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I do not understand Tibetan culture but you cannot build all the temples and/or grow enough food for yourself and to sell by spinning prayer wheels without doing some very hard work somewhere along the way. Tibet is a tough place to live.
I do not understand Tibetan culture but you cannot build all the temples and/or grow enough food for yourself and to sell by spinning prayer wheels without doing some very hard work somewhere along the way. Tibet is a tough place to live.
GregW
From what I saw, the Dalai Lama was a feudal king that got "volunteers" to do all that. Those temples are for the Buddhists monks and not for the common Tibetans. Make no mistake, up close the workmanship is pretty bad.
I am not big on Kings and kingdoms. Not too cool if your are not a royal or part of the entourage. Westerners faun all over British Royals and the Japanese Imperial family. What is up with that?
The last two posters seem knowledgeable about china, I've always confused about this question, china is a big place so there are a lot of different religion present of course, but what is the old time, primary, what most folks believe or influenced rather, religion, is it buddhism? is it the same all throughout that part of the world?
First - I do not and never will have any truce with Kings! I find the concept of a hereditary aristocracy to be an abomination.
There have been volumes written on "Eastern" religions. IIRC there are many religions in China ranging from spirit worshipping animism to Confucianism, Buddhism and Christian and just about everything in between. China is indeed a huge country and a very complex and has many ancient cultures. Go to the library and check out some of the books in the subject. Or try Wikipedia for an outline.
In my book, India with it's caste system would not have put the Tibetans in a higher caste.
India no longer has a legal caste system. It exists but is illegal. At least India is a democracy of sorts not a totalitarian state like China, if they had invaded...
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The problem as I saw it is that the Tibetans want stuff, but instead of opening up shop or working like the Chinese, they spend their time "circumambulating" around the religious squares and literally spinning wheels in hopes of getting good luck.
Material stuff is no replacement for freedom or independence from an occupier.
The last two posters seem knowledgeable about china, I've always confused about this question, china is a big place so there are a lot of different religion present of course, but what is the old time, primary, what most folks believe or influenced rather, religion, is it buddhism? is it the same all throughout that part of the world?
brassbin
I was confused too. I spent months exploring China. In the Northwest Xinzhang region I saw Mosques standing next to Christian churches, Buddhist Temple abound. When I studied in 1983 in Beijing, there was a Catholic church.
I have a sister in law who worked for a Star TV in HK that is very proud that she in persona non gratis in China. I was in her bathroom a few years back and she actually had an article framed that was from some Vietnamese newspaper calling her delusional about hundreds of underground Christian churches. The VN said she must not have been doing her reporting during Xmas time when all the nativities and Xmas stuff was ubiquitous.
I went to VN last year and saw very heavily attended Catholic churches mid week.
I don't quite know how to reconcile what s reported in Western press and what I see with my own eyes. Confucius and Bruce Lee say believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see. So I guess I have to believe more of what I see.
The Han (Chinese) have and will be tied up in Tibet for generations. They have been trying to take over that part of the world for 5,000 years and haven't done it yet. We should just mind our own business. I suspect that as the prosperity of coastal China spreads to the hinterlands there will be increasingly effective efforts to spread the power and decrease the hold exerted by the Imperial bureaucrats in the Palace in Peking. I would love to be able to watch this play out over the next couple of hundred years.
shaking my head--Many felt the same about Afghanistan and Iraq.
I will exercise my First Amendment rights while I can.
India no longer has a legal caste system. It exists but is illegal. At least India is a democracy of sorts not a totalitarian state like China, if they had invaded...
Material stuff is no replacement for freedom or independence from an occupier.
The invasion was back in 1950 when the caste system was in full legal force. China was different then as was India. China needed the area strategically. Less so now.
I do not know all my Tibetan history, but I recall a Major Youngblood who fought for the British with India in an attempt to take over Tibet. I saw a movie there in Tibet were a *** went crazy and took out a bunch of Brit soldiers to save Tibet.
The Chinese were successful in their invasion and now India and the West are sore they didn't do it.
Like I said before, I am not big on kings. I spent a week at my BIL's house in the UK listening to how common people should know their place. Is that freedom? independence ? where you cannot work your way up? buy your way out? you are just stuck subjugated to a feudal lord.
Are you saying that the Tibetans might take to blowing up stuff like the radical Islam folks? Buddhism = Peaceful religion.
Islam = Peaceful religion.
To be honest, some of these Tibetan protests are peaceful and some are definitely violent looking.
Bob--
I have just started to learn about Tibet/China.
Some Afghani's? got out and moved to my area. Stories about the slaughter of family members and destruction of homes/culture concern me greatly.
FWIW--I am a female and while I can 'accept' that there will be wars and have always been wars, etc--it 'bothers' me.
I really believe that if China is sufficiently provoked it can bring about a type of 'Change' that I wouldn't like. Honestly hope I don't have to live that long.
<sigh>Generally after a remark like that someone has a pithy response.
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