For over 2000 years Buddhists in Tibet have lived freely and independently, but in
1949-50 that all change when China invaded and took control.1 All of their traditions and customs, government, environment and rights were taken away and destroyed by this tragic invasion.2 The majority of Tibetans were either killed or exiled, but the ones exiled have been very strong throughout all of this and stayed true to their beliefs and themselves. After enduring the exile to India, Tibetan Buddhists still managed to live their lives in the traditional Tibetan fashion.
The origin of Buddhism dates back to around 563 BCE , with a man by the name of Siddhartha Guatama.3 He was an Indian prince born in Lumbini, India. He
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Prior to the tragedy in 1950, Tibet was a entirely sovereign country. For example, the Government of
Tibet had complete control over their internal and external affairs, the Chinese had no involvement of any kind. Also Tibet had its own currency, stamps, language and writing,
maintained it own small army and stayed neutral during World War II. They were entirely independent and living their peaceful happy lives. Mr. Sonam T. Kazi, one of the Dalai
Lamas Chief Interpreters, on his first visit to Tibet in 1948 said “Could there be any other place on this earth where peace and happiness really prevail? The peace and happiness I saw in Tibet at this time must surely have been the result of the freedom that independent
Tibet enjoyed since 1912, under the leadership of H.H. the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, and which continued even after his demise, up until the Communist invasion in 1950.”14
In 1949-50, the Peoples Republic of China invaded and took control of Tibet and its people.15 This was an act of “unprovoked aggression”, and there was no logical reason for it.16 In doing this China destroyed the Tibetans cultural and religion, independence, environment and universal human rights.17 China had broken the international laws, violated it own constitution, and went without punishment.18 Since the
Most religious leaders come to power through elections or appointment. However, the leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, is simply found. Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the idea that a person’s soul never dies and is instead born into a new body. Additionally, the death of one Dalai Lama spurs the quest for a young person born with that special soul. The search for the fourteenth
The Tibetans and the Navajo Native Americans are from different cultures. The Tibetan’s have lived intertwined with China for centuries. They tried to free themselves from China rules yet they failed. The 14th Dalai Lama fled China and found exile in India. China to this day has total control over Tibetan people. “Using all the tools of repression to deter and punish Tibetan resistance” as stated on Free Tibet. The people of Tibet are dedicated to the Dalai Lama. The monks and nuns play a vital part in the community, furthermore they are viewed as teachers and mentors. The Chinese did not want the Dalai Lama to have the followers that he had. If a person how any paraphernalia of the Dalai Lama could lead to their incarceration and or torture. The Chinese monitors and controls the religious aspects in Tibet. Consequently, the Chinese government found the devotion of the Tibetans to the Dalai Lama as a danger to their political goals. By way of contrast with the conflict with the Chinese government, the monks live a simple life. The Tibetan monks believes in the liberation of all being, personal enlightenment, compassion and nature around us.
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
“In 1949 35,00 Chinese troops invaded Tibet.”This was put into detail in an article by Hisyam Takiudin.The Chinese raped,tortured,and murdered one fifth of the Tibetan population,most in work camps and during arbitrary.As a result,47 million people in all have died during these tragic times. The brutality was so bad that the parents with children were forced to bury their children alive when they disobeyed.These crimes have lasted 49 years! Evidently,these crimes are still being committed! In Tibet today there is still no freedom of speech,religion, and arbitrary detainment still continues. As Tibetans are being slaughtered,we’re sitting here doing
Although China still has not yet given Tibet its freedom, the country of Nepal has offered refuge to monks, artists, and other Tibetans. Despite being away from their homeland, these people will be able to preserve their culture and with a leader like the Dalai Lama, perhaps one day Tibet will be free again.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Dalai Lama “were unattainable in the magnitude of their principled suffering, fortitude, and almost transcendence of morality, they become history even as they make it” .(Bloom 1)
The Republic of China never attained direct control over Tibet, and so there was a de facto independent Tibetan state. This unofficial and unrecognized country continued to exist for about forty years. During this time, Tibet was controlled by a very conservative people. Refusing to modernize and/or industrialize. When the communist revolution in China occurred, and the former government fled to Taiwan, they would have to face a new threat: the People’s Republic of China. The People’s Republic claimed that the Tibetan government was exploiting the citizens as serfs, and that they should be liberated from them by none other than the People’s Liberation Army. Although Tibet actually had a high resemblance to medieval European feudalism, the government never exploited the citizens per se. When the PLA was at their doorstep, they were nowhere near prepared and were conquered by the Chinese. They were eventually officially annexed into China, and the 14th Dalai Lama was exiled to India. Under the PRC, the Tibetans endured many hardships that were brought upon them. The so-called Great Leap Forward led to widespread starvation, and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution led the Red Army to destroy thousands of cultural artifacts and sites,
Born in China, Dalai Lama who originally was called Tenzin Gyatso was the spiritual leader of Tibet. He reined this region from 1950 after being declared the spiritual leader in 1937. His advocacy was for non-violent liberation and this made him earn a Nobel Prize in 1989. The objective of this paper is to offer a detailed analysis and criticism of the response of Dalai Lama (His Holiness) as he is interviewed by Jose Ignacio about the possible integration of Buddhism and Christianity. However, Dalai Lama does not think that there are possibilities of the two religions integrating without the loss of integrity despite the fact that all major religions have some common features in them. The paper shall as well offer response and conclusion to the argument that ‘all the major world religions are destined emphasis on love, compassion, tolerance, and forgiveness to promote the inner values in people and not conflict.’
Did you know only fourteen men have been given the title Dalai Lama in the entire history of Buddhism? (BBC, 2009). The word Dalai Lama means “Ocean of Wisdom” and according to Buddhists, he is a reincarnation of a past lama who has decided to be reborn. (BBC, 2009). The current Dalai Lama is named Tenzin Gyasto and he is eighty-two years old (BBC, 2009). Gyasto has the role of being the political and religious leader of Tibet, a tradition that has been practiced since the fourteenth century (World Biography).
The Dalai Lama has also challenged adherents to accept the fate that is given to them and make the greatest use of their reincarnated form. As a young child he was unable to reject the position of ‘Dalai Lama’ however he has managed to utilise this position to the best advantage and has bettered the world through this. He has pushed for the bettering of the world for both religious and secular societies. His messages of peace, tolerance and the renunciation of the desires of anger and revenge have resonated with people globally.
The fourteenth Dalai Lama, named Tenzin Gyatso, has been both the spiritual and political leader of Tibet for about sixty-five years. When most people imagine life as a political or spiritual leader they most likely imagine a life of privilege and luxury. His Holiness, however, has lived a life of exile away from his people and his country. When His Holiness was at the young age of fifteen, The People's Liberation Army invaded and took control of Tibet. In order to protect the religion of Buddhism and his life, he fled Tibet and journeyed to the neighboring country of India. Since then, he has been joined by a number of refugees who, to this day, try their best to preserve their religion for generations to come. Can you imagine trying to protect
Most nomadic pre-Tang rulers = Buddhist; after Han fall Buddhist divisions grew in China w/ Chinese qualities, esp. in Tang dynasty: strong socially, economically, & politically
In keeping with the historic Chinese conviction(never actually formalized) that Tibet was at the very least a vassal state of China, the Nationalist government took the official stated view that Tibet was an integral part of the Republic of China (Xu 1063). Therefore, we deferred to the Nationalist point of view when considering Tibet’s legal status in the 1940s. The fact that the KMT believed Tibet to be part of China would be a factor in the US Tibet policy as long as the KMT remained in power in mainland China ( Norbu 264). In fact, if the KMT somehow managed to hold on to power in China in the Civil War against the Communists, the US would have declined to support Tibetan independence. However, by 1948 the KMT’s defeat was imminent and the US Ambassador in India recognized the possibility that if the “Communists succeed in controlling all of China…we should be prepared to treat Tibet as independent to all intents and purposes” (Knaus 55). At this early stage, even with such statements bringing up the issue of recognizing Tibetan independence, the US continued to make an effort to avoid alienating Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT (Roberts 2).
If I had to ask the Dalai Lama one question concerning the behalf of his exiled government and the status of his people, I know exactly what it would be. How can you preach non-violence and compassion while watching your people in Tibet suffer such inhumane punishments for simply having national and spiritual pride? As an established political and spiritual leader of any given nation, the first and foremost obligation of this office is to maintain and uphold the well-being and overall safety of the peoples of that nation. The Dalai Lama has traditionally held the position of spiritual and political leader within the Tibetan culture, and continues to do so in
Among world leaders, there is no one like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, religious and political leader of Tibet and winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. Brought up from an unusual childhood, he became head of the state of Tibet at age 16, and was later forced into exile by the Chinese government. Despite all the hardship he had to endure he does not give up his fight for freedom and treats all sentiment beings with love and compassion. Through his fight for freedom, he has proven himself to be the spiritual and political leader whom the people of Tibet love.