''Tulku'' is a 2009
documentary film, written and directed by Gesar Mukpo. The film details the personal experiences of five young Western men who were identified in childhood as being
tulku
A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor.
High-profile examples ...
s, or
reincarnated Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
masters.
For over 700 years tulkus have been sought out as highly revered leaders and teachers of Tibetan Buddhism. Beginning in the 1970s, several tulkus have been identified as having incarnated in the West. These new, Western-born, very modern tulkus lead lives prone to culture clash and identity confusion.
Background
Gesar Mukpo, who wrote and directed ''Tulku'', was born in 1973, the son of world-renowned Tibetan Buddhist master
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his British wife Diana. At the age of three, Mukpo was identified by
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Tashi Paljor, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche () (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and recognized by Buddhists as one of the greatest realized masters. Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 198 ...
as the reincarnation of the late Shechen Kongtrul Rinpoche (the
Jamgon Kongtrul
Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (, 1813–1899), also known as Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, poet, artist, physician, tertön and polymath.Jackson, Roger R. The Tibetan Leonardo, 2012, https://www.lionsroar.com/the ...
of Shechen), one of his own father's teachers in Tibet.
[''Tulku'' – Q&A with Director/Writer Gesar Mukpo]
/ref> Three-year-old Gesar was then enthroned
Enthroned is a Belgian black metal band formed in Charleroi. It is one of the premier acts of the Belgian black metal scene.
History
The band was founded in 1993 by drummer Cernunnos. He soon recruited guitarist Tsebaoth and a vocalist from g ...
as a tulku
A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor.
High-profile examples ...
in Berkeley, California.
In the film, Mukpo's British mother describes her scandalous marriage to a Tibetan monk, and her vision in a dream of a being who asked to be her son. When Gesar was born and was identified as a tulku, his father believed he could be a great teacher, but did not send him away to a monastery, believing it would separate him from his environment too much.
Mukpo, who grew up internationally, and whose father died in 1987, lives an ordinary secular life in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
. He has a daughter, is separated from his wife, and is a music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
director and producer. Aware of the irony of his situation and the ambiguity of his life purpose, in the film he sets out to interview other Western tulkus to see if their disorientation is similar to his own, and to see how each has coped with the unique status of Western-born tulku. Mukpo travels to various locations to interview other young Western tulkus and the significant people in their lives. In the process, he relates his own life story and dilemmas as well.
Synopsis
Gesar Mukpo begins by interviewing a fellow Canadian, Dylan Henderson, who was the first Caucasian tulku discovered in the West, recognized in 1975 by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche as the incarnation of one of his teachers. The identification was confirmed by Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) was the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Followers believed him to be part of the oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Vajra ...
, the 16th Karmapa
The Karmapa (honorific title '' His Holiness the Gyalwa'' ྒྱལ་བ་, Victorious One''Karmapa'', more formally as ''Gyalwang'' ྒྱལ་དབང་ཀརྨ་པ་, King of Victorious Ones''Karmapa'', and informally as the ' ...
, who requested that Henderson come to the Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek Monastery (), also called the Dharma Chakra Centre, is a gompa located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. It is the seat-in-exile of the Gyalwang Karmapa, inaugurated in 1966 by the 16th Karmapa. It is also a focal p ...
in India for the rest of his life. Chögyam Trungpa, however, recommended that he remain in the West. Henderson maintains his Buddhist studies and practices, but without the form and structure present in the East. He has a degree in anthropology and history.
In New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Mukpo visits his younger half-brother Ashoka Mukpo, who was also identified as a tulku. Ashoka, like Gesar, leads a secular life, working in the U.S. division of Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
. Although he has not adopted the life of a Buddhist tulku, he has a thangka
A ''thangka'', variously spelled as ''thangka'', ''tangka'', ''thanka'', or ''tanka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा), is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, ...
wall-hanging portrait of his previous incarnation, Khamyon Rinpoche, in his apartment. Ashoka was enthroned as a tulku in Tibet, and found the experience, as well as the expectations of others, very intense and at times uncomfortable. He feels his path is not to be a teacher, wearing monk's robes, but rather to help others and give back in ways appropriate to his location and culture.
Mukpo visits the Tibetan refugee colony of Bir in Northern India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
, which since the 1950s has welcomed fleeing Tibetans after the Chinese occupation of Tibet. He interviews his mentor , with whom he studied in India instead of attending college. Khyentse, who is a filmmaker ('' The Cup'', ''Travelers and Magicians
''Travellers and Magicians''; Wylie: ''chang hub thengs gcig gi 'khrul snang''; literally: "''once upon a time hallucinating on a sip of wine''" is a 2003 Bhutanese Dzongkha-language film written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, writer and directo ...
'') as well as a Buddhist master, speaks about the development of the tulku system, and also about its flaws and possible failings, especially as Buddhism spreads in the West. Mukpo describes his own internal conflict between his Buddhist side and his Western side, lamenting both the seeming incongruousness of the practice when he became a teen and wanted to fit in, and the pressure and obligation he has felt because he bears the designation of tulku.
Mukpo meets a 20-year-old from San Francisco, Wyatt Arnold, who has been studying the Tibetan language in India for the past year. Arnold was identified as a tulku as a young child and enthroned at the age of five. He was slated to go to India at that time, but his parents decided against it. Arnold speaks about his early memories of his former incarnation, and about his fond memories of his childhood Tibetan Buddhist teacher in the U.S., Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Chagdud Tulku (, 1930–2002) was a Tibetan teacher of the Nyingma school of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, and his skill ...
. Arnold seems youthfully conflicted about his role and task,[Hill, Lizzy]
"Two Worlds for ''Tulku''."
'' The Coast''. September 24, 2009. and seeks advice and feedback from Mukpo, who is 14 years his senior.
In Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, Mukpo visits the Shechen Monastery
Shechen Monastery () is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It was originally located in Kham, Tibet, but was destroyed in the late 1950s during the Cultural Revolution and was rebuilt in Nepal in ...
. This brings back fond memories: When Mukpo was 15, his father died, and his mother sent him there to study with Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Tashi Paljor, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche () (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and recognized by Buddhists as one of the greatest realized masters. Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 198 ...
for a year. While in Nepal, Mukpo also interviews Reuben Derksen, who was born in Amsterdam in 1986, raised in Nepal and Bhutan, and recognized as a tulku at the age of 11. Derksen is the most cynical of all the young tulkus Mukpo interviews, having had a largely negative experience at the Tibetan Buddhist monastery in India he lived at for three years following high school. Although he no longer considers himself a Buddhist, he still goes back annually to emcee the weeklong Buddhist ceremony in Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
, mainly because his presence makes the people there so happy.
Returning home to Halifax and his family, Mukpo reflects upon his life and upon the experiences of the tulkus and teachers he has interviewed. He admits that there are no easy answers to the complications and contradictions of being a Westerner identified as a Tibetan tulku in a modern, rapidly changing world. One compensation to the culture conflict is the meaningful connection formed to beloved teachers, communities, and heritages. Speaking about his fellow Western tulkus, he concludes, "There is no certain path for any of us, other than the path of self-discovery."
Cast
*Gesar Mukpo
*Dylan Henderson
*Ashoka Mukpo
*
*Wyatt Arnold
*Ogyen Trinley Dorje
Ogyen Trinley Dorje (, ; born 26 June 1985), also written as Urgyen Trinley Dorje () is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa.
The Karmapa is head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Ogyen Trinley Dor ...
*Reuben Adrian Derksen
*Diana Mukpo
Production
To fund the film, Gesar Mukpo approached the National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
, as part of the Reel Diversity Competition for emerging filmmakers of colour. According to Mukpo:
''Tulku'' took two years to complete, and was shot on location in Nova Scotia, Florida, New York City, India, and Nepal. While Mukpo was filming in Bir, two local Westerners offered to take him and his cameraman paragliding for free, resulting in beautiful aerial shots of Northern India. The film also features rare archival footage from Tibet, and archival footage and photographs of Tibetan masters such as Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) was the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Followers believed him to be part of the oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Vajra ...
, and Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Chagdud Tulku (, 1930–2002) was a Tibetan teacher of the Nyingma school of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, and his skill ...
.
The soundtrack to the film includes two prominently featured songs by Don Brownrigg: "In It", and "Remember Home".
Release, broadcast, and DVD
''Tulku'' premiered on May 25, 2009, at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival
The DOXA Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is held annually held for 10 days in May, and is presented by The Documentary Media Society, a non-profit organization.
The festiva ...
. It was also an official selection at the Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October.
The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...
, the International Buddhist Film Festival The International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF) is a presenter of Buddhist-themed and Buddhist-inspired cinema. IBFF includes films of all kinds: dramas, documentaries, comedies, animation, experimental work, children's films, music videos, and tele ...
, the Buddhist Film Festival Europe, the Atlantic Film Festival
FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (known as The Atlantic International Film Festival until 2017) is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN is the largest Canadian film festival eas ...
, and the Calgary International Film Festival
The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October.
CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. The Festival's ...
.
The film was televised on August 10, 2010 on the CBC News Network
CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. As Canada's first all-news channel, it is th ...
's program, ''The Passionate Eye
''The Passionate Eye'' is a Canadian documentary television series—and online playlist—that showcases documentary programming from around the world focusing on topics of news, current affairs, politics, and social issues. Airing on CBC News ...
''. The film also screened at Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...
on August 18, 2010.
The special edition DVD of the film was released in March 2011 by Festival Media. The DVD includes 60 minutes of bonus features, including a 35-minute uncut in-depth interview with , and a candid 20-minute post-film interview with Gesar Mukpo reflecting on the film and his life and place in the world.
Critical reception
''Tulku'' has received favorable print reviews. ''Shambhala Sun
''Lion's Roar'' (previously ''Shambhala Sun'') is an independent, bimonthly magazine (in print and online) that offers a nonsectarian view of "Buddhism, Culture, Meditation, and Life". Presented are teachings from the Buddhist and other contemplat ...
'' called it "intensely personal",
– Review in ''Shambhala Sun
''Lion's Roar'' (previously ''Shambhala Sun'') is an independent, bimonthly magazine (in print and online) that offers a nonsectarian view of "Buddhism, Culture, Meditation, and Life". Presented are teachings from the Buddhist and other contemplat ...
'' and ''
The Coast'' described the documentary as "both inspiring and, like Mukpo, endearingly down to earth."
Angela Pressburger, daughter of famed British filmmaker
Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger (born Imre József Pressburger; 5 December 19025 February 1988) was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collaborat ...
, deemed ''Tulku'' an "intimate and honest exploration". Writing in the ''
Shambhala Times'', she also observed, at the film's premiere:
See also
*''
Unmistaken Child
''Unmistaken Child'' is a 2008 independent documentary film, which follows a Tibetan Buddhist monk's search for the reincarnation of his beloved teacher, a world-renowned lama. It was directed by Nati Baratz.
Plot
The documentary follows a Tibeta ...
''
*''
My Reincarnation
''My Reincarnation'' is a 2011 documentary film directed by Jennifer Fox. It is a drama between father and son, spanning two decades and three generations. The film addresses spirituality, cultural survival, identity, heritage, family, growing int ...
''
*
Rinpoche
Rinpoche, also spelled Rimboche and Rinboku (), is an honorific term used in the Tibetan language. It literally means "precious one", and may refer to a person, place, or thing—like the words "gem" or "jewel" (Sanskrit: ''Ratna'').
The word con ...
References
External links
''Tulku'' – Official site''Tulku''at the
Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
*
{{Clear
2009 films
2009 documentary films
Films about reincarnation
Documentary films about spirituality
Documentary films about Buddhism
English-language Canadian films
National Film Board of Canada documentaries
2000s English-language films
2000s Canadian films