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Culture of Tibet Midterm Paper
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Culture of Tibet Midterm Paper Grade: 7,5 Do not copy, for reference only.!
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This paper’s subject: The Present, Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (born 1935).Leiden University.
Dr. Peter Verhagen
Culture of Tibet
2019-2020
Submission date: 23-10-2019
Total amount of words: 1003
Student: XXXXX
Student Number: XXXXXX
Umail-adres: XXXXXXX
, The story of the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (1935- ) starts in the small village of Taktsé. In
1937 a 2 year old boy by the name of Lhamo D öndrup was able to identify various items belonging to
the 13th Dalai Lama. In February 1940 he was officially established as the 14 th Dalia Lama in the
Potala palace.1 With the murder of one of his teachers in 1947 the Dalai Lama became more aware of
the politics and schemes hidden in the system he was being raised to take charge of. 2 After the defeat
of Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) and the republic forces, the People’s liberation army was moving in
on Tibet with the goal, according to them a peaceful reunification. After it became clear resistance was
hopeless, panic broke out in Lhasa. The regent stepped down and Tenzin Gyatso became head of state
at 15 years old.3 After signing the 17-point agreement which promised to leave Tibetan traditions and
culture intact, a divide between areas and their policy emerged. In the east rapid communalization and
revolutionary policies were enacted, while in the west the aim was to slowly win the Tibetan populous
over. This led to rebellion in the east with many fleeing the new system they were subjugated by. This
all culminated in 1959 with an uprising around the Dalai Lama’s summer palace. As the situation
seemed dire, and no help in sight from any foreign powers the Dalai Lama escaped in secret to India. 4
In India the 14th Dalai Lama set up his headquarters in Dharamsala. Here he, in cooperation with the
Indian government and NGOs, setup organizations for the resettlement of Tibetans in exile and
various other aid related programs. This had also lead to a division between the Dalai Lama and the
Lhasa regime in exile. While the Dalai Lama had close and exceptional relations with the leaders of
the other religious orders, the administration, as the direct continuation of the old Lhasa regime, had
necessarily chosen to benefit their own religious order to the general exclusion of the others. 5 The
administration had in order to gain aid tap into direct channels in in the Indian government and refugee
organizations that did not want to channel relief through the administration of Dharamsala. 6
Another instance of division is the Geluk sect and the honoration of the deity Shugden. According to
records he is the spirit of a learned and virtuous Geluk monk. 7 The legend tells us that after he defeated
the Dalai Lama in a debate he was murdered. Other versions speak of him committing suicide as he
was tired of jealousy and the attempts made on his life. His disciples prayed for revenge on his
enemies, and shortly after Tibet suffered famines and earthquakes. After a series of Lamas failed to
exorcise his spirit, the Geluk sect asked if it could stop his wrath and become their protector.
Henceforth he became the protector of the Geluk monks and their monasteries. 8
1
Kapstein,The tibetans, 280-281.
2
Kapstein, The Tibetans, 288.
3
Kapstein, The tibetans 288-289.
4
Snellgrove, Richardson, A cultural history of Tibet, 267.
5
Snellgrove, Richardson, A cultural history of Tibet , 275.
6
Snellgrove, Richardson, A cultural history of Tibet , 275.
7
Lopez, Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, 188.
8
Lopez, Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, 188.
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