咖啡在西藏热,凑个热闹。
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In the third of a series of pieces from Tibet, the BBC's Michael Bristow looks at the amount of freedom Tibetan Buddhists are given to practise their religion.
Every day, hundreds of Buddhist pilgrims prostrate themselves in front of the Jokhang Temple, the spiritual heart of the Tibetan capital Lhasa.
Their devotion is sometimes literally etched on their faces: many carry marks on their foreheads from constantly lying face down on the floor.
China says more than one million pilgrims visit Lhasa each year - evidence, it says, that the Chinese authorities are protecting religious freedom in Tibet.
But the real picture is more complex. Although people can worship openly, Beijing maintains ultimate control over Tibetan Buddhism.
An example of this control came earlier this month when China's State Administration for Religious Affairs issued new guidelines about who can and cannot be declared a "living Buddha".
From 1 September, all reincarnated living Buddhas - eminent monks - will first have to be approved by the government.
The guidelines appear directed at the selection of the next Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual head.
The current Dalai Lama, the 14th, has lived in exile in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959 along with thousands of other Tibetans after a failed uprising against Communist rule. Tenzin Gyatso is now 72.
New rules
China's new ruling on reincarnation also seems designed to prevent exiled Tibetans who have fled the region from helping to select their spiritual leader.
Article 2 makes it clear Beijing will not tolerate "interference" from any person or organisation outside the country.
If there are succession problems when the Dalai Lama dies, it will not be the first time there have been difficulties over the selection of a reincarnated monk.
When the 10th Panchen Lama - second in seniority only to the Dalai Lama - died in 1989, the search began for his successor.
In 1995, the Dalai Lama announced that six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima had been selected. Three days later he disappeared with his parents.
Nyima Tsering, vice-chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, told the BBC that this Panchen Lama, now 18, is still in Tibet, living a quiet life.
"He wants to live in peace and does not want his life disturbed," said the official, although China does not allow anyone to see him.
Instead, Beijing approved another Panchen Lama. He lives mostly in Beijing, travelling to Tibet every year or so.
Unspoken subject
China seeks to control the selection of senior religious leaders in Tibet because it fears their political power.
Although Beijing says Tibet has been part of China since the mid-13th century, eight centuries on there are still many who dispute that claim.
Beijing believes senior monks provide a focal point for those advocating Tibetan independence.
The Dalai Lama "is not only a religious figure. He is also a political figure agitating for Tibetan independence," said Nyima Tsering.
Religious and political issues remain mostly under the surface in Tibet. Senior monks are wary when talking about sensitive issues.
When asked about the Dalai Lama, Ping La, head of Shigatse's Tashilunpo Monastery, just shrugged and said: "He's just the Dalai Lama".
It is like saying the Pope is just another Catholic.
But scratch the surface and it is not hard to find political tension.
"The Dalai Lama is in here," one Tibetan in Shigatse told the BBC as he pointed to his heart. "But we cannot speak about him."
There have also been reports this month that the Chinese authorities are cracking down on pro-Dalai Lama sentiment in Tibet by sacking ethnic Tibetan officials.
China has worked hard to promote the view that it governs Tibet with a light touch.
Since 1951, when it reasserted its control of Tibet through what it called "peaceful liberation", Beijing says it has spent more than 1 billion yuan ($132m, £66m) restoring cultural sites.
People, it says, are free to worship and express their views.
"We do not have any political prisoners," said Nyima Tsering.
But it seems odd that in the Tashilunpo Monastery there are pictures of a smiling Chinese President Hu Jintao, but none of the Dalai Lama.
There might be political and religious freedom in Tibet, but it is a freedom severely curtailed by Beijing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6944750.stm
- posted on 08/15/2007
对达赖的崇拜在藏人中是很普遍的。但这显然是处于信仰的原因,而不是出于政治原因或个人的感情。达赖出走快五十年了,很少有人还记得他,也不会了解他的政治主张。
出于政治原因,政府对西藏上层的控制是明显的, 十一世班蝉从小在北京受训,已经十多年了。不过话又说回来,从满清到民国的中央政府历来都对西藏进行干预控制,包括对达赖和班蝉的转世灵童的挑选。
西方要西藏完全独立的观点似乎也很荒谬。虽然英法等国的老殖民地都相继独立了,但从没有人主张让美国的印地安人独立。欧洲移民在美洲只有几百年的历史,未必长于中国中央政府对西藏控制的历史,但美国已经是一个既成事实,历史无法改变了。内地往西藏的移民显然也有利于造成这样一个既成事实。
西藏的发展是个两难。随发展而来的外来文化对藏文化传统的冲击是显然的。这可能是全球范围的潮流的一个支流,莫斯科的商店里充斥着西方音乐CD, 我却找不到任何传统俄罗斯音乐,让我没脾气。藏文化又怎么能抵御得住呢?其实,各种文化的兼并淘汰在历史上屡见不鲜,正如地球上不断消失的物种一样。社会、文化达尔文主义 at work.
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