Now that we've cleared this up, we should probably close this thread. Why are we talking about an Indian religion in a Kunming forum, anyway?

Well, it's practiced by people in Kunming.

@Yankee: The Asian/European distinction was quite a bit different a couple thousand years ago, from what it is now. More important civilizational distinctions at the time would have been Mediterranean, Iranian, Indian, Chinese etc. worlds. For the most part, 'Europe' as we think of it didn't mean a whole lot, and anything north of the Alps didn't count for much. The Mediterranean World was no more 'European' than it was 'African' or 'Middle Eastern'. Then time passed and things got rearranged, and at some point the ideas of 'western' and 'nonwestern' came into being, especially after the Rome/Byzantium split and then the new development of Abrahamic religion that was Islam.

Our heads have all been rearranged by changing local concentrations of power and the belief systems that allow them to keep doin what they're doin.

the problem is for every person trying to decipher the cryptic teachings of his holiness to try to better their lives, there are 10000 people doing corrupt things all day long.

anyway, good luck to humanity.

And for the record, lest we forget, Tibetan Buddhism/Llamism promoted an oppressive, repressive, barbaric, totalitarian caste society form of government and society. So think about that when one contemplates the validity of the current Dalai Lama and his philosophies and teachings. Consider the source, consider the history of the source...look it up yourself if in doubt.

laotou is right. In fact, slavery was legal until 1959. The DL's "government in exile" has a constitution ready to go in the highly unlikely event Tibet is split from China. One of the provisions is that all property will be returned to the former owners. Slaves are property.

My question is: How could China tolerate legal slavery in Tibet from 1949 to 1959?

@laotou: My interest is in the buddhadharma. The term buddhadharma is often used in the place of Buddhism when referring simply to what the Buddha taught.

I do not knowingly read or use anything by the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan form of Buddhism does not interest me.

you don't have to BE a buddhist or agree with everything they preach or agree with their political policies.

if someone wants to take a religion/philosophy/belief system and use if for evil purposes, it's THEIR problem, not MY problem.

i've gotten some valuable insights from some buddhist texts i've read. some of it makes less sense and i just disregard it.

and given that there is so much politics related to the dalai lama sect, is the history in the history books real or adulterated?

The DL is opposed to the reinstitution of slavery.

The Dalai Lama's 18 Rules For Living

2 - when you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3 - 3 Rs. respect for self, respect for others, responsibility for all your actions.

4 - not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

7 - when you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it

8 - spend some time alone every day

16 - once a year, go someplace you've never been before

Jesus was a Buddhist Monk: BBC Documentary
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAaW6BYhfNM