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Tibet - a welcome history


 

If you still entered a view of Tibet (pre-1950) as a Shangri-la of peaceful monks fully engaged in pursuing enlightenment surrounded by a supportive, peaceful traditional culture, the harmony of 'Lost Horizons', you will emerge strongly disabused. If you imagine that Buddhism of all the main religious traditions is the most inured to manipulation by violence or the most likely to be conducive to peace, you too may have to reassess your views. There are plenty of opportunities, as Tibet's history unfolds, to encounter warrior monks engaging in a doctrinal argument with clubs and knives, monasteries of different suasions jostling for power with a liberal dose of poisoning, actual and suspected along the way.

But if you wanted a balanced, intelligent, sympathetic but never credulous, history of Tibet, Sam Van Schaik's 'Tibet: A History' is excellent. I had bought it in the bookshop of the Rubin Museum in New York a couple of years ago but only got to reading it now. The Rubin itself is a remarkable museum where the Buddhist traditions, principally of the Himalayas, are allowed not simply to be observed passively but absorbed experientially; and, enter into a living dialogue with the contemporary world.

Van Schaik begins in 600 C.E. as Tibet emerges as a formidable empire, one that would briefly occupy, the capital of the failing T'ang dynasty in China, and ends in the first decade of this century, a culture resiliently coping in spite of the formidable efforts of the People's Republic of China to disrupt and assimilate it.

This, of course, must be one of the main themes of any book on the history of Tibet - what precisely has been its relationship to China, and what justifications does history confer on either side of the acrimonious debate concerning Tibet's present state. Schaik navigates this with admirable skill and even-handedness. 

It is undoubtedly true that China exercised, for significant stretches of time, a 'political' role in Tibet. It is equally true that, at no time, did this reflect anything other than what we would now think of as a 'colonial' relationship - and one that exhibited the features of the empires of old - you pay us tribute, acknowledge our overlordship and we will leave you to get on with it - rather than the modern version where a nation-state dominates and administers another's territory. At no time has China administered Tibet and at no time has Tibet thought of itself as an insoluble part of China. In 1950, China invaded Tibet and denies Tibet to this day its legitimate right to self-determination, completely unable to compromise even when offered by the Dalai Lama the opportunity of autonomy (though as we now see in Hong Kong - the notion of two systems-one country - appears an impossibly difficult challenge to an increasingly totalitarian China). Nevertheless, like any relationship, it had its unique features not least here several Chinese emperors allegiance to Buddhism and thus felt fealty in a priest - disciple relationship to varied members of the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy.

Needless to say, however, just like any other country, the complexity of its internal politics and society, has never meant that Tibet has entertained a univocal view. Even at the time of the invasion, in 1950, certain Tibetans welcomed it either as undermining the centralizing rule of the Dalai Lama (never fully accepted since it emerged in Tibet's history in any case) or as an opportunity to overthrow a highly rigid hierarchical system that still held significant portions of the population in bondage to their aristocratic landlords. But, as they sadly soon learned, be careful what you wish for!

However, this theme, important and tragic as it is, is only part of the story. 

The other dominant theme is how Buddhism came, slowly, to Tibet and steadily permeated society in remarkable ways, fostered by a range of most extraordinary, capable, and charismatic people, many of whom a vividly sketched within the text. They built from experience, reason, and argument one of the most pre-eminent 'technologies' towards compassionate living that, as elsewhere, was only fully adopted by the few yet rippled out with invaluable consequences. Enfolded in which was a rich tapestry of art, literature, philosophy, and science. Though much of its physical structure was dismembered in the cultural revolution, much of its mobile product was brought into exile and has continued to flourish in a new dialogue with the contemporary world. What is admirable about Van Schaik's account is that he allows this religious dimension of life its own operative validity. Yes, often, it could be infiltrated or manipulated by other factors, both political and social, but people's belief in it, and practice of it, at whatever level, was a primary factor in Tibet's history and is allowed to speak for itself including its most apparently miraculous features. It is not Van Schaik's role as a historian to judge the status of these only to acknowledge their actual importance in people's systems of belief and behavior. 

All of this, and more, is delivered in under 270 pages of text, that is clear, illuminating, and pacey (and not, at times, without humor). It is a wonderful achievement that all lovers of Tibet should welcome - because love can only ultimately be grounded in a balanced, detached view of things as they are, rather than we might wish them to be.




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