Carrie Walther Emory Tibetan Studies Program Spring 2009 Independent Research Paper From PRC to THC: How Education in Tibet Effects Students‟ Experiences at an Educational NGO in Dharamsala Introduction In attempting to understand the work of Dharamsala-based educational NGO Tibet Hope Center (THC), it is necessary to examine the climate of education in Tibet both historically and in present day Chinese-occupied Tibet. The vast majority of students who study at THC are Tibetan refugees who have recently escaped Tibet. THC 1 does not currently teach students who were born in India, because with birth in exile comes with opportunities that those living in Tibet were not able to enjoy. Recent arrivals pose the greatest difficulty in terms of education, for in many cases they were not able to attend school for a variety of reasons. However, their exposure to patterns and institutions of learning undoubtedly shape their experiences at Tibet Hope Center whether they were formally educated in Tibet or not. For this reason, understanding the state of monastic education, informal education, and formal secular education in Tibet will allow us to contextualize the way students interact with the organization of Tibet Hope Center. Through examining the history of education in Tibet, we will see the importance of Tibetan Buddhist values and how they have been engrained in Tibetan youth for hundreds of years. Since the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1950, Tibetan students have been essentially extricated from the educational mechanism that perpetuates Tibetan values, and in exile, there is a strong push to re-establish the closeness with Tibetan culture and identity. This effort culminates in a kind of “manufacturing” of Tibetan culture in educational venues. But this resurgence of Tibetan culture in the educational sector of exile would not have been possible without the establishment of what we now term basic Tibetan values based on Buddhism, the proliferation of these values in learning venues both formal and informal, and the subsequent disassociation with these values once the Chinese took control of the Tibetan education system. Education in Tibet is a complicated subject to approach. It is difficult to definitively determine the role education plays in the minds of typical Tibetans. One the 2 one hand, monastic education has been the heart of Tibetan culture for centuries. In this vein, sayings like “With intelligence the world is yours” and “A good mind is like having 1,000 eyes” seem to represent the Tibetan view of intelligence and education.1 However, another aspect of traditional Tibetan culture are the nomadic and farming lifestyles, where scholarly knowledge and intellect are not seen as necessary for day to day survival on the harsh Tibetan plateau. But while it may not be possible to come to a definitive conclusion as to the state of education in Tibet that informs all THC students‟ experiences, looking at the variety of types of education will certainly enrich our understanding of THC students. By looking at what defines Tibetan culture, we will be able to look what traditional Tibetan education is, for at its very base level, education is a mechanism to replicate culture. From there, we must examine how the 1950 invasion of the Communist Chinese changed Tibetan education into a system that deprived students at THC of a way to know their own culture. Tibetan Culture “To be Tibetan is almost synonymous with being a believer.”2 The Dalai Lama, many activist groups in Dharamsala, and many individual Tibetans say that the main objective of the community in exile is to preserve Tibet‟s 1 Michel Peissel, Tibet: The Secret Continent by Michel Peissel (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2003) 124. 2 Barbara Erickson, Tibet: Abode of the Gods, Pearl of the Motherland. (Berkeley: Pacific View Press) 164. 3 unique culture. In Tibet, the belief system that forms the foundation of Tibetan culture is of course Tibetan Buddhism, and the two main concepts in Buddhist philosophy are wisdom and compassion. To establish the impact religion has had on Tibetan culture, we need to know just how omnipresent these concepts are among Tibetan people. A concept like culture is essentially inconsequential if it remains an ambiguous, intellectual idea without being examined with two feet on the ground. Therefore, it is my assertion that the best way to define a culture is through examining the actions of the members of that culture. One has to wonder how much the ideals of Buddhist philosophy play a part in the lives of ordinary Tibetans? As authors Robert Z. Apte and Andres R. Edwards claim, “the Tibetan people were united by… a common value system basic to their personal relationships. These values were an outgrowth of their Buddhist thought and beliefs.”3 Having lived in a Tibetan community for five months and in a Tibetan household for two and a half, I have personal verification of the strength and pervasiveness of Buddhist teachings of compassion and wisdom in everyday life. From the moment we arrived at IBD-Sarah, we were greeted with signs that proclaimed “Everyone of us here at College for Higher Tibetan Studies welcome each and every one of you from Emory Group to our college. We open our hearts and arms to 3 Robert Z Apte and Andres R. Edwards. Tibet: Enduring Spirit, Exploited Land. (Bloomington: AuthorHouse, 2004) 9. 4 hug you all the moment you step in our campus and we‟ll make you feel at home away from home.” It was common conversation at the dinner table that all of our roommates were overwhelming us with kindness, from offering to give us their pillows, to making our beds, to bringing us food. It is obvious that compassion and a deep sense of selflessness pervaded the campus. At Sarah there is also an atmosphere of extreme devotion to studies. During an orientation meeting prior to our arrival, one of our teaching assistants shared that her roommate in 2004 escaped to India by traversing the Himalayas on foot and eating grass to survive. She, like so many Sarah students, sacrificed so much to arrive in India that she considers her chance to study a privilege and an honor. Our director pointed out that “everyone feels that way, even if they didn‟t eat grass.” In my Tibetan home in Dharamsala, I was fed enough food and tea to satisfy an army. I was always served first and offered any convenience they felt I needed, be it more blankets, a spot to sit in an overly crowded living room, or a traditional Tibetan dress to don for special occasions. Being aware of my family‟s dire economic situation, such generosity seemed even more substantial. My home stay mother also studied English and Tibetan tirelessly. She was not employed for the majority of my stay with her, and would pass her days writing in 5 Tibetan script and studying her worn-in Tibetan-English dictionary. We frequently had mutual lessons in our respective languages. I also exchanged English for Tibetan lessons with two monks in Amdo Village, who both embodied what it means to be compassionate individuals. Hot pö-cha (Tibetan butter tea) was always waiting for me on the table and Dorje and Khenrab led me through the nuances of the Tibetan language with immense patience. Every time I looked up from my notebook, an enormous smile crossed their faces, as if to encourage me in the face of my difficulty learning the language. I was endlessly impressed with their study habits as well. Their notes were immaculate, and most days they had many more questions prepared for me than I did for them. From personal experience I saw the ideals of compassion and wisdom embodied in the Tibetans I encountered. This philosophy that “emphasizes personal responsibility for inner development” could not be more apparent to me among the Tibetan people.4 Almost without exception, every Tibetan I met simply exuded the serenity and kindness that come from being deeply sound spiritually. We now understand the pervasiveness of Buddhist ideals in everyday Tibetan life, but we should also examine the history of Buddhism in Tibet to grasp the stronghold Buddhist ideals have in the development of Tibetan culture. 4 Jeffrey Hopkins, ed. Kindness, Clarity and Insight: The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso. (New York: Snow Lion Publications, 1984) 29. 6 History of Buddhism in Tibet “It was during [a] period of political disunity that Tibetan Buddhism established an international presence in Inner Asian culture generally, eventually playing a key role in the formation of Tibet’s relations.”5 Another way to understand the influence of Tibetan Buddhism on the development of Tibetan culture is through the religion‟s history on the plateau. The three Dharma kings are credited with establishing Buddhism as the primary religion in Tibet. Their reigns are collectively thought of as the first spreading of the dharma. It is said that Buddhism came to Tibet when the first Dharma king, Songsten Gampo (617-649), married Chinese and Nepalese princesses who both brought “as her object of worship belonging to her share… a life-sized figure of the teacher Shakyamuni.”6 The iconic Jokhang temple in Lhasa was built to house the statue that traveled to Tibet with Princess Wengchen of China. At this time, Tibet did not have a written script, so Songsten Gampo also sponsored superior students to travel to India and study its languages. One of the most gifted students, Thonmi Sambhota, returned to Tibet having devised a Tibetan script based on Sanskrit. Because of this, Buddhist texts were able to be translated into Tibetan language. Tibetans now had access to Buddhist 5 Matthew Kapstein.