In the early 2000s, a handful of scholars led by one who writes under the sobriquet of Zhogs dung (Morning Conch) wrote a series of editorials and articles openly criticizing the T religious establishment. It set off a firestorm of debates, town-hall meetings, death threats, and still raises passions when discussed to this day. I will refrain, at present, from delving too extensively into the history of that particular firestorm of a moment, as it has already been very nicely documented by Lauran Hartley in an article entitled "'Inventing Modernity' in A mdo: Views on the Role of Traditional Tbtn Culture in a Developing Society.* I will, however, briefly summarize the points being made: primarily that there was some negative "propensities" (the word Hartley uses to translate bag chags) in T society, primarily relating to an unflinching faith in religion and willingness to give up almost everything in the name of that religion that ultimately keeps the people of said society from participating within the larger society in which it is located on an equal social and economic footing. Now, in the West, we love to romanticize the culture here, particularly on the grounds of the depth and penetration of religion into the every moment and action of daily life, but it's a different world now and the situation is far more complex than that (a fact to which my decidedly secularly focused blog may hopefully attest). This is one reason why a number of tourists to the region express disappointment, because the place is not so mystical as their imaginations had led them to expect. Opinions about the importance of religion and ways to fruitfully practice religion are changing as well.
Some say that Zhogs dung's anti-religious stance is basically no different from State propaganda, and yet, I feel that there's something more at play here. Instead, it may be equally indicative of some growing fault lines (in some places generational, but not necessarily) within the society. Religion is increasingly put forward as being an essential element of T culture, but it is no longer so much the all-encompassing religion that appears to have once existed, as (for many) a belief in religion, but also a belief in the importance this worldly life. This was struck home by a friend, a strong believer in Buddhism, who was recently frustrated when the family patriarch donated some extremely valuable antique relics to a monastery (and by extremely valuable, I mean probably over USD 150,000 each) as part of his end-of-life preparations. He did this without consulting his family, and his family would have no right to make a dissenting opinion anyway lest they be seen as greedy. Rather than trying to put his family in a better position, or leaving them with a rare and not-quite-priceless-but-close heirloom, he donated them to the monastery. In itself, donating to the monastery is a fine thing to do. No doubt. But it can also, ultimately, be seen as an act of selfishness wrapped in the veneer of charitable giving. The part that was so mystifying to my friend, was that the money raise from selling that relic could have benefited hundreds if not thousands of people through actually donating money to charity, helping the less fortunate, donating to under-funded schools (of which there is no lack), etc. There would also be money left over to help ensure better futures for direct family. But instead, the statues went to a monastery, where they will be kept under lock and key, generating merit for the people responsible for the donation, but not exactly providing worldly benefit to the community at the same time. I can see my friend's point. I have also been around enough elders to find the patriarch's decision unsurprising. In the end, which one will ultimately be the better decision? It's a tough ask, but I, for one (if I may editorialize for a moment), agree with my friend in thinking that the donation of money to help people in need and schools and the like has to generate more merit and have more lasting social effects than giving to a monastery. But maybe that's just me. *If you wish to obtain a copy of said article, I might be convinced to brave copyright laws to share a pdf, but please contact me separately.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About TimAs you can see elsewhere on this webpage, I conduct research on ethnic minorities in western China. This blog offers semi-academic musings on the minutiae of daily life out here--the sort of information otherwise destined for footnotes. Categories |