITY

MANIFEST THEMSELVES WITHIN THE PRACTITIONER.

WITHOUT QUALIFIED TEACHERS, THIS ESSENTIAL PRACTICE

IS NOW BEING LOST IN TIBET.

TENZIN: LIVING IN THE IMMENSITY OF THIS LANDSCAPE,

UNDER A LIMITLESS SKY, THE NOMADS ARE AN INTRINSIC PART

OF TIBETAN LIFE.

SHALU MONASTERY IS HOME TO SOME OF TIBET'S

GREATEST PAINTINGS - MANY RARELY SEEN.

SOME PAINTINGS ARE MORE THAN 900 YEARS OLD,

REVEALING A RICHNESS AND VIBRANCY THAT

INVOKES AN EXALTED DIVINE REALM.

DURING THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION - THE RED GUARDS USED SHALU

MONASTERY AS A GRAIN WAREHOUSE.

THIS IRONICALLY SAVED MOST OF THESE RARE FRESCOES

FROM TOTAL OBLITERATION.

JOHN: IN BUDDHISM HUMAN FAILINGS ARE WORKED UPON

UNTIL THEY ARE TRANSFORMED AND BECOME ASPECTS

OF ONE'S INHERENT WISDOM.

IN THE VAJRAYANA TRADITION, BUDDHAS ARE ALIVE

ON EARTH AND THEIR LINEAGE IS PASSED THROUGH

HIGHLY REALIZED TEACHERS.

TO TAKE TEACHINGS FROM THESE MASTERS,

TO RECEIVE THEIR BLESSINGS,

AND PARTAKE IN THEIR LIVING PRESENCE IS A VITAL PART

OF THIS TRADITION.

TENZIN: TO CUT TIBETANS OFF FROM THE INSPIRING PRESENCE

OF THEIR LIVING BUDDHAS IS TO TAKE THE HEART FROM THE BODY.

THIS HAS BECOME A SLOW AND DELIBERATE ASPHYXIATION

OF THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST FAITH WITHIN ITS OWN HOME.

JOHN: SHIGATSE IS THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN TIBET.

WHILE THE NEW CHINATOWN SPREADS OUT ACROSS THE VALLEY,

THE TIBETAN QUARTER IS CLUSTERED AT THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

AT THE HEART OF THE TIBETAN QUARTER

IS TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY, THE TRADITIONAL HOME OF THE

PANCHEN LAMA - THE HIGHEST SPIRITUAL LEADER

AFTER THE DALAI LAMA.

TENZIN: THE LAST PANCHEN LAMA WAS A BELOVED FIGURE WHO

REMAINED IN TIBET AFTER THE DALAI LAMA

WAS FORCED INTO EXILE.

TRYING TO WORK WITHIN THE SYSTEM IMPOSED BY THE

CHINESE GOVERNMENT HE FOUGHT FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM,

EDUCATION AND THE PRESERVATION OF THE TIBETAN LANGUAGE.

IN THE 1960'S DURING THE CHINESE CULTURAL REVOLUTION HE

WAS RELENTLESSLY PERSECUTED, SUBJECTED TO TORTURE, AND

FINALLY IMPRISONED IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

IN BEIJING FOR 10 YEARS.

IN 1989 THE PANCHEN LAMA WAS ALLOWED TO RETURN

HERE TO HIS MONASTERY FOR THE LARGEST GATHERING OF SPIRITUAL

LEADERS IN 30 YEARS.

HE PUBLICLY CALLED FOR THE EXILED DALAI LAMA

TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH HIM IN MAKING POLICY

DECISIONS FOR TIBET AND CRITICIZED THE FAILINGS

OF THE CHINESE LEADERSHIP.

A FEW DAYS LATER HE WAS STRICKEN BY A MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS

AND DIED AT 50 YEARS OLD.

MANY BELIEVE HE WAS POISONED.

JOHN: EACH IN THEIR EIGHTIES, THESE 3 MONKS SHARE WITH US

THEIR MEMORIES OF THE 10TH PANCHEN LAMA.

THEY KNEW HIM AS A PLAYFUL, GIFTED BOY

WHO WAS THEIR SPIRITUAL MASTER.

YOUNG MONKS GATHER OUTSIDE THE ASSEMBLY HALL

WAITING FOR EVENING PRAYERS.

CHURNING YAK BUTTER TEA FOR THIS EVENING'S GATHERING

THESE YOUNG MONKS TAKE TURNS SERVING EACH OTHER.

TENZIN: TO HAVE A SON IN THE MONASTERY IS A GREAT HONOR

FOR THE TRADITIONAL TIBETAN FAMILY.

THE LIFE OF A NOVICE MONK IS DISCIPLINED,

FOCUSED AND DEMANDING.

THESE RIGORS ARE OFFSET BY THE REALIZATION

THAT THEY WILL SOON BE INITIATED INTO A CENTURIES OLD

WISDOM LINEAGE OF PROFOUND DEPTH.

THIS ASPIRATION IS NOW BEING UNDERMINED

AT TASHILUNPHO AS THIS ANCIENT MONASTERY

IS NOW IN THE FULL CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT OVERSEERS

AND THEIR HAND PICKED MONASTIC OFFICERS.

JOHN: THIS ALL-SEEING WISDOM BUDDHA LOOKS BEYOND THE

BRITTLENESS OF TIME AND THE DUST OF HISTORY

TO AN EVER-PRESENT LIMITLESS TRUTH.

IN THIS TRADITION, THE HIGHEST LAMAS ARE INTENTIONALLY

REBORN AGAIN TO CONTINUE THEIR TEACHINGS.

SOME YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH, THE TEACHER IS SOUGHT BY HIS

CLOSEST DISCIPLES, LIVING AS A YOUNG BOY.

HE IS RETURNED TO HIS MONASTERY,

AWAKENS TO HIS CONTINUING ROLE

AND RESUMES THIS UNBROKEN WISDOM LINEAGE.

TENZIN: AFTER THE DEATH OF THE OLD PANCHEN LAMA,

THE DALAI LAMA TRADITIONALLY INSTRUCTS THE SEARCH

COMMITTEE WHERE THE NEW PANCHEN LAMA WILL BE FOUND.

IN 1995 HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA ANNOUNCED

THAT THE 11TH PANCHEN LAMA HAD BEEN DISCOVERED

AS THE SIX-YEAR OLD SON OF

POOR NOMADIC HERDERS IN WESTERN TIBET.

SHORTLY AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS DISCOVERY,

COMMUNIST CADRES SWOOPED DOWN ON THE FAMILY'S ENCAMPMENT

AND SPIRITED THEM BY PLANE TO BEIJING.

THE BOY AND HIS FAMILY HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN

IN MORE THAN NINE YEARS AND ARE ALLEGEDLY

UNDER HOUSE ARREST.

HE IS THE WORLD'S YOUNGEST POLITICAL PRISONER.

THE ATHEIST CHINESE AUTHORITIES THEN CONDUCTED

THEIR OWN SEARCH FOR THE NEW PANCHEN LAMA.

THE COMMUNIST LEADERS ENTHRONED ANOTHER SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY

IN THE ROLE OF THE SECOND HIGHEST LAMA

IN VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM.

THEY ORDERED PICTURES OF HIM TO BE PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED

ON THE ALTARS OF TEMPLES ALL OVER TIBET.

THE PANCHEN LAMA LEADS THE SEARCH COMMITTEE

FOR THE NEW DALAI LAMA AFTER THE DEATH OF THE OLD.

AS HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA GROWS OLDER -

IT IS LIKELY THAT AFTER HIS PASSING,

THE COMMUNISTS WILL THEN NAME THEIR OWN PUPPET DALAI LAMA.

HIS HOLINESS HAS SAID HE MAY NOT REINCARNATE AT ALL

BUT THAT IF HE DOES IT WILL NOT BE IN TIBET.

JOHN: THERE IS A 1500-YEAR-OLD PROPHECY OF PADMASAMBHAVA;

THAT WHEN THE IRON BIRD FLIES THE DHARMA WILL GO TO THE WEST.

THE DECADES LONG ASSAULT ON THIS GREAT SPIRITUAL TRADITION

HAS CREATED A DIASPORA OF TIBETANS

FROM THEIR MOUNTAIN HOMELAND.

MANY OF THE GREAT VAJRAYANA TEACHERS HAVE NOW BROUGHT

THEIR TEACHINGS TO MILLIONS IN THE WEST.

THIS HOW I MET MY TIBETAN TEACHERS 35 YEARS AGO.

TENZIN: AS MORNING BREAKS IN THE FOOTHILLS OF LHASA -

MULTITUDES ARRIVE FOR AN ANNUAL RITUAL

OF DEVOTION AND BLESSINGS.

PILGRIMS FROM MANY BUDDHIST GROUPS HAVE

COME HERE TO CELEBRATE.

IN RURAL AREAS, AWAY FROM THE CONTROL OF THE

AUTHORITIES, LARGE NUMBERS OF LAY PRACTITIONERS ARE

ESTABLISHING NEW DHARMA COMMUNITIES FILLING

THE VOID LEFT BY THE MONASTIC DECLINE.

JOHN: AT THE END OF THEIR SUMMER RAINS RETREAT,

THE MONKS OF DREPUNG MONASTERY UNFURL A GIGANTIC THANGKA -

A COLORFUL SCROLL IMAGE OF SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA

THAT COVERS A MOUNTAINSIDE.

THE THANGKA FESTIVAL DRAWS TIBETAN FAITHFUL

JOINED BY TOURISTS, AND CHINESE HUNGRY FOR SPIRITUAL MEANING

IN THEIR LIVES.

PILGRIMS BUY FRAGRANT OFFERINGS TO BURN IN THE OFFERING FIRES

ALL ALONG THE MOUNTAIN.

THESE AROMATIC OFFERINGS ENVELOPE US -

CREATING AN INTIMATE SANCTUARY WITHIN

THE VASTNESS OF THE NATURAL SCAPE;

A MOUNTAINSIDE CATHEDRAL OF INFINITE PROPORTIONS.

CARRYING WHITE KATHAS OR PRAYER SCARVES

AS OFFERINGS, UP AND UP, HIGHER AND HIGHER ON THE MOUNTAIN,

WE MOVE CLOSER TO THE FLOATING BUDDHA.

THROWING THE WHITE KATHA IS A WAY OF TOUCHING THE BUDDHA

AND CONNECTING TO THIS WISH-FULFILLING REALM.

CASCADES OF KNOTTED KATHAS ROLL DOWN THE THANGKA,

COLORED PAPER PRAYERS SKITTER IN THE WIND -

SHARING THEIR BLESSINGS WITH ALL SENTIENT BEINGS.

TENZIN: WITH EVERY MANTRA, WITH EVERY BOW, WITH EVERY LAMP,

THESE PILGRIMS SHARE THIS EMPOWERING RITUAL -

ADDING THEIR LIGHT TO THE LIGHT OF OTHERS.

THE SANGHA OF TIBET, THIS NOBLE COMMUNITY OF TRUTH,

HOLDS TO A LUMINOUS FAITH.

MAY THEY NEVER BE FORGOTTEN, OR FORSAKEN.