By Nate Regan
Contributing Writer
As part of a stopover at the SMU campus, three of the 10 visiting Gomang Monks participated in a lecture aimed to inform students on the rich Tibetan history, from the very first Dalai Lama to the present-day struggle for freedom.
Group coordinator Mary Pattison presented a slide show to the packed audience in Hyer Hall. She began the lecture with a description of the Tibetan flag, which is composed of five colors, each representing a different element of the culture.
Red stands for fire, yellow is for earth, blue is for air or sky, green is for water, and white is for space.
“Sadly, this flag does not fly over our country at the present time. Although over the centuries, Tibet has had many political disputes with its neighbors, it has always maintained its independence.
Chinese occupation
“This independence was brutally ended in the 1950s because of the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet.”
Today, the Chinese population is threatening to outnumber the Tibetan people.
Pattison spoke of the more than 1.2 million Tibetans whose lives have been lost at the hands of communist oppressors. In addition, “more than 6,000 of Tibet’s monasteries have been demolished.”
“Thousands of innocent people continue to be imprisoned, tortured, persecuted and killed because of their beliefs, their loyalty to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and their steadfast commitment to a free Tibet,” Pattison said.
Since the communist invasion of the 1950s, Chinese policies have put up many obstacles to the free expression of the Buddhist religion of the Tibetan people.
A number of political prisoners have been captured over the years, and some have drawn more media attention than others.
Ani Pachen, for example, was captured in 1969 and spent 21 years in Drapchi and Chumdo prisons.
Most noted for having led an armed group of 100 people and carrying out numerous raids against the Chinese, Pachen was released in 1991.
“Palden Gyatso was arrested by the Chinese in 1959 during the uprising at the time of the escape from Tibet by the Dalai Lama,” said Pattison.
After 33 years in prison, he was released, at which point Gyatso said that his greatest fear during his years of captivity was that he was that he might lose his compassion for his torturers and his enemies.
Buddhist monks spread message
Pattison said, “The monks on this tour are from Drepung Gomang Monastery which was rebuilt in south India in 1969 after the destruction of Drepung in Lhasa by the Chinese.
“It was built on 42 acres of land in the refugee settlement at Mundgod by 62 monks who managed to escape Tibet in 1959 with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Today more than 1,500 monks live on these same 42 acres.
“Tibetans consider it a great privilege to have a monk or a nun in their family,” she said.
A great number of the citizens are Buddhist monks or nuns, though the nation was not always Buddhist.
Today, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and deities all represent important religious figures in Tibetan Buddhism.
Not coincidentally, each of the buddhas and bodhisattvas embody one or more of the beliefs that the monks practice.
Some of these notables include Manjushri (the Bodhisattva of Wisdom), Maitreya (the Buddha of Loving Kindness), and Tara (the mother of all Buddhas).
According to Pattison, “White Tara is associated with practices designed to lengthen one’s lifespan and overcome life-threatening hindrances.”
“An average of 200 refugee monks per year come to Gomang from Tibet, Mongolia, Russia, Nepal, and northern India in order to receive a Buddhist education. Gomang is noted for its excellence in debate and logic.”
The monks visiting SMU are, in fact, from one of the most noted such monasteries in the world.
Because of this, the traditions and rituals for these monks are held in particularly high regard, and this includes laws enforcing rules on membership in the monastery.
According to group interpreter Thupten Kelsang, the offspring of two monks himself, giving up the robe in favor of a life not associated with the monks, “depends on the situation at hand.
“Once you give up [the robe], however, you cannot come back.”
And, much like priests in America, those in the Gomang Monastery are not allowed to marry unless they give up their robe.
The purpose behind the Drepung Gomang Monastery U.S. tour, which concludes this August, is to share the compassion and wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism, to demonstrate the artistic accomplishments of the people of Tibet, and to generate funds to insure the survival of Tibetan culture.
Those interested in offering help should contact coordinator@gomang.org.
