Tibet and Tibetans: an extraordinary land and its people

During the many years I lived in South Asia for many years, I was able to spend time in Tibet. It is an extraordinary place, home to many interesting people, and a land of diverse ecosystems. I have been privileged as well to meet many Tibetans - those who continue to live in Tibet as well as Tibetan refugees scattered across the globe.

Tibet (which is much larger than the political entity called the Tibet Autonomous Region by the Chinese) is home to high desert plateau, jungles, mountains, flatland, stunning lakes, wonderful wildlife, and of course, some incredible buildings, such as the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple, Drepung monastery, and my personal favorite, the beautiful Kumbum monastery in Gyantse. (Wikipedia has a good list of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples here.)

Many people assume that all ethnic Tibetans follow Tibetan Buddhism, but Tibet is also home to a small minority who are Muslims, known as Kachee or Kache. I have met some Muslim Tibetans - there are a number living in Kathmandu who arrived there as refugees from Chinese rule.

The West did little to help the people of Tibet when the Chinese invaded in 1950, or afterwards. These days China's treatment of Tibetans is a controversial human rights issue, and its destruction of theTibetan environment a tragedy. From what I have seen and from the people I know and have talked with, I have no doubt whatsoever that in the decades since the invasion the people of Tibet have suffered tremendously. The Chinese claim that there have been some improvements - Tibet really was an incredibly feudalistic society where poverty and superstition caused a great deal of suffering.

Improvements by the Chinese have come at a cost, one that has been quite unbearable for many many people and very destructive to the environment. Has it been worth it? As an outsider it may not be for me to say, but I do believe that if Tibetans had retained control of Tibet under the leadership of the present Dalai Lama, he would have led the people of Tibet into the modern era with much less destruction on every level.

In any event, Tibet is an extraordinary land, and I hope that others will be able to learn about it here.

Here is a good basic introduction to Buddhism, with lots of links.

A nice selection of videos about Buddhism. Titles include Daily Readings from the Words of the Buddha, Timeline of Buddhist History, The Wheel of Life, and more. See them all here.

Tricycle is published by The Tricycle Foundation, a non-profit organiztion which is dedicated to making Buddhist views, values, and practices broadly available. Their website contains many resources for those new to Buddhism as well as those already familiar with it.