Exploring golden links of
Tibet and Himalayas
Mohan K. Tikku
The Himalayas, despite
being the world's most
formidable mountain
wall, have not stopped
people from moving
across its peaks and
passes. It is a tribute to human
endurance and the desire to
connect in the face of all odds
that there has been a continuous
flow of travellers across the
Himalayas.
Besides commerce, they have
carried knowledge (both material
and spiritual) enriching each
other.It was thus that the
message of the Enlightened One
was taken from India to Tibet and
beyond to China and Japan. Over
the centuries, numerous scholars
and savants have kept alive the
flow of ideas and intellectual
exchanges, undaunted by the
difficulties of terrain or weather.
The story about how Buddhism
was introduced into Tibet is
common knowledge. Something
that is not known is how the
Tibetan script was devised even
before Buddhism reached the
'Roof of the World'. It was the
seventh century ruler of Tibet
who, sensing the need for an alphabet for the Tibetan
language, sent scholar-monk
Thonmi Sambhota to Kashmir to
learn more about the subject
there. This is how the Tibetan
script was evolved.
The story tells us something
about the closeness of relations
and the awareness of each other's
capabilities that must have existed between Tibet and the
people living across the
Himalayas.
That relationship was,
however, interrupted when the
Chinese stepped in to take charge
of Tibet in the second half of the
twentieth century. As a result, the
traditional contacts between
Tibet and the people living on the
other side of the Himalayan
ranges were disrupted. With such
changes, the knowledge about
these historical exchanges has
been in danger of passing into
oblivion.
It was the seventh
century ruler of Tibet
who, sensing the need
for an alphabet for the
Tibetan language, sent
scholar-monk Thonmi
Sambhota to Kashmir to
learn more about the
subject there. This is
how the Tibetan script
was evolved.
Siddiq Wahid
These days, unfortunately, the trans-Himalayan relationship has
often been in the news for the
wrong reasons—such as the
recent face-off over Doklam, or
halting the passage of pilgrims to
Mount Kailash.
It is in this context that the
recent publication of Tibet's
Relations with the Himalaya by
the Foundation of Non-Violent
Alternatives is to be seen. The
book is the outcome of a series of
three seminars held over two
years. These cover a wide
spectrum of subjects ranging
from the historical relations
between Tibet and Ladakh to the
distribution of Tibetan refugees
across the Himalayan States and
the current state of border trade
across Nathu-La.
In another chapter, Claude
Arpi, who has devoted a lifetime
to studying Tibet, has drawn
attention to a little known episode
of the border dispute as it had
surfaced between the erstwhile
rulers of Lhasa and the tiny
central Himalayan state of Tehri
in the early decades of the
twentieth century.
A common issue with most
books based on seminar
proceedings is the unevenness of
the levels of scholarship. Editor
Siddiq Wahid has tackled this
admirably well by getting the
authors revise their texts in the
light of discussions held at the
seminar. However, considering
the diversity that the Himalayas
represent and their multiple
manifestations, this reviewer
would have preferred to see
'Himalaya' in the plural in the title
of this book.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
often refers to India as the guru
and Tibet as the chela. That
obviously alludes to the fact that
Buddhist thought and philosophy
were taken to Tibet from India by
great savants and spiritual
A large body of Sanskrit
manuscripts that had
been taken from India to
Tibet were later translated
into Tibetan. But
subsequently, the original
Sanskrit manuscripts in
India were lost or
destroyed during foreign
invasions or such other
calamities. But the Tibetan
translations had remained
secure in Tibet. Now,the
only way to access this
large body of ancient
knowledge would be by
re-translating the texts
back from Tibetan into
Sanskrit.
masters such as Guru Padma
Sambhava and Kumarajiva. But
there have been instances when
the chela appeared to have
surpassed the guru.
In this context, I am reminded
of an interview I had done with
His Holiness in Dharamshala way
back in the early seventies. During
the interview, His Holinesshad
underlined the fact that a large
body of Sanskrit manuscripts that
had been taken from India to
Tibet were later translated into
Tibetan. But subsequently, the
original Sanskrit manuscripts in
India were lost or destroyed
during foreign invasions or such
other calamities. But the Tibetan
translations had remained secure
in Tibet. Now,the only way to
access this large body of ancient
knowledge would be by retranslating
the texts back from
Tibetan into Sanskrit.
Tibet had
thus acted as a safe house for a large body of ancient knowledge.
In recent centuries, scholars
such as George Buhler(nineteenth
century) and Rahul Sankrityayan
(twentieth century) had turned to
Tibet in search of ancient
manuscripts both in Sanskrit and
Tibetan. The mining of this vast
fund of knowledge was later
interrupted following the Chinese
occupation of Tibet.
Since Chairman Mao's cadres
were not known to be too fond of
preserving old manuscripts, it was
obvious that many of these
manuscripts may have been lost.
But many Tibetan refugees
escaping Chinese rule did bring
some of the manuscripts with
them to India. A good lot of them
are now safe in Dharamsala.
The whole point of citing these
instances is to underline the fact
that there is a vast body of
knowledge that is waiting for
scholarly engagement. One
would, therefore, like to hope that
this book is not a one-off thing. It
could be the beginning of a
journey of scholarly exploration
that would put together the
enriching story of exchanges
across the Himalayas through the
centuries.Some of it may even
have to be captured through an
oral history project.
The subject is so important that
it deserves to be studied in
greater depth and detail so that
this half-forgotten discourse is
brought to life and preserved as
part of the historical memories of
the Himalayan people.
The Foundation for Non-Violent
Alternatives has rendered a signal
service in attempting to revive
this discourse. As there still is a
good deal of unrepresented
knowledge waiting for scholarly
attention, this book may be seen
as a small beginning in that
direction. A baby step, perhaps.
But, a step in the right direction!