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Unmistaken Child – a tibetan monks search for the reincarnation of his beloved master.

I denne episke dokumentaren følger vi Tenzin Zopa, den hengivne disippel og nære følgesvenn av nylig avdøde Geshe Lama Konchok, på hans reise for å finne sin mesters reinkarnasjon.

Filmskaper Baratz befant seg i Kopan Klosteret sammen med sin hustru i forbindelse med ett annet filmprosjekt han arbeidet med, da Tenzin Zopa ba deltakerene på retreaten delta i bønn for hans avdøde mesters raske tilbakekomst. Geshe Lama Konchok var en viden kjent Tibetansk mester som kom til Kopang Klosteret i 1985 etter å ha levd flere årtier alene i fjellet ved Tsum. Tenzin Zopa hadde vært hans hengivne elev fra han var 7 år gammel til han som voksen virket som hans assistent og oversetter på utenlandsreiser, og nå etter 21 års samvær var det ham, munken Tenzin Zopa, Dalai Lama ba om å finne Geshe Lama Konchok sin nye reinkarnasjon.  Baratz kjente at dette var en fortelling han svært gjerne ønsket å filme, og bestemte seg for å skrinlegge det andre filmprosjektet.  Tenzin Zopas samtykket i å bli filmet, og etter 3-4 måneder fikk hele filmprosjektet det Tibetanske spirituelle lederskapet sin tilatelse og velsignelse, og Baratz fikk ta del i Tenzin Zopa sin reise for å finne Geshe Lama Konchok sin reinkarnasjon. En ferd som kom til å ta over 4 år før den var fullbrakt.

Tenzin legger ut på denne uforglemmelige reisen assistert av astrologi, tegn i drømmer og hviskninger fra landsbyboere. Han reiser til fots, på esel og til og med med helikopter, mens han spør alle han møter om de unge barna i området. Han lytter til fortellinger om barn med ulike særegenheter og utfører ritualer for å fastslå sannsynligheten for om det er Geshe Lama Konchok sin reinkarnasjon han står ovenfor.

Selv om Unmistaken Child setter lys på et aspekt av den Buddhistiske kulturen som vi sjelden ser, er den store åpenbaringen i filmen den reisen som Tenzin foretar. Beskjeden, sky og med en herlig skøyeraktig sans for humor fremtrer Tenzin som om han tilhører en annen tid.  Alene på sin hemmelige reise, deler han sine tanker og følelser med filmskaperen Baratz. Hans enkle åpenhet og ærlighet lar tilskueren få bli en priviligert deltaker i den unge munkens overgang inn i den neste fasen i hans bemerkelsesverdige liv. Dokumentaren Unmistaken Child er blitt en visuelt bergtagende og emosjonelt gripende film.

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Nati Baratz (Writer/Director/Producer) was born in Jerusalem, Israel. He first became interested in Tibetans in 1993 on a trip to Tibet. Years later, while attending a course at Kopan Monastery, he met Tenzin Zopa. When Zopa asked participants to pray for the finding of his master’s reincarnation, Baratz was struck with the idea that this story had to be made into a film. Zopa agreed to participate, and allowed Baratz to document the four-year search for the “unmistaken child.”

Filming in the remote Himalayas was extremely difficult, and both Baratz and his cameraman suffered from altitude sickness, which can be fatal. At one point they had to cross an abyss on a path narrower than their shoes. One of the production horses lost his footing and fell, but luckily was saved by bushes below and pulled up by villagers. With no electricity in the area, the crew relied on a solar charger that was carried on horseback to power the production.

Baratz has been working as a freelance director and producer since graduating from the film school at Tel-Aviv University in 2000. His most notable films include Tel Aviv-Kyrgyzstan (2001) and Noches (2004). Both documentaries were broadcast on TV in Israel.

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Originaltittel: Unmistaken Child
Sjanger: Dokumentar
Filmslipp: 2009
Regissør: Nati Baratz
Produksjonssselskap: Samsara Films og Alma Films
Produksjonsland: Tibet
Aldersgrense: ingen
Språk: Engelsk
Undertekst: Tekstet på engelsk.
Lengde: 1 t 42 min
Nettside: www.unmistakenchild.com
Filmen selges hos: unmistakenchild.vhx.tv/

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My interest in Tibetans started back in 1993, while backpacking in Tibet. The Tibetan Lamas looked to me like the embodiment of wisdom and compassion and reminded me of ancient Greek philosophers. The humble, non-violent and happy nature of the Tibetan people touched me in a very unique way. It was followed by a strong feeling of moral responsibility to help preserve this extraordinary culture, which is in grave danger due to the Chinese occupation and suppression. Since then I have had a great desire to share all this with others.

In 2002, I traveled to Tibet with my wife Liat. During our last month, we cycled 800 kilometers from Tibet’s capital city Lhasa to Katmandu, Nepal to attend a one-month course at Kopan Monastery, so as to deepen our understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the course, a monk named Tenzin Zopa came to talk about his life experience with his master, Geshe Lama Konchog, who had recently passed away. Tenzin spoke of his master with great love, and his big heart, modesty and humor were overwhelming.

If he had not concluded his talk with a request from us to pray for the swift return of his master’s reincarnation, it could have been just another inspiring night in Asia, but it was not – I could not sleep the whole night, realizing that this great young man was actually searching for his master’s reincarnation. This was a story that had to be turned into a movie.

In the morning I snuck out for a cigarette outside the monastery gate and shared my feelings with Liat. She had tears in her eyes, “What are you waiting for? This is the film you’ve been looking for all these years.” At the time, I was far from realizing how fortunate I really was.

I could never imagine that this thin and modest monk was actually a philosophical prodigy. That his master meditated for 26 years in total isolation in a snowy mountain cave, and was considered by many as the greatest Tibetan meditator of our time (he is called the “modern-may Milarepa” by the Tibetans). That Geshe-La was actually the one who saved Tenzin’s life when he was born and physically delivered him. I knew that since age of 7, for 21 years, he had never left his sight, but did not realize what the serving and devotion meant, not to mention faith.

After a few days I met with Tenzin and shared with him my wishes for making this film in a very direct way… I told him that I am not a formal Buddhist, but I feel that the preservation and spreading of Tibetan Buddhism is important to the entire world civilization. I said that in order to make this film I would need his full cooperation and all access, including meetings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, if and when it comes to that.

Tenzin replied that he thought it was a very good idea, and that he also wished to expose his master to as many people as possible, but at the same time he was worried that it would be too much for me to handle. He tried to convince me to give up, “What if we never find a reincarnation? What if it takes 20 years?”

I was lucky enough to answer that I was willing to take all the risks, with a very happy mind, but there was only one thing I truly needed – his full cooperation. After a long break Tenzin replied, “OK, but you have to ask for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s permission. You can tell him that I agree!” And that was the gong sound marking that my journey was about to begin.

It took me a few months until I got final permission from LZR, a very high-ranking busy lama. They tested my patience (hours of waiting for meetings), my persistence (three 30-hour bus rides for meetings), and then on my last trip from Katmandu to Bodhgaya in central India, I got the chance to meet him face to face. It was a long day, with a few conversations between his meetings and even lunch together. In the evening his disciple told me that LZR was close to making a decision and that he was doing some divination checks regarding the film.

After an hour or so Zopa Rinpoche, with his majestic gestures, came out of his room with some gifts and gave me a fatherly tap on the shoulder. I assumed the gifts were consolation gifts, but his disciple came and said, “So how do you feel? You got the job!” When we discussed the matter further, they told me that I could not show the rushes to anyone until the final confirmation of the reincarnation. I promised to do so, knowing how generous and incredible their approval was to allow me into the most holy rooms of their religious and tradition.

For three years, I had to keep this movie a secret, which was an extremely complicated issue, since I had to finance all the filming privately, and could show the materials to no one.

I spent 4 years with Tenzin – long months on the road, wild nature, we shared with him the tent while searching, and his monastery room. We come from such different worlds and cultures, which made our relationship one that required a great deal of patience and learning from both sides. The camera and myself became intimate participants in Tenzin’s secret quest. I think it took Tenzin more than six months to feel at ease with the camera and to truly trust me, and a year later when he first called me “my brother” (as he does to this day), I was in tears.

In the peak of the filming, when we knew that the Dalai Lama was about to confirm the reincarnation, my wife and two-year-old daughter moved to southern India, close to Tenzin’s monastic university, for more than a year, until the filming ended and the small “translation factory” for the film was established.

When we were filming in Kopan my wife and daughter always joined me. It was true bliss to be so close to Tenzin, having my daughter live in the monastery and even play with the young reincarnation. It was an enlightening and mind-opening experience for us all. If I had to pinpoint the most important things I learned during this journey, I would say that they are the capacity of doing and acceptance.

Watching Tenzin and his endless care for others, never resting, never saying no, always having time to do more, and then late at night finding time to memorize and study, I learned that I have the capacity to do 10 times more than I believed I could.

Throughout those years I never saw Tenzin blame anyone or anything whenever he encountered an obstacle. He always said that he was responsible and accepted everything with a happy mind and vitality. To evidence it all in action for years, without even a single slip, is a true teaching.

Reincarnation

Since the film ended, people often question my belief in reincarnation, and I feel it’s better not to give a direct answer to this question for various reasons. To determine about the existence of the mind or soul is very pretentious and will always remain a question of faith. No matter what people see in a film, they will not be convinced either way. Giving an answer will damage the self-exploration process of the viewer, which was always a major goal for me in this film.

It was enough for me to understand that Tenzin was truly searching for the unmistaken reincarnation, and at the end, to realize that the Tenzin Phuntsok is for him the true embodiment of his beloved master in a small child.

One thing I must say: whether you believe in reincarnation or not, after seeing the incredible chosen child, I think we have to admit that they do know how to choose!

Filming Challenges

The filming, especially in the remote Himalayas in Nepal and Tibet, was very challenging, since we lived outdoors in extreme conditions. There were several times when the cameraman or myself suffered from serious altitude sickness (which can be deadly). At one point we had to cross an abyss on a path that was narrower than our shoes. One of our horses fell off the cliff, but luckily it landed on some bushes and was then pulled back up by the locals.

There is no electricity or phones in Tsum Valley, so we built a solar charger that was put on a horse saddle, and the “solar horse” charged our batteries throughout the journey.

All these are only physical difficulties, while the biggest challenge was to gain trust and develop intimacy with the people. To achieve this you must live with them for a long time. I spent a total of eight months only at Kopan Monastery.

Since many of the situations were extremely intimate and sometimes difficult, especially when filming the rarely seen aspects and rites of Tibetan Buddhism, our big challenge was to stay as inconspicuous as possible. Our crew consisted of a maximum of two people – a cameraman and myself – with the smallest equipment we could find.

Style

I was aware of the mythical and visual power of this quest, which crossed countries and entered the most secret unrevealed places of Tibetan tradition, but I always felt that the heart of this film was the faith and love of Tenzin Zopa, and this is what made the film “larger than life”, I often say that for me Tenzin’s relationship with GLK and the boy reincarnation is an ultimate love story.

I wanted the movie to focus on Tenzin and the story, and was afraid that the colorful and exotic nature of the material would obscure the human drama, so in order to differentiate this documentary from a traditional Tibet doc, we shot everything hand-held, even when it came to the meeting with the Dalai Lama. Secondly, we filmed and edited with many inter-cuts between extreme long shots and extreme C.U.S, always to return the focus on the personal and intimate point of view of the heroes within the historical/epical context of the story outline.

In the film I tried to show the complexity of holy and earthly, joy and sadness, which are mixed together. I tried to give the audience the right distance and opportunity to gain their own understanding and belief regarding the subject matter.

In a very systematic way, from the middle of the film, the plot continuously shifts between earthly scene to magical scene, happy scene to sad scene, up until the end. It was important for me to keep the audience emotionally and thematically challenged, thus encourage them to contemplate rather than just experience. This style was also inspired from Buddha’s teachings. Buddha asked his disciples not to believe anything he says, but to check everything themselves.

-Nati Baratz April 2009

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En kort presentasjon av Karma Tashi Ling buddhistsamfunn,
www.tibetansk-buddhisme.no

Karma Tashi Ling buddhistsenter er hovedsete for Karma Tashi Ling
buddhistsamfunn og ble etablert i 1975 på Bjørndal i Oslo. Her er
det bygget en fredsstupa og et nytt flott tempel som ble innviet
i juni 2015. Karma Tashi Ling buddhistsamfunn har som viktigste
formål å undervise i den tibetansk-buddhistiske tradisjon og
legge forholdene til rette for sanghaens og enkeltindividets
buddhistiske meditasjonspraksis og utvikling. Samfunnet driftes
på frivillig, ulønnet basis av medlemmer og ildsjeler. Hovedlama
er Lama Changchub Tsering. Karma Tashi Ling buddhistsamfunn
tilhører Karma Kagyu-tradisjonen av tibetansk buddhisme og er
tilknyttet Buddhistforbundet, som er et landsomfattende
buddhistisk trossamfunn.

Dessuten har Karma Tashi Ling Buddhistsamfunn et senter i sentrum
av Oslo. Paramita meditasjonssenter ligger i Storgt. 13, i
passasjen som kalles «Strøget». Her er et allsidig tilbud av
undervisning, meditasjon, møter, sosiale sammenkomster. Buddha
Bok & Bilde som er en del av Paramita meditasjonssenter har et
stort utvalg av bøker, buddhastatuer m.m. Fast åpningstid i
Paramita meditasjonssenter er tirsdag til torsdag kl.
16:30-19:00. Dørene låses som regel når kveldsprogrammet
begynner, vanligvis kl 19:00.

Karma Shedrup Ling retreatsenter (KSL) ligger i et fredelig og
stille skogsområde i Ski kommune. Senteret har et hovedhus med et
stort meditasjonsrom for undervisning og fellespraksis. Ellers er
det 15 hytter til bruk for individuell praksis og retreat.

Lenke til KTL sitt program for våren 2016:
http://www.ktl.no/documents/7/ktl-prog-vaar-2016.pdf

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