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Peace and Security Cluster, 7 Sept. 2004 Asia-Europe People's Forum.
DIALOGUE OF CIVILISATIONS, CULTURES AND RELIGIONS IN EUROPE AND ASIA
The Function of Tibetan Religious Culture in Dialogue of Civilizations,
Cultures and Religions between Asia and Europe
by Nyima Tsering
China Association for Preservation and Development
of Tibetan Culture, China
Respected chairperson, ladies and gentlemen:
I am very glad to have this opportunity to give a keynote speech related to Dialogue of
Civilizations, Cultures and Religions in Asia and Europe. As far as I know, the Asia-Europe
Meeting (ASEM) has made great efforts to push forward the dialogue of civilizations. And, with the
help of the Asia-Europe Foundation, it has promoted the dialogue between Asian and European
people. l hope that l can take this chance to make my contribution to the dialogue of civilizations in
Asia and Europe. My name is Nyi-ma-tshe-ring. On behalf of China Association for Preservation
and Development of Tibetan Culture, I’ll give a special report. The topic is The Function of Tibetan
Religious Culture in Dialogue of Civilizations, Cultures and Religions between Asia and Europe.
I am a Tibetan monk from Jo-khang Temple in Lhasa of Tibet as well as director of China
Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture. It is my honor to share Tibetan
culture and religions with you in a Tibetan monk capacity.
Located in the southwest of China, Tibet lies on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau on the Roof of
the World. Tibetans have a long history and their own cultural traditions. Tibetan Buddhism is an
important component of Tibetan culture and monasteries are major religious carriers. Nowadays,
1,700 monasteries and temples in Tibet serve as sites for more than 46,000 monks and nuns in their
practices and for the great majority of religious believers in their worships.
There exist many sects in Tibetan Buddhism, such as the dGe-Iugs-pa Sect, the bKavbrgyud-
pa Sect, the rNying-ma-pa Sect, the Sa-kya-pa Sect and so on. Each sect has its own
monasteries and temples. Jo-khang Temple, to which I belong, is a temple owned by all sects. As a
sacred site in the hearts of all Buddhists, it enshrines the statue of Shakyamuni of life-size brought
by Tang Princess Wen Cheng in her marriage with Tubo bTsan-po Srong-btsan-sgam-po in the 7th
century. Jo-khang Temple has a history of over 1,300 years, but the statue and the temple there are
well preserved. In recent years, it has received perfect maintenance and protection. Jo-khang
Temple, the Potala Palace and Nor-bu-gling-ka are all on the list of the UN World Cultural
Heritage.
In Tibet, common people enjoy freedom of religious belief and are also under the protection
of state laws. In fact, except Tibetan Buddhism, there also exist Catholicism, Christianity, Islam,
and other religions in Tibet, and each religion shows respect to others. Every civilian has the
freedom to believe in or not to believe in religion, which depends on his or her personal decision. I
am from an ordinary Tibetan farmer's family, and I believe in Tibetan Buddhism. After graduation
from a middle school, I chose to become a lama. Later on, I was very lucky to enter China Senior
Buddhist Institute of Tibetan Language for further study of Buddhist doctrines. Now I act as vicedirector
of the Democratic Management Committee of Jo-khang Temple and standing director of
Tibet Branch of China Association of Buddhism as well. Some elderly lamas told me that 50 years
ago in the old Tibet, it was impossible for a farmer's child to become a high-ranking lama of great
learning just relying on his own efforts if he had neither enough money nor support from high
officials and noble lords. I am grateful for this equal, free and open society, for it offers me so many
opportunities.
Apart from daily Buddhist practices in Jo-khang Temple, my major task is to introduce the
long history of Jo-khang Temple and the splendid religious culture to visitors from all over the
world, which is part of my worshiping Buddha and accumulating merits. With the deep-going of the
social reform in China, Tibet is becoming more and more open. More and more visitors and
Buddhist believers from the mainland of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao visit Tibet, and
there are also many friends from Asia, Europe and America. In order to make a better introduction
to Tibetan culture, I tried hard to raise my level in Tibetan and Chinese languages. Through English
study, I can make direct communications with foreign friends so as to help them to have an accurate
and comprehensive understanding of the charm of Tibetan Buddhism. Tens of thousands of
Buddhist believers, regardless of religious sect, nationality and nation, roll in from other parts of
Tibet, mainland of China and the whole world. They worship statues of Shakyamuni and visit this
ancient temple, and they also bring varieties of messages, expressing the peace-loving desire shared
by the people throughout the world.
From the communications with people all over the world, I feel that Tibet attaches
importance to spiritual culture. Broad and profound Tibetan culture is our spiritual homeland and
for Tibetans, Tibetan Buddhism is the sole spiritual sustenance. However, material civilization
comparatively develops slowly in Tibet. On the contrary, material civilization of Western culture
originating from Europe develops rapidly, but more and more Westerners feel their lack in spiritual
aspects, hoping to find equilibrium and peace from Tibetan Buddhism. This is the agreement of
dialogue of civilizations, cultures and religions in Europe and Asia. Dialogue doesn't mean that one
side suppresses or conquers the other. Instead, it will promote mutual understanding and
cooperation. There are several thousand volumes of Buddhist classic, among which the fundamental
doctrine is to help people free from sufferings in their lives so as to obtain wisdom and extrication.
Monasteries and temples, statues of Buddha, preaching Buddhist doctrines and holding religious
rituals are all "gates of convenience". The most important for a Buddhist believer is to possess
merciful nature of a Bodhisattva and a heart to save the sentient beings from purgatory. The more
rapidly the material civilization develops, the more urgent desire the people will have to meet their
spiritual needs. Therefore, Westerners should listen attentively to the guidance of Eastern wisdom
and try to achieve internal peace and happiness under the merciful guidance of Buddha. And in the
meanwhile, Tibetans should seek for the common realization of both happiness in the present life
and reward in the future life. Raising the levels of both material and spiritual lives will certainly
benefit to inherit and develop the culture and create a perfect environment. Tibetan Buddhist monks
should follow the teachings advocated by Buddha and Budhisattvas to l save the sentient beings
from purgatory. Monks live in monasteries or temples, but they should actively show solitude for
the society and serve the people. Faced with wars, conflicts and acts of terror and disasters such as
ASRS and bird flu, we should not only hold pray ceremonies for world peace and the people, but
also actively make donations for the affected people so as to exert what little strength we have to
repay the society.
Tibetan culture has been integrated into the minds of Tibetans, it is absolutely not a
destroyed cultural remains. It must advance with the times along with the whole nation and the
whole world. It cannot serve as a poor and backward cultural "preservation" for people to view and
admire. As an NGO body, China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture
consists of volunteers at home and abroad who love Tibetan culture and are concerned with its
preservation and development. We focus on preserving and promoting Tibetan culture in the
process of modernization, trying to find the balance and harmony between tradition and modernity,
preservation and development, and spiritual and material aspects. It is our hope that friends from
Asia and Europe will make their joint efforts for the preservation and development of various
national cultures and will promote the changes from dialogue to cooperation. May Qinghai-Tibetan
Plateau become a link between the two continents so as to build up a cultural bridge over Eastern
and Western cultures.
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