Religion in Tibet is the topic of this article. It will provide data on all the beliefs that are prevalent in the territory of this mysterious area, which for many centuries has attracted many pilgrims, as well as travelers who are interested in world religions.
Face of tibet
If you conduct a survey on the topic “What associations do you have with the word Tibet?”, Most of the people participating in it will most likely call the spiritual leader of the Buddhists - the Dalai Lama.
Indeed, for about five hundred years, people wearing this title have enjoyed great authority among people professing Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama is the fourteenth in a row. His services to his country and to the world community have been marked by a number of prizes, including the Nobel Prize. This minister of the most widespread religion in Tibet is also one of the most recognizable people on earth.
Hard fate
Despite the fact that the Dalai Lama, the fourteenth, usually appears smiling in photographs, it cannot be said that his life was easy.
One fact that in the early fifties of the last century the country, which he led as a secular and spiritual leader, was annexed to communist China due to the armed invasion, says a lot.
And it happened as follows. In 1950, the Chinese government, led by Mao Zedong, decided to annex the territory of Tibet to their country. The pretext was supposedly the plight of the peasants in this mountainous country. There is still a debate about whether the feudal system really flourished in Tibet at that time, and some of the peasants were in the position of serfs. Some historians say that this information is not true and was written by communist propagandists. Be that as it may, a few years later the Tibetan government, led by the current Dalai Lama, had to emigrate to India, where it is today. This exile control has the following tasks:
- Assistance to Tibetans living outside their home country.
- The struggle for the liberation of Tibet from the invaders.
- The spread of Buddhism.
In 2011, the Dalai Lama voluntarily resigned as a secular ruler and is now engaged only in priesthood.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that all Dalai Lamas are the reincarnation of one and the same person.
Mongolian footprint
Contrary to the popular belief that the Mongol invasion caused significant damage to the culture of the conquered countries, several facts can be cited to the contrary. For example, it is known that the Horde khans showed respect for the traditions and customs of the peoples who paid tribute to them. Speaking of Russia, it can be argued, based on historical documents, that the destruction of the churches by the Mongol warriors, although they took place, is extremely rare.
Returning to the topic of the article, it is necessary to mention that the title of the Dalai Lama was introduced precisely by the Mongol rulers. He was granted the Tibetan spiritual leader for the first time in the sixteenth century. The word "give" also came from the Horde. It can be translated from Mongolian as “ocean”. Such a metaphor was chosen by the khans to designate the main lama. In other words, it can be translated as "great." It is interesting that the rulers of the Horde were usually called in the same way - “Dalai Khan”.
Thus, the Mongols introduced a tradition that has become one of the key features of Buddhism - the religion of Tibet, which is professed by a large part of the population of this state.
About numbering
The priest who received the title from the Mongols was actually the first Dalai Lama. However, he is officially considered the third of them, since his two predecessors were posthumously proclaimed the Dalai Lamas.
Traveler
Alexandra David-Neel is a famous French writer, explorer of Tibet. She spent more than ten years wandering around this country, living in monasteries and talking with Buddhist monks. The book "The Mystery and the Secret of Tibet" (there are other versions of the translation of the name) for several decades remains one of the most popular publications on this topic. The writer managed to communicate with the Dalai Lama.
According to her, the head of the country was greatly surprised by her knowledge of Buddhism. He could not even imagine that the holy books of the basic faith of Tibet were translated into European languages and are freely available outside his state. The bearer of the holy dignity was very kind and not only verbally answered the questions that Alexander asked him, but also set out in writing some points of interest to her. Among other things, the Dalai Lama was struck by the fact that it was the female representative who was so keenly interested in Buddhism.
Indeed, in Tibet's main religion, Buddhism, unlike many other faiths, there is almost no female monasticism. This is another hallmark of Tibetan Buddhism.
About the title
In the Western world, it is customary to call all, without exception, the monks living in Tibet, Lamas. However, in reality, only representatives of the supreme clergy and people who have received a certain education are considered such.
Ordinary monks, as rules, are called "gangways," that is, "disciples." And if the word “lama” is applied to them, it’s only as a form of polite treatment, testifying to the special respect that the speaker shows to his interlocutor.
Lamaism
This term is sometimes used in Western literature to denote local Buddhism - the most common religion in Tibet. But many experts are opposed to this name, because, in their opinion, the local Buddhism is not different from its other branches so much as to distinguish it as a separate direction.
Which of these points of view is true, the reader will be able to figure out by reading the following chapters of this article on religion in Tibet.
True and false lamas
As mentioned above, llamas are one of the main features of Tibetan Buddhism.
The monasticism with the arrival of the Chinese communist regime in this country was almost completely eliminated. Only after three decades, in the eighties of the twentieth century, monasteries began to revive. Today, monks again live in this Chinese province, although their number is strictly limited. To ensure that their number does not exceed a certain figure, officials strictly monitor.
Alexandra David-Neel in her book says that in Tibet there are two types of lamas. The first of them includes monks who really differ in their excellent knowledge of ancient Buddhist texts and their interpretations. The second group of lamas has only the external attributes of the eastern sages: clothes, rosaries, and so on. They settle close to popular tourist routes and live on the donations of gullible exotic seekers. Most often, they either do not understand anything at all in Buddhism, or have extremely poor ideas about it.
Real llamas, on the contrary, settle far away from annoying tourists. Sometimes they extremely rudely respond to visitors with requests for a conversation with them on religious topics.
The origins of Tibetan Buddhism
What religion is in Tibet? This question cannot be answered unequivocally, since representatives of various faiths live in the country. In the Early Middle Ages, preachers of such faiths as Christianity (its branch called Nestorianism), Buddhism, as well as Islam, which many call the religion of peace and goodness, were sent here almost simultaneously. However, it is Buddhism that has taken root best on this basis.
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the geographical location itself, its close proximity to China and India facilitated the penetration of this religion into this territory. Secondly, Buddhism has the ability to get along well with other traditions, customs and beliefs. Therefore, there was no sharp conflict between him and the ancient religion of the population of Tibet. The Bon religion in Tibet (this is the name of the archaic beliefs of the local Aborigines) exists at the present time.
It, like Buddhism, does not imply fanatical worship of any one deity, but rather represents spiritual practice, a set of rules for meditation and communication with higher powers.
Ancient religion
The climate of Tibet has always been severe enough to inhabit.
Sudden changes in air temperature, strong winds and heavy rains. All this made the ancient man dependent on the forces of nature. In their imagination, people endowed each of the elements with personal qualities and character. Most often, natural phenomena were presented to Tibetans as hostile spirits. The Bon religion teaches to appease these creatures from the other world or, conversely, to fight with them.
Performing a variety of sacrifices is an integral part of the life of a believer practicing bon. The title of this teaching is translated as “the utterance of sacred texts.” Indeed, worshipers believe in the magical power of mantras - spells, the repeated repetition of which benefits a person. Moreover, to achieve a positive effect, it is not necessary to understand the meaning of the spoken. Giuseppe Tucci's books on the religions of Tibet express a different version of the origin of the word bon. According to the author, in ancient times the territory of the Himalayas was called. The full collection of works by this oriental scholar on the religions of Tibet consists of eight volumes. Tucci visited the country several times with scientific expeditions in the first half of the twentieth century. He collected a variety of material (ancient books, talismans, and so on). Thanks to this collection, ideas about many of Tibet’s traditions have survived after the Chinese Cultural Revolution, when the religions of Tibet were persecuted.
What else can be said about this direction? One of the features of the ancient culture of Tibet is also the belief in a special energy, which is endowed with certain gestures called mudras (the term came from Sanskrit). These two traditions arose in the Bon religion, and then migrated to Tibetan Buddhism.
The exact date of the origin of the ancient doctrine of the Tibetans is unknown. Only one holy book has survived to this day, revered by the adherents of bon. It says that this religion existed in these places as early as the sixteenth century BC. But what was the reckoning of the ancient inhabitants of this region - a question that still does not have a clear answer, so it is impossible to say exactly what time it is in this document. It can only be stated with some accuracy that this religion has many things in common with the beliefs of the population of Ancient Afghanistan that existed before the advent of Zoroastrianism.
Sacred flags
In the Bon religion, in addition to the rituals and traditions mentioned above, the practice of making ritual flags with texts from holy books and prayers was widespread.
Currently, this tradition can be observed among Tibetan Buddhists.
A bit about Buddhism
Thanks to the many thousands of believers, Buddhism is included in the list of the most popular existing religions in the world. It should be reminded to readers that there are many classifications of religions. One of them is based on the degree of universality of a creed, its ability to exist in different cultural conditions. By this criterion, all beliefs can be divided into world and local.
For example, Judaism, most experts rank in the second category, since this teaching is intended primarily for people of a certain nationality. So it is written in the holy books of this denomination. And such religions as Christianity, Islam and Buddhism belong to the world because of their relative universality. True, many scholars do not classify the most widespread among the religions of Tibet as spiritual teachings.
They say that Buddhism is rather a philosophical concept. It contains a call not to worship this or that god, but rather to his denial. Therefore, this doctrine is sometimes called the atheistic religion itself.
The main postulates
The main points of Buddhism are set forth in the sermons of the so-called historical Buddha. These theses are called noble truths.
According to this teaching, a person because of his many desires, aspirations and passions falls into a vicious circle of constant rebirth (samsara). He cannot be freed from it and attain a state of eternal bliss (nirvana). People who have managed to overcome their aspirations move to a higher stage of development.
Buddhism schools
In Tibet there are three known simultaneously and often influencing each other areas of Buddhism. The most widespread school was called Gelugpa. The Dalai Lama is the representative of this particular religion of Tibet.
What is its difference from other areas?
In spiritual books containing the foundations of this creed, it is said that a person can achieve nirvana already in this life. According to these ideas, liberation from pernicious addictions leads to the enlightenment of the human consciousness already during his stay in samsara.
In support of their words, the authors of these books cite the words of the Buddha about the middle path. In one of the sermons, he said that a right life leading to spiritual liberation should not be filled with passions, but at the same time, nirvana cannot be achieved as a result of excessive asceticism. Avoiding these two extremes should be the rule for those seeking divine enlightenment. Such an interpretation of the words of Buddha was first made by Indian theologians. In the early Middle Ages, Buddhism was simultaneously preached in Tibet by Chinese and Indian missionaries. For some time in the country there were schools professing both of these varieties of teaching. In that era, debates on the subject of spiritual life were widespread among theologians of both East and West.
At one such event, which took place in the twelfth century, Indian preachers won a landslide victory over their Chinese counterparts. This fact in the history of Tibetan religion has led to significant consequences. The Chinese version of Buddhism began to gradually lose popularity. After some time, this teaching was completely prohibited in this state.
It is safe to say that the most common creed in Tibet has affected many cultures and religions of the world.
The local version of Buddhism was adopted by the Mongol invaders. Thanks to the Horde, it spread not only throughout the territory of present-day Mongolia, but also in Buryatia, Tuva and some other places. Mongolian art, in turn, influenced the culture of Tibet. In particular, the religious and secular music of this area bears a clear imprint of such an influence.
The songs of the Tibetan lamas are noticeably different from Indian religious motifs, in the same way as they are from Chinese music of similar directions. Today the name of the unrecognized Republic of Tibet can be found not only in geographical directories, but also in numerous literature on the history of world religions. Also, many paintings, including Russian artists, for example, Nicholas Roerich, are devoted to the creeds of this area, its nature and culture.