WHAT IS PERSPECTIVISM? MY CONCEPT OF WHOLE PERSPECTIVISM

WHAT IS PERSPECTIVISM? MY CONCEPT OF WHOLE PERSPECTIVISM

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche(1844 to 1900), German philosopher shaped the history of 20th-century philosophy, theology, and psychology. He is considered to be the most influential philosophers who ever lived.

Nietzsche is considered to be the most influential philosophers who ever lived. He is considered to be German language's most brilliant prose writer. In the words of Sigmund Freud, "Nietzsche had a more penetrating understanding of himself than any man who ever lived or was ever likely to live."  Apart from his critiques of traditional religion, philosophy, and morality, Nietzsche shared a concept called 'Perspectivism'. The word 'perspective' is stated as the relationship or proportion of the parts of a 'Whole', regarded from a particular standpoint or point in time. It describes a specific point of view in understanding or judging things or events, especially one that shows them in their true relationship to one another. Perspective requires the ability to see things in a true relationship.

 John Godfrey Saxe(1816-1887) provides a perspective in his famous poem "Indian Legend."

John Godfrey Saxe in his famous poem 'Indian Legend' provides a perspective on human limitations to acquire knowledge by direct observation. It would be like that of Six Blind Men examining the Reality called Elephant using the powers of their direct observation. Each person comes to his own conclusion about the nature of Reality.

John Godfrey Saxe describes the problem of knowing the reality using the human powers of observation and compares it to the conclusions arrived by the Six Blind Men who had examined a huge Elephant:

"It was six men of Indostan

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the Elephant

(Though all of them were blind).

That each by observation

Might satisfy his mind."

MY CONCEPT OF WHOLE PERSPECTIVISM

 

What is Reality? What is Illusion? What is your Perspective?

My opinion, my view, or perspective is preceded by the fact of my physical existence on the surface of planet Earth. My perspective may have to always include the reality of my relationship with planet Earth. I am blissfully unaware of the Speed of Earth's Motion. My intellectual awareness of Earth's Motion cannot overcome the Power of Illusion caused by the Fundamental Force known as Gravitation.

 Perspectivism is a concept which holds that knowledge is always perspectival, or knowledge demands perception of a range of information, facts, or experience. Nietzsche claims that there are no immaculate perceptions.

 

Nietzsche will not be able to make a similar claim about the impossibility of certain kinds of perception. I claim that in the "Immaculate Perception" of the LORD God Creator, man exists not because of his perception of Reality but with the assistance of Illusionary Experience.  

In Nietzsche's opinion, knowledge from no point of view is as incoherent a notion as seeing from no particular vantage point. Nietzsche's Perspectivism denies the possibility of an all-inclusive perspective which could contain all others. Particularly, there can be no all-inclusive perspective on reality that could make reality available as it is in itself. Nietzsche further explains his Perspectivism and concludes that the concept of such an all-inclusive perspective is as incoherent as the concept of seeing an object from every possible vantage point simultaneously. Man cannot avoid the issue of the problems of perspective and man has to reconcile with the problem caused by the absence of an all-inclusive perspective about the nature of Truth and Reality.

I approach the problem of human perspective from a different direction. Firstly, man's cognitive ability called perception is always preceded by the fact of man's existence. There is no existence without the influence called Illusion that blocks aspects of man's perception of reality. The fundamental basis of human existence on the surface of planet Earth is conditioned by the experience called Illusion which defends existence from the danger of reality and the consequences of experiencing the reality of Earth and the universe in which man exists.

In my analysis, it will be possible to formulate an "all-inclusive" perspective about Illusion even while human beings have a problem to share an "all-inclusive" perspective on Truth and Reality. I am using the term "Whole Perspectivism" to describe an all-inclusive perspective about the reality of human existence  that demands both Illusion and Reality. For man, there is no Self-Realization, or God-Realization without the support of Illusion that blocks the direct sensory experience of man's direct relationship with planet Earth.

I am sharing the concept of 'Whole Perspectivism' to claim that man cannot know or experience the Reality of Earth's Speed even by using his power of imagination.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

BHAVANAJAGAT

https://Bhavanajagat.com/2011/04/07/Science-Rational-and-Irrational-Belief-The-Experience-of-Reality-and-Ultimate-Reality/

 

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TIBET EQUILIBRIUM – BALANCE OF POWER – CHINA WANTS A PUPPET DALAI LAMA

TIBET EQUILIBRIUM – BALANCE OF POWER – CHINA WANTS A PUPPET DALAI LAMA

The Great Problem of Tibet cannot be resolved as Communist China demands a Dalai Lama it can control. China views Tibet as a Puppet Nation and wants the Dalai Lama to dance to the tune played in Beijing.

 

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

https://wholedude.com/2016/06/25/future-of-tibet-hangs-in-the-balance/

 

Rare Tibet trip shows China only wants a Dalai Lama it can control

 

Clipped from: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/rare-tibet-trip-shows-china-only-wants-a-dalai-lama-it-can-control/ar-AAAEmjC?srcref=rss

·        © Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS/File

The Dalai Lama greets members of the Vietnamese American community during the opening of Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist temple in Westminster, Calif., on Saturday, June 18, 2016.

The Dalai Lama greets members of the Vietnamese American community during the opening of Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist temple in Westminster, Calif., on Saturday, June 18, 2016.

BEIJING — For three centuries, a succession of Tibetan spiritual and political leaders known as Dalai Lama ruled from a crimson-and-white castle overlooking the city of Lhasa.

The Potala Palace — as it's known — was the start of a rare tour of Tibet last month. The Chinese foreign ministry and local government hosted international journalists on a trip to the mountainous region, and I was one of them.

While the Potala Palace still dominates Lhasa's skyline, the current Dalai Lama hasn't lived there since 1959, when the twenty-something fled to India as the People's Liberation Army quashed a revolt against Chinese rule. In the six decades since, the question of his return has been a persistent source of tension between China and the West.

The Chinese government says the Dalai Lama can return only if he gives up any pretensions for an independent Tibet. The Dalai Lama and his supporters say they don't seek independence but instead greater autonomy within China's system, including an elected legislature and independent judicial system. Beijing rejects that claim as insincere.

But with the spiritual leader now 83, his return has also become a question of succession. In a move that could rile China's ties with Western democracies, Beijing has begun laying out the case for why it should appoint the Dalai Lama's successor instead of his exiled supporters in northern India.

It was a topic that came up frequently on our government-organized trip, which has long been the sole way foreign journalists could travel to Tibet — the only part of China where written permission is required to visit. Such trips have also become rarer after a spate of self-immolations earlier this decade prompted tightened security. Beijing blames the Dalai Lama, who it says has fomented the unrest, while his followers and human-rights activists say the cause is government oppression.

Tibet stands out as the only Chinese area where ethnic Han Chinese are a small minority. Of the 3.2 million who live in the mountainous region, more than 90 percent are ethnic Tibetan. China's total population of 1.4 billion, by contrast, is more than 90 percent Han.

In April, the U.S. State Department blasted China for "severe" repression in Tibet, including arbitrary detention, censorship and travel restrictions. It counted five incidences of self-immolation in 2017 — a drop-off from 83 in 2012 — and noted the arrest of Tibetans who speak with foreigners, particularly journalists.

The Potala Palace was the first of many stops in our packed itinerary, which also included  visits to businesses, holy sites, an orphanage, the home of a herdsman, a school teaching traditional Thangka painting and interviews with various local authorities. At each stop, we were able to ask whatever we wanted as officials looked on.

At the Dalai Lama's former residence, we saw pilgrims leaving offerings of money in the room where he once received guests. On the wall was a portrait of the 13th Dalai Lama, predecessor of the current reincarnation.

While our questions about the Dalai Lama at the palace and other stops were mostly met with polite reticence, the reverence he still commands was noticeable. Several local officials said he's still held in esteem by many as a spiritual leader.

The Potala Palace also holds the tombs of eight past Dalai Lama. The title passes from generation to generation through a process that selects successors in their childhood as reincarnations. Supporters of the current Dalai Lama fear that upon his death, there will be two claimants to the position: one selected by them and another by the Chinese government.

A similar power struggle played out with the Panchen Lama, the second-most prominent figure in Tibetan Buddhism. After the death of the 10th Panchen Lama in 1989, both the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama identified reincarnations. The man selected by Beijing is now a senior adviser to the nation's parliament. The Dalai Lama's choice hasn't been seen in two decades, and his followers say he was abducted at the age of six.

His disappearance has become a political issue. In April, the U.S. State Department issued a statement marking his birthday and called on Chinese authorities to release him immediately, provoking a furious response from Beijing.

The Central Tibetan Administration, which represents the Dalai Lama's followers in northern India, says the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should be in the hands of Tibetan Buddhist leaders. "The Chinese government should not interfere in the religious practices of Tibetan Buddhism," said spokesman Sonam Dagpo.

When we discussed this with officials our trip, they argued that there's precedent for Beijing to be involved. The current Dalai Lama, they say, ascended to the position in 1939 after being approved by Chiang Kai-Shek, who was president of the Republic of China before the Communist Party took power in 1949.

They also said the Communist Party has done just fine running Tibet. Some data points they reeled off: The economy has seen double-digit growth in each of the last 25 years; average life expectancy doubled to 68.2 in 2017 from 32.7 years in 1959; and literacy is now more than 99 percent, up from about 2 percent in 1951.

Central government statistics show that Tibet's average disposable income was about $5,300 last year. That's less than the national average but higher than several other regions including Gansu and Heilongjiang in the north.

Signs of growth were evident on the ground. In Lhasa, where we spent most of our time, scores of buildings were under construction. Traffic is bad from morning until as late as 9 p.m. A BMW dealership had opened, as has an enormous JD.com Inc. warehouse.

 

Tibet's problems under the Dalai Lama's rule went beyond economics, said Luobu Dunzhu, the most-senior official we met on our trip. The 57-year-old executive vice chairman of Tibet's regional government told our group that his parents were slaves in the feudal system the Dalai Lama headed and had no hope for an education or better lives. Tibetans don't want to go back, he said.

"The Dalai Lama knew about all of these problems and didn't do anything to solve them," Luobu Dunzhu said. "It was the Communist Party that changed Tibet and that's why the people support the party."

The Dalai Lama's followers in India say that economic growth has mainly benefited ethnic Han Chinese, and deny they want to reinstate the old feudal system. What they want, spokesman Dagpo said, is for Tibetans to be able to worship and travel freely, to carry photos of the Dalai Lama and to send their children to monasteries. A key problem with Chinese rules is that any advocacy for Tibetan rights is seen as a form of intolerable separatism, he said.

While we saw no signs of unrest during our trip, the concern about separatism was clear. Travelers flying into Lhasa have their identifications checked before they can exit the airport. Roads entering the capital are manned by police checkpoints. Foreign tourists need permission to visit, one official said, to prevent "bad guys" from sneaking in.

That concern was also discernible when we visited the Sera Monastery, which dates back to the 1400s and where monks died in fighting with Chinese troops during the 1959 uprising when the Dalai Lama fled Tibet.

The monks there still practice many of its oldest traditions, including debate sessions in which participants whirl in circles and slap their hands together. But there's also been change. In addition to Buddhist scriptures, its library also carries copies of President Xi Jinping's book, "The Governance of China."

Suo Lang Ci Ren, a member of the Sera monastery's management committee, articulated a view we heard from several religious figures — one that Beijing may also like to hear from the next Dalai Lama.

"Loving your country and loving your religion," he said, "are things a monk must do in parallel."

———

(Iain Marlow and Xiaoqing Pi contributed to this report.)

 

 

 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 – REMEMBERING THE CONSONANCE AND THE DISSONANCE IN HUMAN NATURE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 – REMEMBERING THE CONSONANCE AND THE DISSONANCE IN HUMAN NATURE

On Tuesday, September 11, 2018, the 17^th Anniversary of 911 attacks on the United States, I reflect upon the consonance and dissonance in human nature. The serenity and nobility of the site in Pennsylvania depicts the dimension of consonance and the crash of Flight 93 depicts the dimension of dissonance when the world and man are viewed as the works of God.

I define the United States using its national motto which proclaims, "In God We Trust." For we trust in God, it is rational to claim that man is constituted as a Spiritual Being in God's own image. I have a great problem in accounting for man's evil thoughts and actions that cause pain and suffering. The wickedness of man got exposed on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. For God's creation is perfect, there can never be two opposing or self-contradicting dimensions of human nature. Man's spiritual nature reveals the consonance, the resonance of God's nature in His work. How does the dissonance intrude into the world? How can man be estranged, separated, or alienated from his own true or original nature?

 

 

In my analysis, the prophecy of Isaiah has come true. Man is cursed to suffer. There can be no healing without conversion by the Spirit.

 

 

 

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

https://bhavanajagat.com/2016/09/11/remembering-september-11-2001-can-terror-define-man/

 

 

TOWER OF VOICES – FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORIAL

 

Clipped from: https://www.nps.gov/flni/getinvolved/tower-of-voices.htm

 

 

The Tower of Voices is conceived as a monumental, ninety-three feet tall musical instrument holding forty wind chimes, representing the forty passengers and crew members. The intent is to create a set of forty tones (voices) that can connote through consonance the serenity and nobility of the site while also through dissonance recalling the event that consecrated the site.

Artwork courtesy of bioLinia and Paul Murdoch Architects.

 

The wind chimes inside the Tower of Voices. The chimes will be constructed of polished aluminum tubes ranging 8-16 inches in diameter and approximately five to ten feet in length. The size of each chime is dependent on the musical note and associated frequency that it is intended to produce.

Artwork courtesy of bioLinia and Paul Murdoch Architects.

Overview
The Tower of Voices serves as both a visual and audible reminder of the heroism of the forty passengers and crew of United Flight 93. On September 09, 2018 Flight 93 National Memorial will host a dedication event to complete the final phase of construction and complete the permanent memorial.

The tower is conceived as a monumental, ninety-three feet tall musical instrument holding forty wind chimes, representing the forty passengers and crew members. It is intended to be a landmark feature near the memorial entrance, visible from US Route 30/Lincoln Highway. The Tower of Voices will provide a living memorial in sound to remember the forty through their ongoing voices.

The tower project will be constructed from 2017 to 2018 with a dedication of the project on September 9, 2018. Funding for the design and construction of the project is provided through private donations to the National Park Foundation and the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial.

Uniqueness of Design
There are no other chime structures like this in the world. The shape and orientation of the tower are designed to optimize air flow through the tower walls to reach the interior chime chamber. The chime system is designed using music theory to identify a mathematically developed range of frequencies needed to produce a distinct musical note associated with each chime. The applied music theory allows the sound produced by individual chimes to be musically compatible with the sound produced by the other chimes in the tower. The intent is to create a set of forty tones (voices) that can connote through consonance the serenity and nobility of the site while also through dissonance recalling the event that consecrated the site.

Design Features
The tower is approximately ninety-three feet tall from the base to the top with some height variations. The Tower cross section is a "C" shape with a fifteen foot outside diameter and eleven foot inside diameter. The "C" shape allows sound to reflect outwardly from the open side in a fan-shaped pattern. The chimes will be suspended a minimum of twenty feet above the main plaza and will be suspended from the interior walls of the tower up to the top.

The tower walls will be constructed of precast concrete segments linked by connectors. The chimes will be constructed of polished aluminum tubes ranging eight to sixteen inches in diameter and approximately five to ten feet in length. The size of each chime is dependent on the musical note and associated frequency that it is intended to produce. Chimes of this size and magnitude do not currently exist in the world. The chimes are wind activated and will have internal strikers attached to sails projecting from the bottom of each chime.

Surrounding Landscape
The tower is located on an oval concrete plaza that is built on top of an earth mound to create an area more prominent on the landscape. The plaza includes two curved concrete benches facing the opening of the tower.

The tower is surrounded by concentric rings of white pines and deciduous plantings. The concentric plantings may be interpreted as resonating "sound waves" from the Tower, alluding to the auditory qualities of the chimes housed within. A direct paved path leads to the tower from the parking lot. A longer, meandering crushed stone path winds through the trees and allows visitors an alternative approach to the tower. All other landscaped areas of the project will be planted with a native wildflower seed mix similar to other landscaped areas of the park.

 

 

 

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 03, 2018 - LABOR DAY MUSINGS - THE CLINTON CURSE DEFINES AMERICAN WORKPLACE

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 03, 2018 - LABOR DAY MUSINGS – THE CLINTON CURSE DEFINES AMERICAN WORKPLACE

 
In the United States, Labor activists, and Labor Unions made great progress to defend the rights of Working Class. Unfortunately, President Bill Clinton undermined this progress by approving legislation that took away the dignity of unskilled, hourly wage earners who legally work in the US paying taxes. President Clinton on August 22, 1996 signed into Law, Public Law 104-193, ‘The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act’ (PRWORA) which places restrictions on the payments of monthly retirement income benefits to workers in the US under Title II of the Social Security Act. Refer to Section 401(b) (2) of PRWORA.
 

For many unskilled, hourly wage earners performing labor in the US, American Workplace is defined as Work until Death for they have no Retirement option. In other words, those who have no Retirement option, American Workplace is defined by the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, verses 17 to 19.

 
 I ask my readers to reflect upon the consequences of President Clinton's actions on this Labor Day. Apart from alien workers, the ground gets cursed with consequences to all of its denizens.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE 
 

 
 

IN 1882, LABOR DAY ORIGINATED WITH A PARADE HELD IN NEW YORK CITY

 Posted on Monday September 04, 2017 by EMILY NONKO

Clipped from: https://www.6sqft.com/in-1882-labor-day-originated-with-a-parade-held-in-nyc/

An illustration of the first Labor Day parade, via Wiki Commons

Though Labor Day has been embraced as a national holiday–albeit one many Americans don’t know the history of–it originated right here in New York City. The holiday is a result of the city’s labor unions fighting for worker’s rights throughout the 1800’s. The event was first observed, unofficially, on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882, with thousands marching from City Hall up to Union Square. At the time, the New York Times considered the event to be unremarkable. But 135 years later, we celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of every September as a tribute to all American workers. It’s also a good opportunity to recognize the hard-won accomplishments of New York unions to secure a better workplace for us today.

According to Untapped Cities, the holiday has its roots in a common 19th century tradition in which laborers held picnics and parades to draw awareness to worker’s rights. Organized unions emerged from there, and New York City became a hotbed for labor activists by the Industrial Revolution of the 1880s.

View of South Street during the Industrial Revolution, via the Metropolitan Museum of New York

Back then, laborers were fighting against low wages, unfair hours, child labor and unsafe working environments. (Most workers at the time worked six days a week, 10 or 12 hours a day, and Sunday was the only day off. There were no paid vacations, no sick days and very few breaks during a day.) Two labor groups, the Knights of Labor and the Tailor’s Union, established a city-wide trade consortium–known as the Central Labor Union of New York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, or the CLU–in January of 1882 to promote similar goals. They called for things like fair wages, an eight-hour workday and an end to child labor. The group also proposed that for one day a year, the country celebrate American workers with parades and celebrations. The CLU went ahead and organized the first parade for the September 5th of that year.

According to Brownstoner, two different men within the labor movement were credited for the parade. Matthew Maguire, a machinist, first proposed a holiday and parade in 1882. He was the secretary of the CLU. But that same year, Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, also proposed a parade. The debate between the original founder of Labor Day was never settled, though Matthew Maguire usually gets the credit.

The parade began outside City Hall, with the CLU advertising it as a display of the “strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations.” It was important to the event that the men gave up a day’s pay to partake in the festivities. And they did arrive in droves, with banners and signs with slogans like “NO MONEY MONOPOLY” and “LABOR BUILT THIS REPUBLIC AND LABOR SHALL RULE IT.”

No drinking was allowed at the parade, which featured everyone from the Jewelers Union of Newark to the typographical union, which was known as ‘The Big Six.’ Along the route, which passed Canal Street on its way to Union Square, hundreds of seamstresses hung out the windows cheering the procession, blowing kisses and waving their handkerchiefs. It’s said as many as 20,000 men marched that day.

The party after the marchers hit Union Square was celebratory, according to the New York history book Gotham. Here’s a passage from the book:

Finally, after passing by a reviewing stand filled with labor dignitaries, the participants adjourned, via the elevated, to an uptown picnic at Elm Park. There they danced to jigs by Irish fiddlers and pipers and were serenaded by the Bavarian Mountain Singers while the flags of Ireland, Germany, France, and the USA flapped in the autumn air.

Labor Day parade float in New York City, early 20th century, via New York Department of Labor

Labor parades began in other cities around the county, and for a while the day was known as “the workingman’s holiday.” By 1886, several cities had an annual parade, with legislation in the works to make the day a state holiday. Though New York was the first state to introduce a bill to make the holiday official, Oregon was the first to actually pass it as law in 1887. New York quickly followed suit that same year, as did New Jersey, Massachusetts and Colorado.

Labor unions, of course, went on to secure rights like the eight-hour work day, collective bargaining, health insurance, retirement funds and better wages. These days, the holiday is better known as a marker to the end of summer than a celebration of the working class. But it’s a nice reminder such hard-fought battles, which brought accomplishments that now define the American workplace, took root in New York.
 

Tags : Labor Day

 
 

 

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THE WHITE HOUSE OF SUPREME RULER OF TIBET

THE WHITE HOUSE OF SUPREME RULER OF TIBET

Living Tibetan Spirits present a guide to Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet. Potala Palace serves the same purpose as The White House of the US President. Potala is the Seat of Tibetan Government called The Dalai Lama Institution of Tibet.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

 

A GUIDE TO POTALA PALACE, LHASA, TIBET

 

Clipped from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/asia/china/tibet-autonomous-region-lhasa-potala-palace-world-heritage/

 

video.nationalgeographic.com/video/travel-source/unesco-world-heritage-sites/180822-china-potala-palace-unesco-travel

Potala Palace is one of the most well-known spiritual sanctums in the world.

At 12,139 feet above sea level, Potala is the highest palace in the world. The 1,300-year-old structure was originally built as a gesture of love, commissioned by Tibetan king Songtsen Gambo for his marriage to Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. Eventually, monks came to rule Tibet and the palace was expanded and converted into the winter residence for the Dalai Lama. But when the Dalai Lama was exiled to India in 1959, the Chinese government took over and made the grounds into a museum.

Still, the Potala Palace remains an iconic part of the region and a mecca for Buddhists around the world. The name Potala is a nod to a sacred mountain in India, where the Buddha of compassion is said to dwell. Year-round, thousands of religious pilgrims circle the perimeter of the palace with prayer wheels and beads to ask for blessing. Many have traveled thousands of miles by foot just to pay their respects.

With more than a thousand rooms, 10,000 painted scrolls, 698 murals, and thousands of exquisite statues made from precious alloys and jewels, the structure has become one of the most famous spiritual sanctums in the world. Inside are the tombs of eight Dalai Lamas, hundreds of sacred Buddhist scrolls, and numerous shrines. Butter lamps light the hallways and watchful monks are stationed in nearly every public room to ensure that decorum is maintained.

The building is divided into two sections—the Red Palace and the White Palace. The former serves as the religious section and the latter as the administrative area. They are literally colored red and white; a fresh coat of paint made up of milk, honey, and sugar is applied every autumn.

The Potala Palace was named a World Heritage site in 1994 by UNESCO, and the neighboring Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka and were added on as extensions in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The Jokhang Temple is considered the most sacred temple in Tibet and the Norbulingka was the former summer residence of the Dalai Lama. All three structures are outstanding embodiments of Tibetan culture and despite waves of natural and human-induced damage, they are international icons that have remained spiritually relevant and intact over the centuries.

HOW TO GET THERE

Fly into the Lhasa Gonggar Airport or take a train into the city. Visitors must obtain a Tibet Tourism Bureau permit through a local tour agency in advance (allow up to 14 days) to enter Tibet by plane or train.

HOW TO VISIT

All visitors must visit the Potala Palace with a tour group. Groups are allocated an hour inside the premises and photos are not allowed. While the palace and its adjacent temples are very much tourist attractions, many of the guests are Tibetan pilgrims who have come to the sacred sites to pray.

WHEN TO VISIT

As one of the highest cities in the world, Lhasa can get quite frosty during the winter. Summer is the best time to visit. June to August is peak tourist season.

 

 

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HAN CHINESE AND THE TIBETANS – THE BLOOD RELATIONSHIP

HAN CHINESE AND THE TIBETANS – THE BLOOD RELATIONSHIP

 

"The Tibetans and the Han Chinese are like lips and teeth, we are linked by blood."

 

Han Chinese are like the teeth of 'The Dracula'. Innocent Tibetans are like the lips of The Dracula's Bride. Instead of kissing the lips, Han Chinese thirst for blood of the Tibetans. Indeed, it is a true story about Blood Relationship.

 

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

Special Frontier Force

 

 

 

 

 

Clipped from: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-spends-big-tibet-avert-crisis-when-dalai-lama-dies-n904676

China spends big in Tibet to avert a crisis when the Dalai Lama dies

Global Power

China spends big in Tibet to avert a crisis when the Dalai Lama dies

China is increasingly trying to enhance its image by casting itself as the largest nation of Buddhist believers.

by Eric Baculinao and Jason Cumming / Aug.30.2018 / 3:53 AM ET / Updated Aug.30.2018 / 4:09 AM ET

 

Pilgrims near the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. Johannes Eisele file / AFP/Getty Images

 

LHASA, China — China is pouring billions of dollars into Tibet as Beijing seeks to cement its control before the succession struggle that is likely to follow the death of the Dalai Lama.

During a rare Chinese government-organized visit to the region, local officials described a development program that they contend will bring prosperity to the 3.3 million Tibetans who inhabit a vast area roughly double the size of Texas.

The massive infrastructure projects include new airports and highways that cut through the world's highest mountains, with planned investment totaling $97 billion.

The investment plan aims to protect Tibetan Buddhism's holy sites while building a sustainable "green economy" that safeguards the fragile environment that is an average elevation of 13,000 feet above sea level.

The roof of the world

Chinese troops marched into Tibet in 1950 in what Beijing officially terms a peaceful liberation. China has long aimed to reduce the influence of the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India.

 

Source: Natural Earth

Graphic: Jiachuan Wu / NBC News

 

According to official figures, China has also already spent over $450 million renovating Tibet's major monasteries and other religious sites since the 1980s. An additional $290 million has been budgeted for the next five years.

The huge investment by China comes as the officially atheist country increasingly tries to enhance its image by casting itself as the largest nation of Buddhist believers. China claims some 300 million Buddhists of various schools, of which Tibetan Buddhism is one.

The effort comes as China faces charges from rights groups and exiles of repressing the Tibetan people. China has ruled Tibet with an iron fist since 1951, a year after its troops marched in.

 

The Dalai Lama in 2015.Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images file

Last month, Vice President Mike Pence said Tibet's people "have been brutally repressed by the Chinese government." And in June, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said conditions were "fast deteriorating" in Tibet.

Beijing routinely denies charges of repression, saying that its rule ended serfdom and brought prosperity to what was a backward region, and that it fully respects the rights of the Tibetan people.

It insists Tibet has historically been part of its territory since the mid-13th century. Many Tibetans, though, say the region has been effectively independent for most of its history.

While Beijing regards the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist who seeks to split off nearly a quarter of the land mass of the People's Republic of China, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Tibetan spiritual leader says he only seeks greater rights for Tibetans, including religious freedom and autonomy.

Reincarnation

For supporters of the Dalai Lama, China's Tibet strategy is "aimed at increasing its control and limiting the personal freedom of the Tibetan people," said Matteo Mecacci, a former lawmaker in Italy and president of the International Campaign for Tibet.

He called the infrastructure improvements and monastery renovations "superficial."

Mecacci said Tibetans are "not even allowed to receive teachings from the Dalai Lama."

A portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Sera Monastery in Tibet. Eric Baculinao / NBC News

He added, "When it comes to the real practice of Buddhism, China continues to increase restrictions."

With the Dalai Lama now 83, many Tibetans fear that China will use the succession issue to split Tibetan Buddhism, with a new Dalai Lama named by exiles and another by the government after his death.

(Barry Kerzin, an American monk and the Dalai Lama's personal physician, told NBC News that he is "perfectly fit.")

The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet and went into exile in India in 1959, has repeatedly tussled with China's ruling Communist Party over who has final authority on the issue of reincarnation.

"The Tibetans and the Han Chinese are like lips and teeth, we are linked by blood."

"The Tibetans and the Han Chinese are like lips and teeth, we are linked by blood."

Tibetan Buddhism holds that the soul of a senior lama is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death.

China says it must approve the next Dalai Lama, and the Dalai Lama has said his biggest concern is that China will try to name his successor.

 

The Panchen Lama who was installed by the Chinese government attends an event in 2016.Cui hao / Imaginechina/Getty file

In 1995, after the Dalai Lama named a boy in Tibet as the reincarnation of the previous Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, China put the boy under house arrest and installed another instead.

Many Tibetans are torn between accepting and spurning the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama.

Palaces and shrines

Explaining the seeming contradictions in China's policy, Tibet's foreign affairs deputy chief, Ma Qiang, said that while the Community Party "doesn't believe in religion," China's government was "duty-bound to protect Tibetan Buddhism and restore and preserve its holy sites because that is also what the Tibetan people want so they can exercise their freedom of worship."

The most iconic landmark to receive Chinese funding is the imposing Potala Palace, the thousand-room residence that overlooks Lhasa. It houses the tombs of all but one of the Dalai Lamas who have died since 1682.

 

 

Lhasa's Potala Palace. iStock / Getty

 

According to the museum's deputy director, Gonga Zhaxi, the 13-story palace has undergone two major renovations on which Beijing spent $37 million. Another $4.4 million has been budgeted for the repair of its ornate golden roofs.

To protect its priceless Buddha statues, frescoes and scriptures, a limit has been set of 5,000 pilgrims and tourists per day, and cats have been deployed against the colony of rats, he said.

Other sites that have benefited from Chinese cash include:

·         The seventh-century Jokhang Temple is Tibet's holiest shrine as it houses a life-sized statue of Buddha (Jowo Shakyamuni) at the age of 12. The labyrinth of chapels thick with the smoke of incense and prayer candles is visited daily by around 12,000 pilgrims and tourists. Buddha's statue was the gift of the Chinese Tang dynasty Princess Wencheng when she married Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo around 1,300 years ago. The union is now immortalized in a spectacular open-air opera with a cast of 800. A private production company has invested more than $80 million to promote this narrative of Tibet-China unity. Lhagba, a prominent monk and the site's management director, said Beijing has spent $14.7 million on major repairs there in the past 10 years.

·         Beijing has also helped with major renovations at Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery, two of Tibet's most influential Buddhist academies, with grants of $30 million and $8 million. Thanks to government help, the monks can focus on their studies and need not bother with the monastery's repairs, according to Awang Ciren, the monastery's academic head. To increase its enrollment of 480 monks, Beijing is building a new dormitory that can accommodate 170 monks, he added.

In addition, 46,000 monks and nuns are now covered by health insurance and social security, officials said.

And with Beijing's "preferential" policy and massive budget subsidies, Tibet's economy has been growing faster than the rest of China.

Some $170 million was spent on environmental projects last year, part of a 23-year plan unveiled in 2009 that's worth $2 billion.

"In Tibet, we don't allow the burning of coal, and since 2011, we have stopped approving any new mining projects," said Luo Jie, Tibet's environmental protection chief, adding that more than one-third of Tibet's territory consisted of nature reserves. "We also don't tolerate river pollution."

Developing a "green economy" is the future of Tibet, according to economic planning official Jiang Taichang.

Tourism is also an industry that is drawing more focus. Last year, more than 25 million tourists and pilgrims visited Tibet, generating more than $5.5 billion or one-third of Tibet's income, and their number is expected to rise to 70 million in four years. (The majority of tourists are Chinese, as security has been ratcheted up significantly in the decade since anti-government protests spread through Tibetan areas in 2008 and Tibet remains mostly off-limits to foreigners.)

 

Monks at Tibet's Sera Monastery debate Buddhist teachings. Eric Baculinao / NBC News

Lhasa's special economic zone, built with a $30 million investment from Beijing, is already fully leased out, with 200 enterprises producing a range of products from beer to medicines. A new technology zone and financial district are being planned.

Norbu Thondup, the Beijing-appointed executive vice chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet's administrative name, condemned the "sabotage" activities aimed at the "harmony and happiness in today's Tibet" by groups supporting the Dalai Lama.

He reiterated China's policy that the "gate is open" if the Dalai Lama abandons the idea of "splitting" Tibet from China.

 

"The decision is for the Dalai to make," Thondup said of him returning to his homeland. "The Tibetans and the Han Chinese are like lips and teeth, we are linked by blood."

But Mecacci, of the International Campaign for Tibet, said it was important for China to engage with the Dalai Lama.

"Only a serious dialogue while the Dalai Lama is alive can provide a lasting political solution in Tibet," he said. "Finding an agreement with the Tibetans would help China because it's the right thing to do, and because it will help China both domestically and internationally."

 

Eric Baculinao reported from Lhasa, and Jason Cumming from London.

 

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