This week upon an invitation from a friend, I went to a documentary at the Cine entitled ” the Sacred Sites of the Dalai Lamas.” My interest in going was to see the photography of Tibet, the artwork, and the religious draw that Buddhism has for people with Christian roots. In the Christian Church many people have left the faith of their youth to seek “enlightenment” or a deeper spiritual journey through the practices of Eastern religions.
In the movie I was surprised to see a number of the spiritual practices 
were similar to those I have seen or experienced in Christianity and Judaism. Some examples are the use of prayer beads, prayer cloths, and the forward rocking and prostrations during times of prayer and scripture reading. They also walked the outer circle around a village praying, there was chanting and bells, pilgrims and monks living in hermitages and a focus on the “inner life”.
There was a major sacred site on the pilgrimage called “The Oracle Lake”, located deep within the mountains of Tibet. Those on this personal spiritual quest were hoping to receive prophetic visions and dreams…..as this is what has been experienced by other pilgrims and the Dalai Lamas.
I left the movie with a sense of joy and gratefulness for my spiritual quest with and in Yahweh. But, I had a sense of sadness for my brothers and sisters in Christ, that feel that they have to leave the Christian Church to experience God at a deeper level. For you see….the very things that they are seeking can be found in the Contemplative teachings of early Christianity and in the writings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers.
Thank you for attending our film and sharing your insights.
Michael Wiese, filmmaker
http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Sites-Dalai-Lamas-Pilgrimage/dp/B000LMPM9G/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3581632-9414301?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1176902155&sr=1-1
I very much enjoyed the review.
However, the last para left me hanging a bit, ahen the reviewer comments that he was saddeded to see that people felt that they should leave the teachings of Christ to find god.
Historically, all white Christians left their earlier faiths, either by will or by force, in order to become Christian. Does the reviewer lament that this transformation occurred in history? Would he prefer that Greeks remain worshipping Zeus, Italians Apollo, and so forth?
The fact of the matter is that the world is in a constant state of transition, as are human societies. A particular faith and spiritual practice might be appropriate in a particular time and place, but might become inadequate in another time and place.
An example is the headhunter tradition of the Amazonian jungles. Like Christianity or Buddhism, it has its its charms and strong points. There is nothink like cutting of an enemies’ head, shrinking it, and hangiung it from the roof of one’s hut, to give a young man a strong sense of authentic living. However, some headhunters today will choose or be forced to leave this sublime faith of their forefathers, and seek a different approach to spiritual life.