Customer Reviews

Dalai Lama: Heart of Tibet [VHS]

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"Heart of Tibet" is a beautiful biography of the life of His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. We see the young Dalai Lama emerge from the secluded life as the spiritual and temporal head of Tibet to a world leader known for his compassion & non-violence (despite his having been exiled from his homeland). Through interviews with H.H. the Dalai Lama & others, we catch a glimpse of the remarkable person who inspires all those around him. Throughout the video we encounter the Dalai Lama as he arrives in the States to perform a Kalachakra ceremony & learn a few of the basic principles of Tibetan Buddhism along the way. Just try to watch him without breaking into a big grin... I dare you.

This 60-minute film is a good introduction to the life and teachings of the Dalai Lama and to the political situation of Tibet. It also covers a public ceremony of initiation into a Tibetan Buddhist practice called the Kalachakra, or "Wheel of Time." Frankly, I'm still a little fuzzy on what the Kalachakra is all about, but various aspects of the initiation, including the creation of a sand mandala, make for some good video. Much of the footage in the film comes from the Dalai Lama's visit to Los Angeles in 1989 to conduct a Kalachakra initiation.

I've used "Heart of Tibet" several times now in teaching religion courses to undergraduates, and the students really like it. (They find some documentaries terribly dull, and so do I.) To fully follow the video, it helps to know just a bit about Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, and Tibet, but even if you know nothing at all about these subjects you'll still get a lot out of the film.

Naturally, the film sides with the Tibetans regarding the Chinese occupation of Tibet. One of my students objected to the portrayal of the Chinese as invaders, given that one can argue that Tibet has long been part of China, but it's hard to object to the film's portrayal of the Chinese occupation as repressive and brutal.

This film is a great teaching aid, but I wish there were a DVD version, which would make it easier to skip to the sections I want to show.

Two other good videos on the Dalai Lama and Tibet are "Compassion in Exile" and "Dalai Lama: The Soul of Tibet."