Main content
Asian Art Museum
Course: Asian Art Museum > Unit 4
Lesson 1: The Himalayas and the Tibetan Buddhist World- Introduction to the Himalayas
- Bön, Tibet’s indigenous belief system
- Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
- Tibetan Buddhist orders
- Sacred arts of Tibet
- Thunderbolt and bell
- Prayer wheel
- Cabinet for storing offerings
- Views of Tibet
- Tibetan thangka painting (sacred pictures)
- The Buddhist deity Mahakala as a Brahman
- The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
- Mandala of the Buddhist deity Chakrasamvara
- The Goddess of the White Umbrella (the Buddhist deity Ushnisha-sitatapatra)
- Buddhist text about the Bodhisattva Manjushri
- The Buddhist deity Simhavaktra Dakini
- The Buddhist protector deity Penden Lhamo
- The Great mystic Virupa
- Secrets of the stupa
© 2023 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Views of Tibet
View important Buddhist sites and rituals in Tibet. Note: This video does not include narration. Created by Asian Art Museum.
Want to join the conversation?
Why there is no subtitles or CC for this video ?(2 votes)
Below the video they do note that the video does not include narration. My guess is because it's all chanting and that's something they wanted the viewers to just experience and enjoy.(4 votes)
how long has the festival been going on that was in the video(1 vote)
Glimpses of Tibet would be a better title, while views of Tibet got me think of the chinese incursion and human rights problem existing in Tibet(1 vote)
I have read, perhaps even accurate accounts, that monks beg for their sustenance in the Buddhist religion. Looking at some populations statistics for Tibet, and accounting for the percentage of native Tibetans in the population (92%), it appears that there are about 49,000 monks and nuns between Tibetan Buddhism and those of the Bon religion, out of a total population of about 2.6 million native Tibetans. My question is: how can that many mendicants be supported (almost 2% of the population) in a country that is certainly not affluent, and that devotes a significant amount of its surplus capital to maintaining the monasteries and nunneries? Does the government (Chinese ultimately) provide substantial support for the religious efforts?(1 vote)
No, if anything the Chinese try to deter monks from continuing being monks by incarcerating and torturing them. Happens all the time apparently. But people in Tibet are extremely pious and would give you their right arm if they thought it was the right thing to do. Often times this is also how extra children in the family are provided for and was the only form of formal education for over 1,000 years in the region. When the communists took power the monks comprised 10% of the population- numbering at 100,000. Which goes to show how many people even poor people can feed, as well as how much the Tibetan population in general has grown over time. Pretty unusual for a population with that little of education to have that little growth without some serious involvement on the Chinese part. Whether this includes genocide beyond the initial million Tibetans killed when Lhasa was taken over remains to be seen, but it sure is funny that all of this used Tibetan jewelry showed up recently on Ebay and is completely being lied about and sold as brand new. Someone apparently is supporting someone, but it certainly would seem obvious from the numbers of Tibetan thangkas and strands prayer beads being sold- which direction that support flows in.(0 votes)