The Gyalwang Drukpa and Michelle Yeoh Walk the Red Carpet for International Film

[icy]

Read the Gyalwang Drukpa and his 700 monks and nuns and followers are in a film "A Green Odyssey" with Michelle Yeoh.  This is a big cast and I truly rejoice the Drukpas are making it big on the screen with a famous hollywood star to bring awareness to green planet at the same time funding the Gyalwang Drukpa's activities, a big time.  I would love to watch this film.



Michelle Yeoh, globally-renowned award-winning Hollywood actress walked the red carpet at International Film Festival of India. Michelle was the Chief Guest at the IFFI closing ceremony, and her film Pad Yatra - A Green Odyssey was also screened at IFFI. Michelle was accompanied by her spiritual master 'the Gyalwang Drukpa' who is the spiritual head of Drukpa Buddhists, and it is the Padyatra (walking pilgrimage) led by this great master that the film is based upon.
     
Michelle Yeoh - Executive Producer
Director and Producer - Wendy JN Lee
Cinematographer - Ngawang Sodpa
Main cast - The Gyalwang Drukpa with ~700 monks, nuns and followers

PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey, with Michelle Yeoh as Executive Producer, captures the adventure of 700 people trekking across the Himalayas, sometimes in sub-zero temperatures with a call to save the planet's "3rd Pole," a glacial region now devastated by the climate chaos associated with global warming. The trek was made even more hazardous by rock slides and a freak snowstorm.

Speaking on the film, Michelle Yeoh said, "The film attempts to capture your mind, and bring about a perceivable change in the way we respond towards nature. I am batting for the environment - are you?"
This Padyatra (and many more), are an annual initiative undertaken by Live to Love, a global humanitarian organization under guidance and active lead of His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, spiritual head of Drukpa Buddhists based in the Himalayas and founder - patron of Live to Love. His Holiness annually leads a team of around a 1000 monks, nuns and followers on walking pilgrimages, covering some 500 kms in 30 days - bonding with nature, and spreading the message of environment consciousness and peace. The journey is punctuated by spiritual insights amidst the obstacles along the way, renewing ancient wisdom for a modern context.

Speaking about the Padyatra, the Gyalwang Drukpa said, "The Padyatra is a call for action. Let us stop talking, and let us all take our small step towards a sustainable environmental practice. It was but a small step that landed mankind on the moon, and its steps like these that will ensure that we leave a greener and cleaner environment for the future generations."

Fighting illness, injuries, and starvation at altitudes above 17,000 ft, the story of PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey is told through the perils and adventures the trekkers face as they struggle through the most treacherous terrain on the planet.

Battling the most treacherous terrain on the planet, the trekkers spread their message of ecological compassion through human's most basic means - by walking on foot, village to village, and showing by example.

Surviving harrowing injuries, illness, and starvation, they emerge with nearly half a ton of plastic litter strapped to their backs, triggering an historic green revolution across the rooftop of the world.
Pad Yatra has won ten International Awards, including Best Documentary and Audience Award Winner at three different festivals, and has been shown at numerous other festivals and at special screenings. It is a film that truly deserves to be seen and contemplated. Beyond its theatrical, festival, and special screenings, we hope that it will find a place on television, presumably on the Public Broadcasting Service, where it most certainly will find a sizeable audience, and catalyse far-reaching action and resultant positive impact on the environment.

[DS Star]

Wow this is truly inspiring. Their collective efforts are amazing and deserve to be rewarded.

His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, with his students and followers, use their actions to send this utmost important environmental message of preserving our earth to the world.

By engaging and successfully completed the energy sapping and mind boggling Padyatra (walking pilgrimage), they showed their compassion-in-action of saving humankind and other beings.

Yes we hear you, Your Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, action does speaks louder than words.

I salute and rejoice in this very meaningful efforts.

[cookie]

It is GREAT to be able to showcase the Dharma ,( in this case the correct action taken towards preserving the environment for the future generations) in an international award winning platform . With this type of platform the message will reach more people and hopefully positive changes in having the correct attitude towards  the environment will take place . Small steps to reach bigger goals.
It is also wonderful to have globally renowned award winning personalities like Michelle Yeo to produce and support such good causes. Kudos to Gyalwang Drukpa and his sangha for working hard to enlighten the world on the need to live and love the environment or else KARMA will set in and the beautiful earth we have will be destroyed by humankind .

[Manjushri]

I love it when celebrities, or people who have some sort of influence in the community, highlight and promote something worthy of promoting to benefit many instead of using their fame to continue to self promote and further indulge. Angelina Jolie who used and continues to use her life to promote humanitarian issues, Princess Diana who dedicated her life with charitable works, Christopher Reeves, Lanse Amstrong, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere to name a few use their names to promote, help and support different causes for the betterment of society.

I can't wait to watch the film. But besides the point, thought I'd share some information here about HH Gyalwang Drukpa and the Drukpa lineage here as I didn't know what it was:

The Gyalwang Drukpa is the honorific title of the head of the Drukpa school, one of the independent Sarma (new) schools of Tibetan Buddhism. This lineage of reincarnated masters started from Tsangpa Gyare, the first Gyalwang Drukpa and founder of the school. The present Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen is the twelfth lineage holder.

The Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origin back to the primordial Buddha Vajradhara (Dorje Chang in Tibetan) through an unbroken line of masters.
The early founders of the lineage include the great teachers Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa, Rechungpa, Phagmo Drupa and Lingchen Repa. Lingchen Repa was the guru of the first Gyalwang Drukpa, Tsangpa Gyare.

Tsangpa Gyare was recognized as the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan Chenrezig) in human form, as well as an incarnation of the first Buddhist King of Tibet, Songsten Gampo, of the great saint Naropa and of Milarepa's sun-like disciple Gampopa.

The Drukpa Lineage spread throughout Tibet, Ladakh, Northern India and Bhutan, and is renowned for the pure qualities of its practitioners and the numerous yogis who have attained enlightenment.

Following the death of the Fourth Gyalwang Drukpa, Pema Karpo, there were two reincarnations, as he prophesized. One, Pagsam Wangpo, remained in Central Tibet with the patronage of the King of Tsang. The other, Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, went to Bhutan after seeing in vision the deity Mahakala offering him the Kingdom. In Bhutan, the Drukpa lineage is now the official religious order of the state. Ever since Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal appointed Pekar Jungne as the first Je Khenpo, the spiritual head of all monasteries in Bhutan, the successive Je Khenpos have acted as the Spiritual Regents of Bhutan.

[extracted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyalwang_Drukpa]

For more information, please refer here:

http://www.drukpa.org/index.php/en/drukpa-order

[Manisha Kudo]

Thank you for sharing this inspiring news. Can't wait to watch this movie.

But what I am looking forward to is a movie on DS, which would bring international attention to the ban!