Tara in Vajrayana Buddhism: A Critical Content Analysis

Tara is both a Buddhist and Hindu deity. She is widely worshipped in the esoteric branch of Buddhism: Vajrayana. Even in the exile, Tibetan refugees follow the practice and rituals associated with Tara. Lamentably, she has been given an auxiliary and secondary role in comparison to male deities. Various feminist scholars have begun to look at aspects of society through the lens of gender. They have been at the forefront of studying gender roles and its psychological consequences for those who try to abide by them. In religious studies, especially in Asian context, many of these discourses are difficult to perceive because they were unconsciously appropriated as truth by the people of the society in which they circulated as an inviolable aspect of the worlds or as nature. This study is an attempt to examine the representation of Goddess in various ancient texts as essential to the study of the divine feminine. This hybrid study merges traditional Indology with feminist studies, and is intended for specialists in the field, for readers with interest in Buddhist, and for scholars of Gender studies, cultural historians, and sociologists.

‘Searching for Roots’: Exploring the Idea of Home in Tibetan Refugee Youth Living in Delhi, India

Home is a key aspect of place attachment signified by rootedness and ease; it is operationalised as a sense of being rooted to and feeling at ease in a particular place. Two studies were done to gain a nuanced idea of the concept of home as understood by Tibetan refugee youth living in Delhi. In study 1, based on in-depth interviews on 20 students of ages 18–25 years, a thematic analysis resulted in the global theme of ‘community as home’ indicating the central position of the community while talking about home. On the basis of this study, four variables were identified as key to the concept of home: in-group identification, group efficacy, social well-being and rootedness (home). Study 2 was designed to understand the relationship between these identified variables. Around 103 refugee youth (controlled for gender) aged 18–25 years completed the questionnaire. It was found that most of the variables were positively correlated to one another, except for group efficacy and social well-being. Further, the mediation analysis indicated that in the context of the community, higher levels of social well-being explained increased in-group identification, particularly when mediated by the presence of group efficacy. Overall, it was found that community seems to be integral to the concept of home for Tibetan refugee youth living in Delhi. Both studies expand upon existing literature on the concept of home and have further implications for the notion of home and the social well-being of Tibetan refugees.

Bioethical Threads in the Reflection of Tibetan Refugees in India

This article aims to trace and describe the bioethical threads in medical practice and the understanding of medicine among Tibetan refugees living in India. Taking up such a task results mainly from the fact that only traces of bioethical reflection are visible in Tibetan society, but without the awareness that it requires systematic reflection on its essence and changes that accompany modern medicine. I define the state of the discussion on Tibetan bioethics as preparadigmatic, i.e., one that precedes the recognition of the importance of bioethics and the elaboration of its basic concepts. In this paper, I will show how the Tibetan refugees today, in an unconscious way, approach bioethics, using the example of life-related topics, namely beginning and death. To this end, I chose topics such as abortion, fetal sex reassignment, euthanasia, and suicide. On this basis, I will indicate the main reasons that hinder the emergence of bioethics and those that may contribute to systematic discussions in the future. An introduction to Tibetan medicine will precede these considerations. I will show how medical traditions, especially the Rgyud bzhi text, are related to Tibetan Buddhism and opinions of the 14th Dalai Lama.

Exploring Themes of Tibetan Cultural Identity During the Settlement Experience in Toronto, Canada

This study explores both existing research as well as emerging themes in the area of Tibetan exile communities. Previous research examining the settlement experiences of Tibetan refugees in Europe, the United States and India has focused largely on the various ways in which individuals acculturate and adapt to new, culturally different environments. Out of this research, a number of themes arise such as cultural expectations, internal concepts of identity, and citizenship. Authors have suggested that Tibetan refugees during settlement are likely to adopt a version of Berry’s integration strategy of acculturation. What is lacking in these earlier studies is an exploration of the experiences of Tibetan refugees in Canada. This study is set within a Canadian context and considers other social factors that may greatly influence the settlement experience, namely barriers to settlement such as the failure to have foreign credentials recognized. Key words: Tibetan, Refugees, Settlement, Acculturation, Cultural Identity.

Exploring Themes of Tibetan Cultural Identity During the Settlement Experience in Toronto, Canada

This study explores both existing research as well as emerging themes in the area of Tibetan exile communities. Previous research examining the settlement experiences of Tibetan refugees in Europe, the United States and India has focused largely on the various ways in which individuals acculturate and adapt to new, culturally different environments. Out of this research, a number of themes arise such as cultural expectations, internal concepts of identity, and citizenship. Authors have suggested that Tibetan refugees during settlement are likely to adopt a version of Berry’s integration strategy of acculturation. What is lacking in these earlier studies is an exploration of the experiences of Tibetan refugees in Canada. This study is set within a Canadian context and considers other social factors that may greatly influence the settlement experience, namely barriers to settlement such as the failure to have foreign credentials recognized. Key words: Tibetan, Refugees, Settlement, Acculturation, Cultural Identity.

Review Article: Rewriting Tibet in The Tibetan Suitcase: A Novel (2019) by Tsering Namgyal Khortsa

The Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet in 1950 compelled a sizable number of Tibetans to leave their homeland. They were relocated to India, Nepal, Bhutan and different parts of the world as refugees. These displaced people do not want to forget their own history. Tibetan authors have taken upon themselves the responsibility of keeping alive the memory of the great exodus in which Dalai Lama was a participant and of what happened after that. The flame of patriotism and the desire for a return to the homeland filter through their literary works. These authors writing in English nurture a free Tibet in their national imaginary. As the Tibetans lack political and military power to overwhelm the might of the Chinese colonisers, the works of these writers of Tibetan origin are of paramount importance. Combining the functions of both creative authors and activists, they help sustain the Tibetan struggle for freedom, draw global attention to the plight of Tibetan refugees scattered all over the world and put pressure on the repressive Chinese regime in Tibet.

Divergent Refugee and Tribal Cosmopolitanism in Dharamshala

This article analyses the divergent, and occasionally overlapping, trajectories of Tibetan refugee and Gaddi tribal cosmopolitanism in Dharamshala, North India. In a place self-consciously branded as cosmopolitan, where Tibetan ethnocommodification is the primary symbolic currency, practices of inclusivity can broadly give way to Gaddi exclusions. Cosmopolitanism as an ordering ideology and set of intercultural competencies, often predicated on the dyadic relationship between Tibetan refugees and international tourists, propels Gaddi resentments and coarsens intergroup sociality. This does not mean, however, that Gaddis are forever consigned to tribal backwardness and reactionary forms of communal aspiration. Gaddis have forged an alternate, grounded cosmopolitanism based on cultural skills fostered through pastoral transhumance, seasonal labour migration corresponding with foreign tourists and ongoingethnopolitical redefinition of what it means to be tribal itself. By seeing past utopian propaganda and dystopian exaggerations about Dharamshala, a richer tapestry of group relations emerges which reveals divergent cosmopolitanisms in the promotion of shared struggles for state recognition and cultural preservation.