Free Tibet ! ... Kinda

Last Friday I had the opportunity to got to Munster to attend a lecture given by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso about 'Universal responsibility in science and technology'. Even though this blog post is not about climbing, I think a lot of climbers will be interested since there is a clear overlap between the Free Tibet movement and the climbing/outdoor world. A lot of climbers I met support the cause for a free Tibet & the topic keeps popping up in discussions. So, here we go ...

On a personal an ethical level it is easy to identify with this man. He preaches practical ways to live a meaningful life based in reason, not in faith. To me, that's the number one reason of the relative popularity of Tibetan buddhism in the Western world. We westerners (should I say European westerners?) like to think about ourselves as rational beings able to come to conclusions about life without having to resort to some external deity. We're individualists, we like to think for ourselves, we like to defend our individual freedoms. So when a spiritual leader comes and says "Don't do unto others what you don't want to be done unto you." we identify with him.

And he knows this. Because he is a media king and knows exactly how to play the media to further his goals. He's playing the role of underdog very effectively. Something that is not hard to do given the inacceptable human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party.

At the end of the day he spent a good deal of time talking politics.

A free Tibet is no longer the official party line of the government in exile, instead they are asking for a Tibet with meaningful autonomy where the important decisions are made by the indigenous Tibetans and not the imported Han Chinese. So next time you see a fellow climber arguing to 'Free Tibet', update them on the current situation.

His holiness acknowledged that the Chinese have brought material prosperity to Tibet but he mainly lamented the lack of spiritual independance and a huge lack of self-rule with e.g. the majority of Lhasa's inhabitants being Han Chinese now. Make no mistake, Tibet was not the peaceful mountain state before the communist party invaded, but that is no excuse for what has happened there.

In the morning about 20 people from the graduate school had the opportunity to as questions related to science to the Dalai Lama. Broadly two topics were touched upon: life termination in the name of science (animal rights, animal testing, embryonal testing, abortion) and the mind / body duality and its relation to neuroscience. On the first topic he surprised me with his non-dogmatic, level-headed views. In some cases animal testing is ok, in some cases abortion is acceptable, etc ... BUT every individual case needs to be considered and its merits / demerits weighed. I found the second topic a lot more interesting but unfortunately he did not have enough time to really expand on it. Especially his acceptance of scientific arguments that mind really is formed in the brain all the while explaining that different states of mind (sleep, meditation, wake, etc ...) can be achieved and that this does not threaten his buddhistic beliefs were impressive. Conclusion: even though I'm not a religious person, I wish more religious leaders were as level-headed as the Dalai Lama. (I'm looking at you Benedict !)

So, in conclusion, how do climbers relate to the fight for Tibetan independance?

I think we should try to be more than mere tourists in the places we visit. Just like i'm contributing my bit to the environment by making Peakr a member of One Percent for the Earth I encourage everyone to contribute to goals they deem worthy. Make sure climbing is more than a way to seek cheap thrills. Make sure your climbing travels are more than mere tourism. For me, this means staying a member of Amnesty International and contributing to One Percent for the Earth since I believe fighting for universal human rights and protection of the environment are worthy causes.

Maybe we should try to contribute something while we are in Canada?