Religion in Tibet

Tibetan Buddhism and Bon

Bon is the ancient religion of Tibet, but at present, Tibetan Buddhism, the original form of the Mahayana and Vajrayana that came to Tibet from the Sanskrit Buddhist tradition of northern India, has the main influence. ^[3] Tibetan Buddhism is practiced not only in Tibet, but also in Mongolia , parts of northern India, the Buryat Republic , the Republic of Tuva , as well as in the Republic of Kalmykia and some other parts of China. During the Cultural Revolution in China, almost all the monasteries of Tibet were looted and destroyed by the guanweibs . ^{[4] [5]} Several monasteries began to rebuild from the 1980s (with limited support from the Chinese government), and greater freedom of religion was granted - although this is still limited. The monks returned to monasteries throughout Tibet, and monastic education resumed, although the number of monks imposed is strictly limited. ^{[4] [6]} Until the 1950s, 10 to 20% of men in Tibet were monks. ^[7]

Bon, Tibet's local animist and shamanistic belief system, revolves around worshiping nature and claims to have come before Buddhism. ^[eight]

Chinese Ethnic Religion

Most Han people living in Tibet profess their native Chinese folk religion ( Shandao , The Way of the Gods). There is a Guangdi Temple in Lhasa (拉萨 关帝庙), in which the Chinese god of war, Guangdi, is identified with the deity Gesar of the Tibetan, Mongolian and Manchu people . The temple was built in accordance with Chinese and Tibetan architecture. It was first built in 1792 during the Qing Dynasty and renovated around 2013, after decades of being in disrepair. ^{[9] [10]}

Popular Religious Sects

In Amdo County, there is a Tibetan folk religious sect called “Heroes of Ling,” founded in 1981 by Tibetan Sonam Puntsog, who claimed to be the embodiment of the legendary hero Gezar . ^[11] At the peak of its development in the 1980s, the movement was replenished by local communist leaders. ^[11] It was later banned as a destructive and "schismatic" sect. ^[eleven]

Christianity

The first Christians who reportedly reached Tibet were Nestorians , among whom various relics and inscriptions were found in Tibet. They were also present at the Munke Khan imperial camp in Shira Ordo, where in 1256 they argued with Karma Pakshi , the head of the Karma Kagyu Order. ^{[12] [13]} Desideri, who reached Lhasa in 1716, collided with Armenian and Russian merchants. ^[14]

Roman Catholic Jesuits and Capuchins came from Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Portuguese missionaries, Jesuit father Antonio de Andrade and brother Manuel Marquez, first reached the kingdom of Gelu in western Tibet in 1624 and were met by the royal family, which subsequently allowed them to build a church. ^{[15] [16]} By 1627, there were about one hundred local converts in the kingdom of Hugue. ^[17] Later, Christianity was introduced to Rudok, Ladakh, and Tsang, and he was greeted by the ruler of the Tsang kingdom , where Andrade and his comrades founded the Jesuit outpost in Shigats in 1626. ^[18]

Religion in Tibet is governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China , which prohibits the use of religions in order to violate social harmony. Buddhist leaders such as Gedhun Choki Nima and Tenzin Delegate remain in custody or in prison. ^[eight]