Masked dance climaxes Buddhist ritual

The annual eight-day Dayuan Buddhist Ritual of the Yonghe Temple in Beijing came to its climax Monday afternoon when the buzha dance was performed by the temple's lamas.

The buzha, or cham in Tibetan language, is a masked dance used in Tibetan Buddhism to exorcize devils. Wearing masks of skulls and various demons, the lamas of Yonghe Temple performed buzha to the accompaniment of traditional Tibetan instruments.

At the end of the dance, the lamas walked in a procession with a model of the devil and threw it into a fire, symbolizing the exorcizing of the devil and pacifying of the world. After the ritual, the lamas continue to chant sutras, while people got a small bag of sacrificial fruits and candies before leaving the temple.

"I feel peace inside me after the ritual," said 40-year-old lay Buddhist Tian Feng. "It drives away the evil spirits, and guarantees a peaceful year."

The Dayuan Buddhist Ritual, or "Buddhist Ritual of Great Vows" of the Yonghe Temple, is held every year from the 24th of the first lunar month to the first of the second lunar year, which is today. During the first five days, the lamas chant sutras from morning to evening, while on the seventh day, which is also the last day of the first lunar month, the buzha dance is performed. The administrative department of Yonghe Temple estimates that each year around 3,000 to 4,000 attend the seventh day of the Dayuan Ritual.

"I'm an ethnic Mongolian, and we believe in Tibetan Buddhism. I come to attend the Dayuan Ritual at Yonghe Temple every year, for it can clean away my worries," said Sarula, a female college student.

Today the lamas of Yonghe Temple will chant sutras while circling the temple. This year's Dayuan Buddhist Ritual will end around noon today.

Built in 1694, the Yonghe Temple, or the "Palace of Peace and Harmony", is a temple and monastery of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism. Of the more than 100 lamas in the temple now, most are ethnic Mongolians. There are also lamas of the Tibetan and Tu ethnic groups.

By Mu Qian

Buddha's skull found in 1,000-year-old miniature pagoda in China

LONDON: Archaeologists have claimed that a 1,000-year-old miniature pagoda, unearthed in Nanjing, China, holds a piece of skull belonging to
Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.

According to a report in the Telegraph, the pagoda was wedged tightly inside an iron case that was discovered at the site of a former temple in the city in August this year.

The four-storey pagoda, which is almost four feet high and one-and-a-half feet wide, is thought by archaeologists to be one of the 84,000 pagodas commissioned by Ashoka the Great in the second century BC to house the remains of the Buddha.

The pagoda found in Nanjing is crafted from wood, gilded with silver and inlaid with gold, coloured glass and amber.
It matches a description of another of Ashoka's pagodas, which used to be housed underneath the Changgan Buddhist temple in Nanjing.

A description of the contents of the pagoda indicate the presence of a gold coffin bearing part of Buddha's skull inside a silver box.

Although scans have confirmed that there are two small metal boxes inside the pagoda, experts have not yet peered inside.

According to Qi Haining, the head of archaeology at Nanjing Museum, "This pagoda may be unique, the only one known to contain parts of Buddha's skull".

But he said there would be a lengthy process before the cases could be opened.

"The discovery of the relic will have a huge influence on the cultural history of Buddhism in China and will establish Nanjing as a premier site. It will be a great encouragement for Buddhists as well as for future studies," said De Qing, an expert in Buddhism in Nanjing.

"It is important for Buddhism as a religion to have these sarira, or relics, to show its followers. The more a Buddhist practises, the more relics will remain of him after his death. I am hugely excited. I think they should take the skull outside of the container, it is a sacred item, but it is not an untouchable item," he added.

Siddhartha Gautama, who is believed to have been born in the fifth century BC, was a spiritual teacher and recognized by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age.

Also known as Shakyamuni, or the Sage of the Sakyas, his teachings are contained in the Tripitaka, the canon of Buddhist thought.

Is the Dream of Independence for Tibet Now a Lost Cause?

Why are we asking this now?

Over the weekend, his Holiness the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet's Buddhists and the man who has been at the centre of efforts to highlight the Tibetan cause for decades, explained that he "had given up" his struggle. "I have been sincerely pursuing the middle-way approach in dealing with China for a long time now, but there hasn't been any positive response from the Chinese side," the 73-year-old told an audience at Dharamsala, the Indian Himalayan town that is the headquarters of the so-called Tibetan government-in-exile. "As far as I'm concerned, I have given up."

Does that mean the Dalai Lama is retiring?

Karma Choephel, the speaker of the parliament in-exile, told reporters that the Dalai Lama used to say that he was semi-retired and that now he believed he was was almost completely retired. However, a senior aide to the Nobel laureate last night dismissed speculation that he would start taking a back seat in Tibet's affairs. "Because of the lack of response from the Chinese we have to be realistic. There is no hope," said Tenzin Taklha. "His holiness does not want to become a hindrance to the Tibetan issue, and therefore has sent a letter to the parliament regarding what options he has."

Is there a possibility that he may continue his work?

Talk of retirement may be a little misleading. Last year, Tenzin Gyatso, who is the 14th Dalai Lama, made clear that he wished to reduce some of his political duties and have the elected Tibetan parliament-in-exile take a more active role. However, when a crisis broke out this spring – as the Chinese authorities cracked down aggressively on a number of uprisings across Tibet – the Dalai Lama placed himself at the centre of efforts urging restraint from both sides. He even offered to personally travel to Beijing to negotiate with the Chinese leadership over the issue. One position from which he cannot retire is his role as a living god. Having been anointed the 14th Dalai Lama when he was just two years old, he will retain that position until death.

How have the Chinese authorities responded to the Dalai Lama?

In short, pretty badly. Either directly or else via their proxies, Beijing has routinely dismissed and demonised the Tibetan spiritual leader and his supporters. In the spring, during the worst crisis in Tibet for two decades, the head of Tibet's hardline Communist Party, Zhang Qingli, said of the Nobel laureate: "The Dalai is a wolf in monk's robes, a devil with a human face but the heart of a beast. We are now engaged in a fierce blood-and-fire battle with the Dalai clique, a life-and-death battle between us and the enemy." At the time, the Dalai Lama insisted that the uprisings that broke out across the Tibetan plateau had not been orchestrated or organised from Dharamsala. He urged a peaceful solution to the problem.

What impact would the Dalai Lama's retirement have on the movement for Tibetan independence?

In regard to the high-profile campaign to gather support around the world, if the 73-year-old decided to stand down it would be a huge blow. Since he fled to India 1959, the Dalai Lama has worked to spread the word of his homeland's fate, courting both politicians and Hollywood celebrities such as Richard Gere and Steven Seagal. Charming, ebullient yet convincing, he has been more responsible than anyone for gaining supporters to the cause. On the other hand, not all Tibetans support his tactics. For many years the Dalai Lama has promoted a "third way" in regard to Tibet, calling for meaningful autonomy rather than full independence and arguing that he wants to protect Tibet's people and culture. Even during the spring crisis earlier this year, he refused to give his backing to calls for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

What has been the response of young Tibetans to the retirement?

Many younger Tibetans say thatwhile they respect the Dalai Lamaand venerate him as a living god, his tactics are wrong. Groups such as the Tibetan Youth Congress have demanded full independence forTibet and led a far more outspoken campaign to achieve it. The group's president, Tsewang Rigzin, said yesterday: "I think the statement by his Holiness is an eye-opener for the Tibetan people. "We are not against the middle-way approach of his Holiness, the fact is that China is not sincere and has never been sincere in talking about the middle way."

Who might fill the sandals of his Holiness?

The Dalai Lama has said he wishes the elected Tibetan government-in-exile to take on some of the work he currently does. However, some observers believe that an unofficial, transitional political successor might be Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who is the Karmapa, or spiritual head of the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism. The 17th Karmapa – who is froma different school of Tibetan Buddhism to the Dalai Lama andwho cannot inherit his title – is just 23 years old. His escape as a teenage boy to India from Tibet via Nepal – he arrived in 2000 – has become the stuff of legend. Earlier this year, the young man made his first visit to the United States, triggering much talk that officials might be preparing him for a bigger role. At the time, even the Dalai Lama himself said: "There are now spiritual leaders who are young, energetic and well educated. "They can assume the role of spiritual leadership, as the political role is played by a democratically elected government."

What difference would any of this make to China?

Perhaps very little whatsoever. At the time of the crisis this spring, China reacted swiftly, aggressively and with seeming little regard for public opinion. Travel to Tibet was suspended and the ban then remained in place until the Olympic Torch had been run through the region. As soon as the demonstrations had been put down, journalists were flown in for special tours by the Chinese authorities. An unknown number of people were killed and hundreds were arrested. China insists that Tibet has officially been part of the Chinese nation since the mid-13th century and that it should continue to be ruled from Beijing. China is anxious about encouraging separatist movements in other parts of the country, such as in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province. As a result, it has refused to discuss any loosening of its control over Tibet, which it invaded in 1950.

What will happen next?

The Dalai Lama has already called a special meeting of Tibetan exiles for next month in Dharamsala to discuss both the spring crisis and the future of the movement. This will undoubtedly be surrounded by speculation that he could use the event to stand down. The conclave, which is due to begin on November 17, is apparently only the third such meeting of its kind in the past 60 years. The Dalai Lama is expected to address the six-day meeting of delegates from non-government organisations, politicians, monks and intellectuals and lay out his views about the way forward.

Is the Tibetan independence movement now likely to fail?

Yes...

• The Dalai Lama appears to be running out of patience and without him the movement would lose an irreplaceable campaigner
• The Chinese show no intention of offering any kind of autonomy to Tibet
• The rest of the world is unwilling to upset China

No...

• There is a new generation of highly motivated activists who are ready to continue the struggle and who back a more direct approach
• Across the world, the Tibetan cause wins new supporters every day
• Should China move towards democracy, Tibet's fortunes might look very much brighter

By Andrew Buncombe

Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in China

Olympic peace in China

The Olympic games have always been recognized symbolically as a global event that allows countries to peacefully come together in friendly competition.

The host country is highlighted throughout the event as a globally respected community, full of diversity and maintaining a way of life for all to aspire to.

To be selected by the Olympic Committee to be the host country is considered an honour.

And starting August 8, the country that all will be looking at as a respected global society is China.

China? Respected? As far as China’s track record for human rights is concerned, respected should not be the term used to define China. As a matter of fact, the actions of the Chinese government are contradictory to the meaning of the games themselves.

Now, these games, which are supposed promote world peace despite cultural differences, are being held in a country where the government has enough trouble accepting their own female population, let alone people of other races.

This is a country that has thrown more than 400 000 children ages 12 to 16 into a school system where intense and dangerous manual labour in manufacturing and agricultural schemes is viewed as the ideal way of raising and educating the youth.

It’s a country that prides itself on restricting public opinion by limiting the voice of journalists, threatening long jail sentences for speaking against the national government. It limits the general knowledge of the world, restricting the nation’s Internet access so people may not learn that the outside world is better and different from the reality they experience in China.

And China is ruled by a repressive government, which has complete control over the legal system and controls its people with an iron fist. It gives its workers no individual freedoms by prohibiting unions and physically attacking those who want civil liberties.

It’s a government that has taken an often violent stance against the country of Tibet, destroying their villages, burning down their places of meditation and devastating their ecosystem by turning Tibet into China’s dump. It blames the fall of society in China on Tibetan Buddhism and their leader, the Dalai Lama, who has to live in exile.

This is not the one place in the world right now that should have the entire globe’s attention. For an event that promotes world peace to be held in a country which enforces its dictates by gunpoint, this is one that no one should celebrate.

So, instead of watching the Olympics, go outside and play a sport with your friends or family. Enjoy the many freedoms that we hold in Canada. And know that whatever sport you are playing is supporting the Olympic spirit more than the events that are occurring in Beijing.

From Bancroft This Week

Selling Tibet to The World

GUCCI, iPod, Facebook, Tibet - these are among the world's hot brands, for which brand integrity is everything.

Tibet, as a brand, works particularly well. It brings in millions, and Hollywood A-listers queue to endorse it. What's more, they do it for free. Creative director and brand chief executive, the Dalai Lama, will visit Australia again next week. He will preside over a five-day Tibetan prayer instruction course in Sydney. A company has been set up to handle the visit - Dalai Lama in Australia Limited.

Tickets for the event can be bought online even from The Age's own Box Office website along with tickets for Bjorn Again and The Pink Floyd Experience. But few are as expensive as the Dalai Lama experience, with tickets ranging from $800 for front seats to $450 for seats at the back. Tickets for good seats for the Sunday session alone are $248. Lunch is extra - between $18 and $27 for a pre-ordered lunch box. A clothing range has even been created. There are polo shirts, baseball caps - even men's muscle tees emblazoned with the endless Buddhist knot. From street chic to urban cool, baby, this monk has funk.

Saving Tibet, like Saving Private Ryan, is a good earner. Everyone's into it, even China. Back in April, a factory in China's Guangdong province was exposed as one of the manufacturers of the Free Tibet flags so prominent in the anti-Olympic torch protests in Britain, France and the US. The factory workers claimed they had no idea what the colourful flags represented. Blame China's state-controlled media for that.

But dark clouds threaten the Tibet brand. The Dalai Lama has just been in Britain where an appearance at Royal Albert Hall was marred by more than a thousand protestors, most of whom were supporters of Dorje Shugden, a controversial deity in the complex pantheon of Tibetan Buddhist deities. The Dalai Lama, who apparently once supported this deity but then issued edicts against it, has attracted the ire of the deity's supporters.

Shugden supporters plan to protest against the Dalai Lama next week in Sydney too. Several are flying in from the US and Britain to help organise the protests. They have been tailing the Dalai Lama recently, popping up wherever he does with placards labelling him a liar and a persecutor. It's embarrassing for the Dalai Lama because these are his people.

One called on me recently in London. She was accompanied by two bodyguards, which is suggestive of how hot tempers are getting on both sides, despite the ostensible support for non-violence. The precaution might be well founded. In 1997, three monks were murdered in Dharamsala, India, where the Tibetan government-in-exile has its headquarters. A year earlier, a former Tibetan government-in-exile minister was stabbed and wounded. Both events seem to be linked to the Shugden controversy.

Selling Tibet to The World - Page 2

By Michael Backman

Selling Tibet to the world

Shugden supporters claim that the Dalai Lama took advantage of the worldwide groundswell of support that accompanied the Olympic torch protests earlier this year to move against them. They claim that on his orders hundreds of pro-Shugden monks were expelled from Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, mostly in India, leaving them without financial support and shelter. They now argue it is the Dalai Lama who is breaching human rights when it comes to freedom of worship.

While in Britain, the Dalai Lama gave evidence to a British parliamentary committee about the human rights situation in Tibet despite, as Shugden supporters pointed out, him not having set foot in Tibet for almost 50 years. Of course, before that, Tibet was ruled by the Dalai Lamas, under whom the human rights situation was nothing short of disgusting. The brand makeover since has been startling. It helps that Westerners find mountains romantic. Come down from them and anything can be excused.

Why is the Dalai Lama so hell-bent on moving against Shugden supporters? A reason might be that he genuinely believes Shugden worship is wrong. Another seems to derive from his desire to unite the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism - the Nyngma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelugpa. This has always been one of the Dalai Lama's problems. He is not the head of Buddhism; he is not even the head of Tibetan Buddhism. Traditionally, the Dalai Lamas are from the Gelugpa sect. But since leaving Tibet, the current Dalai Lama has sought to speak for all Tibetans and particularly all overseas Tibetans.

To enhance his authority, he has sought to merge the four traditions into one and place himself at its head. But Dorje Shugden presents a roadblock. One aspect of Shugden worship is to protect the Gelugpa tradition from adulteration, particularly by the Nyngma tradition. Nyngma followers respond by not wanting anything to do with Gelugpa followers sympathetic to Dorje Shugden. So to allow a proper merger of the four traditions, the Dalai Lama needs to get rid of the Shugden movement. If the Dalai Lama can claim to represent all Tibetans, it will increase his political prestige and clout with overseas Tibetans and with governments.

Pushing the Dalai Lama's wheelbarrow is Australia's right as an independent country. But given that China is Australia's most important trading partner, Australia owes it to itself to fully understand exactly what is in that wheelbarrow before it pushes so hard. After all, prudent shoppers are always careful to separate the actual product from the brand and the buzz that surrounds it.

Selling Tibet to the world - Page 1

By Michael Backman

Oh Tibet, Who Will Buy Your Spirituality Now ?

Recent events in Tibet and the ethnic Tibetan parts of Western China this past couple of weeks have lead to much press about the China-Dalai Lama conflict and the apparent struggle for control of the region. It’s a complicated issue, fraught with deceit, mystique, sadness and an apparent inability to see towards a solution. Perhaps, however, when a solution is already to hand, it is no longer necessary to search for it.

The question of Tibet goes way back, to the middle ages, and the Mongolians. A rejuvenated Altun Khan, a direct relative of Genghis and Kublai Khan, reuniting the Mongolian empire following the death of Genghis and a factional Mongol war amongst its territories, was reclaiming parts of its Empire lost.

Tibet, always at risk from invasion from Mongols at the time, had bought off an invasion and retained autonomy by agreeing to provide blessings and salutations to Mongolian kings (khans) over the preceding centuries. Accepting Buddhism as being the closest thing to Mongolia’s own shamanistic beliefs, the Mongolian Khans, who ruled much of China at this point, where all too happy to be officially ‘anointed’ by the spiritual leader of the religion, adding a divine acknowledgement of their right to rule.

Altun however, and the Tibetan kings of the time, needed something more. Power brokerage and infighting amongst different Tibetan kings was threatening the role of Buddhism as the absolute authority over the country. Rather than have Kingly direct descendants – and their families – claim sovereignty, the Tibetan de facto King Sonam Gyatso and Altun Khan agreed, on the banks of what is now Lake Qinghai in Western China, to acknowledge the existence of “Dalai Lamas” – a supreme being and leader of the Buddhist faith, as the rightful and sole keeper of the claim to Tibet. In doing so, two Dalai Lamas were posthumously recognized, with Sonam Gyatso proclaimed by Altun Khan to be the third, in 1578. A child would then be sought, following the death of the new Dalai Lama, as a reincarnation, and as such the line would continue. Needless to say, it was immensely auspicious to the ruling Khans, seeking the blessings of heaven and divinity, and provided security for the Tibetans themselves, living under the protection of Mongolian armies from the eyes of Chinese warlords, that the next Dalai Lama would be found to be the Great Altun Khans nephew. And so the tradition began.

Over the next centuries, Mongolian power within the region declined, and the Chinese became the power brokers. But with Buddhism the dominant religion, even Emperors needed blessings from the Dalai Lama to reinforce their claims to the thrones. It was a cozy arrangement; Tibetan autonomy in return for the provision of Spiritual blessings. As long as these were thought necessary, Tibet remained free.

It was not to last. Tibet itself was divided by different Buddhist factions over the right to wield such power brokerage, and wars and skirmishes amongst Tibetan tribal factions within the region were common. Tibet, seeking to expand its borders and gain greater access to taxable lands and crops to boost its coffers, regularly invaded other nations border areas, while internal political strife between the different sects continued, most notably between the Yellow Hat and Red Hats sects of Buddhism, a civil war that lead to the Red Hat sect being dominant in Bhutan, a Buddhist country where the Tibetan Dalai Lama, a member of the Yellow Hat sect, is not welcome.

The Tibetan form of Buddhism too, developed a perversity. Deliberately layered in mysticism and magic, its many tales remain impenetrable – how else can you sell superstitious spirituality? Monks, seeing a life of opulence and power, began taxing the people not just financially but also spiritually – the religion’s rituals becoming a way to keep the people under control of the religious leaders.

Week-long circumnavigation of mountains, crawling for years to Lhasa on pilgrimage, prostrating oneself to monks, all in the hope of reincarnation towards nirvana – these may be exotic, but they where designed to subjugate a people into submission. And so the monks grew wealthy under the people’s patronage and desire for a better life, in the next one, as the very demons and Gods created by them continued to fascinate and keep in check the believers.

And so it stayed, until the dawn of a new era. Darwin dispensed with God, and science kicked open the 20th century. As superstitious beliefs worldwide began being swept away with a new pragmatism, Tibetan days were numbered. With no other industry to support itself other than the exporting of religion, it would only be a matter of time before someone like Chairman Mao declared China an atheist state, and Tibet’s main export value disappeared. Tibet now was on thin ice. A very young Dalai Lama, a country ruled by old monks with no real idea how to govern or provide for a country shorn of its only influence and patronage, meant the shortcomings of the Tibetan ruling structure began to unravel. Once the people began to starve, the ability for a government of Tibetan monks to be the practical rulers of Tibet came to an end. Tibet turned to China, and it has remained that way for nearly 60 years.

The rule of Tibet by China of course has not been without its critics. However, when one asks around the region (I travel there extensively, researching a planned book on Tibetan explorers from the 16th century), in the Northern Himalayan villages of India, of the Nepalese, and of the Bhutanese, of what they think of the prospect of Tibetan independence, it’s nearly always negative. The current Dalai Lama is seen as increasingly irrelevant, if kindly, while memories of past Tibetan aggressions run deep. The overwhelming majority of the people in Tibet’s border countries see Chinese rule as being the best for the region. “The Chinese have bought stability to Tibet” was one typical answer from a Nepali taxi driver I interviewed in Delhi “Before the Tibetans were always warlike, causing troubles. China has calmed the region down.” It’s a surprising attitude from Tibet’s neighbors, and one not often cited in Western media used to asking Richard Gere for quotes.

The other aspect not covered at all in Western reporting of the Tibet situation when violence and protests over Chinese rule flares up is what would happen if Tibet was independent? There has been little thought given to the consequences of a Chinese pull out. Many China observers are happy to be trendily sympathetic to a Tibetan struggle for independence, but what would the repercussions be?

The Dalai Lama, wise as he may be, is getting old and becoming frail. What would happen if he died as head of the country during the period while his reincarnation has to be found, educated and groomed as a successor? It’s a 20 year period. Who would rule Tibet in the interim? What infighting and political mischief would take place? It’s not hard, under those circumstances, to imagine a civil war in Tibet. And it has happened before.

While the world wants China to develop more democracy, much of it curiously seems blind to the Tibetan system of government and what it means. If we truly want to see Tibetan rule by Tibetans, then the government in exile – who have been holding talks with Beijing – will need to do better than promote reincarnation as a system of government hierarchy. I would love to believe in reincarnation. But I would love to believe in the Unicorns in Harry Potter too, and reincarnation isn’t selling well in these less enlightened days. Just because a political succession system 400 years old has failed the country it was supposed to protect does not give it a right to exist as a governmental model in the modern world, Dalai Lama or no Dalai Lama.

My question for the Dalai Lama would be this issue: How democratic do you want Tibet to be? And world leaders, and the media, if they insist on meeting him, would be well advised to ask just how his current system of beliefs actually fits in with a pragmatic and practical way to govern. Because like it or not, China appears to have solved the problem already to the satisfaction of it’s neighboring countries. If not for the Tibetan activists, and until there is a better system in place, the current Chinese rule of Tibet remains the only viable option for peace and stability. If you thought the recent riots were bad, imagine what it would be like without a stabilizing force to keep the region in check. While it remains a romantic notion for much of the West to see a return to the Dalai Lama, the practical repercussions would be very grave indeed.

The Golden Fishes (Skt. suvarnamatsya; Tib. gser nya):

This symbol consists of two fishes, which usually appear standing vertically with heads turned inwards towards each other.

The pair of fishes originated as an ancient pre-Buddhist symbol of the two sacred rivers of India, Ganga and Yamuna. Symbolically, these two rivers represent the lunar and solar channels, which originate in the nostrils and carry the alternating rhythms of breath or prana. In Buddhism, the golden fishes symbolize happiness, as they have complete freedom in water. They represent fertility and abundance as they multiply very rapidly. Fish often swim in pairs, and in China they represented conjugal unity and fidelity, where a pair of fishes would often be given as a wedding present.

Both Jesus Christ and Buddha are known as 'fisher of men,' because they save mortals from the ocean of suffering.

This article by Nitin Kumar
Editor
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