This creative statement centers on a documentary directed by Lin Lih-Fang, which captures the reincarnation and official recognition of the abbot of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in the Darjeeling mountains of India, as well as the editing process undertaken by the author. The lama, named Bokar Rinpoche, together with Lama Chinlé, served as teachers to three young lamas at the time. These young lamas have since grown into adulthood, and Bokar Rinpoche has also passed away and returned to the monastery after being recognized in his new incarnation. The film also documents the present lives of a young lama from that time.

Although the author has prior experience in film editing, this project marked their first encounter with the relatively uncommon subject of Tibetan Buddhism in Taiwan. Due to the limited availability of academic research and literature on Tibetan culture and character-based editing in Taiwan, gathering sufficient background information proved to be a significant challenge. Furthermore, language barriers added to the complexity of the editing process. As such, this paper focuses on the author’s emotional transitions, challenges, and reflections throughout the film editing process, as well as the presentation of specific editing techniques.