Save the date! Blue Mountain Dharma will resume it educational film series, screening Khyentse Norbu’s acclaimed film, The Cup, on the evening of Thursday, August 26,* when we will also host a benefit in honor of our teacher, Venerable Tenzin Gephel. The event is free, and will be held outdoors at 1620 E Market Street, pictured below. All with an interest in Tibetan culture and Buddhism are welcome to attend. The film will be followed by a lively seminar-style discussion featuring, we hope, its director by Zoom.

We will be seeking donations as part of this event. Blue Mountain Dharma is a small, all volunteer, non-profit that depends on contributions from its members and general community to host our resident teacher, Venerable Gephel, who has resumed teaching after a long illness. We ask for those who can make a contribution to be generous—and to help fill Blue Mountain Dharma’s own “cup,” in support of our beloved teacher.

*We will be announcing an alternative date, should rain be in the forecast.

About The Cup

The Cup (1999) is a Tibetan-language film directed by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, a highly realized Tibetan/Bhutanese lama, filmmaker, and writer, who has described his work in cinema as akin to creating a modern-day mandala. Shown to great acclaim at the Cannes film festival, The Cup tells the life story Tibetan refugee novice monks living in a remote Himalayan monastery, who sometimes find themselves more absorbed by the world of soccer than by the monastery’s elaborate rituals and formal teachings. This beautifully shot, lighthearted comedy follows their escapades and the challenges brought about by modernization, while revealing the inner day-to-day workings of the monastic community. Described as “the best glimpse of . . . Tibetan Buddhist culture yet to make it to the screen,” this movie shows how dharma lessons must be lived, to be understood. Running time: 93 minutes.

About Blue Mountain Dharma & our resident teacher

Blue Mountain Dharma is a non-profit organization administered by a staff of volunteers. Our resident teacher, Venerable Tenzin Gephel, was born in northern India in 1960, a year after his parents escaped from Tibet. At 13, he took monk’s robes at Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala, and received his ordination vows from H.H. Dalai Lama. In 1997, he joined Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies in Ithaca, NY where he served as a resident teacher and led retreats. He simultaneously served as the Buddhist Chaplain at Cornell University for ten years. He recently resumed teaching after recovering from a grave illness, and offers weekly meditation instruction, as well as dharma teachings every other week. For more information, please see Blue Mountain Dharma’s event schedule.