be_elzebe

re: butter sculptures

Ta'er Monastery in Xining is home to one of the finest yak butter sculpture collections in the Tibetan tradition. Tibetan monks hold their hands in cold water so they can mold the butter without melting it. These butter sculptures are sacred offerings and often are sculpted into buddhas, bodhisattvas or mandalas. The butter is a good medium because, well, there are a ton of yaks in the area and it ties in nicely with the Buddhist ideal of impermanence.

re: Dalai Lama and a rant about tibetan buddhism
His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke in Chicago today. I have a lot of respect for the guy and his teachings. I also have a lot of respect for the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. I do not, however, have a lot of respect for this hyper-portrayal of Tibet as this sacred land and this idea that Tibetans are all these deeply spiritual people who go around spinning prayer wheels all day. Tibetans, like anybody, are a diverse, non-homogenous group. Some of them are deeply devout. Some of them break the five precepts every day and some of them lie, cheat, steal, gamble and drink baijiu. I'm not against the portrayal of Tibetans as a spiritual people. I am against perpetuating stereotypes and the dangerous homegnization of groups that comes with othering. (Holy post-colonial ranting, batman!)

That being said, Tibetan Buddhism has benefited substantially from the Dalai Lama's exile and the subsequent "Free Tibet" fad. Tibetan Buddhism is a fashionable religion these days, especially in the west. You sign up for clarity, enlightenment, fancy mudras, butter scupltures, sand mandalas, etc. You also obstensibly sign up for supporting Tibet's political situation against the Horrible Chinese Oppressors, which is also fashionable these days.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't like the Dalai Lama or Tibetan Buddhism. I am saying that people should be aware that their religious decisions/actions are often linked to politiking of one kind or another. I'm also saying that people should be more wary of consciously designed productions of character, be them religious, national or cultural .