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

uilt the national shrine and that his spirit is supposed to be conjured up by the constant
circumambulation: „Tibetans in succeeding centuries assimilated Songtsen Gampo to the universal [!]
Buddhist paradigm of the ideal king, the Chakravartin or wheel-turning king, who subdues demonic
forces and establishes a polity committed to promoting Dharma or righteousness” (Schwartz, 1994, p.
33).
A link between the world ruler thus evoked and the “tantric female sacrifice” is provided by the myth
that the living heart of Srinmo, the mother of Tibet, beats in a mysterious lake beneath the Jokhang
where it was once nailed fast with a dagger by the king, Songtsen Gampo. In the light of the
orientation of contemporary Buddhism, which remains firmly anchored in the andocentric tradition,
the ritual circling of the temple can hardly be intended to free the earth goddess. In contrast, it can be
assumed that the monk’s concern is to strengthen the bonds holding down the female deity, just as the
earth spirits are nailed to the ground anew in every Kalachakra ritual.
After a pause of 25 years, the Tibetan New Year’s celebration (Monlam), banned by the Chinese in
1960, are since1986 once more held in front of the Jokhang. This religious occasion, which as we
have shown above is symbolically linked with the killing of King Langdarma, has been seized upon
by the monks as a chance to provoke the Chinese authorities. But here too, the political protest cannot
be separated from the mythological intention. „Its final ceremony,” Schwartz writes of the current
Mönlam festivals, „which centres on Maitreya, the Buddha of the next age, looks forward to the
return of harmony to the world with the re-emergence of the pure doctrine in the mythological future.
The demonic powers threatening society, and bringing strife and suffering, are identified with the
moral degeneration of the present age. The recommitment of Tibet as a nation to the cause of
Buddhism is thus a step toward the collective salvation of the world” (Schwartz, 1994, p. 88) The
ritual circling of the Jokhang and the feast held before the “cathedral” thus do not just prepare for the
liberation of Tibet from the Chinese yoke, but also the establishment of a worldwide Buddhocracy
(the resurrection of the pure doctrine in a mythological future).
Considered neutrally, the current social situation in Tibet proves to be far more complex than the
Tibetans in exile would wish. Unquestionably, the Chinese have introduced many and decisive
improvements in comparison to the feudal state Buddhism of before 1959. But likewise there is no
question that the Tibetan population have had to endure bans, suppression, seizures, and human rights
violations in the last 35 years. But the majority of these injustices and restrictions also apply
throughout the rest of China. The cultural and ethnic changes under the influence of the Chinese Han
and the Islamic Hui pouring in to the country may well be specific. Yet here too, there are processes
at work which can hardly be described (as the “Dalai Lama” constantly does) as “cultural genocide”,
but rather as a result of the transformation from a feudal state via communism into a highly
industrialized and multicultural country.
A pan-Asian vision of the Kalachakra Tantra?
In this section we would like to discuss two possible political developments which have not as far as
we know been considered before, because they appear absurd on the basis of the current international
state of affairs. However, in speculating about future events in world history, one has to free oneself
from the current position of the fronts. The twentieth century has produced unimaginable changes in
the shortest of times, with the three most important political events being the collapse of colonialism,
the rise and fall of fascism, and that of communism. How often have we had to experience that the
bitterest of enemies today become tomorrow’s best friends and vice versa. It is therefore legitimate to