The Role of Faith and the Nechung Oracle in Tibetan Culture
In the United States, we pride ourselves on our objectiveness, our ability not to get caught up in religious fervor. We often think that people who believe deeply in their religion and involve it in all aspects of their lives are "fanatics"—that they are somehow beneath us, less deserving of our respect. We are taught almost from birth that the scientific method is the only way to look at the world. We learn the steps of the scientific method (observation, hypothesis, test, and theory) in elementary school. This philosophy then colors how we think of everything after that. Faith is seen as an undesirable quality and has no place in our culture. Nothing is real unless it can be proven.
In Tibet, on the other hand, the Tibetan people have a profound respect for their religion. Buddhism permeates every aspect of their lives. As Harrer says in Seven Years in Tibet,
The daily life of Tibetans is ordered by religious belief. Pious texts are constantly on their lips; prayer wheels turn without ceasing; prayer flags wave on the roofs of houses and the summits of mountain passes; the rain, the win, all the phenomena of nature, the lonely peaks of the snow-clad mountains bear witness to the universal presence of the gods whose anger is manifested by the hailstorm, and whose benevolence is displayed by the fruitfulness and fertility of the land.
(Harrer, 1953 p 187)
Religion had a part in everything from politics to when they were allowed to change clothing for the season.
One day the summer season was officially declared to have begun, and summer clothes might be worn. One had no right to leave off one’s furs when one wanted to. Every year, after considerations of the omens, a day was fixed on which the nobles and monks put on summer dress…Summer dress must be worn from that date only. (Harrer, 1953 p182)
Because religion is such an integral part of their lives, Buddhism unites the Tibetan people. I propose that the State
Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. "On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of
“I am not what I am,” proclaims one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most enigmatic villains, Iago, in the tragedy Othello. Iago’s journey for revenge enables him to become capable of immoral acts, and whilst his malevolence excites us, we are no more intrigued by his attributes than we are of the play’s tragic hero, Othellos’. Rather, both characters’ confrontation with jealousy and their subsequent moral demise as a result of failing to control such an emotion provides the true excitement for audiences. Iago’s spiteful manipulation of Othello makes him a multifaceted character — whose corrupt attributes make the audience examine their own morality. However, the same can be said of Othello; his failure to withstand Iago’s ‘pouring of pestilence’
1 Geoff Childs Tibetan Diary From Birth to Death and Beyond in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004) 41.
Raymond, Janice G. “The Ongoing Tragedy of International Slavery and Human Trafficking: An Overview.” Serial No. 108–137. 29 October 2003.
1.) Intro: I decided to focus my Religious Ethnography on a friend whom I recently have become close with. Adhita Sahai is my friend’s name, which she later told me her first name meant “scholar.” I choose to observe and interview Adhita, after she invited me to her home after hearing about my assignment. I was very humbled that she was open to this, because not only was it a great opportunity for this paper, but it also helped me get to know Adhita better. I took a rather general approach to the religious questions that I proposed to the Sahai family because I didn’t want to push to deep, I could tell Hinduism is extremely important to this family. Because this family does not attend a religious site where they worship, I instead listened to how they do this at home as a family instead.
A Shakespearean play always includes a typical villain character. He is boisterous, egotistical, sometimes witty, and all too eager to seek revenge. In William Shakespeare Othello, Iago is the well-liked, trusted, and brave ensign of the great Venetian general Othello, or so it appears. Iago actually possesses all of the typical villainous qualities, however Iago conducts himself with great composure, and by manipulating his counterparts, he makes people believe he is on their side. I find this characteristic to be a very intriguing one that is not easy to perform. It is perhaps Iago's villainous actions throughout this play that lead me to believe that he is the hero rather than the typical villain.
Heller, A. (2007). Discoveries in western Tibet and the western Himalayas essays on history, literature, archaeology and art : PIATS 2003, Tibetan studies, proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003. Leiden: Brill.
William Shakespeare's Othello is a remarkable tale of trust, deceitfulness, lust and the most destructive of human emotions: vengeance and hatred. Iago better known as Othello's antagonist embodies vengeance and hatred to move an agenda to squash all who oppose Iago's plans. As defined by Merrium-Webster the definition of a protagonist is a principal character in a literary work or a leading actor, character, or participant in a literary work. Othello by Shakespeare is a play about Othello an example of a tragic hero with all figures centered around Othello as the protagonist yet, Othello has two main leading characters. Iago and Othello have stark contrasts as leading roles and different themes represented through the actions, words, and moral compass of both characters. As Othello plays out the audience finds that Iago is the driving force behind Othello and the cause for all chaos. Iago's thirst for vengeance due to feeling dissatisfied and passed over potential lieutenant position pushes Iago to ruin the lives of all associated with Othello. The thirst for vengeance drives Iago as Iago drives the plot achieving all goals and because of this Iago is the true protagonist of Othello.
Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry followed behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking (“11 Facts” pg. 2). The International Labour Organization estimates that women and girls represent the largest share of forced labor victims with 11.4 million trafficked victims compared to 9.5 million men ( ). Trafficking comes in many forms, forcing victims into prostitution, subjecting victims to slavery or involuntary servitude, compelling victims to commit sex acts for the purpose of creating pornography, and misleading victims into debt bondage (11 Facts. Pg 2). According to federal reports estimate that 14,500 to 17,500 victims are trafficked into the United States each year (What is Human Trafficking. Pg 2). Traffickers will often make their victims’ new birth certificates, passports, and drivers’ licenses making it almost in possible for them to ...
In the story of Othello we see how the actions of one man go on to ruin the lives of multiple people. The villain Iago single-handedly creates the tragedy of Othello through his puppeteer like control of the other characters in the play. Iago captivates the audience as his plan progresses. Readers are anxious to know what will happen next in the play. What makes Iago so fascinating is his mysteriousness as a character, his fully devious ways, and how magnificently clever he is in organizing the demise of Othello.
Obama, P. (2012, September 25). United States contribution to ending Human Trafficking [Interview]. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
What is human trafficking? “Human trafficking is when a person is recruit harbored, provided or obtained for the purposes of exploitation—often sold as an object”(Goldberg 1). “According to Atilade, human trafficking which is defined as the trade of humans through force deals with fraud or coercion to exploit the victims for forced labor, sexual exploitation, or both”
Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy can have a substantial amount of unfamiliar terminology and specific meanings for words we think we know the definition to. In order to ensure comprehension and clarity a few terms need to be defined. Buddhism as a spiritual movement is the following of the teachings of a fifth century B.C. E. Indian spiritual leader named known as Siddhartha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or --in the case of this essay-- the Buddha. Tibetan Buddhism will be defined in a similar manner. Tibetan Buddhism is in the course of this essay will focus on one of the six schools of thought in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon. The “Oral Tradition” or the Kagyu School is the monastic linage that arrives in Kauai in the twentieth century.
Rinpoche, Samdhong. Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism in Today’s World; forward by 14th Dalai Lama. (Tibet: World Wisdom, 2006), 264.
Tibetan thanka[1] paintings are a wonderful example of the interconnectedness of religion and art. These images are “not meant to be the object of simple idolatry” (Jackson 11), but rather take on a more interactive role, which can be applied to nearly every facet of traditional Tibetan life. Tibetan Buddhism pervades all aspects of the creation and use of thanka paintings—in the training and requirements of the artists who create the paintings, in the physical creative process itself, in the iconography used, and in all the painting’s multiple functions. Tibetan thanka paintings, throughout their entire lifespan—from concept to consecrated image—help devotional religious activity for Tibetan Buddhism[2].