Vajra Sky Over Tibet

Vajra (Vaj-ra) is a Sanskrit word: the thunderbolt of awakening. Vajrayana is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet.

VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET is a cinematic pilgrimage bearing witness to the indomitable faith of Tibet’s Buddhist community and the ultimate threat to its very survival. It is one of the rare documentaries actually filmed in Tibet and has received the blessing and endorsement of the Dalai Lama.

Set against a backdrop of breathtaking Himalayan terrain, this feature-length documentary offers a direct experience of some of the most revered temples, monasteries and festivals still surviving in Tibet today. Filming only in natural light, director/cinematographer John Bush traveled inconspicuously as part of a two-person crew along with a Tibetan guide and driver.

VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET presents the endangered Buddhist tradition of Tibet and its contemporary relevance. Luminous faces of faith glow in the flicker of butterlamp offerings within Lhasa’s 1500 year old Jokhang Temple. Going through a mountain pass of 17,000 feet into a land of snow peaks, turquoise lakes and golden blossoms, the nephew of The Dalai Lama narrates a 17th century Tibetan poet’s meditations on the natural mind.

Bush bridges both the spiritual and political stories of Tibet as they are so inextricably bound together. If people in the West are being called upon to help save Tibet, the film wishes to show why this endangered culture is worth saving.

In May of 2006, the chief Chinese leader in Tibet publicly stated they are in a "fight to the death struggle" against the Dalai Lama. The Party Secretary described him as "the biggest obstacle hindering Tibetan Buddhism." Four years in the making, VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET holds up a mirror to these provocative statements.

The film reveals a 21st century policy initiated by the Chinese government intended to suffocate this faith within its own home. Photos of the Dalai Lama are now illegal everywhere in Tibet. The atheist leaders of China are now maneuvering to install their own “reincarnated” Dalai Lama after the present Dalai Lama passes away. The film reports that in July of this year the Chinese government completed a rail system over the mountains into Tibet with the first train from Beijing arriving in Lhasa. Tibetans fear that the thousands of Chinese arriving daily is the ultimate threat to the very survival of their identity. Director John Bush was also visiting the source of his own spiritual practice of the last thirty-five years.

As a western Buddhist filmmaker, he was allowed unprecedented access. Many doors opened to him and his camera as Tibetans wanted the world to know their exquisite traditions are still alive but on the verge of extinction.

Visiting these esteemed pilgrimage sites, one glimpses the extraordinary art, architecture and traditions of classical Tibet. Responding to the denial of the human right to practice one's religion without interference, Tibetan pilgrims visit these legendary venues with a defiant ardor and overt displays of devotion. The portrayals of The Potala and Norbulinka, the empty palaces of the Dalai Lama, echo the Tibetans painful loss of the teacher they believe to be their living Buddha. During the Drepung festival, a giant tapestry of Buddha covers a mountainside as spiritually famished Chinese join with the multitude of Tibetan pilgrims. This powerful closing scene invokes a redemptive vision of renewal for this tradition.

The director chose not to include any interviews with people in Tibet because of possible reprisals. VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET presents the narration of Tenzin L Choegyal - The Dalai Lama’s nephew, the acclaimed singer Dadon, who escaped Tibet while pregnant over the Himalayas to India, and filmmaker John Bush.

The film’s evocative soundtrack features many of Tibet's greatest musicians and singers, overtone monastic chanting and an original Harmonic Chant score by renowned film composer David Hykes.

VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET had its first public screenings at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. It has since appeared at numerous festivals including in Competition at The Bangkok Inter- national Film Festival, Munich International Film Festival, Vilnius Documentary Festival, Santa Cruz Film Festival, Mendocino Film Festival, Rhode Island Film Festival and IFP New York.