The Meridian Trust is a charity dedicated to preserving Buddhist culture on film and video. The archive holds over 2,500 hours of footage, focusing primarily on the endangered traditions of Tibet. Our archival footage is available to film and documentary makers, as well as Buddhist students and other interested people.
In the 1980s, at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Meridian Trust began to film many of the old teachers who came out of Tibet, before they passed away. This original filming initiative came to be known as the Lama Project; a total of 600 hours of unique footage was recorded.
This 165-minute film featuring H.H. The Dalai Lama is the first release in a series of DVD films to emerge as part of the Lama Project. The text below sets out the aims and direction of this particular film.
Our basic human nature is compassionate and gentle. H.H. The Dalai Lama describes how compassion is the most precious treasure, and it involves a sense of responsibility for the well being of others. A mother’s first act to her newborn baby is the compassionate offering of milk and this act of compassion is the beginning of our life. Thus our nature is imbued with compassion right from the beginning. His Holiness discusses how when we are being educated the teacher who is affectionate and kind as well as efficient is the teacher we learn most from. The doctor who shows real warm human feelings and genuine concern helps us feel secure and cared for, while a competent doctor who is unfriendly only makes us feel nervous. Therefore our whole life we depend on the affection and loving concern of others, so it is very important to develop love and compassion for others and actively care for them.
The dialogue in this film is a mixture of Tibetan and English. These films will form part of a unique and groundbreaking series of films that will be welcomed the world over not only by those interested in Buddhism but fellow travellers on the road to enlightenment.
Click above to watch video
