Cultural genocide in Tibet
In honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 77th birthday,
July 6, 2012 (published in Hebrew on July 6)
July 6, 2012 (published in Hebrew on July 6)
My
son and I lived in Lhasa for a year and half, from September 2007 to
the end of February 2009, except for two and a half months somewhere
in the middle, when all foreigners in China who didn't have tickets
to the Olympics were sent to wait outside China. Most of them crowded
into Hong Kong during that period. In March 2008, there were riots in
Lhasa. We only saw black smoke rising above the city for several
days, and heard booms of a monastery being shelled - a monastery
being shelled...
The
Tibetans mostly burned Chinese shops - the Chinese are mainly
interested in money and property; they tyrannize the Tibetans,
desecrate their temples and treat them with contempt. Of course, the
Chinese responded with a massacre, shooting every person, woman,
child in the area of the Jokhang Temple, the most sacred place to
Tibetan Buddhists in the world. Names of 219 dead were reported.
About 1000 are missing, some of them survived in the mountains, but
many bodies were taken to incinerators outside the city by the
Chinese.
And
the Tibetans? An endearing people full of joy. They love picnics in
nature, and sing and dance for days, whole extended families. Once I
wore a Tibetan skirt, a chuba, and walked part of the Lingkhor (a
sacred circumabulation route around Lhasa) together with everyone
else. I received so many warm comments, "Hi," "How are
you?" in English and Tibetan. I heard people talking about me,
"She speaks Tibetan (or: Chinese)," people smiled, made eye
contact, mainly women. That day I wrote, "It's so easy to make
the Tibetans happy;" it's enough just to put on a piece of
clothing... The Tibetans have suffered for over 60 years, genocide,
cruel oppression, unimaginable kinds of cultural oppression, for no
reason, only because of greed, and lack of understanding and
appreciation of the culture and the customs of this extraordinary
people.
In
the film “Seven Years in Tibet,” when Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt)
brags to the seamstress Pema Lhaki (Lhakpa Tsamchoe) about his
Olympic gold medal, she says, “This is another great difference
between our civilization and yours. You admire the man who pushes his
way to the top in any walk of life, while we admire the man who
abandons his ego.” About 1300 years ago, the Tibetans, a collection
of warring tribes scattered over the Himalaya, understood, as a
society, that they are killing each other, and that they need this
Dharma very much, this medicine for violence, that comes from the
thought to harm others, a thought that arises in an untrained mind.
Tibetan society as a whole, with all of its resources, devoted itself
to producing compassionate people.
Would that our hearts would melt, and Tibet and all of us would know a different world, a peaceful world.
"I've never eaten their food. It's dirty."
The Chinese traditionally eat with chopsticks, and look down on Tibetans who traditionally eat with their hands, like their Indian neighbors to the west and south.
Relief map of the Himalayan high plateau. The Tibetan area has distinct geographical boundaries, beginning from 3000 meters above sea level. The Tibetans are genetically adapted to the high plateau, whereas the Chinese tend to suffer from the high altitude. The typical Chinese attitude towards living in Tibet is reflected in the comments above.
Chinese lack of respect for Tibetans is prevalent in Lhasa.
Fortunately, many wonderful exceptions to this 'rule' can be found, both in China and abroad, such as the Chinese-Tibetan friendship societies (see end of post) and the work of the extraordinary Chinese historian Li Jianglin, whose book, "1959 Lhasa !" is banned in China:
Many Chinese Buddhists, both in and outside China, support Tibetan freedom.
What is truly precious? Individuals who have conquered their ego, who have purified their mindstream, who have developed great compassion, are truly precious. Tibetan lamas languish in Chinese prisons for decades due to our ignorance about the preciousness of genuine spiritual teachers.
Garchen Rinpoche spent 20 years in a Chinese prison:
Top right: The plaza in front of the Jokhang Temple.
An ad for a Chinese language evening paper shows a Tibetan family reading Chinese.
Ten letters in the Tibetan alphabet used for Sanskrit transliteration, shown on the right, are missing from workbooks Tibetan children now use to learn the alphabet.
The Communist Chinese have issued a law to control the reincarnation of Tibetan tulkus, although the Communists don't believe in any religion or in reincarnation at all.
(Close pop-up and scroll for English: Past Lives - Science & Documentation - 3 Films)
"We would all be covered in white. It was a lot of fun."
In a 2009, a TV program from mainland China aired in Hong Kong, showed the Tibetan Losar festivities.
Clockwise from top left:
Playing a dice game called 'sho';
Playing billiards;
Beggars lined up near the Jokhang temple during Losar;
A boulevard lined with kiosks full of Chinese and Tibetan prostitutes.
(Top right and lower left photos are screenshots from the film: Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion)
Lower left: Rooftop guard under an umbrella and surveillance camera overlook the plaza in front of the Jokhang Temple.
Lower right: Behind the Jokhang Temple ticket seller, hidden from the visitor's view, is a security guard.
During 'sensitive times,' all Internet service is simply cut off in Tibet, for days, even weeks, at at time. There is no Youtube in Tibet.
Getting caught with a photo of His Holiness can send someone to prison for five years.
Below: A jewelry shop on a central Lhasa street, before and after its speedy repair.
Top: Damaged building on a side street that remained untouched a year after the riots.
Clockwise from top left:
Tea house near the Potala Palace;
Plaza in front of the Jokhang Temple (compare other photo above);
Sidewalk and street in front of the Potala, usually filled with pedestrians, traffic and prostrators;
Entrance to Ramoche Temple, the second most important temple in Tibetan Buddhism;
View from the back gate (title slide) of the university.
A sidewalk once packed daily with tables of mahjong players. After many months of inactivity, one lone table returned.
Prof. Robert Thurman, author of "Why the Dalai Lama Matters," envisions that Tibet will be declared a global environmental peace park:
Chinese-Tibetan Friendship Societies
Australia
This slide presentation was first shown at Haifa University East Asian Studies Department, March, 2009, and then on two other occasions in Israel.
Nothing has changed since then.
This presentation is as relevant now as then.
The Tibetan problem has only worsened over the years.
62 Tibetans have self-immolated and are demanding human rights, freedom of religion, cultural and linguist freedom, the right to be Tibetan in Tibet, and an end to over 60 years of oppression and cultural genocide.
Tibet is a #1 global issue:
1. environment http://www.tew.org
2. non-violence http://tinyurl.com/cp44k3y
3. creating healthy minds http://www.mindandlife.org
1. environment http://www.tew.org
2. non-violence http://tinyurl.com/cp44k3y
3. creating healthy minds http://www.mindandlife.org
Original posting, July 7, 2012:
42 Tibetans have self-immolated,
sacrificing their lives for freedom and world peace.
