Hidden Treasure of Bön

Duration: 1 hour 3 mins

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Description:	In 2008, an international team of climbers and other experts set out to salvage a cache of Tibetan manuscripts from a cave in the highlands of Nepal’s Mustang District.

Created:

2016-01-13 20:30

Collection:

Digital Himalaya Films & Video

Publisher:

University of Cambridge

Triten Norbutse Monastery & Bon Buddhist Federation

Language:

eng (English)

Keywords:

Tibet; Religion; Ritual;

Credits:

Reporter:	Carol Ermakov
Author:	Carol & Dmitry Ermakov
Photographer:	Kemi Tsewang, Geshe Gelek Jinpa, Renan
Director:	Gelek Jinpa, Kemi Tsewang
Editor:	Kemi Tsewang
Musician:	Deuter, Kamal & Anuhama, Tenzin Lodoe, Evolution, VA, Shpongle


Abstract:	To help the team with the task of identifying the texts, they invited Geshe Gelek Jinpa, a scholar-monk of the Tibetan Bön religion. After sifting through the texts, Geshe Gelek took the opportunity to visit other sites of significance to the Bön religion in the region: ruins of settlements, caves that had housed long-gone meditators, and more recent temples fallen into disuse and disrepair. But in the course of his journey Gelek finds that Bön is more than just a fading memory: in the village of Lubrak and in the households of several other settlements, the religion has maintained a vibrant presence, as witnessed by the staunch commitment of its followers and their spectacular ceremonies. With sensitive camerawork and editing by Kemi Tsewang, himself a native of Lubrak, and an informative commentary by Carol and Dimitry Ermakov that adopts an ‘insider’s’ perspective, this film offers a precious insight into the rich historical heritage and the living tradition of Bön in the Nepal-Tibet borderlands. This hour-long film was produced by Triten Norbutse Monastery & Bon Buddhist Federation.

Abstract:

To help the team with the task of identifying the texts, they invited Geshe Gelek Jinpa, a scholar-monk of the Tibetan Bön religion. After sifting through the texts, Geshe Gelek took the opportunity to visit other sites of significance to the Bön religion in the region: ruins of settlements, caves that had housed long-gone meditators, and more recent temples fallen into disuse and disrepair. But in the course of his journey Gelek finds that Bön is more than just a fading memory: in the village of Lubrak and in the households of several other settlements, the religion has maintained a vibrant presence, as witnessed by the staunch commitment of its followers and their spectacular ceremonies. With sensitive camerawork and editing by Kemi Tsewang, himself a native of Lubrak, and an informative commentary by Carol and Dimitry Ermakov that adopts an ‘insider’s’ perspective, this film offers a precious insight into the rich historical heritage and the living tradition of Bön in the Nepal-Tibet borderlands.

This hour-long film was produced by Triten Norbutse Monastery & Bon Buddhist Federation.

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Format	Quality	Bitrate	Size
MPEG-4 Video	960x720	3.02 Mbits/sec	1.40 GB	View	Download
MPEG-4 Video	480x360	1.96 Mbits/sec	926.63 MB	View	Download
WebM	960x720	3.02 Mbits/sec	1.40 GB	View	Download
WebM	480x360	1.41 Mbits/sec	669.92 MB	View	Download
iPod Video	480x360	526.97 kbits/sec	243.16 MB	View	Download
MP3	44100 Hz	253.24 kbits/sec	116.85 MB	Listen	Download
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