[Opening with Tibetan music]
[ The hard sound of wore-shippers scrapping along the hard road ]
[ Interpreter ] - Where are you from?
- from the Riko monastery
[ Int.] -How long have you been doing this?
- For one year.
[ Int. ] - Where are you going? - To Lasha
[ Int.] -But it is at least 300 miles to Lasha. How long it will take you?
[ Int] - About 3 months.
[ Int.] - How many prostration you do a day?
[ Int. ] - About 3000
[ Int. ] - A day? - Less than 4 miles.
[ Female Narrator ] -Prostrations are spiritual exercises.
It cleanses people of egotism, greed, aggression and ignorance.
[ Local voices of prayers ]
[ Male Narrator ] -Tibetans make a pilgrimage to Lhasa just once in their lives
There they pray for their spiritual leaders; who fled the Country in
1959 in the face of Chinese treats to destroy them.
They honour and venerate Karnapa. Gyalwang Karmapa.
The head of a long established Kagyu line in Tibete.
Older than the Sect of the Dalai Lama.
Kamapa marched with more than 100 monks over the Himalayas into exile.
Untse? Karmapa's tutor, quickly formed a new monastic community.
And the ancient traditional teachings of Tibetan Buddhism continued to florish.
[ Many voices ]
[ Fem. Narrator ]This place is called Rumtek, a monestary Sikkim which
was then a little Buddhist kingdom,
North of India, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas.
The Rumtek monastery became the new headquarters of Karmapa in exile.
[ Male Narrator ] - Karmapa is the holder of the black crown; a
symbol of his mastership. he is the living link of an undropping chain of enlighted
beings back to the historical Buddha Shakyamouni who lived in India
in 700 BC. He is Buddha. Buddah Shakyamouni, transmits his experiences
to his people, who also became enlighted and are able to help thei pupils or
so to reach the stage of self liberation.
In the 12th century, this chain of enlighten beings, led to
the 1st Karmapa. Who then developed the unique ability to predict exactly and
in writing his own reincarnation. As did the 2nd Karmapa and
the 3rd and so fourth up to him
the present the 16th of reincarnation.
of Karmapa. He died 1n 1991 at the age of 57. His body was
cremated at Rumetk monestary. It was a State funeral. nd mourners
gather from all corners of the earth.
Karmapa has millions of followers.
He left behind 4 number of representatives or interim regents.
Sharma on the right, Tai Sitou on the left, Jamgon and Gyaltsab,
the youngest of the interim regents.
Rainbows over the blue sky of Sikkim. In Tibete a sure sign of an enlighten
being has left its body. In Buddhism death is not the end.
Karmapa died with the promise that he would give a clear sign by which
he could be recognised in his new life.
But for a long time no more clues were found.
Until eleven years later.
[ Dalai Lama ] - I've got something new. I've dreamed of the location, the area
where the person is born... One valley is next...
to the stones and lawns...actually it looks high altitude...and then facing the South
there are some streams...small beautiful streams... and then there is a main...
the picture. There is someone there...and it
told me... actually without its form.... that someone...some source, you see, telling
to me : ''This is the place! Where Karmapa was born.
[ Fem. Narrator ] where could this place be?
How could it be found?
[ Tromp Music + ]
[ Male narrator ] - Here in northern India, is where Taï Sitou, one of Karmapas
of 4 interim regents made an interesting disovery.
[ Sound of a box being open ]
[ Male narrator] - pressured by the faithful that hope and expected Karmapa has
left some clues behind, Sitou felt that he should open the talisman
Karmapa had given him 10 months,
before his death with the words: ''this will protect you and some day it will be useful.
His Sanctity has given me this protection. ...pouch.... In early January 1981.
And one day it was sneaking here... I opened that and found an envelope.
And the envelope had red ink letter saying that this should be opened
in the iron horse year. And then I was very very happy.
And then after the , after I offer the letter to Rumtek...it would be taken
in March 1982.
[ Male narrator ] - Traditionally such talisman are never opened; but since no one had
found any indication of Karmapa's rebirth, he decided to open it, afterall.
[ someone ]- But the letter is still... [ Taï Sitou ]- The letter is in Rumtek, yes. the
envelope and the letter, both. It's in alter.
[ Male narrator ] - here in the Rumtek monastery, in the late heathquarters of
the late Karmapa, this most important and holy document is protected by
the secret police; those from outside and inside.
Absolutely no one has access to it.
Only Karmapa himself when he returns his new reencarnation
has the right to break these seals.
[ Sitou ] - But I have a copy here of the sacred letter and
this is in Tibetanian; so i read this:
[ Translation of reading by Sitou ] - Self awareness is always blessed.
A diamong dirt has no centre or edge; from here to the North
and East of the land of snow is a country where divine
thunders spontaneous blazes.
In a good nomads place
with a sign of a cow.
"methode is Deundroub and wisdom is Lolaga."
Born in the year one used for the earth.
with miraculous far reaching sound of the the white one.
This system is known as karmapa.
He is sustained by a lord Droupa.
Being no sectarian he prevades in all directions.
Staying close to some and distant from others
he is the protector of all beings.
[ Sitou ] -When I discovered these I was very pleased. and actually it
was a tremendous relief; it was
exactly the blessing and also
inspiration of the highest aspect.
In which we have been waiting
and we were finally blessed by it.
So I was very very happy.
[ Sound of a bell ]
[ Narrator ] - This letter was interpreted by Gyaltsab on the left
Jamgon, Sitou and Sharmapa on the right, workinng together.
They al came to a unanimous conclusion which Gyaltsab
reads to us. [ Translator/narrator male ] - From here to the North in the East of the land
of snow, we interpret here as Rumtek, where Karmapa
wrote the letter. And in the East of the land of snow means
we have to look for him in east Tibet because
land of snow is the Tibetan name for Tibet.
Where dine thunders spontaneous blazes
indicates a district in Eastern Tibet.
''Lha'' means divine and ''Thok'' means thunder.
There is only one community in Eastern Tibet named Lhathok.
The letter describes the area more precisely as a good nomad
place with a sign of a cow.
''Goood'' means a good fertile area
this area must have a name which includes the syllabus ''KOAh''
meaning cow.