Not Far From the Truth

Tibet is a sensitive topic in China. If you're an American in China—and particularly if you want to be able to share the Gospel with anyone you meet—it's probably best to skirt around the issue, particularly in the east. Americans take a lot of interest in the liberation of Tibet, yet very few advocate the liberation of the Uygur lands. I have a suspicion the difference between these two people groups—both of whom are oppressed and mistreated to a degree—is the influence of the Dalai Lama in the west combined with the taming of a religion (Tibetan Buddhism) into an attractive philosophy of life without its remarkably dark roots.

Tibetan Buddhism is exported to America in the form of what amounts to atheistic self-help through inner peace, meditation, and harmonious living. I had the chance to visit a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in China (on my birthday, nonetheless). I had done some reading on Tibetan Buddhism before I went to China, but the reality of their actual practices did not hit home until I saw what the monks actually practice.

In short, Tibetan Buddhists believe that there are supernatural, demonic beings in this world who are wont to do us harm. These beings often have a pleasant, appealing face with which they lure people in, only to reveal their true, horrifying self. Tibetan Buddhism essentially amounts to a system of seeking to appease these demons so that they do not do us harm. The images of these demons were painted on the walls of the buildings. They were essentially the most disturbing creatures the human mind could conceive. This guy isn't even the worst of them. Usually they have a nice decapitated head in their hand or something.


Now the methodology:

Prayers and chants are important. To this end, monks are very devout in their prayers to those who have achieved enlightenment. But, because that cannot be enough, they thought of a new idea: write out your prayers, glue them to the inside of a giant drum, and give it a spin. In a nearby marketplace, I even found an electric powered prayer wheel, so you can just plug it in and let your prayers be multiplied. If you're eco-friendly, prayer flags (which pray your prayers as they blow in the wind) are a good alternative.


Of course, money is also important. Donations to the shrine of your favorite enlightened monk can't hurt, can it?


So in short, you pray to these little statues so that the big scary dudes don't hurt you.


Now, I've been somewhat sarcastic in my analysis of Tibetan Buddhism at this monastery. But in seriousness, their beliefs are practices are not far from the truth. Think about it: demonic forces are a reality. Their beliefs are probably based upon real encounters with supernatural forces of evil. But they have no concept of a creator God. In fact, I'm told that explaining this idea to a Tibetan is one of the most difficult parts of sharing the Gospel.

So what do you do if you know there are evil forces that want to harm you and you haven't been told that there is an omnipotent God who desires to make you his own and protect you? Try to appease the demons. And so they do, however they can. It is sad, though, that they worship idols made by human hands. Jeremiah 10:5 says that idols like these cannot do anything, good or evil. Yet worship of these idols prevents Tibetans from worshiping the One who only does good.