There is not a lot of inspiring news coming out of Tibet these days.
The New York Times' recent exposé on the detention and torture of Tibetan filmaker, Dhondup Wangchen (if you haven't seen his "Leaving Fear Behind" click here), left me feeling outraged, as world leaders ignore yet another tragic story about the Chinese government's treatment of Tibetans who dare to speak out (we'll see what Nobel Peace Laureate Barack Obama does for Wangchen's case during his visit to Beijing next week ... I'm not holding my breath).
As someone who has spent time in Chinese detention for protesting on behalf of Tibetans, I have some first-hand experience with the brutality of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), albeit a fraction of what Tibetans endure. But for many, the call for a "Free Tibet" has never gone deeper than a bumper sticker.
For those who just don't get what's behind the whole Tibetan freedom thing, the International Adventure Film Festival brings us Tibet: Murder in the Snow, an account of the horrific events on Sept. 30, 2006 at the remote Nangpa La Pass in Tibet. The Chinese Border Patrol opened fire on a group of unarmed Tibetans attempting to escape over the 19,050 foot Himalayan pass, as more than 100 international climbers watched. Seventeen-year-old nun Kelsang Namtso was shot in the back and killed less than 1,200 feet from her freedom waiting across the Nepali Border.
If there was ever any doubt about the quality of life for Tibetans in occupied Tibet, Tibet: Murder in the Snow demonstrates the lengths Tibetans will go to for the chance to be free. This important film exposes the impunity with which the CCP treats Tibetans and gives us a rare glimpse of real footage from the shootings that will leave you speechless. However, it may also leave you feeling sad and angry.
But for those who can be in Denver on Saturday Nov. 14, the STARZ Denver Film Festival presents Blessings: The Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns of Tibet. Narrated by Richard Gere, Blessings follows a group of Western students of Tsoknyi Rinpoche, as they make the long trek to the Tsoknyi Nunneries in Nangchen to meet a lesser-known group of nuns. Although the nunnery was completely destroyed during the Chinese invasion in 1959, the Nangchen Nuns regrouped and spent the next 20 years rebuilding their monastery, where they maintain an intensely devoted practice of meditation and yoga.
Their primary goal? To meditate and pray for peace and the end of suffering. And they do it for us too, suffering throughout the world, plagued by greed and aggression. They see our happiness as equally important as their own. Throughout the film, although they reside in one of the poorest and most restricted places on earth, the nuns laugh and joke and can't seem to stop smiling ... their joy just leaps off the screen and fills your heart.
I, for one, sleep better knowing that if our stubborn, arrogant leaders insist on starting more wars, even if they blow up half the world, chances are the Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns will continue to practice for world peace up in their Himalayan hermitage.
If you're a Tibet lover like me, you should see both films ... bravely facing the reality of the situation for Tibetans on Friday night in Boulder and enjoying a film that will remind you about all the good that still exists on the Tibetan Plateau Saturday afternoon in Denver.
If you can only see one Tibet film per weekend, take a moment to watch the trailer for Tibet: Murder in the Snow, learn how to support the Tibetan Freedom Movement from the comfort of your own home and head to the Mile High City on Saturday afternoon Nov. 14th to see Blessings. It will remind you that not all the news out of Tibet is heartbreaking ... somewhere in the deep recesses of the Himalayas, compassion and joy are abundant!
See you there,
Kiri Westby
Change-Maker/Rule-Breaker/Story-Teller
Kiri Westby is featured in BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You And The World, by Ed and Deb Shapiro, with forewords by HH Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman. Contributors include Marianne Williamson, Seane Corn, Edgar Mitchell, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Beckwith, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jane Fonda, Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, Byron Katie, Dean Ornish, John Gray and others.