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Forum Index : Off topic archive. : Tibet in the News. Just my views.
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5019 |
The Tibet issue. I try to keep politics and religion out of these forums as much as possible. However, recently Tibet has been in the news alot, and Tibet is a country I feel passionate about, so I thought I would share some of my feelings about this. Whenever there is conflict in the world I believe its important to understand what the conflict is about and what started it. I dont want to start a religion or political war of words here, just express my views and leave it at that. Besides, its my web site :) Tibet is currently occupied by China, invaded in 1951. The Tibetan government and religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama, managed to escape Tibet in time, and are now based in India. India has allowed them to stay on the condition they do not provoke China. From a international law point of view, as the Tibetan government still exists, the occupation of Tibet by China is not legal, though China would dispute this. I should say I have nothing against the Chinese people, after all China is our ( Australia's ) biggest trading partner and developing into a world power. From a religious point of view, Tibet is the homeland of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Buddhism ( like Pope Benedict is the spiritual leader for the Catholics ). Buddhism is a religion that does not fear a god or believe in a heaven or hell. Instead Buddhism teaches its followers that the Earth is our "heaven", so we must protect and nurture it, and we are responsible for our own actions and future happiness. Instead of "Be good and you will go to heaven and be happy", it teaches, "Be good and you will find happiness in yourself". Kind of makes sense to me, but I wont get into that any further. What I do ask is if you dont know about the history of Tibet, and want to understand why the Tibetan people, as well as average Joe's like myself, are so passionate about the freedom of Tibet from China's rule, then I can suggest a couple of movies based on true stories. One is "Seven Years in Tibet", staring Brad Pitt as Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber who fled into Tibet in WW2 to escape the British, and befriended the Dalai Lama. Another movie, a little deeper, is "Kundun", based on the story of the Dalai Lama from birth to his exile into India. Thats all I wanted to say, and I'll lock this thread as I really dont want to start a discussion about the subject. As someone who feels for the Tibetan cause I felt I had to post this message, in the hope that someone else will discover a little of our global history they didn't know before, and maybe also feel saddened by the conflict in Tibet. Glenn 
The Tibetan flag. Displaying a Tibetan flag in Tibet will land you in a Chinese prison for life! The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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