Page 62

Strangely, one of the things that may have protected Tibetan religious tradition was the drive by the Chinese government to make Tibet a desirable tourist destination. The communist approach towards Tibet has alternated between hard and soft strategies. Following the invasion of Tibet in 1950, China’s attitude towards Tibet and Tibetan Buddhist institutions turned brutally hard. Many of the monasteries and nunneries were ravaged, statues and texts destroyed or lost, and monks and nuns jailed, raped, abused, and tortured. Premier Deng Xiao-Peng, a native of Sichuan, was more moderate towards Tibet and ushered in a gentler approach to the governance of the plateau in the 80’s and 90’s. Tibetans were allowed to practice Buddhism and many of Tibet’s monasteries and religious sites were restored. This restoration has gone so far as government construction of new religious sites. One of my PhD advisors explained that the government had built new stupas that were sometimes so convincing they were hard to tell from the real thing. This obviously complicated attempts at research. As I would later discover, the government was even involved in building new monasteries and nunneries.

Beyond tourism, the Chinese passion for Tibetan Buddhism takes several forms. Perhaps the most striking is the keen interest in Lharung Gar, a huge monastic encampment in Northeastern Tibet. Following uprisings and protests in the 90’s, the government cracked down on monasteries, seeing them as sites for political organizing. As a result, devotionalism in Tibet took a fascinating turn. Religious encampments began forming in Eastern and Northeastern Tibet. This echoed developments in the 9th century when one of the last rulers of the Tibetan empire began persecuting Buddhism. Then, a small handful of monks made their way to Northeastern Tibet to continue to practice. In a similar fashion, a prominent 20th century lama, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok started Lharung gar in the same area. The gar, or encampment, quickly grew to massive proportions and became a magnet for both Tibetans and Chinese. Even now, while the government has removed people from the encampment, its population is in the thousands. Prior to my trip to Tibet, I met an incredibly kind young Chinese couple in one of the small shops near the SWUN campus. It turned out the couple had spent time at Lharung Gar. I asked if it was possible to visit but they explained it would be difficult, especially since I was a foreigner. Seeing my interest in Tibetan Buddhism, they gave me a couple of good luck charms to attach to my bags.