tibetan worldview
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Tibetan Worldview . Stacie Andrews, Richard Sweet, Glenni Rankin, Sarah Hollingsworth HCOM 301 04/29/13. The Dalai Lama. Those unrelentingly cruel ones, objects of compassion, Maddened by delusion's evils, wantonly destroy themselves and others; - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Tibetan Worldview Stacie Andrews, Richard Sweet,
Glenni Rankin, Sarah HollingsworthHCOM 30104/29/13
The Dalai Lama...
Those unrelentingly cruel ones, objects of compassion,
Maddened by delusion's evils,
wantonly destroy themselves and others;
May they achieve the eye of wisdom, knowing what must be done and undone,
And abide in the glory of friendship and love.
Tibet: The Roof of the World
China's Tibet Autonomous Region: 1965
Tibetan Settlements in India
Tibetan-Government in Exile: Indian State of Himachal
Predesh, a village known as Upper Dharamsala. This is
where the Dalai Lama resides.
Tibetan Refugees in Nepal
Tibetans...
Demographic Information
- China’s grip makes this more difficult..
- Tibetan and Mandarin Chinese
- The Han people
- China’s Tibet Autonomous Region
- Communities of faith
Core Values
- Individual expression of spirituality
- Buddhism
- The Dalai Lama: human happiness; inter-religious harmony; survival of identity, culture, and religion
- Faith
Elements Necessary to Understand World ViewTibetan philosophy engages in
philosophical investigation not only to gain an understanding of the world but to also gain an understanding on how to eliminate suffering in the world.
Religious or spiritual beliefs
• Indigenous Tibetan religion called Bon.• Tibetan Buddhism (influenced from earlier Indian
Buddhism and Bon).o Dalai Lamao Use of mantras and yogic techniques.o Preoccupation with the relationship between life
and death o Gods and spirits taken from earlier Tibetan religionso Texts are separated into two sections
Translated Words- the teaching of Buddha Translated Teachings- commentaries written by Indian and Tibetan authors
o Four main sects of Tibetan Buddhism Ancient White Earth Oral Transmission Way of Virtue
Ontological beliefs• Two different “schools” of
ontological thinking that originated from Indian Mahayana Buddhism.o Mind Only School
(Yogacara) Awareness and
consciousness is the only thing with intrinsic essence.
o Middle Way School (Madhyamaka) Denies that anything
has an unchanging essence.
Epistemological beliefs• Mysticism -meditation,• Religious Faith- texts,
dalai lama• The Doctrine of Two
Truths:o The Two Truths
Conventional (Normal) truth
Ultimate Truth~Truth can mean “true” as
well as “real”.~
Ethical Views/Teachings
• Utilitariano elimination of
suffering• Aristotelian
Virtueo flourishing and
freedom both function as a goal for good traits
Education
• Lowero Beginning in 1999, 200 schools were built and enrollment went
from 85% to 98% in 2010.o Secondary education is taught in Mandarin and entrance exams
to universities are in Chinese.o From primary school through college, tuition fees for ethnic
Tibetans are completely subsidized by the central government• Higher
o In 1980, Tibetans were only 10% of higher education studentso In 1984, Tibet University was est.o By 2006, had six institutions of higher learning.
Medicine
• Ancient system based on Buddhist philosophy and psychology.
• The mind is considered to be the base because all existences and moments depend on its movements; it is the creator of every external and internal phenomena.
Rural-Agrarian• 90% work as herdsmen• The other 10% live in towns earning living doing
business and handicraft work, factory workers or government officials
Clothing
• Cultural regions- home woven gowns• Grasslands- sheepskin• Men from Chamdo- red/black silk tassels• Lhasa residents- more modern/stylish
Rituals & Practices
• Buildings are blessed by a lama that circles it twice and throws handfuls of rice in each direction.
• The Hada is the most precious gift.
• Tibetan festivals such as Losar, Shoton, & the Bathing Festival are deeply rooted in indigenous religion.
• Tibetan music often involves chanting in Tibetan or Sanskrit, as an essential part of the religion.
• Each house has altar tables for worshipping Buddha. o Most important part of the home is the prayer room. o Tend to be very colorful with scenes of Buddha’s life
• Do not eat horse, dog, or donkey meat, and some areas do not eat fish as well.
• Polyandry is practiced amongst nomadic Tibetans still today.
Oppression
• Nearly all the beggars in China are Tibetan.
• China has occupied Tibet for over 60 years
• Since 2009, about 100 Tibetan monks, nuns and others have set themselves on fire to protest the severe living conditions imposed on Tibetans
• More than 250,000 Tibetans die in prisons and labor camps.
• Since the 1960s, China has inflicted severe damage to Tibet’s environment: Toxic waste is dumped into rivers; forests are clear-cut; endangered species are hunted for sport; and nuclear-testing facilities are built.
• Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans die from famine and disease.
Government-in-Exile• Dharamsala,
India• Established after
escape(CTA)• Sino-Indian War• Dalai Lama's
policy of China owned Tibet
Failure of Chinese Programs• "Great Leap Forward" (1958-1961)
o Shift from Agrarian to Modern Communisto Massive failure of the program
Commune system Industrialization Economic Loss
• "Cultural Revolution" (1966-1976)o Another attempt to modernizeo To fix the mistakes of "Great Leap Forward"o Led to the destruction of 6,000 Tibetan
monasteries
Protests• 3•14 Riots
o Meant to bring attentiono 44 monks since 2009o Arrests and Deathso Censorshipo United States Reaction
What Can You Do?• Read more about the issues...• Internet Websites
o http://www.savetibet.org/support-tibeto http://www.helptibet.org.uk/
• Spread awareness!
For More Information:• For more on Tibet: http://www.tibet.org/• Free Tibet: http://www.freetibet.org/• For more information on Tibetan Buddhism:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/tibetan_1http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/sects/tibetan.htm
• Tibetan Epistemology and Philosophy of Language: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology-language-tibetan/#Epi/
• Tibetan Philosphy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/tibetan/