Dalai Lamas Vision: Buddhism & Science Documentary

Story-Sharer Park Krausen here: Producer/Director of currently

Untitled Documentary

With a team of talented folk (Team Doc), we were granted access to capture a very special, ongoing happening on film!

His Holiness the Dalai Lama (HHDL) has a vision that continues to manifest: one of a necessary conversation between Buddhism and Science.

His living legacy currently continues in a specific chapter of this vision: in the United States at Northwestern University and in India (in a Tibetan Diaspora Camp) at the Drepung Science Center and Monastery.

A lively, rigorous, devoted group of Buddhist monastic scientists, in his Holiness' lineage, has been chosen as custodians, to continue the conversation on an even deeper level. Under the auspices of the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative (ETSI) and HHDL, and as envisioned by neuroscientists Dr. Robin Nusslock, Dr. Ken Paller and Dr. Marcia Grabowecky, a research training initiative was born.

In September 2022, the monastic scientists came to Northwestern University to train in neuroscience labs (in EEG and MRI techniques) and in true collaboration with the neuroscientists, have chosen to create a sleep lab in India to investigate questions of healing, memory enhancement and mind exploration during sleep and particularly through lucid dreaming and dream yoga.

Park and "Team Doc" continue to have unique access to this journey. Along with the subjects involved, they are convinced it's necessary to bring light to this new "research chapter" of HHDL's vision happening, now, and to ensure that His Holiness' legacy continues beyond this lifetime. Meet the faces of the next generation doing the work as monastic scientists. Exploring the mind - the next frontier!

If you recently watched the documentary Mission: Joy, you will have a sense of the spirit in which this group of monastics navigates the world.

In a world where compassion, logic and ethics are often squashed – we find a glimpse at a world where these values are simply at the core. We think it is important that a larger public see HHDL's legacy made manifest!

As our "Team Doc" applies for funding for the next phase, I am writing to all friends, colleagues and folx who might be interested in joining the team as a funder or even as a credited producer on our current teaser/POC before it goes public.

Since our documentary team was granted permission to capture this ETSI program only a few days before it began and had to create an existing teaser as a gift within two weeks for HHDL!- there was little time to fundraise with our skeleton team. Thanks to our "Angel Donor" and mentor, award-winning documentary filmmaker Brent E. Huffman, we had access to an otherwise cost-prohibitive camera and he connected us with some brilliant burgeoning filmmakers from Northwestern. As many of you also know, I believe deeply in creating opportunities for young makers and creating two-way mentorships. We all learned so much and were given an opportunity to be in the glow of compassion and scientific exploration – which we hope you feel in watching our teaser/labor of love - available soon to the public and sooner to donors!

By some miracle, it was indeed ready enough to see the world on December 10, 2022 in Dharmasala and gifted to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in honor of the anniversary of his Nobel Peace Prize and gifted to the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative (ETSI) to tell the story of the program in images, attract important donors and will serve as a teaser/proof of concept for our artistic team as we map out a feature-length documentary.

Please find Team Doc's bios here. Happy to provide a detailed budget, but the total came to just under $7K (including travel to INDIA) not factoring in the in-kind lending and volunteer hours. And now, I am heading back to India next month.

I share all of this to invite you more deeply into the conversation as an “Angel Producer” yourself.

Currently, we are not attached to a non-profit, but we hope that you might find it in your hearts to become an angel and help seed this dream and help bring this story to the larger world!

DONOR Levels:

$1-$200 we are so grateful to you and will update you on the progress of the film!

(Every dollar makes a difference)

$200-$2499 - Link to watch a sneak peek of the teaser and receive updates

$2500 and up - Link, Producer Credit on the teaser (if desired), receive updates

$5000 and up -Producer Credit on the teaser (if desired), and be invited into a conversation on zoom with Park and one of the creative team or the subjects

**The names of the monastics will be withheld until the release of the film **