 |
|
|||
|
In the USA Siddhartha School Project |
In Ladakh, India Siddhartha School/Choskor Stok |
|||
|
SITE GUIDE
|
Ladakh is the most remote region of India. Often celebrated as
a last outpost of Tibetan civilization, it is north of the
Himalaya, on what is known geographically as the Tibetan Plateau.
It is often described in travel literature as a mysterious,
inaccessible frontier--a "little Tibet." Since 1974 it
has been open to outside visitors. It does bear a close cultural
as well as geographical resemblance to old Tibet--a Tibet which,
though still alive in the hearts of countless Tibetans both
inside and outside their country, has physically ceased to exist
since the Chinese occupation. Along with Sikkim and Bhutan, and
remote parts of Nepal, Ladakh is one of the last places where
Tibetan Buddhism* continues to be practiced--uninterrupted for
over 1000 years (Janet Rizvi, Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia,
2). Geographically Ladakh is a part of Tibet and until the Chinese occupation of that country its spiritual ties with Lhasa were close and strong. In all matters of religious significance, Ladakh always turned for instruction and guidance to Lhasa. The discovery of reincarnating lamas of Ladakh was never recognized as final until it was confirmed by the concerned authorities in Lhasa. The hallmark of learning of Ladakhi lamas was their admission into some well-known seminary in Tibet, their going through a comprehensive course of study in religion and philosophy at such a seminary for a decade or two. For lay people, a visit to Lhasa as an act of religious merit was an eagerly cherished dream. And in spite of the heavy expense, the hazard and strain that a journey to Lhasa involved, scores of Ladakhi pilgrims would every year manage to tread the long way to the sacred city (Shridhar Kaul, Ladakh Through the Ages, 39) But politically Ladakh has all along been an independent state, a completely separate entity. With the accession of Kashmir to India, Ladakh became a part of the Indian Union in 1947. Jeffrey Hopkins, a noted translator and scholar of Tibetan studies recently presented a report to the East Asian and Pacific Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in which he argued against the Chinese government's claim of sovereignty over Tibet. He recommended that the United States back the Dalai lama's efforts to negotiate a settlement, and set up a special envoy for self determination and human rights in Tibet. He closed these recommendations with the following observation:
The Siddhartha School Project |
|||
