Theos-Talk Archives (December 2005 Message tt00021)

Just saw "Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion", a credible film-documentary 
about the plight of Tibetans, in their homeland and abroad. One of 
the refined forms of state hypocrisy in today's world is to award 
every possible prize to the Dalai Lama, including the Nobel Peace 
Prize, to receive him even at the White House, and at the same time 
refuse to put real political pressure on China for a comprehensive 
resolution of the Tibetan issue.

If her own words and her Masters' words are correct, Tibet played an 
important role in HPB's training before she founded the TS in 1875. 
It was there, we are told, under the guidance of her Teachers that 
she was able to "educate" her psychic nature and awaken the 
necessary faculties for her future work of re-presenting Theosophy 
to the world. She treasured her time in Tibet with great affection 
as her letters to Sinnett show.

Her Teachers and their Teachers lived there also and wrote about the 
sacredness of some special places on that land:

"At a certain spot not to be mentioned to outsiders, there is a 
chasm spanned by a frail bridge of woven grasses and with a raging 
torrent beneath. The bravest member of your Alpine clubs would 
scarcely dare to venture the passage, for it hangs like a spider's 
web and seems to be rotten and impassable. Yet it is not; and he who 
dares the trial and succeeds — as he will if it is right that he 
should be permitted — comes into a gorge of surpassing beauty of 
scenery — to one of our places and to some of our people, of which 
and whom there is no note or minute among European geographers. At a 
stone's throw from the old Lamasery stands the old tower, within 
whose bosom have gestated generations of Bodhisatwas." (ML 29, 
chronological)

In his 'On the Watch-Tower' notes (The Theosophist, April 1959), N. 
Sri Ram wrote: "Tibet has always been an autonomous country, though 
accepting a vague Chinese suzerainty. Probably it was thought by the 
Tibetan lamas that so long as China herself preserved her 
traditional ways and followed a policy of peace, the nominal 
suzerainty would do no harm to Tibet; it might, on the other hand, 
save Tibet from the danger of being a no-man's territory, open to 
aggression from abroad. The trouble started only with the aggressive 
policies of the Communists in China. Since Tibet has been, for all 
practical purposes a self-governing country for centuries, not 
competing with any other country, but self-contained in every way, 
it has a claim to self-government on its own lines as much as any 
other independent country or any group of people on the face of this 
globe wanting to be free."  

The Apartheid regime in South Africa was brought down by years of 
economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure. The gross and inhumane 
violations of human rights in Tibet do not evoke a similar response, 
probably because of the size of the Chinese market and its booming 
international trade. Most of the affordable goods available in 
Australia are "Made in China". There is ocassional strong talk in 
Washington regarding China's human rights record, but it soon 
transforms itself into a nightingale's call to its mate when the 
time comes to renew China's Most Favoured Nation status.

For some there is no hope: Tibet, as it exists, will be totally 
assimlated into the Han Chinese culture and the Potala palace will 
become a Himalayan Disneyland. Others are too cynic to bother. But 
then I remember the Dalai Lama emphasizing the importance of 
universal responsibilty and compassion as two fundamental human 
values. And I say to myself: can we allow such a culture to die? Can 
we afford it?

pedro