Those of you who know us well know that we've developed a keen interest and real respect for Tibetan people and culture over the past couple of years. I think our interest in this began with the movie "Seven Years in Tibet". This movie led us to want to know more about the Dalai Lama and Tibet, so we also rented Martin Scorsese's "Kundun" and the documentary "Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion". Another very interesting DVD we rented was "Robert Thurman on Tibet", which is really more of a lecture than an actual movie.

(Robert Thurman, father of actress Uma Thurman, is a former Tibetan Buddhist monk, Director of the Tibet House in New York City, and a personal friend of the Dalai Lama.)

At any rate, we were completely unfamiliar with what the Buddhist religion is about, the reasoning behind the Chinese takeover of Tibet, and the story of the Dalai Lama's exile to India. So these films were real eye openers for us. "Snow Lion" paints a vivid picture of Tibetan culture and the devastating genocidal affects of the Chinese occupation. The imprisonment and torturous treatment of the Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns is particularly shocking and reminded me of the unthinkable treatment of Jews by Hitler's Nazis back during WWII. Robert Thurman's accounts of Tibet and it's people is very fascinating and thought-provoking stuff!

For more information about His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, and the Tibet effort, visit the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration or consider reading The Dalai Lama's "An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life". This book gives an overview of the fundamental Buddhist principles and aims to show how Buddhist practices can lead to a more compassionate and happier life. The concepts presented lend themselves to being applied by anyone, regardless of religious beliefs. I'm impressed by how the Dalai Lama isn't on a mission to convert people's religion, but rather turn their hearts and enrich their lives through compassion for others.

So this all brings me around to our belated New year's Resolution. There is a compelling argument about how to force China to abandon it's Tibetan occupation made in more than one of the films I mentioned above. And that argument is that the Chinese government will leave Tibet when it finally becomes too much of an economical burden, which could be brought about by a widespread boycott on the purchase of Chinese-made goods.

So, it seemed like the conscionable thing to do is join in this effort. So, we've made a serious effort to avoid buying anything that has a "Made in China" label over the past couple of months. And while this is not necessary an easy feat, it makes sense to us to our little part in casting a vote with our dollars. Will this work? Can a collective effort to cause a lapse in consumer demand in Chinese goods really cause Tibet to be free again? Hard to say, but you can read more about this activism campaign effort at Boycott Made In China.

What do you think?

Labels: , ,