Written by Laurence Brahm - Published by Hongkong Culture on 12/01/2007

“All that appears does not really exist in the way that we perceive it. They are simply empty images. Our understanding of their true mode of existence is as mistaken as someone beguiled by the conjuring of a magician.”
The Second Dalai Lama.

In the center of Lhasa’s old city, Jokhang Monastery is soaked in the aroma of yak butter candles and incense. In Jokhang’s inner most crypt is a statue of Sakyamuni, one of the only originals blessed by the historic Buddha himself. This makes Jokhang one of the most sacred and important temples in Tibet, a place where pilgrims come to prostrate before it open doors, sending swirling positive energy within. Some pilgrimate to Jokhang by foot, prostrating long-form all the way – taking months to arrive, while others take years to make same journey.

The search for Shangri-la had brought me, as well, to the gates of Jokhang Monastery where I came to know Jokhang's abbot and most senior monk, Nyima Tsering. One afternoon he humbly received me at the door, draped in saffron robe, hands clasped together before him. Opening of the controversial Beijing-Lhasa railway in summer 2006 had just sparked an unprecedented rush of Chinese visitors to Tibet's religious heritage sites with wide debate over its effects, both commercial and spiritual. I asked him, if the train and its passengers would sinoize Tibet or globalize it.

A subject most Tibetans wanted to avoid commenting on, Nyima Tsering was soft-spoken but direct. "One view is the train is good for Tibet's economy. More people come and tourism brings economic spin-off and trickle-down prosperity. But from this phenomenon new problems also arise," he sighed.

Then pouring a cup of yak butter tea and placing it before me with deliberation, Nyima Tscring continued. "At the same time I’m not saying don't develop business, tourism and the economy, but protect heritage first. Develop the things that people come to see, properly, so that they will be here for future generations. Otherwise, the very things they come to see may be destroyed by our own self through this process of capitalizing on what we have. Culture must be respected as the basis of development".

But how can this be achieved?

"You don't need to believee in religion," explained Nyima Tsering, "But please respect those who do".

Within the depths of Jokhang Monastery is a hallway, dark except lit with yak butter candles. They twinkle in the dark like scars lingering on the flame. If you stare into the flame you can arrive at the darkness of the other side, a mirror of white in the back of your eye. So by stepping into the flame with your mind you arrive at three murals beyond the candles. They depict three Bodhisattvas.

“Manjushuri is on the 1eft," explains Nyima Tsering pointing to the murul of a Bodhisatva sitting cross-legged in lotus position holding aloft a flaming sword. "He is the Bodhisattva of wisdom. The sword in his right hand cuts through ignorance at its root. Vajrapani is on the right," Nyima Tsering explained nodding toward a wrathful-faced standing figure, bent knee in martial position, engulfed in flaming halo, holding a vajra thunderbolt in one hand and a hooked lasso in the other. "He is the Bodhisattva of power. His vajra can smash obstacles. The lasso harnesses ignorance".

In the silence of that dark, yak-butter-candle incensed hallway Nyima Tsering told me something that changed from that moment my outlook. "Remember," Nyima Tsering whispered firmly, "you must have wisdom and power to achieve anything. But either of both cannot stand alone without compassion. That is why in the center of both Bodhisattvas sits Avahokitesvara, known in Chinese as Guan Yin. She is the most important as the Bodhisattva of compassion. Everything stems from compassion. If you lack this, then wisdom and power will be misused. If your base is compassion then both wisdom and power will come to you naturally because the purpose for which you seek to use them is positive. This applies to every action in life. Because every action brings a counter-reaction".

Nyima Tsering explained, "Look at the situation today. Some nations and people chink they are so smart having the wisdom co develop high technology weaponry. They think they now have the power to use this technology to crush others into believing and accepting what they want. Because this kind of wisdom and power lacks compassion as a starting point and purpose for its use, it is being abused. This kind of wisdom and power has gone awry. It is misused. The weapons you see in the hands of deities in the temple are not weapons of destruction to be used to crush an ideology or will upon another people's head. No, these are the Buddhist weapons of wisdom an d compassion used to crush the three poisons of greed, ignorance and anger, our own frustrations. The enemy is not somebody else. The enemy is within our own selves. The war is not to conquer other people, but to conquer our own selves. If we can win over these frustrations, then our world will have peace, we will arrive upon Shambhala".

Later that afternoon, sitting in the main hall of Jokhang Monastery before towering images of both the Future Buddha and "Lotus Born Master" Guru Rincpoche who a millennium and a half ago ironically brought tantric Buddhism from Pakistan to Tibet, Nyima Tsering reflected on the idea of Himalayan Consensus, as a fresh approach to economic, social and political development. “Of course globalization is one of the problems," he explained. "You cannot take a single model and force it on to the heads of others and expect them to accept it. In fact, the result of this approach will create even more of a mess. This approach is too mono-simpistic. We need to think rationally".

Globalization advocates and mainstream western media dismiss the anti-globalization movement as not offering any viable alternatives. But are there any? According to Nyima Tsering, in Buddhism we have 84,000 doors, which mean ways or paths one can follow. Each is different. That means there can be all kinds of models for development, for economics, politics, for living. Each suits each people's needs. No one model is correct for all. The only question is rationality. Using rational thinking, care and compassion for others in finding the way. You don’t want to hurt others along the way in seeking your own path. This should be the pre-condition".

Nyima Tersing reflected under the wide cosmic eyes of the towering image of Lotus Born Master, "Is it really sad how through advertising and mass media consumer trends, social values are just created. For many people possessing goods becomes the very identification of their status, of their human worth. But actually these things are more often than not, not even as good or enduring in quality as this yak hair woven rug we are now sitting on". His hands touched the thick rug, which served as a warm interlude between the incensed space around and ancient stone floor beneath us.

"With current globalization of consumer driven values, it has become so important for people to have branded goods," Nyima Tsering shrugged under saffron robes. "Often people will spend their life working to save money just to buy these things. They will live a life of frustration spending and even borrowing beyond their means to have these symbols to show others they have achieved worth in the eyes of mainstream society. Think of how many positive things could be accomplished if this same energy and effort were put into benefiting our world".

"What we a re talking about now is need for a new economic system," advocated Nyima Tsering. "The twenty-first century has taught us that materialism alone is not enough. Spirituality can overcome materialism. We need an economic system that can combine wisdom and compassion with materialism. Then our world will become a real Shambhala".

Laurence Brahm is a global activist, international mediator, political columnist and author. He is the leading advocate of a fresh development paradigm - The Himalayan Consensus - an innovative approach to development.

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