Dalai Lama Significant concepts such as occupation, People’s Republic of China, Buddhism, and The 1959 Tibetan Uprising are what people commonly relate to Tibet. In my case, that is different seeing that the compassionate Dalai Lama is what I associate Tibet with. It is jarring how benevolent and benign figures are faced with animosity and resistance when they are perceived as a threat by the authority. In addition to that, they are accused of either being frauds or committing vile deeds such as hypocrisy and the Dalai Lama is on the top of that list. The Dalai Lama is a perfect embodiment of those who had greatness thrust upon them, in other words, those who would have led a relatively humble mediocre live had they not been forced …show more content…
On the other hand, he is viewed as a foe and a hypocrite by the regime of the People’s Republic of China. This apparent contradiction in views relies heavily on the deep-rooted conflict between Tibet and the People’s Republic of China. When Tibet was invaded by China’s troops in 1950, the ceaseless tension between the two countries began and the Dalai Lama was forced to rise to the occasion and interfere. Since then they labeled him as an obstacle that needed elimination simply because he hindered their power’s growth in Tibet. Furthermore, he became the victim of their vicious propaganda even though he only sought Tibet’s autonomy. These reasons made him the adversary in one view and the hero of another. The west cherishes him for his personal qualities and his commitment to freeing Tibet rather than his religious status in it. In contrast to the picture the People's Republic of China drew of him, he is down to earth, charismatic, empathetic, impartial, and intuitive thus they held him in high regard and idolized …show more content…
Accordingly, it is essential to mention that the current Dalai Lama is actually the fourteenth incarnation of his kind. The vast majority of his followers regarded him with absolute reverence. But as the time went by, they began to worship him hence their acknowledgment of his status as a living Buddha. This peculiar perspective was built on their distinctive hereditary system rather than his personal qualities which are a valuable bonus if they existed. To clarify, Tibetans would not eliminate Tenzin Gyatso from his position if he wasn’t merciful or sensible because it does not revolve around his traits. An intriguing fact is that this prestigious position existed since the sixteenth century but it had a different implication back then. The Mongol king applied it to a prominent religious teacher and two of his predecessors. The occupant of this unique position eventually became the head of the state due to the fact that religion and politics are largely dependent on one another there. Adherents believe that they are manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig; the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. To put it another way, they are enlightened beings who chose rebirth in order to serve humanity and that is the prominent basis for their misled believe. Given these points, one can conclude that his reputation and status are
In order to understand the political factors that influence both of these book; you need to get a background information on why China and Tibet have such animosity against each other. Tibet considers itself a free nation without any ties to China. It states that “Tibet declared itself an independent republic in 1912.Although its status did not receive widespread recognition, Tibet functioned as an independent government until China sent troops to Tibet in 1950” (BBC News). The Tibetans feel as though their freedom is being retained and they are being dictated by China which they did not approve of. China claims that Tibet proposers better with them leadin...
Mohandas Gandhi and Mao Zedong were two great leaders who succeeded in many ways by their actions and decisions. Gandhi was an Indian leader and Mao a Chinese leader. However, their approach to success, peace, and ultimately, a revolution, was very different. Mao favored peace through violence, and Gandhi favored peace through non-cooperation and standing up for what is right. He also believed that these changes will be accomplished by “conscious suffering”, was the way he put it. However, despite their differences, these two leaders were similar too. They were both very charismatic leaders who successfully made it through their revolutions. Mao’s revolution led to change in class structure while Gandhi’s revolution involved India as a country, and he wanted people to realize that working together is a great way to gain independence. While Mao and Gandhi both believed that each of their countries have the need of independence, their views differed when it came to the use of violence, development towards the revolution, and their thoughts on a caste system.
As much as I would like to take a neutral approach to the Tibetan-Chinese issue, I am concerned it is simply impossible. I remember when I first read Patric French's “Tibet, Tibet. A personal history of a lost land”. I was in my dorm room up all night, shivers constantly running down my spine, from time to time tears running down the cheeks too, I have to confess. Back then I did not know what exactly was going on in this remote and mysterious country, apart from that it is under Chinese occupation and the people are looking for liberation.* But when I read the book I instantly empathized with the story of Tibet. This is probably due to the fact that Estonia, my home country, once was in a similar desperate situation, being succumbed to the power of the Eastern neighbor. Luckily for Estonia, she managed to gain independence from Russia in 1918 though it officially had belonged to the Russian Empire as the Governorate of Estonia since the end of the Great Northern War, 1721 by the treaty of Nystad. Thus, it is even more intriguing, why Tibet, which has never by any kind of treaty or agreement belonged to China1, is still under the foreign rule and has to struggle for independence?
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both talk about the oppression that the black community suffered, and they defended their positions and their thoughts.
Starting in the late 1940s, with Cold War tensions running high and the subsequent Communist takeover of China as well as the outbreak of the Korean War, there was a growing fear in the United States of the possibility of a global conflict between the Communist bloc and the West. Thus, the US government adopted a policy of doing its best to contain Communism around the world, especially in Asia after the formation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). When the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet in 1950, the US considered it possible or even probable that the PRC would use Tibet as a launching pad to expand Communism into the rest of South and Southeast Asia, an early appearance of what was later famously called the “domino theory” during the Vietnam War. In line with our newly stated and evolving policy committing the United States to a “global containment” of Communism short of actual war, when a spontaneous Tibetan resistance movement arose in Tibet, we decided it to be in our national interest to covertly aid this movement through the training of Tibetan fighters and airdrops of arms and supplies to them. Although the US did provide direct and extensive assistance to the Tibetans for several years we eventually ended the program. I believe that if we truly had wanted to follow through on our application of the containment policy, we would have done more to aid the Tibetan resistance. Ultimately, the US looked to what it deemed to be its own self-interest in forging ahead with a plan of rapprochement with the PRC and abandoned the Tibetan resistance fighters when they most needed our help. I will elucidate how our policy regarding the resistance movement evolved from th...
Before any of these questions can be answered though, one must first know the origin of the conflicts between the two regions as well as the history of the Free Tibetan Movement. As said above, Tibet used to be a place that not many people knew about. This made it much easier for the Chinese government to come in and take control of the people and the land without much protest from the outside world. In fact even if other countries, like bordering India, had known, not much would have been done. This is because no nation had ever recognized Tibet as an independent country. Rather, it was the events that followed which caused the uproar. According to defected citizens of Tibet that traveled to India and then dispersed throughout the world, the Chinese started a form of spiritual cleansing. Monks and spiritual leaders that would not follow their ground rules were detained, captured or killed. The lama's of the Tibetan people were either taken as political prisoners or exiled. However, there are also those that said that some of this never happened.
Many Tibetans are arrested and put through such treatment with little to no evidence supporting them as criminals. In a sudden “clampdown” that started in February of 1992, groups of ten Chinese raided Tibetan homes in Lhasa arresting more than 200 people. Those arrested were said to be in possession of “subversive materials, such as photographs, and tapes or books containing speeches or teachings of the Dalai Lama” (Kumar, 77).
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. African Americans are fortunate to have leaders who have fought for a difference in Black America. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X are two powerful men in particular who brought hope to blacks in the United States. Both preached the same message about Blacks having power and strength in the midst of all the hatred that surrounded them. Even though they shared the same dream of equality for their people, the tactics they implied to make these dreams a reality were very different. The background, environment and philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were largely responsible for the distinctly varying responses to American racism.
The Dalai Lama expresses the importance of publicity that has first been generated by the Tibetan Freedom Concert. Not only did it create awareness for the Chinese as the Dalai Lama suggested; it also created awareness around the world, especially in North America. Ask any North American teenager,"What they feel towards the idea of Tibetan oppression from the Chinese?", just ask him "Where Tibet is?" three years ago and he would probably look confused and answer by asking "Would you like fries with that?".<THIS MADE VERY LITTLE SENSE.> Ask that same teenager now, and he would likely give an educated response. The Tibetan Freedom Concert is just an example of how powerful modern media is if it can be used properly.
Within mainstream society it seems as if there is not a great deal of emphasis on the contributions made by theologians in society, as well as contributions by theologians to religious thought. Particularly in Christendom, ecclesiastical assemblies are so consumed with vain ideas of worship, and content on hearing biblical messages that capitulate to their personal desires, that theological studies are often neglected. Yet the contributions theologians have made in society, and the impact these contributions have had on religious assemblies have been pivotal in guiding religious discourse on subjects such as ethics, morality, and social transformation. It is for this reason, that in this essay an attempt will be made to analyze three essays from three world-renowned theologians of the 20th century. The theologians are Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Walter Wink, all of which have produced the essays used for this analysis, and have written works that have completely challenged status quo religion, and changed the landscape of Christendom forever.
Rinpoche, Samdhong. Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism in Today’s World; forward by 14th Dalai Lama. (Tibet: World Wisdom, 2006), 264.
[11] Trimondi, Victor and Victoria, The Shadow of the Dalai Lama, part I, section 2.
More murderous than Hitler, more powerful than Stalin, in the battle of the Communist leaders Mao Zedong trumps all. Born into a comfortable peasant family, Mao would rise up to become China’s great leader. After leading the communists away from Kuomintang rule, he set out to modernize China, but the results of this audacious move were horrific. He rebounded from his failures time and again, and used his influence to eliminate his enemies and to purge China of its old ways. Mao saw a brighter future for China, but it was not within his grasp; his Cultural Revolution was not as successful as he had wanted it to be. Liberator, oppressor, revolutionary, Mao Zedong was the greatest emancipator in China’s history, as his reforms and actions changed the history of China and of the wider world.
Lama, Dalai, XIV. Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: How the World's Religions Can Come
(21)Eckholm, Erik. “The New York Times” From a Chinese Cell, a Lama’s influence Remains Undimmed. 23 Feb 2003. www.nytimes.com (28 March 2003)