A Journey in Pictures - Kungri Monastery in Pin Valley

About 5000 people filled the tiny monastic village of Kungri when we came there - among them a sizeable number of Western Buddhists, seekers and religious tourists. The reason: the popular lama and film director Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (http://www.siddharthasintent.org/) was teaching a month long retreat there, along with his retinue (an strange and anachronistic image from older, aristocratic Tibet). He was deeply charismatic and strangely out of place at the same time, sitting with his Western pupils among a vertiable court of upstart and carrierist monks and lamas. A Tibetan opera was performed to sanctify the founding of a new monastery, trance dancers performed feats, sword dances and breaking a stone on somebody's chest. It was, as I said, a most anachronistic and touching scene, a mixture of scenes centuries old (two hours on dangerous roads to get there, farmers with their families, old costumes and rites) and very modern (cell phone wielding monks, new jeeps, stylish Americans).

The chant is by the nuns from the Jangchub Choeling Nunnery and is taken from "A Rough Guide to the Music of the Himalayas".

The video and all the images therein are copyrighted by Sebastian Buchner. They are not to be used without written permission. Thank you.

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• Khyentse
• Rinpoche
• Spiti
• Pin
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• Kungri
• Monastery
• Retreat
• Buddhism
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• Play
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