Buddhist Arts and Film Festival 2025: Welcome, Opening Performance, short film, “The Dalai Lama’s Gift,” Q&A

TICKETS ALL ACCESS PASS Welcome, Nawang Khechog performance, short film, trailer and film “The Dalai Lama’s Gift”, followed by panel discussion and Q&A with director Ed Bastian, and special guests HE Tulku Yeshi Rinpoche and Nawang Khechog.

THE DALAI LAMA’S GIFT, director Ed Bastian

In 1982 , a Buddhist monk teaching at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, made the bold request of the Dalai Lama to come and perform a rare ritual, never before done outside of India or Tibet: the Kalachakra, among the highest of the Buddhist tantric teachings. In just a few months, with a team of dedicated students, and cameras rolling, they constructed a temple and organized an event for over a thousand spiritual seekers, in a cornfield outside Madison. The incredible footage was tucked away in the Smithsonian vaults, until now. What unfolds is the story of a powerful ritual, its impact on the people that made it happen, and the meaning behind this ancient initiation. 76 minutes.

The film will be followed by a discussion and Q&A with musician Nawang Khechog and director Ed Bastian.