Tashi and the Monk - HBO -2014

On a remote mountaintop a brave social experiment is taking place. Buddhist Monk Lobsang was trained under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama but 8 years ago he left behind a life as a spiritual teacher in the United States to create a unique community in the foothills of the Himalayas which rescues orphaned and neglected children.

5 year-old Tashi is the newest arrival. Her mother recently passed away and she’s been abandoned by her alcoholic father. Wild and troubled, Tashi is struggling to find her place amongst 84 new siblings.

Lobsang has channeled his own unhappy childhood into an opportunity for other ‘uninvited guests of the universe’ to avoid a similar fate. But Can the community’s love and compassion transform Tashi’s alienation and tantrums into a capacity to make her first real friend?

Eight years ago Buddhist monk Lobsang Phuntsok, hand-picked by the Dalai Lama to share Tibetan Buddhism with the West, felt called to leave a life as a spiritual teacher in the US and return to the region of his birth to try and rescue children from suffering. Since then he has created a unique community in the foothills of the Himalayas called Jhamtse Gatsal (Tibetan for ‘The Garden of Love and Compassion'), which provides a permanent home for 85 orphaned or abandoned children all learning to live compassionately.

Lobsang has channeled his own unhappy childhood into an opportunity for these ‘uninvited guests of the universe’ to avoid a similar fate. Driven by a longing to experience being part of a family, he has become for the children at Jhamtse Gatsal something he never had – a father.

Perched on a remote mountaintop and surrounded by poverty, today the community is stretched beyond capacity and Lobsang faces the heartbreaking task of weighing the requests he receives for new kids to join. During the film he is confronted by the very real consequences of his decisions: a local eleven-year-old boy who he turned down two years ago for a place in the community commits suicide. In a nearby village another young boy’s father dies suddenly and his family, unable to cope, plead with Lobsang to take him in. Within the community he is challenged by concerns from staff that any further expansion will compromise their ability to help the kids they already have.

Alongside Lobsang’s work, the film tells the story of Tashi Drolma, Jhamtse’s newest arrival who recently lost her mother and was abandoned by her alcoholic father. A wild and troubled five-year-old, Tashi Drolma is a big personality in a small body. Despite (or because of) her challenging temperament, she is thrillingly alive.

Tashi struggles initially to find her place amongst 84 new siblings. Gradually, as Lobsang and the community work their magic, we witness her transformation from alienation and tantrums into someone capable of making her first real friend.

The atmosphere of warmth and support at Jhamtse Gatsal provides a backdrop to the unfolding stories. Full of children who elsewhere might be classified as ‘at risk’ after experiencing often unimaginable trauma in their short lives, this is the kind of institution that in the West would be staffed by psychologists and social workers relying on an arsenal of medication to keep their charges under control. Here the staff have no formal training and children are simply invited to become active members of a community and participants in their own and each other’s healing. The results are remarkable.

In a region where the only prospects are a life in the fields or breaking rocks beside the road, the lucky few at Jhamtse are given a shot at something much greater – the chance to become, in Lobsang’s words, “amazing human beings.”

Nestled deep within the foothills of the Himalayas, Jhamtse Gatsai is one of the most extraordinary and inspiring communities you're likely to witness. It's led by Buddhist Monk Lobsang, a renowned spiritual teacher who works to create a reality of love and acceptance for children who have been abused or orphaned. Tashi and the Monk follows that mission as it relates to one of the newest arrivals to his commune - a reluctant five-year old girl who's endured unimaginable neglect and tragedy during her brief life. By the time Tashi enters the community, she has suffered the death of her mother and abandonment by her alcoholic father. The youngest resident, she is ill-tempered and aggressive with many of her adolescent co-habitants.

Lobsang's approach does not rely on professional psychologists, prescription medications or any of the often misguided remedies set forth by modern medicine. He's more interested in building an environment that nourishes the soul. With tremendous patience and a graceful, calming manner, he empowers Tashi and the more than 80 additional children under his counsel to appreciate the gift that is their lives. He infuses them with a generosity of spirit and a shared sense of purpose, and unlocks within them an awareness of their own potential.

Tashi's journey is intercut with scenes of Lobsang as he rallies the support of his teenaged residents to act as mentors to the newcomers, and as he gently declines the pleas of several families who beg for his assistance with their own wayward children. He's operating on limited resources, and he cannot jeopardize the delicate sanctity of the environment he's cultivated. We learn of the struggles he suffered through his own suppressive upbringing, and his initial inspirations for creating the commune after serving under the tutelage of the Dalai Lama.

From the splendid photography of its awe-inspiring natural setting to its appealing musical score, the technical aspects of the film are uniformly impressive. But the beating heart of Tashi and the Monk - and the reason why it will linger with viewers long after its conclusion - is the rare opportunity to see a child find her hope again. It's a touching tribute to the transformative power of compassion.

Directed by: Andrew Hinton, Johnny Burke