This is a film about the great Tibetan teacher Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, which through animations and interviews seeks to tell his life story in chapters on him as a son, monk, hermit, yogi, refugee, teacher; followed by chapters on his teachings in the West, his return to Tibet, and his passing and reincarnation.
Early parts of his life story are recreated using animations to tell the story, and only as a young man do we start getting archive photographs of him, and from the later period of his life there are some video footage.
Many of his family, disciples and admirers are interviewed to build up a picture of what made Rinpoche so special, and he seems to have been a great inspiration to all of those who had the good fortune to come across him.
In 1959 as the Chinese suppressed the Tibetan uprising Rinpoche decided to flee Tibet so he would be able to continue his teaching work. In the process he had to leave behind many precious books, including most of his own writings up till that time.
He fled to Bhutan and settled there and over time became a favoured teacher of the Royal family; and later as his fame spread he was requested to give teachings first in India, and later in the West.
The film is narrated by Richard Gere and Lou Reed and is one of the most effective of the films about Rinpoche and gives a good overview of his life and importance in the Tibetan tradition.
The film ends, not with his passing, but with his rebirth and recognition by senior lamas who identified him as the person now known as Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, and we see his initial enthronement in 1995.
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to see an album of stills click here