Almost all Tibetans are Buddhists, and Buddhism has
had a profound influence. Before 1959, there were some 2,000
monasteries in Tibet with 110,000 monks and nuns, who made
up 10 percent of total population. Tibetan historical
traditions, culture and life have all been laced with a
religious flavor. During the 1,000 years since the mid-8th
century, when the Samye Monastery in Shannan created its
Excellent Buddhist Doctrine School, Buddhism gradually
established its ruling position in Tibet and all monasteries
made efforts to expand monastic education by encouraging
disciples to follow Buddhism and spread Buddhist scripture.
In this way, a monastic education system was set up. Feudal
serf owners, taking the monasteries as their stronghold, not
only controlled the political and economic power, but almost
all fields, including culture and art, medicine and public
health, and astronomical calendar. Tibetan Buddhism ruled
all thinking. "Outside the monastery, there was no
school. There was no education except for Buddhist studies,
and there was no teachers except lama teachers." This
sums up the situation.
Students of the
monastery schools, mainly monks, majored in Buddhist
scriptures, but also gained some knowledge of Tibetan
language, handwriting, literature and art, philosophy logic,
astronomical Calendar and medicine. Children of laboring
people, who wanted to study, had to be tonsured to a
monastery. But not all monks had access to advanced study.
Most of them were reduced into monks charged with chores in
the monastery, leading a spartan life forever. This is why
some 80 percent of Tibetan monks were illiterate, and only a
small number of Tibetan lamas who enjoyed a better life and
power had an opportunity for long-term education before
entering the ruler class of the monastery, winning Buddhist
academic degrees through written or oral tests, or being
appointed as high- ranking officials of the governing
group.
Monastic education, as a form of
spreading knowledge, had all along been considered the
regular education style in Tibet. In Tibet's long history,
it nurtured some intellectuals, created numerous historic
books, and made some achievements in architecture,
sculpture, painting, astronomical calendar and medicine and
public health. The monastery itself is an art treasure
house, due to its valuable research role in carrying on and
developing traditional Tibetan culture. Tripitaka, a
Buddhist classic, is hailed as a "bright pearl in the
treasure house of the world."
At the same
time, it cannot be ignored that the monastic culture, aimed
at training successors to the feudal serf owner class,
spread beliefs concerning "reincarnation and
transmigration," and preached on the entry into the
"heavenly kingdom" which is "the extremely
happy world after death" to solace those living in
harsh conditions. The ideology convinced people they should
seek to escape from suffering in the next life. This impeded
the progress of Tibetan society and the development of
science and technology. As a result, Tibetan lagged far
behind other nations in China.
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