Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Buddhism and Its Cultures

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

In Search of Zhang Zhung

Posted on March 17, 2017March 17, 2017 by Dharma Documentaries
A film about a young monk's pilgrimage in search of the ancient traditions of the Bön religion in Tibet and Mustang, Nepal.

In Search of Zhang Zhung

This is the first of two films featuring the Bön teacher Geshe Gelek Jinpa in which he tries to find the roots of his own tradition in Nepal and Tibet.

In this film he teams up with an American photographer and undertakes a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, and then to the capital of the ancient kingdom of Zhang Zhung which covered much of Tibet, China and Nepal.

Unusually, the journey is narrated using two different voices: that of Geshe Gelek, who ponders on his tradition, its importance, and how it feels about the way it is being practised today is one, and the unnamed American photographer, apparently working with Oxford University is the other.

As they go along they have very different perspective on what is unfolding, and this makes for an interesting dialogue between the two, Gelek soul-searching his way along, and the photographer trying his best to hold the group together as it gradually, and for various reasons, falls apart.

What we are left with is a truly memorable work, both in terms of its content and its presentation, and we also get to feel the sadness Gelek has as he eyes the ruins of a once great civilisation that is on the brink of collapse.

 

 

to see an album of screenshots click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Dharma, Bon, Mustang, Nepal, Tibet

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Comments do not appear straight away, but are moderated before publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/3a0

Donations

This site has taken more than fifteen years and 1,000s of hours to build, and has more than a thousand documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Women

Sponsorship

 hosting sponsored by exabytes.my 

Random Posts

  • For God’s Sake (Thailand, Malaysia)
  • Naoto Kan: Experiences as Prime Minister during the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
  • Bodies Donated to Science and Monks
  • Wangari Maathai: Environment, Democracy and Peace
  • The Silk Road Series 43, Steep Road to the Oasis
  • Greek & Persian Influence on Early Buddhism
  • Gandhara, the Renaissance of Buddhism
  • The Acrobats, Citta & Sambhūta (told by Margo McLoughlin)
  • Dunhuang, Edge of the World 2, Cang Ci
  • Tashi and the Monk

Recent Posts

  • Forgotten Angkor: LiDAR Reveals Hidden Technology
  • Myanmar, The Grand Plain of the Irawaddy
  • For the Benefit of All Beings
  • Bactria and Ai Khanoun
  • Greek & Persian Influence on Early Buddhism
  • Sri Lanka, Hidden Wonders of a Sacred Land
  • Unseen China
  • Unseen Tibet
  • Thangka-Paubha, Beyond The Canvas
  • Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty

Related Posts:

  • Hidden Treasure Of Bön
  • Hannah, Buddhism's Untold Journey
  • 108 Yaks, A Journey of Love and Freedom
  • Mustang, a Kingdom on the Edge
  • Kailash Beyond the Possible
  • Kailash, the Path from Life to Life
  • From Tibet to Turtle Island
  • Sky Caves of Nepal
  • Paintings by Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien)
  • Discovering Tibet 2: Lhoka, the Soul
© 2025 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme