The Three Wise men of Tibet

 

Flight of the Bon Monks

By Harvey Rice

It was in the late 1950's that China overran Tibet. The country over run by China had it's own sovereignty, culture and distinct religious practices.  The two main religions are Buddhism and Bon. Bon was the older and indigenous religion while Buddhism was originally from India. Tibetan Buddhism has it's own flavor and is different from Chinese Buddhism. Both Bon and Tibetan Buddhism both revere many of the same deities and they revere each others holy people.  When China conquered Tibet they were communist and they were hostile to religion.

In more ancient times Tibet was a powerful kingdom and often went to war with China. Often times Tibet would conquer Chinese territory. Both Bon and Buddhism had monasteries and monks all through put Tibet. One famous monastery out of Tibet was Minri which was the seat of power for the Bon religion. Drapong was like the Harvard university of Tibetan Buddhism.  Bon monks had lands that produced farm good and it also had living quarter and temples. Most monks took vow of non violence, about a tenth of the monks were warrior monks who did not have such strictures of non violence andhad more freedom than the other monks. The main dish of Tibet is Sanpa. A nutritious staple food that is much like a superfood. 

The story which is non fiction centers around three of the monks who escaped when China took over. The Chinese take over consisted of razing monasteries, harming females, putting Tibetan in concentration camps and total cultural destruction. The chaos and destruction caused many to flee from Tibet into neighboring countries. Most went and settled in the country of India. It was there that they would rebuild their society in exile.

The three monks were Tenzen, Senten and Songyae. The book gives a thorough biography of each of these monks as well as describing conditions in Tibet during the Chinese take over. There was no Tibetan military so to speak during that war. Defense came down to warrior monks and guerrillas. The book also details the challenges the Tibetan faced as they settled in India and other nearby countries. Dr. Snellgrove managed to get a few Tibetan to Britain so as to teach them modernity and also to learn their Bon religion

THE Chinese take over of Tibet was one of the bloodiest chapters in world history. Tibet recieved virtually no help from the outside world. The CIA tried to use Tibet against China but only managed to exploit the Tibetan issue. Towards the twentieth century they eased up and allowed Tibet to rebuild some of their structures and culture. They became more tolerant oward Bonn and religion but the Dalia Lama cannot come inot Tibet due to his political influence. Even holding his picture and can get you put in jail. Free Tibet