The past decades have had countless examples of countries that have splintered in the face of constant turmoil. One of those many countries that have dealt with such problems while being constantly overlooked when in comparison to other European, Asian and Middle Eastern countries is Tibet. Until 1949, Tibet had enjoyed peace and autonomy before the Chinese Communists invaded the country. In this scenario, the Dalai Lama has undertaken a role with responsibilities that no other previous leader of Tibet has on a global scale. Under the instruction of the Dalai Lama Tibet, decided to take a peaceful approach in defending their country. The Dalai Lama’s peaceful stance as well as his frequent engagement in teaching activities, has lead to widespread international support, this …show more content…
The Dalai Lama and his government in exile have taken to caring for the thousands of refugees seeking safety and protection in India after the Chinese invasion in 1959. The Dalai Lama has responded evenly in the establishment of a Tibetan community in India, where schools, hospitals and new monasteries have been built, as long as Tibet remains occupied by the Chinese and India a safe haven. Furthermore, his decision to travel the world and speak out at many different countries about the suffering of his people, rather than taking a violent stance against China, has played a role in the Dalai Lama becoming a truly international figure comparable to the likes of Ghandi, Mother Thersea and Martin Luther King.
This is made obvious by the countless nominations the Dalai Lama receives along with being a recipient of numerous awards. The Dalai Lama, was awarded the highly prestigious Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December 1989, in which the committee had recognized his efforts in "the struggle of the liberation of Tibet and the efforts for a peaceful resolution instead of using
... Nobel Peace Prize he received that night of December 10, 2002. Like it was said “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advanced democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development” I strongly believe that this prize was well given to the right person.
Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor, delivered The Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, in Oslo on December 10, 1986. He started his speech off by reciting the following prayer: "Barukh atah Adonai …shehekhyanu vekiymanu vehigianu lazman hazeh"—"Blessed be Thou…for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this day." Then, after his speech, the people thanked him for everything he had done to help humankind make peace. With a profound sense of humility, he accepted this honor.
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?
Many religions and philosophies attempt to answer the question, what happens after a person dies? Some religions such as Christianity and Islam believe there is an afterlife. They believe that good and moral people enter Heaven or paradise and that bad and immoral people go to Hell. Other religions and cultures believe that death is final, and that nothing happens after a person dies. Buddhism and Hinduism have a different idea about death. Both of these religions originated in India. Buddhists and Hindus believe that death is not final. They believe that a person comes back after he or she dies. This process is known as reincarnation, and it provides opportunities for people to enter the world multiple times in different forms. Buddhists and Hindus want to reenter the world as humans, and they want to improve their status through reincarnation. In ancient India, many members of lower casts wanted to come back as members of higher casts. While this is an important goal of reincarnation, the main goal is to reach either moksha (Hinduism) or nirvana (Buddhism). In other words, the goal is to reach a point of spiritual enlightenment that removes the person from the reincarnation process. Geoff Childs, an anthropologist examines the views of the Buddhist religion by studying the lives of the people in Tibetan villages. He looks at issues that adversely affect these people such as infant mortality. He carefully looks at the lives of people who have been left behind by deceased loved ones, and he pays careful attention to customs and traditions surrounding death. Tibetan Buddhists view death as a means of reaching spiritual perfection, and they seek to reach this level of spiritual perfection through living spiritually meaningful lives....
The Web. 22 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-acceptance.html>. The "Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama.
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.
In 1937, Tenzin Gyatso was chosen as the 14th Dalai Lama at the tender age of two years old. The Dalai Lama is considered to be the transcendent and sequential head of Tibet. He was able to assume his position a few years later, but had to flee his home in 1959 due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The Dalai Lama has worked incessantly to encourage the peaceful liberation of Tibet ever since that particular time period. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as he is entitled, has taken this specific time of his banishment to tour the world discovering what is out there and presenting Buddhism to the rest of the world as he takes in other experiences. Although quite rare, he does provide interviews where he not only converses about Buddhism, but also cautiously speaking the advantages of religious diversity in the world.
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).
It was told that the Dalai Lama himself is the 14th reincarnation and the last reincarnation. The Dalai Lama describes how he himself did not step on the path to Nirvana in order to help others gain enlightenment. As such it can be seen that the Dalai Lama is a pivotal role for Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is important to both individuals and communities as he is someone who is seen as a teacher and written many books in order for people to better understand buddhism. The quote “[Nirvana] can only be reached, not produced, by the Path . . . it transcends the intrinsic nature of matter . . . being attainable through special insight affected by strong effort” can be understood through how the Dalai Lama lives out his life. This is seen as the quote talks about how just learning about the path to enlightenment through the eightfold path is not enough to be on the path to Nirvana. People must also live the teachings of Buddhism in order to attain enlightenment. The Dalai Lama heavily impacts individuals and communities as the Dalai Lama himself is seen as a role model of the faith. This is seen as the Dalai Lama himself is seen as the living example of the Buddhist teachings. As such he
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.
If China had not reannexed Tibet, that peace park would never have existed. Its entire raison d'etre is predicated on Chinese oppression and western interest. Without oppression the Tibetan traditions lose their most alluring aspect. Tibetan Buddhism is no longer dangerous or sexy. Without western interest, their potential converts and donation pool shrinks to a trickle crippling their ability to sustain the tradition.
When one hears mention of Tibet certain things initially come to mind, most commonly images of an isolated, peaceful, extremely religious society. One of the last things one would imagine from such a seemingly docile people would be a history deeply entwined with athletic showmanship, yet this actually is the case. Unfortunately most historians overlook this pivotal piece of information when studying the Tibetans’ rich culture and consequently the casual scholar rarely sees this side of the Tibetan people. One of the factors that may have influenced this attitude towards Tibetan sports is that the Dalai Lama has in fact previously banned certain sports citing various religious reasons. This may lead people to believe that the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism, in principal, are against all sport, although in reality many of the Dalai Lamas have been quite the opposite. The banning of certain sports was mainly due to the fear of outside influence corrupting Tibet as opposed to actual problems with the sports themselves. Tibetans have a strong historical bond with sport and use religion as an excuse to expel foreign authority.
...he Chinese command, Tibetans find themselves doing anything they can to keep their culture and traditions alive. The world’s diversity is decreased with every culture that is diminished and the Tibetan culture is one that needs to stay alive. Although some may say that the Tibetans have done nothing to prove that they want independence, there is only so much they can do while being under suppression. Monks and nuns are setting themselves on fire to gain the attention of the world and the Chinese are not doing anything about it. The problem in Tibet needs to be solved. Keeping the Tibetan culture alive is an important task that can be done. The Dalai Lama and other Tibetan exiles should spread the culture and religion to other countries and other groups of people. Diversity of the world is important, and Tibetan culture needs to be a part of that diversity.
Buddhism, like most other religions, originated in a particular place at a particular time, and its roots are in forms and ideas that were part of the environment in which it developed. The most important of these areas at the time of the Buddha was the valley of the Ganges river which flows from west to east across most of northern India. It was here that the great religions of India first arose and flourished. Only later did they spread to the south. In the time of the Buddha, about 500 B.C.E., this area was undergoing a period of vigorous religious development.
Mahatma Gandhi's Influence and Ideas Mahatma Gandhi was a man of faith and great conviction. He was born into an average Hindu family in India. Like most teenagers he had a rebellious stage when he smoked, spent time with girls and ate meat (forbidden to strict Hindus). The young Gandhi changed as a person while earning a living as a lawyer in South Africa. He came in contact with the apartheid and the future Mahatma began to emerge, one who championed the truth through non-violent resistance.