Bhutan - Back to the roots, with a Buddhist monk | DW Documentary

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Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk, writer and thinker. He uses photography to share his wonder at the spectacle that is our world with as many people as possible. He is returning to Bhutan for the first time in seven years.

Matthieu Ricard converted to Buddhism at the end of the 1960s. As a close confidant of the Dalai Lama, he gained international fame through his charity work and the simplicity with which he conveys to the public ideas about meditation, peace, altruism and compassion. These values also come across clearly in his photographs.

Based on numerous photographs by Ricard, this documentary aims to broaden our view, when it comes to the beauty of the world and its people, while providing insights into the Kingdom of Bhutan and the lives of its people.

Long cut off from the rest of the world, Bhutan has been forced to break its isolation. On his return to the small kingdom, Matthieu Ricard rediscovers the unique spirituality that still imbues the thinking of the man who was once his teacher: Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

He attends rituals in places that are difficult to access and encounters an astonishing diversity of people. It is they who constitute the richness of this deeply Buddhist country. At the same time, the country is threatened by climate change, despite its positive carbon footprint. On one of the world's highest glaciers, Matthieu Ricard vividly illustrates the problems and challenges facing Bhutan -- and the rest of humanity.

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