Life is precious. As the Buddha declared, a human rebirth is something to treasure and cherish due to its incomparable rarity. I could have been writing this postcard in the hospital after a car rammed into my walking self from behind earlier this month. Or perhaps I might not be writing anything at all. But after a relatively quick treatment of a skin-deep head injury and concussion, I will be one of many counting their blessings this holiday season. I am mindful that every breath is a precious opportunity to practice wisdom and compassion, and to also embody, in my own very limited way, to assist the work of the three treasures.
Amidst this crisp and refreshing winter weather, I have been walking more than usual in defiance of my pedestrian near-death experience. During this time of year, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, greeting cards and shopping mall windows are all invoking the winterscapes of snowy forests or ice-capped mountain ranges. I cannot help but think of the Himalayas and the beautiful countries that can call the mountain range part of their geography. In the third part of his series about Bhutanese treasure dances (tercham), Joseph Houseal concludes the presentation he gave to the Swedish Bhutan Society earlier in the year, revealing how the Vajrayana tradition’s treasure-revealers (terton) and said treasures (terma) are expressed as spiritual choreography in the dances of the last Himalayan Buddhist kingdom.
Terma and terton are intimately connected to the Nyingma order of Vajrayana Buddhism and its mystic founder Guru Rinpoche, or Padmasambhava. American-born filmmaker Laurence Brahm, a Nyingma practitioner and longtime devotee of Padmasambhava, has travelled across the Himalayas with his Shambhala Studio team to share the message of the Lotus-Born Master through the science fiction genre, musical sub-genres like punk rock and hip-hop, and other vehicles that might be considered unconventional – fully mindful that Padmasambhava himself was the ultimate unconventional teacher. In this new collaborative series he is shooting with BDG, Laurence will take us on a journey through the world of the Lotus-Born Master, his unique movie series about Padmasambhava’s message for our modern, technological world.
If you enjoy Buddhist-themed documentaries and shows, I would also like to invite you to have a look at our recent documentary, Rhythm of Liberation, which tells the story of Buddhist development in four countries on the African continent: Madagascar, Namibia, Lesotho, and Malawi. The Dharma has found itself in some of the most evocative and beautiful regions of the world, and similar to how Padmasambhava found himself in Tibet during the 8th century, Buddhist teachers face the challenge of diffusing an authentic, African-led expression Buddhism on a complex and diverse continent.
Laurence Brahm’s objective to spread Himalayan Wisdom Traditions through pop culture feeds into a broader trend of Buddhist teachers using modern methods to preserve and share ancient wisdom. Ani Choying Drolma, the Nepalese “singing nun,” is one of the best exemplars of this goal. In our recent Buddhistdoor View, we discuss how the embrace of pop culture is not just something that would be quite nice to do – it could well be something Buddhist leaders must do. Our editorial suggests that this could be another skilful means (upaya) to remain part of the conversation of issues affecting critical demographics, like Gen Z and people in countries beyond traditionally Buddhist-dominant regions.
Buddhistdoor View: Taking Himalayan Wisdom Traditions Global with Pop Culture
Earlier in August, Laurence was interviewed on his recent Kung Fu film by columnist Rebecca Wong. In her new article this month, she spoke to Ian Baker, a similarly well-travelled American scholar-explorer, whose groundbreaking fieldwork in Tibet’s Tsangpo Gorge led the National Geographic Society to recognize him in 2000 as one of the seven “Explorers for the Millennium.” His incredible discovery in 1994 of the “Hidden Falls of Pemako,” in which the falls are part of a dramatic 2,400-meter cascade, is regarded in Vajrayana texts as a portal into the heart of the world. As Rebecca writes: “His discovery not only validated the ancient texts but bridged the gap between myth and reality, offering a new dimension to our understanding of Vajrayana Buddhism and the Tibetan Buddhist concept of hidden lands, or beyul.”
In Search of the Hidden Lands: The Hero’s Journey of Explorer Ian Baker
Finally, during October in Nepal, Treasure Caretaker Training held a seminar at Taragaon Next called, “Preservation of Traditional and Contemporary Thangka and Paubha.” The work of risk assessment, documentation, and conservation were introduced by conservators Ann Shaftel and Patricia Smithen, with Birat Raj Bajracharya. The National Museum of Nepal’s director, Jayaram Shrestha, invited participants to practice Risk Assessment on-site in museum galleries, and invited further collaboration for conservation of the museum’s important collections. In this wonderfully shot and edited video, Ann Shaftel looks back on some of the major highlights of the seminar, which marks another milestone in the important heritage work of Treasure Caretaker Training.
Thus concludes this month’s post-crash, Himalayan-themed postcard from me. Many blessings to you. Season’s Greetings, and a delightful New Year as our Buddhistdoor Global team looks to celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2025. But that is another story for an upcoming day.
