HBO Documentary Film Series

Tashi and the Monk (2015x23)

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On a remote mountaintop in the Himalayas sits a very special community called Jhamtse Gatsal: a school and home to 85 orphaned and neglected children. Founded by former Buddhist monk Lobsang Phuntsok, who trained with the Dalai Lama and whose own dark childhood has led him to create this safe haven, Jhamtse Gatsal is home to boys and girls, who are given the chance to escape extreme poverty and grow up in an environment where they are free to be themselves and dream about their future. As we see in this documentary short, Lobsang faces a formidable challenge with Tashi, a five-year-old new arrival who was damaged by parental neglect and abandonment, and who after six months still struggles to bond with her new family, lashing out at others and isolating herself. Lobsang refuses to give up on the young girl, and makes it his mission to transform Tashi into the person he knows she can be: someone who can rise above trauma and open up to new friends, just as he once did years before. Intimate, heartfelt and uplifting, Tashi and the Monk is a much-needed reminder of the transformative power of love and acceptance, and the unbreakable bonds we can create through compassion.