According to a report in the Huffington post, it is being told that there are three times as many Buddhists as Communists in China and suggested that the Dalai Lama’s Tibet wish may require rapprochement with former adversaries. Despite the fact that China is technically a Communist country, there has been a certain degree of relaxation in terms of economy and religion for the past two to three decades.
“There are now almost three times as many Buddhists in China as there are Party members. An official communiqué released in July this year estimated the membership of the Communist Party of China at just under 90 million. Meanwhile, the State Bureau of Religious Affairs estimates there are some 250 million Buddhists in China, more or less evenly split between Tibetan Buddhism and Han Buddhism, and 200,000 registered Buddhist monks.” said the report in the Huffington Post on Tuesday.
This is a really interesting statistic as far as the issue of Tibet is concerned. Despite the fact that Tibet is highly restricted in terms of human rights after Chinese invasion which led to the destruction of more than 90% Tibetan culture and religion, it has been revived in the exile community over the past 60 years. The Tibetan spiritual leader is highly revered across the world and especially among the Buddhist community.
Despite the Beijing government continuously blaming against the His Holiness the Dalai Lama alleging him of inciting separatism in Tibet, there are more and more Chinese people starting to follow his teachings, reaching out to attending his teachings all the way to India from Mainland China and other near by Asian countries. This sort of popularity and following tells otherwise of China’s allegations against the Tibetan spiritual leader.
The Middly Way approach proposed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to resolve the Tibet issue accepts to remain within the political framework of China as it claims while Tibetans should be allowed to maintain self rule within the Tibetan Autonomous Region comprising of the three provinces of Tibet. This is a perfect example of applying the Buddhist philosophical practices.
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