The documentary starts with a brief account of how a boy from a village in Tibet is discovered as the 13th Dalai Lama and brought to Lhasa. The boy holds a secret. And it is this revelation that slowly sinks in as you watch the three decades of footage unfold.
Release Info:
Kanopy (https://www.kanopy.com/product/dalai-lama-scientist)
Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thedalailamascientist)
Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Dalai_Lama_Scientist?id=6eGGAyMX5c4.P)
His holiness the Dalai Lama's love for science is the main theme of the documentary. Actual footage has been used very well with voice-overs, without diluting how Dalai Lama experiences the conversations. The discussions span across topics like Cosmology, Quantum Physics, Cognitive science, Neuroscience, Molecular biology and Genetics. After going through a specific science, its attributes are compared to Buddhist principles. Rather than condescending (except few places) that the scriptures have been way ahead of science, there is an introspection of the religion itself and enquiry into the science behind its principles. Several concepts like Schrodinger's cat, particle and wave nature of light, big bang, quantum computing etc are explained with illustration. There are conversations with eminent scientists and luminaries like Arthur Zajonc, Richard J Davidson, Daniel Goleman, Francisco Varela, Aaron Beck, Mitchel Bitbol among many others.
Animation is used to bring to life some of the incidents from Dalai Lama's childhood. Tibet is a place with great natural beauty and the cinematography has made use of this is in the outdoor shots.
The content more or less is divided equally between science and Buddhism, and the viewers will appreciate the documentary more if they have inclination to both. It is interesting to note that other religious practitioners are also included in the discussions. The future of the religious order seems to be heading in the right direction. His holiness the Dalai Lama is able to go from science to philosophy within the same sentence and it is a treat to watch this unfold in scientific discussions.
It is one thing to be inquisitive about the world around you, but it is totally another ball game to be having deep discussions with scientists at the forefront of their fields and creating personal bonds with them for the love of science. Religion many times has the bad name of keeping its followers entangled within the borders of its doctrine, however unscientific it may seem. But here we see a religious leader ready to explore the latest science and evaluate the religious teachings from that perspective.
In my opinion, ‘Connoisseur of science' would have been a more appropriate title in comparison to ‘Scientist'. Without this documentary, this unique aspect of the Nobel prize winning Dalai Lama would have been missed by the general public. The appreciation duly goes to the makers Dawn Gifford and Ivan Suvanjieff for this.
