Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Mystic Fire Video
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 52 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6303503489
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #409,456 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Those who have heard the chants of the Tibetan Gyuto monks will never forget their raw spiritual power. Tantra of Gyuto shows their now-public rituals without the slick glamour of Hollywood production values, and preserves some measure of their essence. Introduced by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and prefaced with a history of their sect including rare footage from the 1920s and beyond, the program is beautifully welcoming for first-time listeners. Even those who have seen and heard the monks perform live will appreciate this document; though some nuance is inevitably lost in reproduction, the simplicity of these men's beliefs comes through loud and clear. --Rob Lightner

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1974 documentary worth tracking down, November 19, 2008

By 

Daiho - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tantra of Gyuto [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Tantra of Gyuto is a 50-minute feature documenting the 1974 London public performance of tantric rituals by a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Gyuto monastery. Produced by Snow Lion, one of the world's leading publishers of English texts on Tibetan Buddhism, the film maintains an air of objectivity and respect for the viewer, allotting ample to time to simply showing the monks doing their rites. The filmmakers follow the monks from their monastery in India as they prepare, and on through to their flight, arrival and performance in London. Unfortunately, we never have a chance to hear the monks speak for themselves, though we are treated to a short interview with a very young Dalai Lama, who appears to have been in London for the performance and discusses the propriety of public displays of tantric rituals. These are, it turns out, commonly conducted in public in their native context, ceremonies for blessing statues, paintings, sand mandalas and other sacred objects. In between the set-up and the performances, a brief overview of Tibetan history and Buddhism is presented, including some wonderful archival footage of the Tibetan countryside, Lhasa, and the Dalai Lama as he is examined on completion of his formal academic studies. This is a film worth adding to add to a Tibetan video collection, if you can find it. Though currently out of print, copies can be found circulating on the internet.

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