--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > If you haven't seen it, I think you'd really enjoy > renting a movie called "The Cup." It's by a Tibetan > lama (who is actually the recognized tulku or rein- > carnation of a famous 19th-century saint) named > Khentze Norbu. It concerns daily life in a Tibetan > Buddhist monastery in Bhutan. > > The tagline of the film says it all: "Buddhism is their > philosophy. Soccer is their religion." It's about these > young monks -- who, after all, are really just young > kids -- scheming and planning and doing all this wonder- > ful stuff to raise enough money so that they can rent > a satellite dish and a TV and watch the World Cup.
By the way, Edg, I recommended this film on a whim, just my instantaneous reaction to reading your lovely story. But the more I think about it, the more I think you'd just love this man's films if you haven't already seen them. I met Khyentse Norbu once. It was in Santa Fe, and he was in town for a $100-a-head wine-and-cheese gathering to raise money for his second film, "Travellers and Magicians." I went because I'd loved "The Cup" so much when I'd seen it earlier that I wanted to meet the man who made it. The room was full of heavy hitters, finan- cially. I mean, a couple of the Top Twenty richest people on the planet were there. And because it *was* a fund- raiser, and they were there to contribute, a lot of these high rollers came up to him and started striving for his attention. They were doing all their "I'm important, focus on me" routines, the ones that had worked for them count- less times in the past. And I just sat there on the sidelines watching as Khyentse Norbu treated each of them with perfect equanimity. His demeanor was respectful but univolved; he just stood there being his Self as this parade of selves walked up to him and engaged him in conversation for a few minutes. His demeanor was the same towards the high rollers as it was towards the catering girl who brought him some tea, as it was towards me when I finally got to say "Thank you for The Cup" to him. Anyway, I get a hint of that same equanimity in your posts. I think you might find a kindred soul in the films of Khyentse Norbu. "The Cup" is possibly the better film, but "Travelers and Magicians" is pretty cool, too. The former is a "what spiritual life is really like in the monastery" kinda movie; the latter is more of a spiritual Road Trip.
