Dokument #1328323
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
According to China A Travel Kit,
[t]he cornerstone of Buddhist philosophy is the view that all life
is suffering. Everyone is subject to the traumas of birth,
sickness, decrepitude and death; to what they most dread (an
incurable disease or an ineradicable personal weakness), as well as
separation from what they love. The cause of suffering is
desirespecifically to the desires of the body and the desire of
personal fulfilment. Happiness can only be achieved if these
desires are overcome, and this requires following the 'eight-fold
path.' By following this path the Buddhist aims to attain nirvana,
a condition beyond the limits of mind and feelings; a state of
bliss (Buckley, 1988, 51).
The source continues that a Chinese monk
named Xuan Zang travelled to India and returned with Buddhist
scriptures which were then translated from the original Sanskrit to
Chinese (Ibid.). At one stage Buddhism split into two major
schools: Hinayana and Mahayana (Ibid.). The Mahayana school
became the Buddhism of, among other countries, China and Tibet
(Ibid. 52). Mahayana Buddhism is "replete with innumerable
heavens, hells and the description of nirvana. Prayers are
addressed to the Buddha, combined with elaborate rituals"
(Ibid.).
According to a professor of religious
studies at McGill University, Montréal, adherents of both
Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism believe that everything is impermanent
and constantly changing and, therefore, there is a general
dissatisfaction with life (28 Jan. 1993). Tibetan Buddhism, in
particular, is a mixture of Indian and Chinese Buddhism
(Ibid.). It is different from Chinese Buddhism in that it is
influenced by the native religion of Tibet and the Bon religion
(Ibid.). The Bon religion believes in good and bad spirits
(ie., gods and demons) and that these spirits are present
everywhere (Ibid.). Magic is a strong element of this
religion (Ibid.). According to the professor, another
essential difference between Chinese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism
is that in Tibetan Buddhism the Dalai Lama is both a religious and
a political leader. In Chinese Buddhism, although some schools
might have a spiritual leader, such a leader has no political
significance (Ibid.).
According to a professor of philosophy at
the University of Victoria, Tibetan Buddhism is more ceremonial
than Chinese Buddhism, which is more simple and sparse (27 Jan.
1993). Tibetan Buddhism is also more hierarchical in its structure,
having the Dalai Lama at the top of hierarchy as the main religious
leader (Ibid.). Chinese Buddhism, on the other hand, has no
recognized top authority and is more decentralized
(Ibid.).
According to an Asia Watch report entitled
Merciless Repression Human Rights in Tibet, Tibetan
Buddhism
may well pose an ideological challenge to the orthodoxy upon which
the political foundations of the People's Republic of China are
based; and its nationalistic potential is clearly perceived by the
authorities as posing a dire threat to the legitimacy of Chinese
rule in Tibet (1990, 67-68).
Since the implementation of martial law, the long-standing
governmental interference in religious affairs in Tibet has been
further intensified (Ibid., 70-71). The source concludes
that any attempts from within the monastic community to extend its
activities into the realm of dissenting politics is rewarded by
harsh and violent suppression and by political imprisonment or
worse (Ibid., 71).
For additional or corroborating information
please refer to the attached materials.
Asia Watch 1990. "Merciless
Repression" Human Rights Abuses in Tibet. New York: Human
Rights Watch.
Buckley, Michael, et al. 1988. China
A Travel Survival Kit. 2nd ed. Berkeley: Lonely Planet
Publications.
Professor, Department of Philosophy,
University of Victoria, Victoria. 27 January 1993. Telephone
interview.
Professor, Department of Religious
Studies, McGill University, Montréal. 28 January 1993.
Telephone interview.
Asia Watch 1990. "Merciless
Repression" Human Rights Abuses in Tibet. New York: Human
Rights Watch.
Buckley, Michael, et al. 1988. China
A Travel Survival Kit. 2nd ed. Berkeley: Lonely Planet
Publications.
Buckley, Michael and Robert Strauss.
1986. Tibet A Travel Survival Kit. 1st ed. Berkeley: Lonely
Planet Publications.
Mews, Stuart, ed. 1988. Religion in
Politics. Chicago: St. James Press.