TIBET

Do rivers play an important role in Tibet as well?

Tibet Buddhism…

1. “the world has no physical substance, the world is just made up of ideas”
2. there is no creator gods, no creation force, the MIND creates the world
3. there is an ever changing consciousness, there is no immutable soul
4. meditation is the way to open the three gates to “mindfulness” – the body, speech and the mind
5. through channels within the human body, one can find strength, endurance, an enormous force and a miraculous power
6. important motto: “being aware and seen”
7. the feet are the most impure part of the body and the head is the most pure
8. yogacara [“yog” = yoke, as in a horse, to integrate or harness, bring together]

TA = point of view
GOM = meditative practice
CHO = behavior
9. The Mahayana texts are named “SUTRAS” and were created in the 6 th century CE
and the commentaries discussing these texts are named “SHASTRA” and were
compiled in the 13 th century.

The Tibetan Buddhist Canon – sources found in Kashmir, Northern India and Nepal. The early texts were found by accident in a monastery close to 20 miles outside of DUHUANG. A renegade Taoist priest discovered a caste of texts buried in a wall there in the 1890’s. Upon hearing of the discovery, many flocked to the area to discover that the manuscripts dated between 850 and 1030 CE. The earliest printed, or block print, manuscript found there, however, was a Buddhist sutra dating 640 CE. In the caste there were copies of official documents and legal court reports. The manuscripts were written in Chinese, Uyghur (Turkish), Tibetan, a mixture of two of these languages and some in a collection of all three languages.

-Kanjim – (108 vols.) – Word of the Buddha – translated from Sanskrit, Khotanese (middle Persia), Brushaska …

• Vinya – Canon Laws
• Sudras – Pronouncers of the Buddha
• Tantric texts
• “siddhi” [accomplishments, realizations] , spiritual songs, psalms
  the most famous siddhi is Vinipa – he is able to stop the sun
  -mantra [protects one’s psyche]
  - sky burial – corpse is defleshed and given to the vultures; intestines and bones are crushed up and fed to the dogs, skulls (“the good ones”) are kept for offering dishes
  - energy centers in the body [Buddhism chee-goon]
  
• Tenju – (200 vols.) – Taxonomy of the Five Fields of Knowledge (5 rubrics)

• Language, Grammar and Linguistics
• Logic and Epistemology
• Medicinal Sciences
• Technology (the manufacture of paper, writing utensils, statues, frescoes)
• Buddhists religious texts[Tibet Buddhism = Theravada Buddhism + Tantric Buddhism + indigenous Bon]

Tibetan Writing - must have a dot [or space] to be coherent; there is a constant recoding of the language; WRITING and RELIGION bind Tibet as a nation! Tibet was not open to foreigners until 1981.

Origin of the writing itself…

1. Buddhism
2. Bon (non-Buddhist religion), emerges in the area in the 11 th century

-foretelling the future
-folk tales and medicines
-burning juniper for health reasons
-mountain deities

Tibet belongs to one language family (Raj) – the writing is the same throughout the area but the spoken Tibetan dialects are so different and vary from river valley to river valley that it is difficult for people to understand each other through speech. In 1959, when China began its great influence of Tibet, there were no established schools just monastic religious schools and no textbooks. Now, most villages have schools and everyone can read prayer books and can receive and write receipts while paying taxes. Writing in Tibet is a favorite “pass-time.” There are roughly 250,000 households in Central Tibet and the number of books generated in the area is enormous!

Check out the fabulous Tibetan Art from the Rubin Museum of Art
located in New York! ("Explore Art... Understanding the human experience through Himalayan art.")

Create a series of Tibetan flags of your own!

Check out these selections of modern Tibetan literature-
The Latse Contemporary Tibetan Cultural Library
Tibetan Writing

Six Stars with a Crooked Neck
"A Blighted Flower"
"Lhasa Memories"
The Life of Shabkar
"Tales from Tibet"
"Mao's Cuckoo"