Made over 14 years, Yangsi is a unique film that dissects the world of Tibetan Buddhism; last two screenings at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan
Bureau Report
NEW YORK: For those living in and around New York City, there is still time to view a unique film into the world of Tibetan Buddhism: Yangsi is a coming of age story with universal themes, made over a 14-year period by filmmaker Mark Elliott, being screened at the Rubin Museum of Art.
Narrated by Yangsi Rinpoche, the young teacher gives a first person account of his experience of growing up in, and coming to terms with, his unique inheritance. Beginning with his enthronement at age four before a crowd of 15,000 people in Kathmandu, Nepal, he is placed in the care of the previous Khyentse Rinpoche’s regent, Rabjam Rinpoche at Shechen monastery.
With unprecedented access, the film chronicles Rinpoche’s life during his training in Tibetan philosophy and various rituals, along with learning English, intimate family visits, and meetings with masters within (and without) his lineage.
Filmed largely in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan and in Nepal, Yangsi presents everyday events in a reincarnation’s life, where a mother’s love plays as important a role as high tantric empowerments; where tradition is challenged by modernity; and where human relationships are as vital as study. And where doubt challenges devotion when having to live up to great expectations.
Rinpoche follows this process up to the age of 18, when he for the first time assumes the role of the teacher, embarking on a world tour to continue the work of his predecessor, to be of service to sentient beings. Perhaps never before has this process been so openly and engagingly portrayed, sharing Yangsi’s aim of how Buddhism can be relevant in the modern world.
Yangsi has two screenings left this month, on December 26th and 28th.
Over the last two months, the museum had also premiered the documentary film When the Iron Bird Flies - Victress Hitchcock’s long-awaited work about how Tibetan Buddhism arrived in the West and what it does when it gets there. The film traces the remarkable path of one of the world’s great spiritual traditions from the caves of Tibet to the mainstream of western culture and asks: In these increasingly chaotic modern times, can these age old teachings help us find genuine happiness and create a saner, more compassionate 21st century world?
The film had featured many Tibetan teachers (Tsoknyi Rinpoche III, the Dalai Lama, the 17th Karmapa, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Phakchok Rinpoche, Khandro Rinpoche, and Mingyur Rinpoche) as well as Western teachers Tsultrim Allione, Matthieu Ricard, Fleet Maull, and practitioners Richard Gere and Alan Wallace.
The Rubin Museum of Art provides an immersive environment for the exploration of Himalayan art and culture and its connections to contemporary life and ideas through innovative exhibitions, dynamic programs, and diverse educational opportunities. The only stand-alone institution in the U.S. dedicated to the art of Himalayan Asia, the museum holds one of the world’s most important collections of the paintings and sculptures of Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, and Bhutan, and provides a bridge between the cultures of the region and other cultures worldwide.