The Religious Studies Program and the Fulbright College Honors Program of the University of Arkansas’ Fulbright College will present the critically acclaimed documentary Cry of the Snow Lion at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, October 17, 2007.  The first of four films to be shown as part of the University of Arkansas’ Tibetan Film Series, Cry of the Snow Lion will be shown in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main on the University of Arkansas campus.  Admission is free and open to the public.  Tibetan monks Venerable Geshe Thupten Dorjee and Venerable Rinzin Dorjee will present a brief demonstration of Tibetan polyphonic chanting immediately prior to the film’s screening, and will be available after the film for questions and answers about the film, the current status of Tibet, and their lives as Tibetans in exile.

A definitive exploration of a well-known yet little understood subject, TIBET: CRY OF THE SNOW LION tells the epic story of modern Tibet: a story of struggle and suffering, courage and compassion. 

Ten years in the making, this award-winning documentary was filmed during nine remarkable journeys throughout Tibet, India and Nepal.   CRY OF THE SNOW LION brings audiences to the long-forbidden “rooftop of the world” with an unprecedented richness of imagery… from rarely-seen rituals in remote monasteries, to horse races with Khamba warriors; from brothels and slums in the holy city of Lhasa, to magnificent Himalayan peaks still traveled by nomadic yak caravans.  The dark secrets of Tibet’s recent past are powerfully chronicled through riveting personal stories and interviews, and a collection of undercover and archival images never before assembled in one film. 

The story of the Dalai Lama’s efforts to maintain a non-violent struggle for justice takes on renewed relevance in a world focused on war and terrorism.  In the words of Tibetan intellectual Lhasang Tsering, “All leaders in the world are talking about peace, but nobody is doing anything about it.  Everybody is condemning violence, but nobody is doing anything to support non-violence.”  Nevertheless, despite more than fifty years of oppression, Lhasang stresses that Tibetans “have not lost the hope and the courage to be free.”  CRY OF THE SNOW LION powerfully examines the history of devastation in Tibet, the international significance of the Tibetan issue today, and the spiritual beliefs that continue to inspire hope for the future.

Other films to be shown as part of the Tibetan Film Series, and their dates are:

Wednesday, November 14: Dharma River
Yatra is the Sanskrit word for pilgrimage or spiritual journey. As the first documentary in the Yatra Trilogy, Dharma River is a timeless journey through legendary rivers to the greatest Buddhist temples and mystical sites of Laos, Thailand, and Burma. It offers a direct experience of lost civilizations, sacred spaces, and ancient traditions.

Wednesday, February 20: Wheel of Time
Acclaimed director Werner Herzog’s extraordinary documentary of the Kalachakra initiation in Bodh Gaya, this film chronicles with breath-taking cinematography the pilgrimage of 500,000 Buddhists to see the Dalai Lama conduct this ancient initiation at the very place of the Buddha’s enlightenment.  This extraordinary documentary also contains a surprise appearance by Geshe Thupten Dorjee, currently in residence at the University of Arkansas.

Thursday, March 27: The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this documentary film provides an in-depth examination of death and dying in the remote mountain communities of Tibet as well as in a Western hospice.  Based on one of the most profound treatises of Buddhist spirituality, this film approaches the subject of mortality from a compassionate and intelligent perspective that is clear and unforgettable.

All films will be shown in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main on the University of Arkansas campus, beginning at 7:00 pm.

For more information, contact Professor Sidney Burris, Director, Religious Studies and Honors Studies, Fulbright College, University of Arkansas:  575-2509, or email at sburris(at)uark.edu.

Tibetan Buddhist Monk Passang Gelek will offer a class on “The Making of a Sacred Sand Mandala” at Unity of Fayetteville beginning Monday, October 15 at 7 PM. Passang was trained at Drepung Loseling monastery in South India. He recently arrived in Fayetteville for an extended stay from his previous home in San Antonio, Texas.

A sand mandala is a two, or sometimes three-dimensional (if the sand is sculpted), geometric pattern that is first laid out with compasses and chalk lines and straight edges, and then filled in with colored sand. Mandalas are by no means unique to Tibetan culture, although the Tibetan monks have taken them to a visionary and aesthetic level that has rightly distinguished them on the international stage. It was not until 1988, when the Dalai Lama first decreed that these mandalas could be constructed in public, that anyone in the West was able to view one as it was being assembled. The construction of a mandala is essentially a meditation, and a very powerful one at that, and so they have traditionally been done within sacred environments and only around a very select audience of monks and other clerics.

Class participants will learn this form of active meditation as they become familiar with the mechanics of constructing a sacred mandala.  Depending on interest, the class may be expanded to include the making of other items including traditional Tibetan sculptures and prayer flags.

There will be a fee for this workshop.  Contact Martin Jardon for more information.  He can be reached by email at mjardon(at)uark.edu, or by phone at 575-2509.

TIBETAN FILM SERIES
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Sponsored by The Religious Studies Program and the Fulbright College Honors Program of Fulbright College

All films will be shown in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main on the University of Arkansas campus, beginning at 7:00 p.m. 

Geshe Thupten Dorjee, Pasang Gelek, and Rinzin Dorjee will provide an introductory chant, and will be available to answer questions about the films and about their lives in exile.  The films are free and open to the public.

Wednesday, October 17: Cry of the Snow Lion
Ten years in the making, this award-winning documentary is a definitive exploration of a legendary subject.  An epic story of courage and compassion, Cry of the Snow Lion features unprecedented imagery from Tibet, combined with riveting interviews and a collection of underground and archival footage never before assembled in one film.

• BEST DOCUMENTARY–Audience Award - Santa Barbara International Film Festival Audience Award - Bahamas International Film Festival
• SPECIAL JURY AWARD–Banff Mountain Film Festival - Trento Mountain Film Festival - Poprad Mountain Film Festival - Graz Mountain Film Festival
• OFFICIAL SELECTION–Toronto - Seattle - IFP Los Angeles - Bangkok - Sydney

Wednesday, November 14: Dharma River
Yatra is the Sanskrit word for pilgrimage or spiritual journey. As the first documentary in the Yatra Trilogy, Dharma River is a timeless journey through legendary rivers to the greatest Buddhist temples and mystical sites of Laos, Thailand, and Burma. It offers a direct experience of lost civilizations, sacred spaces, and ancient traditions.

Wednesday, February 20: Wheel of Time
Acclaimed director Werner Herzog’s extraordinary documentary of the Kalachakra initiation in Bodh Gaya, this film chronicles with breath-taking cinematography the pilgrimage of 500,000 Buddhists to see the Dalai Lama conduct this ancient initiation at the very place of the Buddha’s enlightenment.  This extraordinary documentary also contains a surprise appearance by Geshe Thupten Dorjee, currently in residence at the University of Arkansas.

Thursday, March 27: The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this documentary film provides an in-depth examination of death and dying in the remote mountain communities of Tibet as well as in a Western hospice.  Based on one of the most profound treatises of Buddhist spirituality, this film approaches the subject of mortality from a compassionate and intelligent perspective that is clear and unforgettable.

For more information, contact Professor Sidney Burris, Director, Religious Studies and Honors Studies, Fulbright College, University of Arkansas:  575-2509, or email at sburris(at)uark.edu.