Tibet-In-Exile

     I loved reading this book.  It gave me a deeper understanding of the Tibet issue and it was interesting learning about their different styles of music and how the influences were causing both good and bad changes.  For me, I would probably side more with the youth as while it is good to preserve the older traditions, at some point you will have to modernize them in order to keep from those traditions being cultural buried by the new influences.  In the interview that I did, my interviewee mentioned how Indian music is an amalgamation of several different cultures of music.  So, too, is American music.  One thing that needs to be mentioned, is that this is not just a case of old people afraid of change, it is that, in many ways, this change does pose a threat to their religious ideals.

     Since rock and roll is all about freedom, the exile community latched onto that with reckless abandon.  The problem lies in that this freedom to do whatever you want implies giving into your desires, which Buddhism teaches that you must eliminate desire to lessen your suffering.  That is a great idea, but to me it seems like their own religiosity is keeping them in exile.  Now, I am not saying they should abandon their beliefs, because that would be almost impossible, but they should at least modernize.  I have always had issues with any kind of monastic life.  To me, completely walling yourself off from the world does no good and prevents you from spreading your ideas.  I've seen this in Christian monasteries.  If we are supposed to be a light to the world, why are we walling ourselves in and hiding?

     That said, I think Tibet-in-exile has a long road ahead of it.  The people really want to be free, but they need to find a good way to do that.  From my perspective, denouncing the violence is good, but if you just sit around and wait, nothing is going to happen.