Tibet: The End of Time

The video I watched last week was a video from Time Life that discussed the culture and history of Tibet, a vast yet remote land surrounded on all sides by the 5-mile high Himalayan Mountains. The video covered the overall religious beliefs of Tibet, as well as the rise and fall of the civilization over the years.

The religion celebrated by Tibetans is Buddhism, a religion founded upon the teachings of Buddha Sakayamuni (ca. 560-480 BCE), which aimed to reduce suffering, and to ultimately escape the bondage of rebirth. The Tibetans believe that the cycle of life follows three distinct phases: birth, death, and rebirth – the soul follows this cycle, each time entering a new body to live the next chapter of the soul’s life. They also believe that the behavior of the soul in one life determines the body it will inhabit in the next life – if one leads an ill life, the soul may return in the body of some lowly animal, whereas if the life is favorably lived, the soul may return as royalty.

In their religion, the Tibetan Buddhists believe that over the past 600 years, their leader has died 13 times, each time returning in a new body. They call their leader the Dalai Lama, which means “ocean of wisdom.” As the god-king of Tibet, the Dalai Lama instructs his people on how to live their lives through the Buddhist religion.

The current Dalai Lama, or Tenzin Gyatso, was born on July 6, 1935, recognized as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama two years later, and was enthroned on February 22, 1940 at the young age of 4. In order to prepare to lead the people of Tibetan Buddhism properly, the Dalai Lama endured extensive education not only on the religion itself, but several other areas of study. In 1989 the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The citation read, “The Committee wants to emphasize the fact that the Dalai Lama, in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet, has consistently opposed the use of violence. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people.” This citation refers to the invasion of Tibet and the following efforts of the Dalai Lama. This history can briefly be summarized as follows:

On November 17, 1950, 80,000 Chinese troops invaded Tibet. In 1954, the Dalai Lama went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Tse-tung. His efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to Sino-Tibetan conflict were thwarted in Beijing. In 1959 the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, was the scene of a huge demonstration calling for China’s withdrawal from Tibet, and reaffirming Tibetan independence. The Chinese army crushed the uprising. The Dalai Lama escaped to India, where he was given political asylum. Since 1960, the Dalai Lama has resided in Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile. (2)

The Tibetan monks produce a most interesting form of art through the employment of colored sand. Using extraordinary finesse and expressiveness, the Tibetans create masterpieces through the use of sand to construct “sand paintings,” best seen in their construction of the Kalachakra of Time, a Tibetan Sand Mandala. Each Mandala is a sacred mansion, the home of particular meditational deity, who represents and embodies enlightened qualities ranging from compassion to heightened consciousness and bliss. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Mandalas are created for rituals of initiation in which a highly qualified teacher grants permission to advanced disciples to engage in the tantric meditation practices. The Mandala is a symbolic mansion or citadel for the gods; a temporary home to which the deity descends when invoked by the adept of the officiant. In essence, the ceremony involves the transportation of disturbing emotions into beneficial intuition and wisdom. Typically, such an initiation is given at the request of an individual or group of people. The altruistic motivation of the artist and sponsor is essential to the creation of Mandala (1).

It is a strictly symmetrical form consisting chiefly of circles and squares, using white, yellow, green and red within its geometrical construct. Every feature within the Kalachakra Mandala is a symbolic representation of some aspect of the Kalachakra deity and the deity’s universe. There are 722 deities in the Mandala, each symbolizing one of the various manifestations of aspects of consciousness and reality, all part of the ultimate wisdom of the Kalachakra deity (1). The citizens of Tibet will wait in line for days in order to view the Kalachakra Mandala, as viewing the Mandala is considered to be a culmination of their religious lives, which is comparable to an audience with the pope.

The video was highly informative and very enjoyable, to say the least. I found the culture to be amazing and unique in their beliefs and religious practice. Most appealing was, as you predicted, the sand paintings – the Kalachakra Mandala. With its ornate and detailed design, I don’t see how anyone would not find the work performed by the monks to be of utmost interest. Thanks for sharing the video!

Works Cited

1. The Kalachakra Mandala. The Office of Tibet. Online. Internet. 10 November 1997. www.tibet.com/Buddhism/Kalal.htm (24 Oct. 2004).

2. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. Lucid Interactive. Robin Chew. Online. Internet. July 1996. www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jul/dalailama.html (24 Oct. 2004).