🎬 Documentary

The Dalai Lama's Gift

"The extraordinary time in 1981 when one determined monk brought His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Buddhism, to America"

2025 1h 16m Dir. Ed Bastian

About this movie

In 1981, a Buddhist monk teaching at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, made the bold request of the Dalai Lama to come and perform a rare ritual, never before done outside of India or Tibet: the Kalachakra, among the highest of the Buddhist tantric teachings. In just a few months, with a team of dedicated students, and cameras rolling, they constructed a temple and organized an event for over a thousand spiritual seekers, in a cornfield outside Madison. The incredible footage was tucked away in the Smithsonian vaults, until now. What unfolds is the story of a powerful ritual, its impact on the people that made it happen, and the meaning behind this ancient initiation.

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Quick facts

Year
2025
Runtime
1h 16m
Genre
Documentary
Director
Language
EN

Cast

🎭 Documentary 🎬 Ed Bastian 👤 Tenzin Gyatso
buddhism

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Questions about The Dalai Lama's Gift

The Dalai Lama's Gift has a runtime of 1h 16m (1 hour and 16 minutes).
The Dalai Lama's Gift was directed by Ed Bastian and released in 2025.
The Dalai Lama's Gift is a Documentary film (2025).
The cast of The Dalai Lama's Gift includes Tenzin Gyatso.

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