{"id":4663,"date":"2017-05-11T20:46:51","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T18:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/?page_id=4663"},"modified":"2017-06-05T12:58:35","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T10:58:35","slug":"akong-a-remarkable-life","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/courses\/archives\/akong-a-remarkable-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Akong: A Remarkable Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Please join us on Saturday 13 May for the first screening of the film Akong: A Remarkable Life at 4pm.<\/p>\n

4:00m Introduction by Rob Nairn<\/p>\n

4:20 pm\u00a0Film<\/p>\n

6:00 pm: Supper – Please bring a plate of vegetarian food to share.<\/p>\n

Suggested Donation: R100 (proceeds to go to the Akong Memorial Foundation). Concessions available.<\/p>\n

Executive Producer\u2019s Introduction<\/h3>\n

Akong Rinpoche used to say \u201conly the impossible is worth doing\u201d. When you watch this film it
\nwill become apparent that he consistently faced seemingly impossible circumstances without
\ncompromising his core principle of kindness and his profound commitment to benefit others.
\nHaving the good fortune to know Akong Rinpoche as a friend and teacher for more than 40
\nyears, I witnessed many ordinary lives transformed as he encouraged those who worked with him
\nto grow beyond their self-imposed limitations and achieve more than they could have imagined.
\nThe making of this film to tell the story of Akong\u2019s remarkable life certainly presented us with
\nmany challenges. However, by working together in the spirit of the man whose life we wish to
\nhonour, what sometimes seemed impossible has indeed now been accomplished.<\/p>\n

A brief synopsis<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Akong \u2013 A Remarkable Life tells the story of Akong Tulku Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist
\nmaster, compelled to flee his homeland at the height of Sino-Tibetan tensions and
\nforced into exile into unknown lands. Later he would become, along with Ch\u00f6gyam
\nTrungpa Rinpoche, one of the key pioneers of Tibetan Buddhism in the West.
\nAt a young age, Akong becomes the Abbot of Dolma Lhakang monastery in
\nEastern Tibet and the path of his life seems fixed. However, political turmoil changes
\neverything as in 1959 he is reluctantly forced to flee his homeland on a dangerous
\njourney whose end is uncertain.<\/p>\n

During the ten month escape across the Himalayas to India, Akong comes close to
\ndeath, being one of only 13 of 300 compatriots to survive the arduous journey. As he
\nlay, near death, in a cave in the Himalayas, he makes a promise that, if he survives, he
\nwill devote his life to helping others.
\nHe makes it to India only to battle life-threatening tuberculosis. There Akong meets
\nan Englishwoman, Freda Bedi, who runs a refugee camp in harrowing conditions. Together they create a home for young refugee
\nLamas, which Akong manages for three years until Freda arranges for him to travel to Britain along with his friend Trungpa
\nRinpoche.<\/p>\n

In 1967 they co-found Samye Ling, in Scotland, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the West.
\nIn 1992 he is chosen as a member of the search party seeking the rebirth of the His Holiness, the Gyalwang Karmapa, head of one
\nof the main lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.
\nAkong increasingly turns his mind to the suffering and hunger of people and embarks on numerous projects to help. Most
\nnotably he co-founds an international humanitarian charitable organisation called \u201cROKPA\u201d, the Tibetan word for help. He works
\nincessantly founding schools and orphanages, providing home and education for former street children, as well as providing food,
\nshelter and essential medical supplies in countries such as Tibet and Nepal and in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
\nAkong\u2019s fundamental message of compassion-in-action shines through and his example inspires thousands of people to work to
\nmake the world a better place. A number of those he inspired recount his story in the film.
\nAkong Rinpoche was in Chengdu, China in October 2013, about to embark on the latest of many humanitarian missions to Tibet,
\nwhere he was murdered, senselessly, along with an attendant and his nephew. Despite this sad and shocking end to a remarkable
\nlife, the film ends on a message of hope.
\nWebsite: http:\/\/www.akong-remarkablelife.com\/
\nFacebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AKONGaremarkablelife\/#
\nChico Dall\u2019Inha, Director: chico@chicodallinha.com
\nVin Harris, Executive Producer: trust@hartknowe.org<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please join us on Saturday 13 May for the first screening of the film Akong: A Remarkable Life at 4pm. 4:00m Introduction by Rob Nairn 4:20 pm\u00a0Film 6:00 pm: Supper […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":4261,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4663","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4663"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4667,"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4663\/revisions\/4667"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kagyu.org.za\/johannesburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}