Tibetan Buddhism Arrives in the West
Directed by Victress Hitchcock
A WORK IN PROGRESS
From the Producers of BLESSINGS: The Tsoknyi Nangchen
Nuns of Tibet
 “When
the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people
will be scattered like ants across the face of the earth.”
~ 8th century - Guru Padmasambhava
In 1959, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama escapes the Chinese
invasion of Tibet and with his departure and the exodus of many
of the major teachers of all the sects of Tibetan Buddhism—
Buddhadharma, as it was practiced in virtual seclusion
for centuries in the Land of Snow, was suddenly thrust out into
the world.
 
"The coming of Buddhism to
the West may well prove to be the most important event of the
Twentieth Century."
~ Arnold Toynbee, Historian
 Fifty
years later, there are Tibetan Buddhist meditation centers in
every major city in the western world, two three-year retreat
centers in France alone, and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader
of Tibet, has 92,000 followers on Twitter.
When the Iron Bird Flies traces the astounding
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?
"Only if outward and inner
freedom are constantly and consciously pursued is there a possibility
of spiritual development and perfection and thus of improving
man’s outward and inner life."
~ Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years
The team behind this exploration is a group of experienced
filmmakers who are long time Tibetan Buddhist practitioners.
Their background in Dharma has provided access to a wide range
of Buddhist teachers – both Tibetan and Western, male
and female - and informs the questions asked in the film.
Producer, Victress Hitchcock and co-producer Amber Bemak produced
the acclaimed documentary BLESSINGS:
The Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns of Tibet, released in 2009. BLESSINGS
has now been shown at festivals and screenings in over 50 communities
worldwide, from Capetown to Zagreb, Shri Lanka to Newfoundland.
Principle videographers for IRON BIRD are Pablo Bryant (TULKU
& CRAZY WISDOM: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa) and
Sasha Meyerowitz, (THE TEACHINGS OF MILAREPA).
During the past two years of production we have traveled throughout
the U.S., in England, Mexico, Nepal and India filming with many
of the established as well as emerging, teachers of Tibetan
Buddhism in the West. These include ~ Tsoknyi Rinpoche III,
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Choegyal Rinpoche,
Trangu Rinpoche, HH Dalai Lama, HH 17th Karmapa, Dzongsar Khyentse
Rinpoche, Anam Thubten, Phakchok Rinpoche, Khandro Rinpoche
and Mingyur Rinpoche.
Western teachers, scholars and students of Tibetan Buddhadharma
featured in the film include ~ Reggie Ray, Lama Tsultrim, Alan
Wallace, Gerardo Abboud, Elizabeth Mattis – Namgyal, Fleet
Maull, Richard Gere, Marcia Binder-Schmidt, Sharon Salzberg,
Matthieu Ricard, Gene Smith and Dr. Richard Davison.
We are now in postproduction on WHEN THE IRON BIRD
FLIES. In order to reach our goal of completing and releasing
the film in early 2012, we need your support!
Please consider contributing online through PayPal.
If you would like to make a larger tax deductible donation
through our fiscal sponsors, Please contact us at –
ironbird@chariotvideos.com.
If you would like to hold a fundraising party in your community,
please contact Victress Hitchcock - victress@chariotvideos.com.
Keep up with our progress on our WHEN
THE IRON BIRD FLIES Facebook page.
For more information on the project, contact Victress Hitchcock
at victress@chariotvideos.com
or at 719 256-5602. |
Click here to view a trailer of When the Iron Bird Flies.
Click
here to see a 15 minute selected scenes edit at vimeo.com.
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FLIES mailing list.
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