Exhibition on 50th Anniversary of Tibet in Exile underway in TaipeiTuesday, 14 July 2009, 10:05 a.m.

Two monks make a sand mandala painting on the exhibition site on July 3. Tibetan monks will dismantle the mandala on July 26 and distribute the sand to visitors as a present, a blessing according to Tibetan Buddhism.

Dharamshala:
A month-long photo exhibition is underway in Taipei showcasing the
accomplishments of the Tibetan community in exile in preserving their
cultural and religious heritage in the last 50 years, Taiwan News Online reported Tuesday, 14 July.The
Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Taiwan is
organising the exhibition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of
Tibetans and the Central Tibetan Administration in exile after His Holiness the
Dalai Lama was forced to leave Tibet following armed repression and
occupation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China. The
exhibition showcases 440 rare pictures, Tibetan money as well as
religious arts of Tibetan refugees’ accomplishments in the community,
education and cultural preservation at Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek
Memorial Hall. The month-long exhibition also features a series of
lectures on Tibet and screenings of several Tibetan films and
documentaries during weekends.”The exhibition wants to show
people, especially Chinese-language speakers, the real history and
accomplishments of a Tibetan culture that has been tortured (by Chinese
government) over the past 50 years,” Dawa Tsering, His Holiness the
Dalai Lama’s representative at Tibet Religious Foundation told Taiwan News Online.Comparing
to speakers of other languages, the reality of Tibet is hardly known by
Chinese speakers because the Chinese government tries to manipulate
information about Tibet, Dawa explained.During an interview
with the Taiwan News on July 3, Dawa said that the prior concern of
Tibetan people when it comes to the issue of Tibet is to preserve the
Tibetan culture. Tibetans have developed outstanding achievements in
medicine, creating a unique calendar system and carrying forward
Tibetan Buddhism ever since Indian Buddhism was imported to Tibet in
the 80th year of the Christian era, he noted.Tibetan people
hope to retain the cultural heritage created by their ancestors in the
past thousand years, as it is one of the few remaining origins of human
civilization, Dawa continued.

Photo Courtesy of the Tibet Religious Foundation of H.H. The Dalai Lama Tibetan monks recite a sutra during a ceremony on July 6 to mark the birthday of the Dalai Lama.

“Once
we are assured that the traditions and cultures of Tibet can be carried
forward from generation to generation without any interference from
politics, the issue of Tibet will then be a minor issue and so does the
debate whether Tibet should separate from China,” he remarked.In
1992, it took Dawa nearly a month to walk away from his hometown in
Tibet to Dharamsala with other 11 people – some of whom decided to
leave the motherland to become monks under Tibetan Buddhism, which they
were barred from doing at home as Beijing tightly controls the number
of monks in Tibet.”The Tibetan tradition to integrate religion
and political power results in the Chinese government’s vigilance
against the development of Tibetan Buddhism,” Dawa explained.Dawa
said that the foundation spent half a year preparing the exhibition,
doing their best to present visitors different aspects of Tibet,
ranging from religion, culture, science (including medicine and
development of a calendar system) to documents and images of the
Tibetan people in exile.Individuals may visit the exhibit for
different parts of Tibet that interest them, but the organizers have
worked hard so that at the end of the visit the exhibit should help
every visitor create a comprehensive understanding on the past and
current situation of Tibetan people, both at home and overseas, and
their reasons for striving to preserve the Tibetan civilization, Dawa
said. More photos:

Artist Chen Wei-ming’s work ‘Tibet’s Road to Freedom’ is displayed at the exhibition until July 30.

A portrait of White Tara, a female Buddha, is displayed at the exhibition

A Tibetan monk prays on the site of the exhibition