Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

The Shadow of the Dalai Lama – Part II – 5. Buddhocracy and anarchy: contradictory or
complementary?
© Victor & Victoria Trimondi
5. BUDDHOCRACY AND ANARCHY:
CONTRATICTORY OR COMPLEMENTRAY?
The grand sorcerers (Maha Siddhas)
The anarchistic founding father of Tibetan Buddhism: Padmasambhava
From anarchy to discipline of the order: the Tilopa lineage
The pre-ordained counter world to the clerical bureaucracy: holy fools
An anarchistic erotic: the VI Dalai Lama
A tantric history of Tibet
Crazy wisdom and the West
The totalitarian Lamaist state (the Tibetan Buddhocracy), headed by its absolute ruler, the Dalai
Lama, was — as contradictory as this may at first appearance seem to be — only one of the powerpolitical
forces which decisively shaped the history of Tibet. On the other side we find all the
disintegrative and anti-state forces which constantly challenged the clerical sphere as dangerous
opponents. As we shall soon see, within the whole social structure they represented the forces of
anarchy: „Thus, Tibetans understand power both“, writes Rebecca Redwood French, „as a highly
centralized, rigidly controlled and hierarchically determined force and as a diffuse and multivalent
force” (Redwood French, 1995, p. 108). What are these „diffuse and multivalent” forces and how
does the „highly centralized … and hierarchically determined” Buddhist state deal with them?
The powers which rebelled against the established monastic order in the Tibet of old were legion —
above all the all-powerful nature of the country. Extreme climatic conditions and the huge territory,
barely developed in terms of transport logistics, rendered effective state control by the lamas only
partially realizable. But the problems were not just of the factual kind. In addition, from the Tibetan,
animist point of view, the wilds of nature are inhabited by countless gods, demons, and spirits, who
must all be brought under control: the lu — water spirits which contaminate wells and divert rivers;
the nyen — tree spirits that cause illnesses, especially cancer; the jepo — the harmful ghosts of bad
kings and lamas who broke their vows; the black dü — open rebels who deliberately turn against the
Dharma; the mamo, also black — a dangerous breed of witches and harpies; the sa — evil astral
demons; and many others. They all posed a daily threat for body and soul, life and possession in the
Tibet of old and had to be kept in check through constant rituals and incantations. This animist world
view is still alive and well today despite Chinese communist materialism and rationalism and is
currently experiencing an outright renaissance.
But it was not enough to have conquered and enchained (mostly via magic rituals) the nature spirits