Seger åt Tibet! : den tibetanska diasporan och den religiösa nationen
Author
Summary, in English
This dissertation in anthropology of religion focuses on images of Tibet, among Westerners as well as among Tibetans. Based on approximately one year of fieldwork in the former British Hill station, it also deals with the politics of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and some of its political and social implications for the exiled Tibetan youth living in Dharamsala, India.
The Western perception of Tibet has varied considerably over the centuries. Since the 1920s and even more so after the Tibetan exodus in 1959, however, Tibet has to an increasing extent become envisioned as a kind of timeless Shangri-la. This image is often invoked by Westerners as an instrument of cultural critique of Western culture. Among Tibetans, however, this image is mainly used to enforce their claim that the survival of Tibetan culture should be of interest to the rest of the world.
The Dalai Lama and the CTA has during the last decades placed its emphasis on Tibet as a religious nation, living in accordance with contemporary ideals. The shift in emphasis from rangzen (independence) to religion has had the unfortunate effect that what has become of primary interest is how to preserve Tibetan Buddhism, the ?jewel? of Tibetan culture. One problem with this is, of course, that Tibetan Buddhism has managed to survive quite well outside Tibet, a fact effectively undermining the argument that the nation-state needs to be restored for Tibetan culture to survive. Hence the identification of Tibetan Buddhism with Tibetan culture makes the question of the need for a national territory of minor importance.
Many of the Tibetan youth in exile, though, consider their nationalistic strivings more important than the survival of Buddhism as a collective phenomenon. That is, they seemed to be more interested in a truly free Tibet, an independent nation-state, than in the strife to create a Buddhist nation within Chinas borders; contemplating religion and culture, but giving up their political rights. Another consequence dealt with in this thesis is the discrepancy between the image of Tibet and the people belonging to its culture, realized in the meeting between ?new arrivals? and the youth who has lived most part of their life in exile.
The Western perception of Tibet has varied considerably over the centuries. Since the 1920s and even more so after the Tibetan exodus in 1959, however, Tibet has to an increasing extent become envisioned as a kind of timeless Shangri-la. This image is often invoked by Westerners as an instrument of cultural critique of Western culture. Among Tibetans, however, this image is mainly used to enforce their claim that the survival of Tibetan culture should be of interest to the rest of the world.
The Dalai Lama and the CTA has during the last decades placed its emphasis on Tibet as a religious nation, living in accordance with contemporary ideals. The shift in emphasis from rangzen (independence) to religion has had the unfortunate effect that what has become of primary interest is how to preserve Tibetan Buddhism, the ?jewel? of Tibetan culture. One problem with this is, of course, that Tibetan Buddhism has managed to survive quite well outside Tibet, a fact effectively undermining the argument that the nation-state needs to be restored for Tibetan culture to survive. Hence the identification of Tibetan Buddhism with Tibetan culture makes the question of the need for a national territory of minor importance.
Many of the Tibetan youth in exile, though, consider their nationalistic strivings more important than the survival of Buddhism as a collective phenomenon. That is, they seemed to be more interested in a truly free Tibet, an independent nation-state, than in the strife to create a Buddhist nation within Chinas borders; contemplating religion and culture, but giving up their political rights. Another consequence dealt with in this thesis is the discrepancy between the image of Tibet and the people belonging to its culture, realized in the meeting between ?new arrivals? and the youth who has lived most part of their life in exile.
Department/s
Publishing year
2005
Language
Swedish
Publication/Series
Lund studies in African and Asian religions
Volume
16
Document type
Dissertation
Publisher
Almqvist & Wiksell International
Topic
- History of Religions
Keywords
- Världsreligioner (ej kristendom)
- Non-Christian religions
- Rangzen.
- Miss Tibet
- Bod Gyalo
- Shangri-la
- Nationalism
- Diaspora
- Dalai Lama
- Government-in-exile
- Dharamsala
- Refugees
- Identity
- Anthropology of religion
- Tibet
- Buddhism
- Social sciences
- Samhällsvetenskaper
Status
Published
Supervisor
- Tord Olsson
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0284-8651
- ISBN: 91-22-02135-3
Defence date
22 October 2005
Defence time
13:15
Defence place
Spoletorp hörsal, Spolegatan 1R, Lund.
Opponent
- Axel Ström (Försteamanuensis)