Children of the Dalailama

At the time I was fascinated by Buddhist teachings. I attended many lectures and met Buddhist teachers. I was inspired by Werner Herzog‘s documentary “Wheel of Time” (2003). The title refers to the Kalachakra sand mandala that provides a recurring image for the film.

In one scene Werner Herzog was focusing on the sound of the tools which monks were carrying when creating sand mandalas. I had this vision for a long time and I wanted to use this idea in my documentary. 

I found out that making a documentary about Tibetans living in Warsaw would be a way to present some of their spiritual culture and of creating sand mandala. Creating colorful sand madalas has a deep symbolic meaning. It is a symbol of impermanence. Mandalas are created with great care and patience with total awareness that soon  they will be destroyed.

During the filming I meet Lama Khandro Rinpoche, who gave lectures at the Buddhist Center in Grabnik. I attended her lectures in Copenhagen while I was living there. She was perfectly prepared to present herself in front of the camera. It turned out that once she had once studied journalism. Her buddhist inner peace could be supported by her journalistic skills in explaining the impermanence of every aspect of our life.

“Children of Dalailama” was aired on TVP Kultura dozens of times.