Registration is good for both in-person and online entry for the entire mini-series on May 18 & 19 (except for the film screening, which is in-person only).
The "go to online event page" on your Ticket will give you access the Zoom link as well as directions for in-person attendance at Manglam Research Center in Berkeley, CA.
To register for the entire series on "Mind, Death, & Rebirth," please go here.
*If tickets are sold-out, you can choose "Donate (any amount)" in the "Get Ticket" options for in-person or online entry.
Please note that these talks will not be recorded.
Description: In the postmortem meditative state of tukdam, deceased meditators show no signs of death for days or even weeks. Juxtaposing ground-breaking scientific research and Tibetan Buddhist perspectives, the feature documentary, Tukdam: Between Worlds challenges our notions of life and death, and where we draw the line between them. Join award-winning filmmaker and researcher, Donagh Coleman for a screening of this major international co-production, followed by discussion of his medical anthropological PhD research and the challenges of presenting non-Western knowledge, bodies, and death processes in scientific terms and contemporary media environments. Donagh will also share precious footage that did not make the film, including interviews with leading Tibetan Buddhist teachers from different traditions.
Saturday, 6-8:30pm PDT - Screening of the documentary film, Tukdam: Between Worlds followed by discussion with Donagh. (Please note that the screening will be in-person only. Participants attending remotely can rent the movie here. The film is also available on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Vimeo. The discussion will begin at 7:40pm PDT.)
Sunday, 10-11:30am PDT- This session will delve more deeply into comparative perspectives on death, dying, and tukdam, and address challenges in translating Buddhist theories and practices on these topics into scientific terms, and making different cultural worldviews visible in the media.
Sunday, 1-2:30pm PDT - Over some seven years, much footage was shot for Tukdam and Donagh's medical anthropological PhD research that did not make the final cut of the documentary. This session will cater especially to Buddhist interests as Donagh shares previously unseen scenes and interviews with major Rinpoches, Geshes, Kenpos, Lamas, scholars, practitioners, and tukdam witnesses on issues around tukdam, death, and consciousness. Interviews will also highlight some differences between Tibetan Buddhist traditions in their accounts of tukdam and related phenomena.
Donagh Coleman is a Finnish-Irish-American filmmaker and scholar. Previous award-winning documentaries with international festival and TV exposure include Stone Pastures and A Gesar Bard’s Tale. Donagh’s films have been shown by the European Commission and museums such as MoMA and the Rubin Museum in NYC. Donagh is currently pursuing a PhD in medical anthropology at UC Berkeley, continuing research conducted for his 2022 feature documentary on Tibetan Buddhist tukdam deaths. He holds degrees in Philosophy and Psychology and Music and Media Technologies from Trinity College Dublin, as well as a master’s in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley.
