Tashi And The Monk

Tashi And The Monk

How Far Will Kindness Take You?

40 minutes 2014 9.30/10 based on 99 votes

Lobsang Phuntsok is a Buddhist monk that received the honor of being trained under the guidance of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The objective was in order for him to share Tibetan Buddhism with the West. However, in 2006, he felt called to leave the United States and return to his birthplace to rescue unwanted children. To that end, he built a children’s community called The Garden of Love and Compassion or Jhamtse Gatsal. This haven is located in the remote foothills of the Himalayas.

The 85 children who live there have tragic stories; some of them lost their parents at a very young age, others were abandoned, still others were actually sold by their parents. These children have been made to feel like uninvited guests in the world.

A child who is accepted at Jhamtse Gatsal, doesn’t stay for a short time. It’s a long-term arrangement in which Lobsang Phuntsok becomes a parent to him or her. Having had to grow up without a dad, Lobsang takes his responsibility very seriously. And even though he missed out on his own childhood, he gets pleasure from playing and laughing with the children at Jhamtse Gatsal.

Saying yes to a child is the same as saying that he will save the child’s life. Saying no, then, is extremely difficult because it would be equal to saying that the child cannot be saved.

Due to extreme poverty, some parents willingly offer their children and beg for them to be taken into the Garden of Love and Compassion. They see this as their only hope. It’s very difficult for the monk to decide who gets to join the community and be rescued and who doesn’t. He receives hundreds of requests and this means saying ‘yes’ to one but ‘no’ to many others because there simply isn’t enough space. As it is, the kids share beds and there’s no room for any more beds.

Tashi Droma is a beautiful little girl who arrived at the Garden because her mother died of a bad illness and her father, a chronic alcoholic, could not care for her. After 6 months at Jhamtse Gatsal, she continued to be extremely naughty. Tashi would spit on her classmates and hit them, plus she had trouble sharing. Tashi would even wet her bed at night and, as in everything else, try to hide the fact by lying.  Teachers and caretakers met often to discuss what needed to be done to help Tashi work through her anger, grief, and deep feelings of rejection.

The monk decided to ask one of the older boys to be a big brother to Tashi and help her understand the difference between right and wrong.

Eventually, Tashi felt enough love and trust to allow her life to be changed. Watch this award winning film now.


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9.30/10 (99 votes)
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Discuss This Documentary

3 responses to “Tashi And The Monk”

  1. 10bac10 says:

    It’s all about connection. Loved this.

  2. Socrates in Leominster says:

    What an amazing film. This confirms that we all are product of the environment in which we grew up. That we all are born with the predisposition to be good. In many cases the circumstances will have an impact in how we are going to be as individuals. We DO NOT chose to be bad.. the circumstances have an effect in our neurons and that will determine the kind of attitude we will have. When are little if we don’t have the proper guidance and if we don’t get the required amount of love.. then we will develop what is called attachment disorder. Unfortunately 99.0% of parents, worldwide, never get interested in finding the proper information that will help them to raise their children properly. I recommend anyone to see this movie and see beyond the script of the movie.
    I would love to hear from anyone that wishes to talk about this movie.
    Peace, Love and Care (To me Care is stronger than Love.. Care is more tangible than Love which can change depending of the expectations we all have.)

  3. Ileana M. Van Overloop says:

    This is an incredibly uplifting film, they joy in these children is palpable.

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