 HOULD TIBET BE LIBERATED? This question is hardly ever asked here in the West because it is taken for granted by anybody with a conscience that Tibet should be freed. This point of view comes from the perspective of China as an evil empire that cruelly swallowed up a peaceful sovereign nation, enslaved and tortured its people, destroying its culture and banned its religion. How can anything not be more clear-cut? In fact, the only individuals who seem to disagree or remain quiet on the issue are those sucking up the the Chinese — our politicians and business leaders. But whilst it is undeniable that China, like every other empire, has behaved abominably, there are also factors in the equation that blur the ideological separation between an evil China from a good Tibet.
If you ask most people about their vision of Tibet before the Chinese invaded, they would say that it was a peaceful Buddhist country, with a free and happy population, a powerful yet peaceful religious tradition, and a sovereign state that has always been separate from China. They would tell you all this because it is the prevalent view of exotic far-away Tibet. But this is a myth, and it is a myth that ultimately fuels support for Tibet's liberation here in the West.
Like all myths, some of it is based on truth, and some of it is not. The Tibetan issue is very far from black and white, and most of us here in the West have been played by propaganda campaigns.
The first inkling that I had that something was wrong with my view of Tibet and its history was reading, in Nexus Vol 12, No.4, an article by Dr. S. D'Montford entitled Unveiling Bloody Buddhism. In reviewing the evidence, D'Montford makes it very clear that Tibetan "Buddhism" is NOT Buddhism at all, but is more accurately described as "Lamaism". The original religion of Tibet was Bon-Po, a form of shamanism, but this was oppressively and systematically replaced by an imported and bastardised form of Buddhism, with the aid of the 8th Century Tibetan King Khri Srong-Ide'ti-btsan. He basically issued an ultimatum to his religious subjects to either turn Buddhist or become ordinary tax-paying citizens, or leave the country. Most chose to leave. Those that refused all options were threatened with death. The Bon-Po monasteries were stolen, holy shrines were destroyed and the King tried to burn all holy writings. (These were hidden in the mountains, ravines and even in some converted Buddhist monasteries.)
And so Tibet became a "Buddhist" country, except that it was not Buddhism as we know it. It was violent, brutal, oppressive, political, despotic and cruel, bearing no relation to its Indian or Chinese counterparts, which is why it is often described as Lamaism by true Buddhists. If you don't believe this, look at the religions yourself: notice the stark contrast between genuine Buddhist temples and Tibetan Buddhist temples, and the enormous differences in the teachings and the teachers. Nobody who understand any of the original Buddha's teachings would in any way categorize Tibetan Buddhism as Buddhism. It simply is something else entirely, something that masquerades as Buddhism.
And under this system, that tightened its iron grip on the Tibetan people over the centuries, the ordinary person suffered extensively, oppressed into supporting a ruling cast of Lamas, who rules their "subjects" with none of the compassion and mercy that is generally associated with Buddhists. Life in sovereign Tibet was brutal and oppressive, with Lamas thinking nothing of issuing orders for the murder of their political and religious opponents. For example, the Penchen Lama was forced, in 1923, to flee tibet because the 13th Dalai Lama had ordered his soldiers to kill him on sight because he believed and promoted a more just society that was not under the theocratic rule of Lhasa. (Ironically, he sought refuge in China which was more tolerant and civilized than Tibet at that time.)
And those that believe that such repression is merely a mistake of the past should take note that the present Dalai Lama (yes, you know the guy with the beautiful warm smile and kind heart) will also occasionally issue an edict that must be obeyed by the whole Tibetan church around the world, for example when he banned the worship of Shugden in 1996 as he believed it was a "relapse to shamanism".
The original religion of Tibet was Bon or Bonpo shamanism. Bon is the true shamanic or animistic heritage of Tibet and its aim is to bring internal peace so that a transcendent oneness — called rigpa — is realized. Trance states are used in conjunction with possession by spirits at special dances so that voice can be given to the gods, demons and other spirits that are believed to inhabit the land. Idols are central to Bonpo worship and
When Bon was outlawed by Tibetan Buddhist King Khri Srong-Ide'ti-btsan and its monasteries destroyed, there followed a 400 year period of persecution of those that followed the traditional beliefs, similar to the Christian faith's inquisitions. One old Tibetan shaman from the Kham provinces who fled to Kashmir before the Chinese invasion describes how practitioners of Bonpo were imprisioned or skinned alive en masse by the Tibetan Buddhist monks and how the skins were hung out to dry in the streets of Lhasa.
As a result of this persecution, many of the Bon practitioners moved over to the new official religion, colouring it with their shamanism. And so, Tibetan Buddhism became a bastardised form of Buddhism, a mishmash of Buddhism and Bonpo Shamanism.
It is interesting how this religious persecutions is paralleled by that of the Chinese in the last century. Talk about karma! Persecution begets persecution. You cannot just sublimate that level of trauma in a population; it needs to play out… and it did. Make no mistake, Tibetan Buddhism has a very bloody history and is light-years away from the peaceful religion it now holds itself up to be, largely through the PR efforts of the current Dalai Lama and his contingent.
So even though the Chinese invasion of Tibet has caused so much suffering and should be condemned (any invasion of any country and persecution of its people should be condemned), it also served to liberate the Tibetan people from persecution by the Lama ruling classes, bringing the opportunity to become more than just slaves to that outdated and cruel system.
But here in the West we should not fall for the Tibetan Buddhist PR. We should realize some of the complexity of the issue, and not allow ourselves into the knee-jerk response of automatic support for the "Free Tibet" campaigns. Yes, Tibet should be free, but not free to be exploited again by the Tibet government in exile. |
