Safeguarding Identity And Culture: Before Chinese Invasion Of Tibet

In 1950, China sent 40,000 Chinese troops, ironically known as “the People’s Liberation Army”, to invade a relatively large and peaceful country named Tibet for their abundant resources. Due to this national crisis, the position of the 14th Dalai Lama was given to Tenzin Gyatso (“Birth to Exile”). Over the next few decades, China’s harassment of Tibet caused a myriad of problems, such as famines, the destruction of many sacred Buddhist monasteries and other cultural sites, etc. Thirty year after the initial Chinese invasion, the people of Tibet protested out of outrage that nothing has changed for thirty years, to which China responded with brutal force to stop the protesters. Due to the Dalai Lama’s

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

Steeped in rich traditions, Tibet is a land of rugged, breathtaking beauty and intriguing spirituality. But political repression and population engineering are radically changing the cultural landscape. Can Tibet's traditions, ethnicity and customs survive in such controversial and precarious times? To what extent has Tibet been able to maintain its cultural identity?

The article “Buddhism and the Feminine Voice” was written by Gay Watson for Routledge, a publisher that specializes in humanities and social sciences topics. The author discusses how as Buddhism has spread across the world, its message has in turn changed somewhat to fit each culture it encounters. As Buddhism has become popular in the West, it has had to adapt to a vastly different outlook that from peoples in the East, including a larger emphasis on feminism. However, although the author is advocates for more acceptance of “the feminine voice” (Watson, 2003, p. 25) she is careful to refer to it less in terms of the feminist movement and more in terms of inclusion of feminine qualities in all aspects.

The universally recognized 14th Dalai Lama has tirelessly fought for the freedom for Tibet, during and after the unlawful occupation of the Chinese. His non-violence and political involvement for Tibet had brought acknowledgment and respect from the rest of the world.

Gender relations being an important part of the society, plays a major role in understanding religion and religious practices. In this essay, I am discussing two patterns on a ritual at a Buddhist temple, based on my observations, and how they connect to gender-related religious theory. The ritual I attended was at a Buddhist temple named West End Buddhist Temple in Mississauga. It was based on meditation led by a monk, the male instructor. It started with a story of Buddha, the divine figure of the religion, followed by a set of instructions and pieces of advice by the monk. This was accompanied with a guided silent meditation session. It ended with chants and prayers to god and the divine, Buddha. The ritual had several parts which explicitly or indirectly exposed the role of gender in the ritual and to a small extent in the religion. Theories of religion based on gender are tools to better understand how gender is interconnected to religion and its role in religious practices. This essay argues how, observations on pattern of male dominance during the ritual aligns with Mary Daly’s theory on androcentrism in religion. It also analyzes how the observations on pattern of equality among the participants interrelates with Antonio Gramsci’s theory of counter-hegemony.

“In Tantric Buddhism, we are dealing with a misogynist, destructive, masculine philosophy and religion which is hostile to life – i.e. the precise opposite of that for which it is trustingly and magnanimously welcomed in the figure of the Dalai Lama.”[1] Within Tibetan Buddhism, there is an inherent contradiction regarding the status of women. Although in many aspects women are seen and treated as inferior to men, several of the ancient and fundamental values of Tibetan Buddhism, and more specifically Tantric Buddhism, emphasize equality of the sexes, universal compassion, and most importantly the significant and essential role of the woman. Tibetan Buddhist nuns have been trying to

The issue is about China and Tibet, Should or shouldn’t Tibetan Exile Refugees change their peaceful approach toward China by appealing to sympathetic nations to militarily force China out of Tibet? During the 1600’s Tibet was a very powerful country and the Dalai Lama was introduced as the leader or Tibet. China controlled Tibet in the Early 1700’s. The British arrived in Tibet in 1904 to help them overcome China. They signed a treaty, and set up trading posts. China controlled Tibet until 1911, when Tibet kicked out Chinese troops. Even after 1911, China still claimed Tibet as an area within the Chinese domain. In the 1920’s the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama fought over political affairs. Panchen Lama left Tibet and

The Dalai Lama’s captivating life story is about his journey as the political leader of Tibet, as well as an equally important religious leader. He goal in this autobiography is to “counter Chinese claims and misinformation”, which includes describing the horrific brutalities the Tibetan people suffered because of Communist China’s invasion. His exile to India is explored along with the freedom that it provided to the Dalai Lama. His belief that respecting humanity along with having compassion can make the world become a better place since it can encourage equality and peace.

“Tibet is located in the county of China, where is known as the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is located to the south and west of the central China Plain, to the east of the Kashmir religion of India, and to the north of Nepal and Bhutan. Tibet was occupied on October 1950 when units of China called people’s liberation Army crossed the River Yangtze into Kham, the eastern province of Tibet in the foot hills of the Himalayas, Varying estimates put their numbers at 40,000 or more than 60,000. By either way they were in overwhelming strength. The Invasion had been planned by Deng Xiaoping, a future Chinese premier and two other Senior Communist officials in Chine’s south west military Region”.

Tibet is located at the western part of China into the Himalayas with disputed country origin (Crowe 2013). In addition to the central Tibet, it also forms the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) along with Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces composed of a total population of approximately 5 million (Crowe 2013). There are also Tibetans living in regions of India composed of different religions and Sikkim, Bhutan, and Nepal (Crowe 2013). The relationship between Tibet and China has drawn significant attention worldwide as each state view themselves as the superior state. In Tibetans’ perspective, they are the “agents of their own civilizing project with regard to the spiritual life of the Mongols.”

During 1950, china invaded tibet and the small tibetan army couldn’t handle the stronger chinese army and had to give in. In 1951, a peaceful liberation took place and was signed by Tibet making many agreements with China. The biggest condition was giving authority to the chinese over Tibet. The upcoming anniversary of this liberation should not be commemorated because this was an invasion on the tibetan culture and on the lives of the tibetan people.

China and Tibet have always had a deeply intertwined history, and for the majority of that history, Tibet was always either directly or indirectly a part of the greater Chinese culture and nation. The first recorded emperor to rise to power was Songzen Gampo, a tribal chief who had unified the region after conquering the rival kingdoms of Nepal and Kamarupa. During his reign, he married a princess from the Chinese Tang Dynasty, centralized rule to the emperor, and introduced Buddhism to Tibet for the first time (Tibet). By the ninth century, Tibet was engrossed in turmoil as volatile relations erupted between the royal court and tribal chieftains, leading to the breakdown of central rule and the lessening of Buddhist influence in Tibet. As

When one hears the word "Tibet," several pop-culture images come to mind; these might include the often seen "Free Tibet!" bumper sticker, the perpetual smile of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, or the mental image of orange clad monks with shaved heads, chanting in unison. American culture has embraced many aspects of Tibetan culture in a rather superficial manner, but upon further inspection, it becomes apparent that these particular aspects have been embraced because they represent what is most important to Tibetans: their seemingly endless struggle for political freedom from an oppressive Chinese rule, the religious and political role of their charismatic leader, Tenzin Gyatso, and the role of religion

Tibet has been in a battle for there freedom againt chinese rule for quite some time. It has been a long struggle, one which chinese rule calls the "Tibet question". The Tibet question is an on going debate having to do with china, and the international community as a whole .The Tibetens, who are now under chinese government rule, also known as Beijing ,face two main battles. The first battle is the journey to self determination. The journey to self determination may seem like it is fully the result of the way chinese rule acts towards the Tibetan people, but it goes deeper. It began when Beijing invaded and took power of Tibet in 1949. The invasion, no doubtfully has caused much issues between the Tibet governement in exile