The
Tibetan issue seems so insurmountable, China so immovable, does it make
sense to struggle for the seemingly impossible, rather than apply one's energy to
more rewarding causes? - Good question.
And yet, it is not the
far away Tibetans against the a little less far away Chinese, but it is
what those two groups stand for, in each and every human being. It is
the David vs. Goliath metaphor, but with the additional aspects of the struggle of the spiritual heart against material self interest, justice vs. might.
Tibetans
have not one government left in the world that effectively lobbies for
them. AND China's power is not just its own, it is greatly inflated by
the power of the (now global) Western economic system and its role
within it. So it is not Tibet against China, it is Tibet against the
power and interest of the global economy.
We, the ordinary people
in the world must stick up for Tibet. We have collectively created this
amazing real life metaphor for the transformational struggle within
each person, each family, community and country. China against Tibet,
self-interest against Bodhicitta, materialism against spiritual values.
Life
has a magical way to set the agenda, write the scripts. It was only by
chance that I happened to stumble into this situation, (see http://www.dolanji1.blogspot.com/)
on one side the budding support, flowing from Germany for the nunnery
and on the other side the crackdown from the police just before Losar,
cutting the monastery off from its Western sponsors , all against the
backdrop of the many arrests of Tibetans returning home to Tibet after
the Dalai Lama having given Kalacakra Initiation in Bodhgaya.
It was like an icy wind
blowing through an already chilled environment. There was just one
thought in my mind: We must keep these great hearts warm!
Whoever
has looked into the intricacies of Tibetan history, especially the
struggle between Bon and Buddhists, will be able to appreciate the
additional challenge for Bonpos.
Bonpo culture, knowledge and spiritual
wisdom has breathed life into Buddhism, it has made Tibetan Buddhism
into what it is, so different from many other Buddhist schools. However
throughout long periods in Tibetan history Bonpos were prosecuted,
killed, exiled, forced into conversion and maligned.
Now, as very special twist of karma, the Bonpo texts (see http://www.dolanji2.blogspot.com/)
seem to hold proof, that indeed, Tibet was not only an independent
country, but had it's own unique cultural and religious identity of a
comparable standard to Buddhism, which had been imported from India.
Therefore,
after all that, please let's rise to the challenge, for our own good,
and do what it takes to bring the Tibetan people to their home.
