2020 Freedom Crossing Institute Workshops

We will share stories of Buddhist nuns living and practicing in the Himalayas, with a special focus on how education has transformed and brought liberation to these women’s lives. We are honored to host three ordained Buddhist nuns who will share their personal stories. Two of these women successfully completed the Geshema degree, equivalent to a Ph.D. in Buddhist Philosophical Studies that requires 17 years of rigorous study and was only recently opened to women and marks a significant educational achievement for nuns in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. (As of 2019, there are only 44 Geshemas in the world). These pioneering women bring the stories of Tsunma Tsunma, My Summer with the Female Monastics of the Himalaya to life. In addition to hearing from these Tsunmas and Geshemas first-hand, we hope to discuss the significance of this achievement further by addressing other issues relevant to their day-to-day lives, including continuing education opportunities and the ongoing discussions about full-ordination for women. Last but not least, we invite you to raise questions and reflect upon your own journeys by listening to and participating in this genuine and heart-opening discussion.

The 2020 Freedom Crossing Film Festival (FCFF) is dedicated to Prof Swidler’s grand vision and lifelong work for global religious dialogue. Especially in our time of growing isolationism and divisiveness, we believe this dialogue sustains peace, tolerance, and religious liberty and cultivates fertile ground for democracies to flourish. FCFF films are designed as a bridge that sparks dialogue of the heart with those who are different. 
Through a keynote talk and dialogue with Ms. Hsiao, Prof. Swilder will address the principle of the Dialogue Decalogue – of the ‘Head, Hands, Heart, and Holy’ – and lift up religious dialogue as key to open the public sphere and build 21st Century democracy. 
We will then put these principles into practice by exploring how dialogue can address the tension between personal faith and religious tradition, especially after Taiwan became the first East Asian country to legalize gay marriage. We will open the discussion to include directors Chun-Kai YANG (The Path of Destiny) and Elvis Lu (The Shepherds), both of whom documented the tensions within and between religious communities. The Shepherds explores tensions between a minority of LGBT-affirming churches and mainline Protestant Christianity in Taiwan regarding the campaign to legalize gay marriage, and The Path of Destiny documents an ethnographer’s decision to embrace Christianity and also reconnect with the aboriginal Sikasaway tradition of her ancestors.

The 2020 Freedom Crossing Film Festival (FCFF) focuses on sharing stories of freedom, memory, and historical reconciliation. The final week of FCFF is themed on Memory and History and features spiritual storytelling to reflect on unspeakable massacres in Asia, including the:

We open a discussion of these historical tragedies through Asian documentaries. We invite directors based in Taiwan who are confronting the pressure and trauma from authoritarian governments in Malaysia and Taiwan. This workshop aims to build a dialogue by depicting authentic and diverse life stories which were once hidden or erased in ideology and one-dimensioned historical narratives. Many times, these stories can only be spoken outside of modern society by traditional Asian spiritual mediums. 
While these stories that may appear unimaginable on the surface, documentaries shed light on the subtle truths behind the scenes. In turn, audience members can recognize the cruelties of the past, cross historical traumas, and to build a sense of shared humanity that opens new bridges toward social reconciliation and liberal democracy. The 2020 FCFF is addressing the future of freedom by confronting history and memory.