Perspective

A little over a year ago Guna Foundation was established in order to create a video and photo archive and to make a documentary  film presenting the inspiring story of Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku’s efforts to preserve, protect and sustain his culture in its darkest hour.

Pema Gellek and I, co-directors of Guna, were asked to document the accomplishments of a momentous 42 years. We quickly learned that while archiving may be straightforward, knowing how to tell a story so enormous in scale and complexity is a formidable challenge. The achievements over this time, measured within humanitarian, organizational, spiritual, or historical contexts, are remarkable.

Our story spans two continents, four decades, and a complex network of organizations that produced, with a small number of dedicated students, a magnitude of work that is di cult to comprehend. The guiding vision, vast and profound, is difficult to communicate. It is a compelling and heroic story that is important to share.

How do you tell such a story? How does one communicate the epic nature of this undertaking, its importance, and its precious contribution to all humankind?

Contemplating the multitude of milestones, the notion of goodness emerges, and with it a deep feeling of breathless awe. How was this possible?

One answer may lie in the lama’s determination to honor and expand the realization of the hidden storehouse of human potential. All who have worked with energy and dedication have been inspired. Each has needed to face and overcome obstacles, short-comings, emotions and negativity. Most have accomplished more than they ever imagined. All have been guided by Rinpoche’s compassion and insight, which provided the right teaching, the right example and the right attitude at the right time.

Countless lamps of compassion and wisdom have been lit on behalf of the Tibetan people and all of humanity. The more I survey the legacy of Rinpoche’s activities, the more I am left in wonder at the giant body of goodness and merit that has been generated for the benefit of present and future generations.

This film is not just the heroic story of Rinpoche’s life and accomplishments, but a work that will bring to light why the survival of the Tibetan civilization, against the most improbable odds, is of decisive importance for all of humanity.

- Barry J. Schieber

Hugh Joswick is a longtime friend of TNMC who spent countless hours of his free time in the Guna Studio lending his video production expertise. Hugh also never hesitated to grant Guna's frequent requests to borrow equipment, allowing us to produce several videos and digitize hundreds of hours of archival material on a shoestring budget.

The Guna Foundation thanks Hugh for his soft-spoken generosity.

Charles Brandt is a friend of the organization who spent several Saturdays in the Guna Studio offering his programming and Flash design skills to help create digital tools for the entire TNMC mandala that would otherwise have been much beyond our budget. Charles also unexpectedly donated 20 hours of his valuable time for our silent auction fundraiser in October.

Charles receives a Gunie for consistently giving more than asked.

Moritz, Barry's Bernese Mountain Dog, is the most abiding presence on the Guna Team. Even when disagreements arise in staff meetings, he remains sprawled out contemplatively on the studio floor, teaching us how to rest calmly (and snore occasionally) amidst conflict. But between naps, he is an extremely capable networker, sniffing out unseen opportunities and shrewdly deploying his adorability to create valuable connections for Guna.

Moritz wins the Gunie for social networking, despite his sub-par keyboarding skills.