Buddhism: Tibet
Series
Routledge encyclopedias of religion and society
ISBN
0415942462
Type
book section
Date Issued
2004
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Palmer-Fernandez, Gabriel
Abstract
The physical and cultural contrasts between the bleak landscape of Central Asia and the distinctive Tibetan religious architecture, and between Tibetan Buddhism's meditative philosophy and its terrifying paintings have fascinated Americans and Europeans for a long time. Many clichés have blurred Westerners' understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. Lhasa used to be called the Forbidden City; from this capital city of the Land of Snow, the Dalai Lama was supposed to rule a mountain kingdom that geography and religious fanaticism had always isolated. In reality, Tibet has served for centuries as a cultural and commercial crossroad with connections to Kathmandu and Calcutta in the south, Chengdu in the east, Lanzhou and Beijing further north, and the oasis cities of the Silk Road. Caravans needed two months to cover the distance from Lhasa to the Silk Road and two weeks to reach the Indian border. The isolation of Tibet is therefore quite relative, even if the environment of Tibet is dramatically uncompromising.
Language
English
Keywords
Tibetan Buddhism
geography of Tibet
demography of Tibet
history of Tibet
religion in the government of Tibet
warfare
domestic violence
HSG Classification
contribution to education
Refereed
No
Book title
Encyclopedia of religion and war
Publisher
Routledge
Publisher place
New York
Start page
55
End page
58
Pages
4
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
215049