Saffron Robe
Preserving a sacred path to change the destiny of a new generation
Date & Time
Price
$13
Event Description
Saffron Robe is a feature documentary that follows a revered Buddhist abbot in the remote northern region of Laos, as he navigates the challenges of a sacred life under a communist regime.
An ambitious spiritual leader, Abbot Onekeo Sittivong defied convention by establishing a new school for his country’s poor and undereducated children. But something else is happening at this school in a misty forest. The abbot and his fellow saffron-robed monks and young novices are working tirelessly to revitalize ancient Lao Theravada Buddhist practices and education almost lost to history.
Of the many scars left by the Vietnam War, little is known in the West of the lasting revolution in the small but pivotal country of Laos, where the U.S. carried out its “Secret War.” After the war, while America and much of the rest of Southeast Asia moved forward, the people of Laos experienced a profound transformation almost overnight, from a 600-year-old monarchy to a communist-run state. Among those most affected were the country’s revered Theravada Buddhist monks, once the spiritual leaders and the foremost educators of Laos. Many were forced to flee their temples and return to the rice fields for survival. Yet, Buddhism remained central to the spiritual and cultural fabric of the country.
