 With
such a deep history, it would be impossible to cover everything in this one
article but we will point out some of the high and low points to help paint
a better picture of Tibet. When
it comes to Asian countries and their history, Tibet probably has them all
beat. As recent as 1949, the
Chinese Communist invaded this magnificent country, which resulted in more
than one millions people dying, over 6,000 monasteries being destroyed, and
thousands of Tibetan people being tortured and imprisoned all because of
their religious and/or political belief.
Because of this invasion, the Dalai Lama, which is the country’s
spiritual and political leader, fled in 1959, escaping to neighboring India
where the Tibetan Government in Exile in Dharamsala was founded.
Today,
approximately 150,000 refuges live in exile, being placed around the globe.
Some live in India, some in Canada, among other countries, with 5,000
estimated to be living in the United States.
The Tibetan people, regardless of where they live, continue to follow
the Buddhist principles, working against violence and fighting for freedom.
At one time, the country of Tibet was free.
Interestingly, the Chinese government lays claim that they have
always controlled a part of Tibet but there is vast historical documentation
to prove otherwise. Tibet as an
independent state had a respected and sovereign government.
The country thrived and in fact, before 1951, this government had
signed treaties with various foreign countries to include Nepal, Great
Britain, and Mongolia.
However,
to go back in time, Tibet had created a huge empire in Central Asia.
About 500 years prior to Buddha Sakyamuni coming to the world, which
was around 1063 BC, a figure called Lord Shenrab Miwo had reformed the
primitive ways of the Shen race. In
fact, Miwo was the individual responsible for founding the Tibetan Bon
religion. From 629 to 49 BC,
King Songsten Gampo was on the throne.
At this time, Tibet developed into a powerful military presence and
Gampo strongly promoted Buddhism. Then
from 755 to 97, King Trisong Detsen took over reign, a time when the Tibetan
Empire was at its best. The
arms invaded several other Central Asian countries in addition to China.
Then in 763, the Chinese capital at Ch’ang-an, which is today known
as Xian, was seized by the Tibetans. The
Emperor fled, allowing the Tibetans to appoint a new Emperor.
From
815 to 36 and under the reign of King Ralpachen, the Tibetan armies had many
successes. Shortly after, China
and Tibet signed a peace treaty. You
can see inscriptions of this text today in three places – outside the
Chinese Emperor’s palace gate in Xian, on the Tibetan-China border at
Mount Guru Meru, and finally, just before the main gate of the Jokhang
Temple in Lhasa. Sadly, the
king’s brother, Tri Wudum Tsen, took over the throne and at that time,
tried to reinstate Bon and persecute Buddhists.
He was assassinated by a Buddhist monk, which divided the kingdom
between his two sons. This
caused many of the warring princes, generals, and lords to fight for power
of the Tibetan Empire, throwing Tibet into a dark period that lasted from
842 to 1247.
While
the dark period was occurring, Konchog Gyalpo founded the Sakya monastery in
1073. Tantric traditions were
formulated and great scholars such as Drogme and Marpa created the Sakya
sect. This group of lamas
became very powerful from 1254 to 1350.
Although Mongols invaded Tibet along with other countries, Prince
Godan, who was the ruling Khan had converted to Buddhism and the invading
force stopped. Other Khan’s
converted to Buddhism as well but when Kublai Khan was killed in 1925, the
Sakya priests’ influence began to decline.
With this, Central Tibet landed in the hands of the Governor of
Nedong in 1358. For the next 86
years, 11 lamas ruled Tibet although there were 20 in all.
By
1642, the fifth Dalai Lama by the name of Ngawang Lozang Gyatso took over
both spiritual and political authority in Tibet.
He established the Tibetan Government, as it still stands today.
This government is called Ganden Phodrang, which translates to
“Victorious Everywhere.” He
next demanded the Chinese to recognize his sovereignty and because he was
accepted as an independent sovereign, a pathway was built over the city
wall, allowing him to enter Peking without having to go through a gate.
In
addition to being seen as an independent sovereign, he was also considered
as the Divinity on Earth. He
used his powerful influence to bring the Mongols to acknowledgement that the
Chinese Emperor’s ways were the right way.
The result was a good relationship being built between Tibet, China,
and Mongolia. During his reign,
a time of interest and instability followed.
As an example, the first Dalai Lama had been dead for 15 years, a
secret kept by the prime minister Desi Sangye Gyatso, which would allow him
to stop any interference in the construction of the Potala Palace by the
Manchus, another entity in China that had become quite powerful.
The
eighth Dalai Lama was just 26 when he reigned.
Since the Manchu army had come into Tibet in 1792 and become quite
harmful, the Dalai Lama went to Ch’ien Lung, the Manchu Emperor, asking
for temporary assistance. Because
of this request, Lung sent a golden urn from Peking, declaring that future
reincarnations of the Dalai Lama and any other important Lamas would be
determined simply by putting names of candidates into the urn and then
extracting a name at random while in the presence of a Manchu Resident.
However, the Tibetans did not follow this rule and the thirteenth
Dalai Lama, who was just 19, came about by his own choice, stopping Lung’s
process. During this same time,
Tibet had been invaded on several occasions and the Manchu Resident meddled
in many of the Tibetan affairs but even so, the country remained sovereign.
Additionally,
in 1856, a treaty was signed between two countries, without any reference to
China, which further supported the sovereignty of Tibet.
Then in 1876, the Dalai Lama was directly responsible for helping
Tibet to reassert its sovereignty as it pertained to international affairs.
When this period ended, Great Britain had established tight links
with the Chinese government, being persuaded by China to exercise its rights
over Tibet. Therefore, on
September 13, 1876, the Sino-British Chefoo Convention was held whereby
Great Britain was granted the right to send an exploration mission into
Tibet. However, the Tibetans
refused to allow this so the mission was aborted.
Then in July of 1886 and March of 1890, two other agreements were
signed, the Peking Convention and Calcutta Convention respectfully, both
repudiated by Tibet. Because of
this, the Tibetan government decided they wanted nothing to do with Great
Britain that was obviously going over them to deal directly with China.
Around
1900, Tibet and Russia had developed contact and through letters and gifts
presented from the Dalai Lama with the Russian Czar, the British were
fearful about any involvement Russia had with Tibet.
The British government felt that interest they had in Tibet was at
stake, which resulted in Tibet being invaded by the British expeditionary
force in August of 1904. Then
in September of that same year, Tibet and Great Britain signed a treaty.
By 1913, a bilateral treaty was signed between Mongolia and Tibet,
stating that they were both free countries, separate from China.
Although the years in which the thirteenth Dalai Lama reigned, many
good things came about. Some of
these included the formal declaration and independence of Tibet and the
introduction of measures to make Tibet a modernized country.
Sadly, he died in December 1933.
It
has now been a long time since the Chinese occupied Tibet and the
destruction of this unique culture prohibited.
Even though China has spent literally millions of dollars to build a
sound infrastructure in Tibet, today, in some parts, it looks more like a
military base with thousands of troops and police all over urban centers.
Unfortunately, studies show that the Chinese government continues to
commit serious human rights abuses against the country of Tibet and its
people. The United States
government has worked hard to help improve conditions but in reality, things
in Tibet have only become worse.
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