TIBETSPACE

WELCOME TO TIBETSPACE

Over four years old now, TIBETSPACE examines an array of topics that bubble up to our attention on any given networked day: democratic revolution, human rights, gender politics, international relations, freedom of expression, social media, eco-criticism, sustainability, spirituality, religion, meditation, even neurology—these are some of the issues that now underpin a responsible life played out within the emerging global community, and they are all issues that the Dalai Lama repeatedly encourages us to examine and connect.  And so that's what I'll try to do here:  examine and connect!

Please visit this blog's sponsoring site, The Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas, and let us know how we might help in our mission to preserve Tibetan culture and increase awareness regarding the power of nonviolence.

—Sidney Burris

A BIG-THOUGHT INFO-VIDEO THAT MAKES YOU THINK BIG THOUGHTS

Have a look at the video below when you get eleven minutes to yourself.  You're going to like it.  It's one of those speeded-up, hand-sketched, animated graphics that's capable of presenting, like, the entire history of the world in several easily digestible moments.  And the narrator, Matthew Taylor, has a British accent to boot, so Americans are persuaded he's smart from the get-go because we figure if you're articulate, you're also intelligent.

Here's ten things he says that you'll agree with:

1. We're going to have to live differently in the 21st century.
2. Most of our insights into human nature are going to be counter-intuitive. The true stuff about ourselves won't, on the face of it, make much sense.  Like, I'll be very happy if I spend my time making others happy.  Sounds good, admire the ideal, but really?  Come on.
3. If you want to be a happier person, don't read a self-help book, just have happier friends. He means by that, just connect!
4. What we want now is a more self-aware, socially embedded model of autonomy.
5. Let's start thinking about the hubris of individualism, and all the problems its caused us.
6. Can we develop a relationship to our reactions rather than be captive to them?
7. Things are getting better regarding person-to-person violence; realtime social media brings social problems into our living rooms.  We have data now.
8. Inter-personal, communal, global—three adjectives you're going to see hooking up everywhere.
9. Stop thinking about big plans and start figuring out the nature of empathy within each of us.
10. You knew there was going to be a big phrase that solves our problem.  Here it is:  empathic capacity.

There's a lot to digest in this little video, and it's a helpful video. But like all films of this genre, it's an inspirational video, which means it's short on solutions because, well, because the point of the video is that each of us has to come up with our own solutions and make our own contributions, and the film wants inspire us to do that.  Good.  But you knew that, right?

So where do we go from here?  The film kinda sorta hints at a solution in the Copernicus passage that claims it doesn't seem like the we go around the sun, but in fact we do.  

Here's our homework assignment:  realize that the structure of our individual personality is set up to process incoming data in fraudulent, self-serving, and ultimately destructive ways, and also remember that the consumerist culture that nurtures that personality has silently agreed to take advantage of our personality's tendency to misrepresent things, and the two forces—misrepresentation and consumerism—have quietly signed a pact that gets us to buy stuff—literally and figuratively—that we don't need.

Our task? Dissolve that pact. And let me know how you're doing with that.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT TIBET. SERIOUSLY.

You might have read about the most recent self-immolation in Tibet: an eighteen-year- old monk who, as he was burning, exclaimed, "May His Holiness the Dalai Lama live thousands of years." And then he screamed, "Freedom for Tibet."

Note:  As the flames enveloped him, he did not scream, "Meaningful autonomy for Tibet." This is an important point because many Americans, rightfully respectful of His Holiness's opinions on all matters sacred and secular, have come to embrace autonomy as the only workable solution for the future of Tibet.  

But I believe we must exercise caution here.  Americans are accustomed to forming opinions about the development of other countries because we are accustomed to having a military that has traditionally made the development of other countries its major business.  

But take a moment and look around you.  Are you doing something now that Tibetans in Tibet cannot do?  Do you plan on shopping freely at the market?  Reading what you want to read?  Exercising your religious preferences as you wish?  Are you employed? Do you speak the language the police and  the military speak?  Examine your own freedoms, and the heavy price we paid for them.  

And then consider:  when we have strong evidence that many Tibetans within Tibet, as well as many of their brothers and sisters living in exile, are daring to dream of freedom, and are giving their lives with calls for that freedom on their lips, Americans must honor this very human urge:  to live in freedom and independence and to determine our own future.

And we must extend the same privilege to the Tibetans.  Their resistance to the Chinese oppression now is fierce.  Thupten Jinpa, the main translator for the Dalai Lama, recently tweeted that he felt a threshhold had been crossed.  And as we know, threshholds can be dangerous places.  But many Tibetans have obviously judged that crossing that threshhold is worth the risk.  And they, at least, deserve our support.

USING THE MIND TO TRANSFORM THE MIND

Shantideva, in A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, reminds us in the final "Wisdom" section that "for as long as the necessary conditions are assembled, for that long even illusions will occur."  

It seems simple enough, right?  Whatever experience we're presently having arises from specific conditions that immediately preceded that experience.  And those conditions arise, accordingly, from those that preceded those.  And so forth and so on.

For Westerners, two issues occur here that are worth examining.  First, once we get the point that the present arises from specific causes and conditions, it occurs to us that we might have a little more say in fashioning our present life by generating those conditions that we find most supportive of the goals we wish to achieve:  happiness, compassion, altruism, the mind of enlightenment.  Fine.  We are responsible for our happiness.

But second, Shantideva implies that our conventional mind is fundamentally a set of causes and conditions that generate themselves perpetually over many lifetimes.  That's troublesome to most of us because we've grown up thinking of our minds as solid entities that are occasionally afflicted with unhappiness or depression and blessed at times with happiness and joy.  But there is a core, we assume, that entertains these emotions, and this core has something to do with our personality.

To give up this core, then, or to see it as an assemlage of causes and conditions, is to give up our personality.  And that's hard for a Westerner to do.

But it gets easier if we understand that harboring these notions of personality are cultivating in turn the very delusions that give rise to our suffering.  What we learn from Shantideva is that we can, in fact, change things at such a profound level that our very conception of mind will be transformed.  Shantideva teaches us a very simple but profound truth:  We must use the mind to transform the mind.  

And that is the mind's major purpose—to transform itself.

HOW TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT TIBET—STICK TO THE FACTS, WHICH IS NOT AS EASY TO DO AS IT MIGHT SEEM

Awareness is a tricky thing.  We grow up with images in our heads of the great leaders of the modern era, from Gandhi through Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Dalai Lama, and we sometimes feel that unless we're moving masses of people we're doing nothing.  And nothing could be farther from the truth.  

Great leaders raise awareness of the issues that engage them within a gradually increasing circle of advocates.  But they all began by raising awareness within themselves first. And we can do the same thing.  

In fact, it's the only thing that we can be assured of doing.

With Tibet, we begin by looking closely at the map above (thanks to tibettruth for posting it).  Take a close look at where Tibet really lies, how its borders have been circumscribed, and its land mass reduced over the years.  

And then you will begin to notice that the Western media continually talks about the current self-immolations that are occurring in Western China or Sichuan.  Now, having seen this map,  you know that they are occurring in Eastern Tibet and Kham.  There are no large concentrations of Tibetan people living in Western China.  There are, however, Chinese currently occupying Eastern Tibet. 

Does this seem a small thing?  It's not.  Because to make these micro-corrections within ourselves about the cultural and political geography of the Tibetan plateau turns our awareness toward the truth just a bit more than it had otherwise been turned.  

Raising awareness corrects a lie; it privileges the truth.  And we know the power of the truth because the Chinese fear it so deeply.

A LOSAR MESSAGE

A Facebook friend of mine, Sonam Zoksang, posted a Losar message today that seems right and fit, so I share it here:

Happy Tibetan New Year to all my friends, even though we are not really celebrating this Losar. However, on this New year occasion, let us remember and keep in our prayers those brave brothers and sisters who gave up their precious lives fighting for the cause and those who are dying and being tortured in Chinese prisons. Sad and frustrating it may be when the world knowingly chooses to ignore our plight and sufferings, and fails to stand up to the Chinese government. But the truth will prevail if we fight for it with firm belief and never give up our hopes and determination.  Tashi Delek!!!

Thanks, Sonam, for the timely reminder.  

NONVIOLENCE IS A WAY OF LIVING: IT'S NOT A WAY OF LIFE

Nonviolence is a way of living. It is nothing more than that, nor is it anything less. Because our ways of living create for us the culture that we deserve, nonviolence stipulates specific ways of doing things that have been designed by specific groups of people who have imagined for themselves a specific future.  A nonviolent future.

It is very easy to understand violence as a biologically determined default setting that we cannot reset. Turn on the television, for example, and  watch one of those nature shows where a lion—always in slow motion with an orchestral soundtrack—runs down a gazelle, and we say, "Look!  Even the noble lion kills the beautiful gazelle. Violence is part of our nature!"

It never occurs to us at these moments that lions don't have Wal-Marts and that they can't plant soybeans.  

They can't make the decision to be nonviolent.  We can.

Nonviolence is way of living.  It is not a way of life.  It is a way of living because nonviolence involves making decisions every second of our lives that will create the causes and conditions that give rise to the causes and conditions that we want, the ones that will nourish the conditions for peace within ourselves, within our families, within our communities.  

So nonviolence is not a life; it is not a seamless coat that we put on, a one-time decision we make, and become nonviolent.  It is a process of living, of negotiating, of trying one thing and watching closely the results that arise as a result of having tried that one thing, and then deciding whether or not that one thing increased the peace dividend within ourselves, our families, our communities. 

We make choices every second either to indulge the thoughts and emotions that give rise to nonviolence or to linger on those that cultivate violence.

Nonviolence is a choice, and it is made very second of the day.

And what is violence?  More on that later.

 

 

NONVIOLENCE: BRIEF THOUGHTS ABOUT PRACTICE

To imagine nonviolence in its singularity is to imagine a nonviolent community united by the principles it holds in common.   And when a group of people holds commonly the values that arise from nonviolence, when they embody the ways of being associated with an authentic nonviolent practice, change occurs. 

This should surprise no one because commonly held values, whether they are violent or nonviolent, typically give rise to change.  It is more difficult to embrace nonviolence only because the default setting in most cultures is “violence,” and so embracing nonviolence involves rewriting some inherited software.  And as we shall see, that is not an easy thing to do.  But those people who have most obviously succeeded in doing so turn out to be highly respected for a very long time:  Buddha, Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thich Nhat Hahn, and the Dalai Lama.  

 

ESPNU GETS BEHIND TIBET!

The TEXT Program at the University of Arkansas is an oral-history project that Geshe Dorjee and I conceived in 2007 on our first trip together to India.  As I followed Geshe la through the Tibetan settlements across India, and as I spoke with the Tibetans I met there, I realized that the elderly Tibetans were, in effect, walking treasure troves of vital information concerning old Tibet.  After long conversations with Geshe la and my wife, we decided that these stories needed to be recorded and that our students at Arkansas should be on the front lines of gathering these stories.

We returned to India, with students, in 2008, 2009, and 2011.  The trips were hard, the learning curves were steep, and the footage we gathered was precious.  We are now finally bringing some of this work to fruition, and today, January 4, at 4:00 pm CST, ESPNU will air a brief segment on The TEXT Program.  

Geshe la and I, of course, are excited that the hard work of our students will get this kind of recognition, but most importantly, we hope that this show will further raise awareness among Americans concerning the plight of the Tibetans, both in India and in Tibet.  

It is important to realize that the Tibetans with whom we spoke represent, in effect, the six million Tibetans currently living in Tibet—the Tibetans whose voices have been severly compromised.  (They have not been silenced.)  We can all benefit from listening to what these individuals living in exile have to say; their voice, rising from a core of nonviolence, is a vital one as we move into the new millennium.  But most importantly, we are listening to the voices of self-determination, of freedom, and of endurance.

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited the campus of the University of Arkansas in May 2011, he had kind words to say about The TEXT Program, and we are deeply grateful to him for taking the time from his busy schedule to have a look at what we have done here on this campus.  None of this would have happened, however, without a supportive University:  from the staff in the Fulbright College Honors Program and our Office of Special Events, upwards through our Dean, Provost, Chancellor, and President . . . everyone came instantly on board with His Holiness's visit, and everyone has been supportive of the The TEXT Program.  

Geshe la, myself, and our students would like to thank everyone who made this day possible!  We all hope that it is the beginning of an enduring relationship with the Tibetan people as they work amongst themselves to secure their future as a free and self-governing people.

KHENTRUL RINPOCHE TO TEACH ON THE HEART SUTRA IN ARKANSAS

The Tibetan Buddhist teacher and scholar, Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche, will offer instruction and commentary on The Heart Sutra on January 7-8 from 10-12 a.m. and 2-5 p.m.  The teachings will be given at Katog Choling Rit'hrod Mountain Retreat Center near Parthenon, Arkansas.  For more information, visit their website or call 870-446-2952.  Email inquiries may be sent, as well, to katogmtnretreat@gmail.com.  Suggested donations for the weekend's teachings range from $40-$65, but no one will be turned away, of course, for lack of funds.  All are welcome to this extraordinary event.

Born and educated in Tibet, Rinpoche has been widely recognized as one of the great scholars, teachers, and tulkus of the Tibetan tradition.  His instruction, counsel, and example continue to inspire and educate students and practitioners all over the world.  To have Rinpoche teaching on The Heart Sutra as the new year commences is indeed a great blessing.

The very short Buddhist scripture often referred to simply as The Heart Sutra represents one of the most revered texts in Mahayana Buddhism.  The Heart Sutra, most likely composed between 100 B.C.E. and 600 C.E., has been memorized, chanted, analyzed, commented on, and expounded upon around the world for two millennia.  It is a core text, and its meaning and significance for those who seek a fuller understanding of the Buddhist way of life are essential.  But because it is a text that addresses the challenging Buddhist doctrine of emptiness, it is also a text whose many layers of meaning are typically revealed through the skillful exposition of a qualified teacher. Rinpoche is, of course, just such a teacher, and those who are able to listen to his explanation of this central work will receive immeasurable benefit.

SO YOU'RE AN AMERICAN & YOU SUPPORT TIBET: HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

I wanted to write something today about Tibet and its fight for independence.  But most of my readers are Americans who know a good deal about Tibet, human rights, China, and democracy, and some of them have even seen the Dalai Lama, and so the more I thought about it, the more I felt I didn’t have a lot to say about Tibet that they didn’t already know.

But I did want to make a few points about being an American who supports Tibet—whatever in the world that might mean.

1.  Why Tibet?  It’s a fair question.  Why not, for example, Papua New Guinea?  There are many reasons, of course, why Americans are drawn to the Tibetan cause, but foremost among them is a person:  His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  Papua New Guinea doesn’t have a Dalai Lama.  Even the Queen of England doesn't cut it.  No one, aside from Tibet, has a such a figure now, and he has become a person of such authority that his opinions are rarely questioned—unless you're a member of the Chinese government.  Besides, until Papua New Guinea comes up with a remedy for what ails us Americans—I mean, rampant materialism and the accompanying misery—then many of us will take our medicine from the maroon robes.

2.  But therein lies the problem.  Because most of us became acquainted with Tibet through the admirable work of its monks and nuns, we’ve become acquainted with Tibet through one of the smallest minorities of Tibet’s population.  So now, as His Holiness and the Central Tibetan Administration publicly advocate autonomy—and not independence—for the six million Tibetans living in Chinese-occupied Tibet (a position, by the way, that many of the monks and nuns support), Americans tend to agree with His Holiness because they have agreed with everything else he has said about how Americans might become healthier, happier individuals.  So why wouldn’t we agree with him on politics?

3.  Of course you can agree with him.  You can think whatever you like.  But let me point to an inconsistency in my own thinking that I’ve recently clarified:  Democracy doesn’t recognize the infallibility of a single person’s opinion, so to agree with the Dalai Lama because he is the Dalai Lama, and because he has ramped up your spiritual life, should not make a lot of sense to an American.  The fact that His Holiness has taught me a great deal about compassion, nonviolence, and altruism should have little impact on my opinion of his opinion about Tibetan freedom.  And this is an opinion that His Holiness has embraced, of course.  Democracies privilege disagreement.

4.  Furthermore—How can we, as Americans, and given our history, our rhetoric, our founding documents, not wish to support the establishment of similar freedoms wherever and whenever a given group of people announce them as their goal?  And make substantial sacrifices toward realizing them?

5.  I know what you’re thinking.  But to say that independence and freedom from China’s oppressive rule are impractical goals is to make a judgment that violates another of our cherished principles:  self-determination. Tibetans, like Americans, get to decide what sort of future they envision for themselves, and that should be the main focus of American support.  Whether the Tibetans want an oligarchy, or a democracy, or a plutocracy, it is their decision.  So I support Tibetan self-determination.  In all of its aspects, doctrines, and applications. [Aside:  Carole McGranahan has written an important book on the largely forgotten war waged by the Tibetan freedom fighters. It's called Arrested Histories, and the interviews alone are essential reading becasue they underscore the sacrifices made by these warriors for self-determination. I recommend the book enthusiastically.  It's also available on Kindle.]

6.  Finally, an observation and an anecdote.  Observation:  I don’t think the Tibetans who have recently self-immolated were doing so to draw the world’s attention toward their fight for a “meaningful autonomy” in Tibet; they were delivering focused strikes for Tibetan freedom and independence, in my opinion, and if anybody asks me, I choose to honor their heroic actions by supporting their call for Tibetan independence and the return of the Dalai Lama to this homeland.  Anecdote:  A Tibetan whom I admire deeply, who lives in New Delhi, and who is as respectful of His Holiness as any Tibetan that I know, said to me three years ago:  “Sidney, there is not a single Tibetan alive today, either in Tibet or in exile, including the Dalai Lama, who does not dream every night of a free Tibet.”

Obviously, I have never forgotten that statement, and it made a deep and native sense to this American.  But it’s not just an American phenomenon:  freedom and liberty are part of the human birthright, and I’m certain that my Tibetan friend spoke the truth.  So Tibetans deserve the opportunity to live in the free state that was theirs for centuries, and it is an opportunity that they are requesting now with every ounce of energy they can muster.

How can an American say no to that?