I am the director of the documentary TULKU. Ask me anything.

[Adamantine]

You wanna squeeze the guy, Adamantine?
In a way I think you are between a rock and a hard place, Gesar.

Not trying to squeeze anyone, I was just genuinely interested in the answer and he said in the thread title to ask him anything.

[Dechen Norbu]

Yes, that's a fact.

[J-Bird]

Hello some of you may know me others may not.. I was recognized as a tulku when I was three years old in Berkley California, my father is Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche so I was exposed to quite a few teachers and craziness as a child. I directed a documentary called Tulku which examines the phenomena of Western tulkus from an experiential point of view. It was a pleasure to make it and all you Tibety Pandity guys may be disappointed in the lack of hard information presented but I decided to make a film that pushed no agenda from an organizational or spiritual point of view. DVDs are available online (no links because I'm not trying to sell anything here.) and there don't appear to be any downloadable versions on the net. Yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un2bk-ddtf8



I think it's a wonderfully rich conversation to have and not in any way dangerous because we can discus it without being for it or against it and examine a multi layered approach to moving forward as Buddhists in the Western world.

For you Tibetophiles and intellophiles please don't lets get into some technical back and forth, everything is divisible and everything can be proved wrong, try to open up your hearts find you SENSE OF HUMOR! and engage in something called undecidable conjecture! It won't kill you.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to doing my best to answer any questions about my film or my personal experience!

[Arnoud]

Have you seen Words of My Perfect Teacher and My Reincarnation? If so, what did you think of them?

[Nemo]

Have you done at least one 3 month solo retreat yet? I don't think you can judge Tibetan Buddhism until you have spent months in solitary retreat. Anything else is just dabbling.

[Josef]

For you Tibetophiles and intellophiles please don't lets get into some technical back and forth, everything is divisible and everything can be proved wrong, try to open up your hearts find you SENSE OF HUMOR! and engage in something called undecidable conjecture! It won't kill you.

I guess that makes me think of a question.
A while back you did a humor piece in Tricycle.
Did you really think it was funny?

[Tenzin1]

Gesar, as you discuss the tradition of tulkus and how that has worked out in the West, does your film also give a history of the evolution of the practice of conveying power from one generation to the next via reincarnate lamas? I have some interesting info from Wylie (who founded the first Tibetan Studies Dept. in the US), that the idea of passing the leadership of a sect or monastery via the reincarnation of the previous lama was first done in the Kagyu tradition in the 14th century. The idea caught on over time, and by the 16th century all the main sects followed that practice. But prior to the Kagyus coming up with the idea of tulkus, the other sects had their own mechanisms for handing down leadership of institutions. For the Sakyas, it was a father to son inheritance (and still seems to be, at least with the Seattle Sakyas, as far as I can tell), with others the practice was to pass political and economic (and spiritual) power from celibate uncle to nephew.

This is fascinating, in view of the fact that the old "pre-tulku" practices seem to have blended in, to some extent, with the new reincarnate lama custom, as we can see in your own family. The inheritance of the leadership role was from father to son,as well as via reincarnation. I was just wondering if this type of historical analysis was something that interested you, and if it was in the film.

[kirtu]

Have you seen Words of My Perfect Teacher and My Reincarnation? If so, what did you think of them?

He was in "Words of My Perfect Teacher". "My Reincarnation"? What's that?

Kirt

[mañjughoṣamaṇi]

He was in "Words of My Perfect Teacher". "My Reincarnation"? What's that?

http://myreincarnationfilm.com/

[kirtu]

He was in "Words of My Perfect Teacher". "My Reincarnation"? What's that?

http://myreincarnationfilm.com/

Ah yes! I didn't remember the discussions of this film because I haven't seen it but I did hear about it. Thanks!

Kirt

[cloudburst]

Hello some of you may know me others may not.. I was recognized as a tulku when I was three years old in Berkley California, my father is Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche so I was exposed to quite a few teachers and craziness as a child. I directed a documentary called Tulku which examines the phenomena of Western tulkus from an experiential point of view. It was a pleasure to make it and all you Tibety Pandity guys may be disappointed in the lack of hard information presented but I decided to make a film that pushed no agenda from an organizational or spiritual point of view. DVDs are available online (no links because I'm not trying to sell anything here.) and there don't appear to be any downloadable versions on the net. Yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un2bk-ddtf8

I'm willing to answer any questions about the topic matter. I consider myself a Buddhist film maker and I have more films in the works so anything is fair game. I'm not into defending anyone's character so if you have anything insulting to say about my family don't expect a reply from me. I'm fascinated at the evolution of spirituality in the West, and have been pondering that [adaptation is task specific, without a master plan.] More like natural selection then genetic evolution. I think the tulku system isn't really useful anymore and isn't long for this world, but to condem the genius & beauty of the systems functionality is foolish. Im not saying it needs to be saved or something I'm "not necessarily" pro the system, but I think if you are steady with your mind and examine the form you can learn quite a bit about the process of how one learns (Not in the academic sense!!) the Dharma and principles of enlightened leadership.

I think it's a wonderfully rich conversation to have and not in any way dangerous because we can discus it without being for it or against it and examine a multi layered approach to moving forward as Buddhists in the Western world.

For you Tibetophiles and intellophiles please don't lets get into some technical back and forth, everything is divisible and everything can be proved wrong, try to open up your hearts find you SENSE OF HUMOR! and engage in something called undecidable conjecture! It won't kill you.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to doing my best to answer any questions about my film or my personal experience!

I was very interested in this documentary, so I found I WAS actually able to order it from Canada, but had to call. I was thrilled when it came in the mail and I enjoyed it very much. In particular, I found you, Gesar, to be a very sympathetic character. The scene in which the empowerment was given showed you looking sheepish and confused, unsure of where you were supposed to be and what you were supposed to be doing. I thought that took real humility to show and I think it illustrated your point of view very effectively.

I think the film was a success on two levels: It was a deeply enjoyable film, and it aptly illustrated that the Tulku system is not appropriate for the west at this time. It is too wide-open to abuse and puts an undue pressure on those children identified as such, given that the culture at large does not recognize this as an honor and something to be cherished. I think Osel Hita-Torres demonstrates this in an extremely manifest way, and what you end up with is absurdities such as "high" Tulkus who show little interest in Dharma and grown practitioners of twenty years asking questions of children.

Dzonsar Khyentse Rinpoche nailed it on the head when he said the the Tulku system with destroy Buddhism if we are not careful. My perspective is that with the hysteria surrounding such things and the desperation of many to believe in the omniscience of a child based on slim to no evidence, there is no actual way to be careful in this situation.

It seems to me that any lineage that henceforth relies upon Tulkus as the main system of keeping the lineage alive will disappear in a generation or two. Training, meditation experience and lineage devotion are the key for us. Of course any so-called Tulkus that train will likely do a fine job.

Tukus system then: utterly awe-inspiring when functional, occasionally functional, lots of abuse.
Tulku system now: Dharma killer, politics disaster

well done Gesar M, look forward to future films, Dharma related or no!

ps maybe I'll think of a question for you later....

[Arnoud]

He was in "Words of My Perfect Teacher".
Kirt

I haven't seen it yet. Thanks for the heads-up. Want to see it though.

I have another one.

How do you deal with all those ubercool Buddhists who have surpassed all the Tibetan trappings and thus think it is cool to grill you to no end? And are rude in the process btw. They probably treat their own pets better.

[Jangchup Donden]

He was in "Words of My Perfect Teacher".
Kirt

I haven't seen it yet. Thanks for the heads-up. Want to see it though.

I actually didn't like it one bit. It came across as a bit smug and self aggrandizing. Some people like it though. I don't think you're missing out on anything much by not having seen it.

[Arnoud]

He was in "Words of My Perfect Teacher".
Kirt

I haven't seen it yet. Thanks for the heads-up. Want to see it though.

I actually didn't like it one bit. It came across as a bit smug and self aggrandizing. Some people like it though. I don't think you're missing out on anything much by not having seen it.

Thanks. And I mean that. I might very well come to the same conclusion you did.

[deepbluehum]

Many young tulkus these days, including Tibetan ones, are shirking the usual Tibetan cultural trappings much to the consternation of the older generation who feels it is indispensable to maintain Tibetan cultural aspect of Vajrayana. I feel these nonconformist tulkus are doing what a tulku should do, and that is break down dogmatism and take Vajrayana into the modern world. This is how Vajrayana made the transition from Indian to Tibetan and it's how it make the transition from Tibetan to global internet age. But on a much profounder note, Vajrayana is fundamentally about doing away with conformity and narrow-mindedness. So it's great the tulkus are throwing a monkey wrench in the system, but they also need to do retreat and get enlightened (same as everyone else).

[Arnoud]

So it's great the tulkus are throwing a monkey wrench in the system, but they also need to do retreat and get enlightened (same as everyone else).

Agreed, but even if they decide they don't want to retreat and become enlightened, and they don't claim special realizations (I don't consider past life memories to be all that special), they should still be treated like you would any other human being, i.e. decently.

[Jangchup Donden]

So it's great the tulkus are throwing a monkey wrench in the system, but they also need to do retreat and get enlightened (same as everyone else).

It might also be another way to gather connections with other sentient beings. I'd imagine it's very hard to get a connection with anyone if you're locked away in a walled garden of Tulkuhood.

[GesarMukpo]

Have you had / do you have any memories of your last life? Someone here said that back on Esangha you said no, you had none, and it'd be great to know what the truth is. I was under the impression you'd at least had some upsurging of past associations when you went back to visit the monastery in Tibet. . .

I don't recall where I said I didn't. I may have. When I was young I have fairly clear recollections of certain areas near my hermitage. When I went back to visit the first time in my early twenties I had a few recollections, and again while working on my film I recalled what I thought were childhood dreams that I couldn't place as dreams. It's like having a memory of a dream, and then realizing you never dreamt it. It could be the power of suggestion from a young age, I'm not sure, but what really gripped me is I remembered some very accurate details; one small hermitage of a lama had a ladder to the front door and I remembered it clearly. Also the shape of the hillside my hermitage was on and a few other details. Nothing super specific but it was enough to make me wonder why I knew what I did.

Have you seen Words of My Perfect Teacher and My Reincarnation? If so, what did you think of them?

Yes and no. The director of Words is a friend of mine so I don't have much to say...... I was happy with the editing of me vs Segal gave me a real chuckle. I'll watch the other and get back to you okay?

Have you done at least one 3 month solo retreat yet? I don't think you can judge Tibetan Buddhism until you have spent months in solitary retreat. Anything else is just dabbling.

I'm a rookie not a convert, of course I've sat in a room for an extended period of time. Still I am just dabbling.

I guess that makes me think of a question.
A while back you did a humor piece in Tricycle.
Did you really think it was funny?

Yes. The Nike ad and the designer Cushions ad were the best part. here

I was just wondering if this type of historical analysis was something that interested you, and if it was in the film.

The film is thin on historical information. It's more of a story of human experience. Sort of run conceptually parallel to the reality of traditional cultures' assimilation into the modern world and how we all struggle with that reality.

How do you deal with all those ubercool Buddhists who have surpassed all the Tibetan trappings and thus think it is cool to grill you to no end? And are rude in the process btw. They probably treat their own pets better.

I'm skilled in acting more cool then them, but I've developed an allergy to spiritual materialism and think being condescending to them is funny. You probably wouldn't understand though........

Many young tulkus these days, including Tibetan ones, are shirking the usual Tibetan cultural trappings much to the consternation of the older generation who feels it is indispensable to maintain Tibetan cultural aspect of Vajrayana. I feel these nonconformist tulkus are doing what a tulku should do, and that is break down dogmatism and take Vajrayana into the modern world. This is how Vajrayana made the transition from Indian to Tibetan and it's how it make the transition from Tibetan to global internet age. But on a much profounder note, Vajrayana is fundamentally about doing away with conformity and narrow-mindedness. So it's great the tulkus are throwing a monkey wrench in the system, but they also need to do retreat and get enlightened (same as everyone else).

It's always been a game of traps, pitfalls and swindles. I don't think "getting" enlightened is in my plans and what I need is the same as anyone else. But yes it is an ever-changing landscape and that's where the value of examining the tulku system comes in, by examining it you can develop an understanding of how the teachers of the West will have to train and evolve. We need knowledge holders that are more then scholars, and a system different then the monastic hierarchy.

Okay thank you for your questions, I'm trying my best here sorry if I go a little off topic.

[deepbluehum]

Many young tulkus these days, including Tibetan ones, are shirking the usual Tibetan cultural trappings much to the consternation of the older generation who feels it is indispensable to maintain Tibetan cultural aspect of Vajrayana. I feel these nonconformist tulkus are doing what a tulku should do, and that is break down dogmatism and take Vajrayana into the modern world. This is how Vajrayana made the transition from Indian to Tibetan and it's how it make the transition from Tibetan to global internet age. But on a much profounder note, Vajrayana is fundamentally about doing away with conformity and narrow-mindedness. So it's great the tulkus are throwing a monkey wrench in the system, but they also need to do retreat and get enlightened (same as everyone else).

It's always been a game of traps, pitfalls and swindles. I don't think "getting" enlightened is in my plans and what I need is the same as anyone else. But yes it is an ever-changing landscape and that's where the value of examining the tulku system comes in, by examining it you can develop an understanding of how the teachers of the West will have to train and evolve. We need knowledge holders that are more then scholars, and a system different then the monastic hierarchy.

Of course dharma is necessary because samsara is meaningless. Everyone needs to break out of their illusions which are the cause of suffering. There are no Vidhyadharas with no practice.

[Adamantine]

Thanks for the sincere answers!