Film Library: Tibet

EXPLORE CHINA (00:48:49 )

• APRIL 2006

Explore went to China on a fact-finding mission led by Charles Annenberg Weingarten, a trustee of the Annenberg Foundation. During the three-week trip, the team discovered many of China's hidden gems: philosophy, art, education, and rural life. They also discovered how the country's hard-working and innovative leaders were working to solve issues of the environment, human rights, and public health.

TIBET (00:09:33)

• APRIL 2006

Journey with the explore team to the spiritual city of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. See Potala Palace, the traditional winter home of the Dalai Lama and a pilgrimage destination for thousands of Buddhists. Listen to the sounds of monks practicing the art of debate at the Sera Monastery, and witness the many ways in which new technologies are changing the Tibetan cultural landscape.

BUDDHIST DEBATE (00:00:57)

• APRIL 2006

In 1419, Jamchen Choje Sakya Yeshe established the Sera Monastery, a monastic university that provides religious education to monks from age 8 up to 70. An integral part of the monks' studies is Buddhist debate. Every afternoon, students gather in an open courtyard to debate the scriptures, using specific gestures (e.g., a downward clap, pull back, push forward) that contain profound meanings.