July 5

Through My Eyes

Saturday July 5

(Looking over the Tibetan situation generally.)

" Tibet has captured the imagination of the modern world. It is a distant land that points to a time of lost innocence, a Himalayan Eden, a hidden refuge for the human spirit, which brings forth serene images of monks in beet-red robes, praying, barely visible in the low light cast by flickering butter lamps. Tibet stands as a still point in our free fall toward a shaky future. As we in the West struggle with the pace and panic of contemporary life under the buzz of fluorescent tubes and the paper-thin shadow of illusionary wealth, we imagine Tibet to be like some perfectly balanced antique timepiece. Before I traveled to Tibet I was well aware of the utopian Shangri-la myth and imagined that I would see monks in red robes praying under the morning sky; high desert nomads with their luxuriant hair in 108 braids, their fur coats bejeweled with huge,chunky necklaces of coral, turquoise, and amber beads; herds of yaks and antelope running beside pale green, white rimmed brackish lakes beneath snowcapped mountains; a riot of prayer flags blowing and snapping

wildly in a mountain blizzard. And the truth is, I found all this and more.

Certainly, Shangri-la is a seductive and pervasive myth. It is a comfort to believe that somewhere on this planet there is or at least there once was, a place not spinning further and further, faster and faster from the basic truths about the mysteries of life and the inevitability of death. We can only hope that a sheltered enclave still exists where philosophy, compassion, and human dignity have not been bent to the winds of change. But the peace and beauty of Tibet should never be viewed through the rosy tint of exotic Shangri-la-ism. The hardship and basic human survival of the Tibetan people should not be trivialized into a cultural cliche. In the Tibet the picturesque should never overshadow the politics.

After spending much time with Tibetans, in towns,in refugee villages, and on the isolated Chang Tang Plateau, I have learned that the ecological and human harmony taught and practiced in Tibet for more than a thousand years is not an illusion. If any people or any country is ripe for idealization or ready to be romanticized, it is the Tibetans and Tibet. But those same Tibetan qualities of idealism, romance, magic and faith that inspire a growing following in the West are the very catalysts that drive the faithless ones, the Chinese forces, to commit inhuman acts of barbarism in their attempt to destroy the Buddhist spirit of Tibet. The peaceful,nonviolent Tibetans are easy targets for the slaughtering Chinese.

Buddhism will never be destroyed, but Tibetan Buddhist culture might well be. There has been a half-century agenda of genocide against the Tibetan people orchestrated by China that has resulted in more than 1.2 million deaths and a campaign of cruelty that only madmen or envoys of evil could dream up in their darkest nightmares. Tibet, one of the gentlest and most passive nations on Earth, has suffered such unspeakable violence that it must seem as though Buddha has turned his back on this mountain desert high in the Himalayas. But Tibetans know better. To them the Chinese are not evil, only ignorant. Tibetans believe the Chinese cannot help but act the way they do. They are to be pitied not hated." ( As I mentioned, I feel that it is important not to single the Chinese people out particularly as this has happened throughout history and many cultures have acted in this way. I feel the important thing is to focus on the good that needs to be saved and the spiritual and cultural perspective of the Tibetans rather than to give more energy to the atrocities. You may feel this way also perhaps. I promise to add more tomorrow...)

*( please click here to read of the day with me )

* This is once again from Art Perry's book the Tibetans.

Through my eyes

( Please see my spinning for you!.)

( Tahshi gentle one! I went up to the Grove this morning and continued to scythe around the trees. I 've made progress but have had to slow down because of the intense heat. I hope I can get the water system up in a few days! I'm going to go back up on the hill in a little while and do a bit more and will see what the temperature was. I'd bet it was over 110 degrees Farenheit! The mulch will be very important in holding the water in and keeping that sandy soil cool. I tidied up the studio a bit, finished marking out the blocks for our lotus flowers.and began some of the roughing out. Bit by bit our effort of the heart grows!

And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow

my one beautiful patient dream bright

long dark mane in sunlight

so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)


	Through My Eyes Saturday July 5 (Looking over the Tibetan situation generally.) " Tibet has captured the imagination of the modern world. It is a distant land that points to a time of lost innocence, a Himalayan Eden, a hidden refuge for the human spirit, which brings forth serene images of monks in beet-red robes, praying, barely visible in the low light cast by flickering butter lamps. Tibet stands as a still point in our free fall toward a shaky future. As we in the West struggle with the pace and panic of contemporary life under the buzz of fluorescent tubes and the paper-thin shadow of illusionary wealth, we imagine Tibet to be like some perfectly balanced antique timepiece. Before I traveled to Tibet I was well aware of the utopian Shangri-la myth and imagined that I would see monks in red robes praying under the morning sky; high desert nomads with their luxuriant hair in 108 braids, their fur coats bejeweled with huge,chunky necklaces of coral, turquoise, and amber beads; herds of yaks and antelope running beside pale green, white rimmed brackish lakes beneath snowcapped mountains; a riot of prayer flags blowing and snapping wildly in a mountain blizzard. And the truth is, I found all this and more. Certainly, Shangri-la is a seductive and pervasive myth. It is a comfort to believe that somewhere on this planet there is or at least there once was, a place not spinning further and further, faster and faster from the basic truths about the mysteries of life and the inevitability of death. We can only hope that a sheltered enclave still exists where philosophy, compassion, and human dignity have not been bent to the winds of change. But the peace and beauty of Tibet should never be viewed through the rosy tint of exotic Shangri-la-ism. The hardship and basic human survival of the Tibetan people should not be trivialized into a cultural cliche. In the Tibet the picturesque should never overshadow the politics. After spending much time with Tibetans, in towns,in refugee villages, and on the isolated Chang Tang Plateau, I have learned that the ecological and human harmony taught and practiced in Tibet for more than a thousand years is not an illusion. If any people or any country is ripe for idealization or ready to be romanticized, it is the Tibetans and Tibet. But those same Tibetan qualities of idealism, romance, magic and faith that inspire a growing following in the West are the very catalysts that drive the faithless ones, the Chinese forces, to commit inhuman acts of barbarism in their attempt to destroy the Buddhist spirit of Tibet. The peaceful,nonviolent Tibetans are easy targets for the slaughtering Chinese. Buddhism will never be destroyed, but Tibetan Buddhist culture might well be. There has been a half-century agenda of genocide against the Tibetan people orchestrated by China that has resulted in more than 1.2 million deaths and a campaign of cruelty that only madmen or envoys of evil could dream up in their darkest nightmares. Tibet, one of the gentlest and most passive nations on Earth, has suffered such unspeakable violence that it must seem as though Buddha has turned his back on this mountain desert high in the Himalayas. But Tibetans know better. To them the Chinese are not evil, only ignorant. Tibetans believe the Chinese cannot help but act the way they do. They are to be pitied not hated." ( As I mentioned, I feel that it is important not to single the Chinese people out particularly as this has happened throughout history and many cultures have acted in this way. I feel the important thing is to focus on the good that needs to be saved and the spiritual and cultural perspective of the Tibetans rather than to give more energy to the atrocities. You may feel this way also perhaps. I promise to add more tomorrow...) ( please click here to read of the day with me ) This is once again from Art Perry's book the Tibetans. Through my eyes ( Please see my spinning for you!.) ( Tahshi gentle one! I went up to the Grove this morning and continued to scythe around the trees. I 've made progress but have had to slow down because of the intense heat. I hope I can get the water system up in a few days! I'm going to go back up on the hill in a little while and do a bit more and will see what the temperature was. I'd bet it was over 110 degrees Farenheit! The mulch will be very important in holding the water in and keeping that sandy soil cool. I tidied up the studio a bit, finished marking out the blocks for our lotus flowers.and began some of the roughing out. Bit by bit our effort of the heart grows! And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow my one beautiful patient dream bright long dark mane in sunlight so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)