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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1985)
Lecturer sees changes first-hand Tibet enjoying a religious Edwin Berabaum By Lori Steinhauer Of tbc Emerald Buddhism and monasteries are resurrecting in Tibet, following a religious drought of more than 20 years, according to a national lecturer and author who traveled through the coun try in the fall of 1983 and again in the spring of 1984. “For a period of about 20 years, the religion was sup pressed and went underground,” said Edwin Bernbaum. “It was amazing to see how devoted the people were when they were allowed to practice again.” Bernbaum took more than 150 people from a packed room in the EMU on a guided journey of Tibet Wednesday night, through a slide show and lec ture entitled "From Lhasa to Everest: Monasteries and Moun tains of Tibet.” The presenta tion was sponsored by the EMU Cultural Forum. Most Tibetan monasteries were destroyed as Chinese troops moved into the country in the 1950s. "The Chinese decided Buddhism was a main force against the Chinese takeover,” and they did all they could to squelch the religion, Bembaum said. However, in the late 1970s, changes in the Chinese govern ment led to the allowance of Buddhism back into Tibet. Before the takeover, somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 monasteries stood in Tibet, Bembaum said. But now. books from before the 1950s, you see a lot more buildings there in his presentation. Bem baum pointed out one of the few remaining monasteries, at which he found several monks and nans daring his visit In 1982 a friend of Bembaum's had gone to the same monastery, and it was deserted. "To give you some perspec tive. the monastery had about 300 nuns and monks (before the Chinese takeover).** Bentbaum said. The downfall of Tibetan religious practices was accom panied by a decline in the native population. Thousands of nuns, monks and religious natives followed their leader, the Dalai Lama, to Nepal after 1959. The natives who remained suffered from a food shortage when the Chinese planted a fail ing crop of wheat in place of barley, the main Tibetan crop. Adding to the problem was an increasing number of nimw« being sent to Tibet, where low population density must be maintained because of its high altitude and dry climate, Bem baum explained. Today, the country has about 1.5 million Tibetians and about 300.000 Chinese living on 471.660 square miles of land, according to The New American Desk Encyclopedia. Bembaum said he was unable to get an accurate account of the current political situation in Tibet, although he knew some Tibetan language, because pro paganda was prevalent on both the Tibetan and the Chinese sides. Bembaum recalls his visit in 1983. when Tibet was having carried strong political tones, be added Bembaum recalled feeling the gloom that paraded Tibet in the fail of 1983, while Tibetan refugees in Mew Yak were protesting for When Bemhana returned to Tibet in 1984. the situation had future, be ; of the “h becomes harder crackdowns to take for the open to foreigners." be said. nemos un. currently lectures and shows his slides at the York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and other institutions throughout the United He has also written a book en titled "The War to Sham bhala.” about a hidden Tibetan valley. Bembaum s interest in the mountains and cultures of the world began in his youth, when he resided in various Latin American countries where his father was in the U.S. foreign ‘The Chinese decided Buddhism was a ma jor force against the Chinese takeover, and they did all they could to squelch the religion9 — Edwin Bembaum only a handful remain. “A lot of people who go in don’t know what it was like before. You go to a monastery there, and you see some temples, and it looks like everything’s in pretty good order. But if you look at some a "cultural or spiritual pollu tion campaign." Many Buddhist Tibetans were arrested, and >ome were ex ecuted. Although the allowance of Buddhist practices had been reintroduced, the Chinese government's liberalization led Steven J 3 FINAL DAYS THURSOAY-fRIOAY-SATURDAY HEM'S FALL A WHITER CLEARANCE SALE EVERYTHING IN STOCK 500, SATURDAY, Steven J •41 OAK *cr«— —pal ARE YOUR FRIENDS WORTH 25*? The ODE Birthday Beat thinks so! Look us up — we re in the classifieds. [) Perm Special 2 for the price of 1 You and a friend can come in and get * PC 2000Computer Perms ^ mom »snM *m» r/tm/tm *rwm* for the price of one perm! Family Hair care Center 683-5713 2160 W. 11th In the Centre West Mall, across from Godfathers CARD6 • CANDY- GIFTS
