TENSYSTEM The production firm of TANAKA Kunihiko - video journalist
Keywords
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Tibetan Buddhism
When Buddhism was introduced from India to Tibet early in the Seventh Century A.D.,
Buddhism linked itself with Bon,the local religion, and became its own version of
Buddhism--Tibetan Buddhism. It is often called Vajirayana Buddhism, and with Hinayana
and Mahayana Buddhism,is considered one of the three main branches of Buddhism.
Tibetans' lifestyle and cultural identity are largely based
on Tibetan Buddhism. Once, nearly every village and
town throughout Tibet featured a monastery or temple.
The bigger monasteries resembled monastic cities.
Commonly, Tibetan people displayed their Buddhist
altars and images in their homes. Tibetan people lived
in a unique society based on Tibetan Buddhism for
more than 1,200 years. Prior to the 1950s, and for
more than 350 years, the peoplehad lived harmoniously under the spiritual and temporal
leadership of the succession of Dalai Lamas, revered as the incarnation of
the Buddha of compassion (Avalokiteshvara). However, since the Chinese Communist
government invaded Tibet in the 1950s, the Tibetan Buddhist society and culture have
been devastated.
Refugees
The Chinese Communist government has occupied
Tibet since 1959, claiming Tibet as a part of China.
However, according to the Legal Enquiry Committee of
the International Commission of Jurists, that claim is
not based on any historical evidence. On the contrary,
records show Tibet has not been a part of China, but
rather, autonomous. Between 1959 and 1965 the
United Nations General Assembly discussed the
question of Tibet on numerous occasions. Three
resolutions were passed by the General Assembly
condemning China's violation of human rights in Tibet
and calling upon China to respect those rights,
including Tibet's right to self determination. However,
the Chinese government has ignored such resolutions
by the United Nations. Besides,the government has
consistently refused conversations with the Dalai
Lama until now though he has proposed various
ideas to solve the Tibet issue. According to many
non-governmental organizations, such as Amnesty International, Refugee International,
the Scientific Buddhist Association, or the International Campaign for Tibet; 1.2 million
Tibetans-one-fifth Tibet's population-died as a result of China's policy. Many more have
languished in prisons and labor camps as political prisoners. More than 6,000 Buddhist
monasteries, temples, and other historic buildings inside Tibet were demolished over
the past decades, especially during the Cultural Revolution. Since 1959, when the Dalai
Lama left Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, a total of some 100,000 Tibetans have escaped
over the Himalayas on foot to settle in refugee camps in India and Nepal. Many Tibetan
refugees, including many unaccompanied minors, fell prey to Chinese and Nepalese
border guards or to the elements. Not only has frostbite been common in the Himalayas,
but so have arrest, rape,and torture. Yet, according to the 1996 World Refugee Survey by the U.S. Committee for Refugees, during 1995, 2,076 Tibetan refugees reached Katmandu, the Nepalese capital.
Present Condition
According to the 1996 World Refugee Survey, about
130,000 Tibetan refugees live in India and Nepal.
Everywhere, refugees have encountered suspicion,
commercialism, and the harsh demands of economic
survival. Refugees have built several hundred
monasteries and nunneries outside Tibet, which help
maintain Tibetan cultural identity. The Tibetans strive
courageously to persevere in maintaining their heritage
and way of life. However, their ancient way of life is still facing danger. Despite the successes of a few, most monasteries are barely surviving. They lack the consistent support from their communities that they had in Tibet,because the refugees in exile struggle with subsistence and can hardly afford to support the monasteries. According to Refugees International, the 1990 average annual income of a Tibetan in India was approximately US$400. The situation has been similar in Nepal.
Third Generation
Despite these tough conditions, many of the first and second generation of Tibetan
refugees,including the Dalai Lama himself, consistently revere Tibet as mother earth and
homeland. Inspired by the Buddhist teaching, they continue to use nonviolent means in
their struggle for recovering their homeland. However, many members of the third
generation of exiles, born and raised in India or Nepal, hardly share the older generations'
concern of maintaining the Tibetan identity. They can hardly see a specific vision for their
future as Tibetan exiles. Many tend to lose patience with the nonviolent struggle; thus
they simply express their nationalistic and patriotic feelings, consisting primary of strong
hatred for the Chinese Communist government. They have hardly nourished their
emotional and religious attachment to their lost homeland and its traditional culture of
Tibetan Buddhism as did the 1st and 2nd generations. At the same time, consumer-
culture attracts them. These grandchildren of exiles tend to assimilate, losing their unique
cultural identity as Tibetans in daily life. Thus Tibetan Buddhism seems to increasingly
give way to American-derived consumer culture in their
new host countries. P. Christian Kilinger, the author of
Tibetan Nationalism (1992), describes a result of such
enculturation: a prototypical Tibetan exile is "mid-
twenties and raised in the large Tibetan diaspora
community . .He has completed his secondary
education, one which emphasized fluency in English
. . . . He likes popular Western music, and is a fan of
Rambo and Chuck Norris videos." A young refugee of
the third generation, born and raised in India, recently
said, "We don't know where our future lies!" His
irritated and frustrated words express the main
challenge| for Tibetan identity, and articulate the
subject of this documentary: How are members of this third generation expressing their
i identities? How do they struggle to come to terms with ancient traditions, exile
communities, host cultures, and the global market?
