ABSTRACT
The Cup (Khyentse Norbu, Bhutan, 2000) is about traditional Tibetan Buddhism struggling to survive outside its homeland in modern times. The story follows a group of monks at a Tibetan temple in exile in India (although it is filmed in Bhutan). Some of the monks’ near obsession with World Cup soccer brings into question their goal of giving up worldly attachment and becomes a part of their teachers’ reorientation of traditional methods. At the beginning of the film, two boys arrive at the temple from Tibet and hope to be accepted as monks there. One is Nyima (Pema Tshundup), who is around 12 years old. The other is his uncle, Palden (Kunsang Nyima), who is perhaps 18. The boys’ families sent them to study in India to escape increasing repression of Buddhism by the Chinese in Tibet. The man who brought them to the temple regularly helps Tibetans escape Chinese control. On this trip he presents the abbot of the monastery with a pair of earrings, saying the girl who had worn them died in an uprising at Lhasa, capital of Tibet and site of the home temple of the Dalai Lama and of Tibetan Buddhism. 1 Her mother wanted the monastery to have the earrings as a donation. He also gives the abbot a watch, which belonged to Nyima’s mother. She sent it in case the boy needed money. The abbot gives the watch to Nyima and tells him to keep it. The boy is clearly sad to have left his mother behind and the watch is the only physical reminder he has of her. The abbot also tells the newcomers that India is the most densely populated land on earth and yet the Indian people have welcomed Tibetans. Therefore, they should study hard in this new country. The boys are then sent to receive their ordination.
