A look at torture, faith and forgiveness in one monk's life

A look at torture, faith and forgiveness in one monk’s life

The documentary “Fire Under the Snow” follows a monk’s life, cutting back and forth between the past and Palden’s present as an activist, living in exile.

October 7, 2011 6:29 pm

Palden Gyatso, a Buddhist monk, was arrested by the Chinese Communist Army in 1959. He spent 33 years in prison, where he was tortured, starved and sentenced to hard labor.

The documentary “Fire Under the Snow” follows the monk’s life, cutting back and forth between the past and Palden’s present as an activist, living in exile.

“These memories still haunt me,” he says in the documentary with eyes wide and moist.

You can meet Gyatso and watch the documentary Saturday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. at the library.

The movie, released in 2008, explores Gyatso’s resilience, faith and forgiveness.

“Despite all, Palden Gyatso remains unbroken, keeping the flame of his spirit ablaze” wrote the Japanese director Makoto Sasa on the documentary’s website. “‘Fire Under the Snow’ reveals the contours of an inspirational story: the survival of a mind and a soul under unthinkable duress.”