Culture

Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhism arrived in Tibet eight centuries after the historical Buddha taught in India in 500 B.C. Since that time, hundreds of teaching lineages have formed. A teaching lineage is the way that Tibetan Buddhists trace their religious practice back to the time of the Buddha. Today, all of the surviving lineages are contained within the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug. Within these lineages are highly sophisticated and tested systems of inner development, a rich store of articulate and refined philosophical insights, and an expressive range of ritual and sacred arts.
In addition to the focus on lineages, a distinguishing feature of Tibetan Buddhism is the way it has drawn on all three principal schools of Indian Buddhism: Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. The Hinayana emphasizes the Buddha's teachings on ethics and meditation common to all schools of Buddhism; Mahayana focuses on methods for developing compassion and wisdom; and Vajrayana, an advanced form of Mahayana, utilizes yidams (meditational deities), mantras (sacred syllables), and rituals as methods for quickly developing compassion and insights into the nature of reality.

Tibetan Peoples

For over a thousand years Tibetan-speaking people have lived in Tibet and areas that are now part of China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The Tibetan script is one cultural element that unites them across these contemporary borders. Most Tibetans also practice Buddhism, although a small minority are Muslim or Bön practitioners. In general, Tibetans are more unified culturally than most linguistic groups; however, regional differences in dress, diet, and language distinguish communities.

Today, two-thirds of Tibetans live in the U Tsang province of central Tibet. Defined by the Chinese as the Tibetan Autonomous Region (T.A.R.), U Tsang is the most settled part of Tibet and includes the cities of Lhasa, Shigatse, and Gyantse along the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River valley. Tibetans living in the Amdo region, northeast of U Tsang, are now primarily in a separate Chinese province, Qinghai. Tibetans in the Kham region of western Tibet live primarily in areas now defined as the T.A.R. and the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan. Many Tibetans living in Kham and Amdo are nomads, and their dialects of Tibetan are at times unintelligible to Tibetans from Lhasa. Their dress and diet are also distinctive. Since the Chinese takeover of Tibet, many such differences among Tibetans in these regions are becoming secondary to the overwhelming influence of modern Chinese culture.

Tibetans from U Tsang, Kham, and Amdo have resettled in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. They are proud to keep their distinct dress and diets where they can, pray to Buddhist deities at household shrines and at local monasteries, and speak Tibetan. At the same time the refugees are greatly influenced by the culture of Indians and Nepalis. These contacts are creating new cultural dynamics and strains.

Tibetans living in Europe and North America have a more difficult time retaining their cultural traditions. Because they are recent immigrants, they have few cultural institutions for support. Attempts are now being made to teach Tibetan children their language at weekend schools, and Tibetan dress is worn on special occasions. Tibetan food is cooked at home but is available only in a few restaurants. In spite of their widespread diffusion, Tibetans living "beyond the land of snows" are united in their respect for the leadership of the Dalai Lama.

Medicine and Astrology

Tibetan medicine, gsowa rigpa, is based, in part, on ayurvedic medical systems brought from India with the expansion of Buddhism in the first millennium. In the Buddhist world view, ignorance of reality is the basis of disease. This reality consists of the interaction of five elements: earth, air, fire, water, and space. Food, plants, minerals, and people all contain a combination of these elements. Tibetan medicine helps to balance these elements in an individual.

In Tibetan medicine, good health also depends on the proper balance of diet, behavior, environment, and psychological and social factors. A Tibetan doctor will first discuss a patient's diet and behavior. The doctor then assesses the patient's various pulses and looks at the patient's urine to diagnose any illness. These two diagnostic techniques are basic to Tibetan medicine. If disease is detected, the doctor will suggest a change of diet or behavior, perform surgery, or prescribe Tibetan medicine.

In Tibet, doctors have been trained at medical centers since the 17th century. In 1916, the 13th Dalai Lama established the Men-Tse-Khang (Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute) in Lhasa to train doctors and astrologers. The 14th Dalai Lama re-established the institute in 1961 in Dharamsala, India, after he fled Tibet. Since that time the Institute has trained over 200 doctors and astrologers, and has expanded with more than 40 branches throughout India and Nepal. Men-Tse-Khang produces Tibetan medicine, utilizing locally cultivated plants and flowers, minerals, and precious metals. In exile, Tibetan doctors train for seven years before practicing.

Tibetan astrologers at Men-Tse-Khang study for five years. They use calculations and computers to determine an indi-vidual's life span as well as his or her present and future physical condition and economic status. As in Tibet, astrologers play an important role in the day-to-day life of the refugee community. They will give consultations at births, deaths, marriages, and in the case of long illnesses. They will also advise people on auspicious days to begin and end spiritual prac-tices, travel, and conduct business. If the outlook is unfavorable, the astrologers will prepare an antidote in the form of a prayer, amulet, or religious practice.