| UPDATED: May-7-2008 Web Exclusive | | The Tibetan Experience | | Never before have I felt such deep communion with humankind | | By LISA CARDUCCI | |
In Tibetan Buddhism, all lives deserve equal respect. I've noticed that Lamaism differs from Chinese, Japanese, Nepalese, and Vietnamese Buddhism. Religious practice is so deeply rooted in Tibetan lives that prayer is as continuous as breath.
Tibetans go to temples all the time, burning incense and adding butter in lamps, with the knives hanging from their belts. I have visited hundreds of temples around China, but what I call "the Tibetan experience" is something that cannot be said in words. The day of the "great tangka exhibition," 40,000 pilgrims, solemn and meditating, walk toward the mountain well before sunrise, throwing scented herbs on heaps of mani (flat stones). Once a favourable spot for observing is found, each one sits, silent. More than 100 monks transport on their shoulders the tangka, which goes out only once a year. Another hundred pairs of arms are needed to pull up, with cables, the immense tapestry with an effigy of the Buddha. It doesn't last long. At 8:30, all is over.
In the greatest calm, some go to touch the sacred image with their forehead; others return home, happy and peaceful. Never before have I felt such deep communion with humankind. That day, I found myself in front of a woman around my age. We spontaneously took each other's hands, and I pronounced the only Tibetan expression I knew, "Trashidele" (greeting/blessing). We smiled and departed, each one deeply moved.
And I thought how good it was, that somewhere in the world, people were happy and desire-free. Some visitors just pass through. Others never go to Tibet and just report the general current of prejudice. What a strange world!
Then I could understand what a friend of mine, a Han artist who studied and lived in Lhasa, did. He was granted six months in Germany with a fully equipped studio, but one month later, he abandoned everything and came back to China: he missed Tibet!
The author is a Beijing-based Canadian writer |
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"The results may be good or may not. I won't regret it as long as I've tried my best."
"I'll try my best to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games and realize my dream."
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"The Olympics mean pursuing my dreams."
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"No pain, no gain. I'll win a gold medal in Beijing as I did in Athens four years ago, and I'll give my coach a big hug as compensation for my neglect last time."
"I'll beat all my rivals to win a gold medal."
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"To me, the Olympics mean challenging myself and realizing my dream. I had to try my best during the Games after I qualified to compete. As for the result, let it be."
"The Olympics stand for dreams, gains, happiness and enjoyment."
"As I entered the Olympic village in Athens in 2004, the feeling was totally different from [the feeling I got from] other events. It was my first Olympic Games. All the Chinese athletes united as one person to compete for the country. The Olympics mean much more -- pressure as well as motivation -- to every Olympian."
"I think participation in the Beijing Olympic Games is a dream shared by every athlete. We must make every effort to qualify for that. There are no exceptions for us, athletes who used to won Olympic gold medals."
"The results may be good or may not. I won't regret it as long as I've tried my best."
"I'll try my best to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games and realize my dream."
"The Olympics mean courage. The power of courage makes me fight till the end."
"The Olympics mean participation. A gold medal, to me, was not the final target. I just wanted to play my part well since I was a professional athlete."
"The Olympics mean pursuing my dreams."
"The Beijing Olympic Games, to me, mean starting over again from the very beginning."
"The Olympics can be regarded as a stage that can make every one's dreams come true. It is true that every Olympian has his or her own dream. The Beijing Olympics to me probably means my last remaining dream."
"No pain, no gain. I'll win a gold medal in Beijing as I did in Athens four years ago, and I'll give my coach a big hug as compensation for my neglect last time."
"I'll beat all my rivals to win a gold medal."
"The opportunity of participating in the Olympic Games is previous for football players since there is a limitation on age. I'll try my best to compete for China. But if I fail, I would like to go to Beijing to watch the Games. It's good to feel the Olympic spirit inside the venues." | |
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