Ｔｉｂｅｔａｎ Ｒｅｌｉｇｉｏｕｓ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ

Council Member of China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture

My name is Nyima Tshering. I am speaking on behalf of the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture. My topic is Tibetan religious culture.

I am a Tibetan monk from the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa of Tibet as well as council member of the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture. As a Tibetan monk I feel greatly honoured to discuss Tibetan culture and religions with you.

Located in the southwest of China， Tibet lies on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau， the roof of the world. The Tibetans have a long history and their own cultural traditions. Tibetan Buddhism is an important component of Tibetan culture and monasteries are major religious carriers. Today， 1，700 monasteries and temples in Tibet serve as sites for more than 46，000 monks and nuns in their practices and for the great majority of religious believers in their worships.

There are many sects within Tibetan Buddhism， such as Gelug Sect (Yellow Sect)， Kabrgyud Sect (White Sect)， Nyingma Sect (Red Sect)， Sagya Sect (Flower Sect) and so on. Each sect has its own monasteries and temples. The Jokhang Monastery， to which I belong， is owned by all sects. As a sacred site in the hearts of all Buddhists， it enshrines the life-size statue of Sakyamuni brought to Tibet by Tang Princess Wen Cheng during her marriage with Songtsan Gambo， ruler of the Tubo Kingdom， in the 7th century. The Jokhang Monastery is over 1，300 years old， but both the statue and the monastery are well preserved. In recent years， it has received perfect maintenance and protection. The Jokhang Monastery， the Potala Palace and Norbulingka Park are all on the list of the UN World Cultural Heritage.

In Tibet， all people enjoy freedom of religious belief under the protection of State laws. Except Buddhism， there also exist Catholicism， Christianity， Islam， and other religions in Tibet， and all these religions respect one another. Everybody has the freedom to believe in or not to believe in religion， which depends on his or her own will. I am from an ordinary Tibetan farmer’s family， and I believe in Tibetan Buddhism. After graduation from a middle school， I chose to become a lama. Later on， I was very lucky to enter China Senior Buddhist Institute of Tibetan Language for further study of Buddhist doctrines. Now I serve as vice-director of the Democratic Management Committee of the Jokhang Monastery and executive council member of the Buddhist Association of China Tibetan Chapter. Some elderly lamas told me that 50 years ago in the old Tibet， it was impossible for a farmer’s child to become a high-ranking lama of great learning just by relying on his own efforts without money and high officials’ and noble lords’ support. I am grateful to the present equal， free and open Tibetan society， for it offers me so many opportunities.

Apart from daily Buddhist practices in the Jokhang Monastery， my major task is to introduce the long history of the Jokhang Monastery and the splendid religious culture to visitors from all over the world， which is part of my worshiping Buddha and accumulating merits. With the deep-going of the social reform in China， Tibet is becoming more and more open. An increasing number of visitors and Buddhist believers from China interior， Taiwan， Hong Kong and Macao visit Tibet. There are also many visitors from other parts of Asia， Europe and America. In order to explain Tibetan culture better， I have not only tried hard to raise my level in Tibetan and Han languages， but also studied English. Now I can directly communicate with foreign friends in English and help them to have an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the charm of Tibetan Buddhism. Tens of thousands of Buddhist believers， regardless of religious sects， ethnic groups and nationalities， come in from Tibet and other parts of China， and the whole world. They worship Sakyamuni and visit this ancient monastery， bringing us a variety of messages， expressing the common aspiration for peace shared by the people throughout the world.

In my contacts with people from various parts of the world， I have realized that Tibet is a region that attaches special importance to spiritual culture. The broad and profound Tibetan culture is our spiritual homeland and Tibetan Buddhism is the sole spiritual sustenance to Tibetans， but the development of material civilization in Tibet has lagged behind. In the meantime， the material side of Western culture originating from Europe has developed rapidly， but more and more Westerners feel their lack in spiritual civilization and hope to find peace and calmness in Tibetan Buddhism. This is a consensus at this Dialogue of Civilizations， Cultures and Religions in Europe and Asia. Dialogue doesn’t mean that one side suppresses or conquers the other. Instead， it should promote mutual understanding and cooperation. There are several thousand volumes of Buddhist classics， in which the fundamental doctrine is to help people free from sufferings in their lives and obtain wisdom and extrication. Monasteries and temples， statues of Buddha， preaching Buddhist doctrines and holding religious rituals are all “gates of convenience”. It is most important for a Buddhist believer to possess merciful nature like Bodhisattva’s and a heart desiring to help the sentient beings out of the purgatory. The more rapidly the material civilization develops， the more urgent desire the people will have to satisfy their spiritual needs. Therefore， many westerners need to listen attentively to the teachings of Eastern wisdom so as to achieve internal peace and happiness under the merciful guidance of Buddha. And in the meanwhile， Tibetans should seek realization of both happiness in the present life and reward in the future life. Raising the levels of both material and spiritual lives will help create a better environment for us to inherit and develop our culture. Tibetan Buddhist monks should follow the teachings of Buddha and Bodhisattvas to help the sentient beings out of purgatory. Though living in monasteries or temples， the monks should actively show solicitude for society and serve the people. Faced with wars， conflicts， terrorism and disasters such as SARS and bird flu， we should not only hold ceremonies praying for world peace and welfare of the people， but also give donations to help the victims， to exert what little strength we have to repay the society.

Tibetan culture is deeply rooted in the minds of the Tibetans; it is not a cultural ruin. It will advance with the times along with the whole country and the whole world. It cannot serve as a poor and backward cultural “reserve” only for people to visit and admire. Our organization the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture is a NGO consisting of volunteers at home and from abroad who love Tibetan culture and care for its preservation and development. We focus on preserving and promoting Tibetan culture in the process of modernization， and try to find the balance and harmony between tradition and modernity， preservation and development， the spiritual and the material aspects of culture. It is our hope that friends from Asia and Europe will make joint efforts to preserve and develop various national cultures and go from dialogue to cooperation. May Qinghai-Tibet plateau become a link between the two continents and let us build a cultural bridge between the eastern and western cultures.