Persons of Tibet

Tenzin Gyatso- current charismatic Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama - Tibetan  Buddhist leader. On  the picture - with Chris Gregoire, the Governor of the State of Washington. Photo by kmacs83

When we think about Tibet, first person who will come in our mind is Tibetan current Dalai Lama. His real name is Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, but he is known under his short name - Tenzin Gyatso. He is Tibetan 14th Dalai Lama, born on 6 July 1935 in Qinghai. When he was only two years old, he was already recognized as the tulku or reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. When he was 15, on 17 November 1950, he became the most important political and spiritual leader of Tibetan people. His parents were farmers in the village called Taktser. They had 16 children and Tenzin Gyatso was born fifth. His mother tongue was Amdo dialect. As Tibet was an independent state between 1911 and 1950, when new communist regime proclaimed Tibet as a part of the People's Republic of China, Tibet had a very strong resistance movement. But this movement didn't have any chance to win against strong and powerful People's Liberation Army. In 1959 he was forced to leave Tibet and since then, he has lived in India where he represents 100, 000 Tibetans in exile. As a spiritual leader, he isn't just popular and recognized among Tibetans. The West World likes him very much and greeted his Buddhist teachings. For his efforts, he received many honorable awards, including honorary Canadian citizenship (2006), the United States Congressional Gold Medal (17 October 2007) and the most significant award - the Nobel Peace Prize (1989).
Now let's start from beginning. Although his village Takster was very small and poor, his parents, mother Diki Tsering and father Choekyong Tsering, were among wealthiest farmers. They had grown potatoes, barely and buckwheat.

Anyway, although he had 15 brothers and sisters, only nine of them had survived. Tenzin Gyatso was born under the name Lhamo Dondrub or Lhamo Thoundup, but today's name was given from the Tibetan Buddhists who recognized him as their new leader. His tutors were Yongdzin Ling Rinpoche, Yongdzin Trijang Rinpoche and Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer. Yes, Brad Pitt plays a role of Heinrich Harrer in a fil 'Seven Years in Tibet', made in 1997. Tenzin Gyatso Began his monastic education already when he was only 6. They were friend until Harrer's death in 2006. Harrer introduced to young Dalai Lama the Western World (modernization, religion, philosophy, arts, etc.), but Dalai Lama influenced on him too - on his altitudes and point of views. He received the highest geshe degree what is the highest recognization in Buddhist philosophy. His childhood wasn't spent in with his family and in his village. He lived in the Potala and Norbulingka, his summer residence. When he became official leader of Tibet in 1950, Tibet already had troubles and fighting with People's Republic of China, so Dalai Lama tried to make peace with new communist regime signing the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. He wanted to participate in their politics, so he attended the first session of the first National People's Congress. At that occasion, he met major Chinese communist leader - Mao Zedong. Although he had a good will to cooperate and to make communists pleased for protecting Tibetan people, he didn't feel comfortable and welcomed within communist environment. There were rumours that there was a plan to kill him. Finally, he realized that he needs to leave China what he did on 17 March 1959. he formed the Government of Tibet in Exile in Dharamsala in India. That place is known as the little Lhasa. India welcomed Dalai Lama, but didn't want to make a pressure on China to accept Tibetan autonomous government because China is its large and powerful neighbor-land. Actually, India didn't want to make a relationship with China worst, so India advised Dalai Lama to follow the Seven Point Agreement.

Over 80, 000 Tibetans followed him to India and there Dalai Lama did everything to continue maintaining Tibetan religion, culture and tradition. He founded the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives and the Tibetan Institute of performing Arts, refounded 200 monasteries and nunneries. He searched for a help from the United Nations and appealed on a basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He made a Five-Point peace Plan for Tibet and he presented it at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987 in Washington, D. C. and at Strasbourg on 15 June, 1988. He wanted to form a self-governing democratic Tibet, ''in association with the People's Republic of China''. In 1991, he put a side this plan. He wanted to come back to Tibet and to make a new agreement with Chinese local and national governments, but he wanted to come back under no preconditions of China. China has so far refused to do it. This moment still didn't happen, Dalai Lama is already 73...
During his life, he was incredibly successful in foreign relations. He visited over 50 countries and met with religion leaders from all worlds, including the Pope Benedixt XVI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Paul VI, Gordon B. Hinckley (President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons), Dr. Robert Runcie (Archbishop of Canterbury), etc. He supported and often visited SOS Children's Villages.

Gendun Choephel - "angry monk"

Gendun Chophel as a young man.

Gendun Choephel was Tibetan monk and one of the most important intellectuals in the 20th century. He was considered to be the reincarnation of a holy Buddhist lama, but he was more popular when he left monastic order and became one of its biggest critics. Documentary film called Angry monk tells a story about his personality and life. When he left monastery, he tried everything he wasn’t allowed to do while he was monk – smoking, drinking alcohol, sexual activities and considered it all as his liberation. Let’s start from beginning. Gendun Chophel was born in 1903 in Rebkong, situated in Tibetan traditional region Amdo. When he was 14, he started his carrier as a monk at the local Drisha Monastery. Before he had learnt writing and reading from his father. When he was 17, he entered Labrank Tashi Kyil Monastery, home residence of 2, 500 monks. He was popular among monks because of his great memory-capacity and reciting-skills. Even better he was in debuting, he could always defeat other position, no matter how traditionally and socially other position could be more acceptable. He won in debates in which other position was significant Buddhist dogma such as – plants don’t have consciousness. Because of his criticism and excesses, in 1926 he needed to leave the Labrang Monastery. He travelled through Tibetan land in the company of caravan for four months and finally arrived in Lhasa in 1927 where he entered to the Drepung Monastery’s Gomang College. His supervisor was legendary Gelug scholar Geshe Sherab Gyatso. It didn’t take long when Gendun Chophel showed his real personality and attitude again. These two men spent a lot of time arguing. Sherab Gyatso called Gendun Chophell ‘’the mad man’’. He was a challenge to his teachers, but even more to his colleagues. He started to express himself through painting, mostly thankgas, but not many of his works were left today. He never graduated and obtained his Geshe Lharampa degree because he only few month before he decided to leave the Drepung Monastery. He found out about Western technology and wanted to travel lands outside Tibet. When he met Indian scholar and freedom fighter Rahula Sankrityanan in 1934, he made his dream come true. They were hanging together in next twelve years.

This experience provided him with new knowledge and intellectual horizon. Thanks to this experience, he wrote many books, including Tibetan translations of Indian classics such as the Pali Theravadin cannon, Shakuntala, Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana, English translation of a Tibetan Buddhist history, English translation of many Tibetan newspaper essays and articles for one Mahabodhi Society Journal, an erotica literature, a travelogue, a pilgrimage guidebook, an unfinished history book and others. His major work was The Golden Surface, the story of a Cosmopolitan’s Pilgrimage, a very precious book describing non-Buddhist religions like Theosophy, Islam and Hindu, geographical features of India, Indian and Sri Lanka’s history, customs and habits of Indian people. The book had over 600 pages and only half of them were preserved. His travel guide books contained much information which can be found in modern contemporary guide books – like where and what to eat, where to sleep, how to travel, means of transportation and so on. In 1930s, while Tibetans still believed that the earth is flat, Gendun Chophel made a lot of effort to convince them that the Earth is round. His former teacher Geshe Sherab Gyatso visited India and met with him. They were discussing about it and as Geshe didn’t want to leave traditional Buddhist position that the Earth is flat, Gendun Chophel offended him badly. It was Gendun Chophel’s bad move because afterwards, Geshe became a powerful person in Tibet after proclaiming the People’s Republic of China. Another his famous and significant work was the White Annals, Tibetan unfinished history. His poetry was under the influence of the nineteenth century English Romantics. He wrote about social reforms and against superstition. He was also considered as very controversial person for his work Treatise on Passion in which he described his sexual experience and erotic manual. Kama Sutra was his main inspiration. Only two Buddhists were written about it – Nyingma scholar Mipham and Gendun Chophel. Main difference was that first one was written about it according to his studies, second related with his personal experience.

He was very unpopular among his Tibetan Buddhist people, he was considered as ridiculous prodigy to them who was talking against Buddha’s teaching, against their image of Tibet and Tibetan nationality. Gendun Chophel had similar knowledge to the Western intellectuals and he could speak and use English, but he never showed a real interest for Western culture, history, art and tradition. He used his knowledge to explore his own culture and represent it in new light. Many years after his death, his Tibetan people paradoxically re-evaluated his work as a great contribution to Tibetan heritage. His final known work was his most conservative work, called Nagarjuna’s philosophy of Middle Way. He spent three years (1946-1949) in prison, he was attacked for his philosophy and there were doubts in his intelligence and integrity. He could be seen very often while writing something, at least on cigarette wrappers. But great majority of his writings disappeared while he was imprisoned. If you have a chance to see a documentary film Angry monk, dedicated to his life and work, you will find out more and meet better this extraordinary, controversial and strong personality of Gendun  Chophel and you will be able to understand Tibetan history, tradition and mentality. The film was released in 2005 and won many renowned prices and positive critics (North American Premiere, 2006 Melbourne International Film Festival, 2006 Sundance Film Festival, 2006 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, etc.) Swiss Films’ quotation about the Angry monk: “Fascinating…provides a vivid picture of Tibet that is in refreshing contrast to its often idealized and esoteric image.” Following verses are representing samples of his fascinating poetry.

Zhou Enlai - the savior of Tibetan heritage

Zhou Enlai in 1940.

Related with saving the Potala Palace during the Communist policy of cultural destruction throughout China, one of Communist leaders deserved to get some lines here, although he wasn't born in Tibet or lived there. Zhou Enlai served to the Communist regime from October 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was established, till January 1976, when he died. He was the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China and made great efforts in reconstruction of Chinese society and economy. He represented China in foreign relations between 1949 and 1958 and participated in significant international political events such as the 1954 Geneva Conference and Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China. He confronted to Mao Zedong and other Communist leaders when setting the Cultural Revolution and massive destruction of Chinese heritage. Because of his humanistic attempts, he was very popular among Chinese people, but in a great danger among the Communist Cultural Revolution’s followers. Mao Zedong became sick and the Gang of Four (Mao’s last wife Jiang Qing and her close collaborators Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen) within themselves struggled over Chinese leadership. Although he Zhou Enlai was very popular within Chinese people and one of the most important and charismatic political leaders of China, his health declined too and he died eight months before Mao Zedong. The Gang of Four showed shameful disrespect over his death and that way caused the Tiananmen Incident. Chinese public was already sick of them and their policy, but after this the Gang of Four’s move, Chinese loudly protested, showing great anger and disappointment. Deng Xiaoping, who was accused to be main organizer of the ‘’Beijing Spring’’ and later on Chinese leader from 1978 till early 1990s, was under great influence of Zhou Enlai. One of his first reforms and efforts was investing in Chinese cultural heritage’s restoration.

When looking back throughout Zhou’s life, it’s no wonder that he had strong humanistic identity. His parents were well-educated couple and he was taught about Chinese Classics in early childhood, spent mostly in Huai’an (Jiangsu Province). He studied at the prestigious Tianjin Middle School, Waseda and Nippon universities in Japan and the Nankai University in Tianjin. He joined to new political movement already as a student. He established the Awareness Society with twenty persons and his future wife Deng Yingchao was its member too. Enlai was arrested with several other members for their political activities. When releasing, he went to France, continuing his studying. Deng Yingchao was a leader of the Awareness Society in Enlai’s absence. In France he formed a Communist cell along with Liu Tsingvang and Zhang Shenfu. As there were several thousand Chinese students in Western Europe, he organized and coordinated the Socialist Youth league. When he came home to China, he participated in many activities of the Chinese Communist Party and got his first high function – CCP Secretary of Guangdong Province. Soon after, he progressed in the CCP’s hierarchy. At beginning, Kuomintang and the Communists fought together against imperial leaders and warlords, but Zhou Enlai realized very soon that this alliance won't work long and he was right. He wanted CCP has its own army. When Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, antagonism within Kuomintang and between Kuomintang and PPS appeared. It was also a year when Zhou and Deng Yingchao had married and although they didn't have children on their own, they adopted many orphaned kids of ''revolutionary martyrs''. Future Premier Li Peng was the most famous child among them. Next leader of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-Shek overtook all political power in China. Zhou was in charge to reorganize and standardize the Red Army during 1930s. The antagonism between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was in following years very strong and turbulent. But after Japanese attack, they needed to be united again, to fight against the same enemy. During Sino-Japanese war, Zhou played an important political role in Chiang Kai-Shek's government. After Second World War, the Communists overtook the main political power in China and in 1949 the People's Republic of China was proclaimed. Beside Mao Zedong, Zhou became one of the most significant Communist leaders in China. Nationalists planned his murder, but failed. Deng Xiaoping overtook majority of his responsibilities when he got sick (bladder cancer). He died in 1976 in Beijing, before he was a main target of criticism of the Gang of Four, calling him a political loser. Tianjin Zhou Enlai Deng Yingchao Memorial Hall was dedicated to this married couple and great leaders of the People's Republic of China.