Carrying the torch for the Dalai Lama and Tibet

Tibet

There is some concern about what should be done by well minded progressives about Tibet. From a Western perspective many feel that Tibet was invaded by the Chinese about 50 years ago and has been oppressively occupied ever since. (The Chinese claim that Tibet has historically been a Chinese province and thus their actions are not an invasion and occupation at all).

I think this is a spiritual question, however most seem to see it as a political or diplomatic issue with possible economic and or military solutions. Currently there is a lot of pressure on the Chinese about the Olympics. Western leaders are being pressured into not attending the opening ceremonies- which would be a slap in the face against the Chinese. Also as the Olympic torch is being relayed around the world, the honorary torchbearers are being bushwhacked by political demonstrators to gain symbolic attention to the plight of the Tibetan people.

These issues seem to invite an inquiry as to what response is spiritually sound.

I have only a passing knowledge of Tibetan culture and history and only a superficial understanding of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, but even with this limited perspective I would suggest we look at the Tibetan question a little deeper before suggesting any overt actions or interventions.

Tibetan Buddhists believe in reincarnation (the same soul being born again and again into the world after its body dies). They also believe in karma (the current effects in this lifetime are often the result of actions in a past life). I think well meaning people ought to take these values into account, as well as a little history of Tibet, before determining right action.

For something like a dozen generations Tibet has been ruled by one man- the Dalai Lama who is both their religious and political leader. They fervently believe that his soul is reincarnated over and over again as their chosen leader. At the end of one generation he dies, and then the elder monks search the country for his reincarnated soul in some infant or small child whom they elevate to leader of the country so he can rule for another lifetime.

During his rein as leader, for nearly 1000 years, Tibet has utterly resisted the influence of any western ideas. No foreigners whatsoever were allowed into the county. A few isolated and highly regulated traders were permitted on the fringe of Tibet but no religious teachers or intellectual scholars were allowed into the country for as far back as anyone can remember. This was so that their teachings would remain pure and their country remain untarnished by the West.

Consequently, Western ideals such as religious freedom or religious choice were not possible in Tibet- no other ideas except Tibetan Buddhism were permitted in any fashion when the Dalai Lama ruled.

There was no democratic inclination whatsoever. For over one thousand years there was not even a whisper of some sort of popular right to vote or impact the governance of the country.

There was almost no private ownership of land available, most of the country was owned by monasteries and temples and ruled over by the monks who reported directly to the Dalai Lama. The common people were no better than surfs and more likely slaves. The level of oppression is hard to imagine today but it was near absolute a few dozen years ago when the current incarnation of the Dali Lama was born.

While the Dalai Lama ruled, there were zero paved roads in Tibet. There were zero public medical facilities. The formal education (indoctrination) of children was entirely controlled by the monks and their monasteries.

Now, given the framework of their belief system and this is their history, can you see the implications of Karma here?

Now, after 1000 years of relentless exclusion of Western Influence, the Dalai Lama seems to want the West to intervene on behalf of Tibet. After 1000 years of unmitigated oppression, the Dalai Lama wants freedom for Tibetans. After 1000 years of continual unchecked rule by one leader, the Dalai Lama seeks some sort of democratic rule for the Tibetan people. Now, after being invaded militarily by the Chinese-and after the standing Tibetan army was crushed and the Tibetan violent uprising and resistance crushed – then the Dalai Lama begins thinking about nonviolence and democracy and benevolence.

It seems to me that what is happening in Tibet right now is the natural and logical result of the karma that the Dalai Lama imposed on himself and his country for about 1000 years.

We know that grace is available to transmute karma and transform any difficult situation into a blessing. One essential ingredient is to see what we did to create the karma in the first place and make direct amends to those we have harmed by our actions.

While I do not pretend to know God’s will or God’s ways, it seems to me that if the Dalai Lama is repudiating the Tibetan Buddhism and the teachings he has used to organize his country for so long, that he should be very clear and open about it. If he has changed his opinion about self rule, about religious plurality and about nonviolence, then he should be explaining how his soul in this incarnation has been blessed by living in the West and his consciousness has been uplifted through the interaction with Western teachings.

Before intervening economically or diplomatically into some other countries karma, I hope we should consider a deeper understanding about what might be working out in the spiritual plane.