Informs. Inspires. Instills Compassion.
Director Paul MacGowan filming a scene for Wandering... but not Lost with Lama Tashi at a cave where he and Mingyur Rinpoche did retreat in the Himalayas.
Open Mind Media is a full-service media production company dedicated to producing films and multimedia that increase understanding, cooperation, and compassion among people worldwide.
OMM began as Vanguard Productions over 25 years ago, under the leadership of filmmaker Paul MacGowan. After meeting Mingyur Rinpoche in 2010, Paul decided to dedicate his film work to sharing Rinpoche's life story, vision, and meditation teachings. Thus A Joyful Mind was born, and in 2015 Paul decided to change the name of his production company to Open Mind Media to reflect this new direction.
In addition to creating A Joyful Mind, OMM partners with Tergar International and Tergar Asia to film and share Mingyur Rinpoche's meditation teachings. OMM just finished production on the feature-length documentary, Wandering... but not lost, which tells the story of Mingyur Rinpoche's four and a half year wandering retreat.
OMM relies on support from donors like you to make it's work possible. All donations are fully tax-deductible as a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
ABOUT MINGYUR RINPOCHE
Born in 1975 in the Himalayan border regions between Tibet and Nepal, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a much-loved and accomplished meditation master. From a young age, Rinpoche was drawn to a life of contemplation. He spent many years of his childhood in strict retreat. At the age of seventeen, he was invited to be the retreat master at his monastery’s three-year retreat center, a position rarely held by such a young lama. He also completed the traditional Buddhist training in philosophy and psychology, before founding a monastic college at his home monastery in north India.
In addition to extensive training in the meditative and philosophical traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, Mingyur Rinpoche has also had a lifelong interest in Western science and psychology. At an early age, he began a series of informal discussions with the famed neuroscientist Francisco Varela. Later, in 2002, Mingyur Rinpoche and a handful of other long-term meditators were invited to the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where Richard Davidson, Antoine Lutz, and other scientists examined the effects of meditation on the brains of advanced meditators. The results of this groundbreaking research were reported in many of the world’s most widely read publications, including National Geographic and Time. These sessions were also highlighted in Director MacGowan’s previous film, A Joyful Mind.
Mingyur Rinpoche teaches throughout the world, with centers on five continents. His candid, often humorous accounts of his own personal difficulties have endeared him to thousands of students around the world. His best-selling book, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over twenty languages. Rinpoche’s most recent books are In Love With the World, Turning Confusion into Clarity: A Guide to the Foundation Practices of Tibetan Buddhism, Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom, and an illustrated children’s book entitled Ziji: The Puppy that Learned to Meditate.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche possesses a rare ability to present the ancient wisdom of Tibet in a fresh, engaging manner. His teachings are unique in weaving together his own personal experiences with modern scientific research. His profound yet accessible teachings and playful sense of humor have endeared him to students around the world.