The Role of Faith and the Nechung Oracle in Tibetan Culture :: Religion

The Role of Faith and the Nechung Oracle in Tibetan Culture In the United States, we pride ourselves on our objectiveness, our ability not to get caught up in religious fervor. We often think that people who believe deeply in their religion and involve it in all aspects of their lives are "fanatics"—that they are somehow beneath us, less deserving of our respect. We are taught almost from birth that the scientific method is the only way to look at the world. We learn the steps of the scientific method (observation, hypothesis, test, and theory) in elementary school. This philosophy then colors how we think of everything after that. Faith is seen as an undesirable quality and has no place in our culture. Nothing is real unless it can be proven. In Tibet, on the other hand, the Tibetan people have a profound respect for their religion. Buddhism permeates every aspect of their lives. As Harrer says in Seven Years in Tibet, The daily life of Tibetans is ordered by religious belief. Pious texts are constantly on their lips; prayer wheels turn without ceasing; prayer flags wave on the roofs of houses and the summits of mountain passes; the rain, the win, all the phenomena of nature, the lonely peaks of the snow-clad mountains bear witness to the universal presence of the gods whose anger is manifested by the hailstorm, and whose benevolence is displayed by the fruitfulness and fertility of the land. (Harrer, 1953 p 187) Religion had a part in everything from politics to when they were allowed to change clothing for the season. One day the summer season was officially declared to have begun, and summer clothes might be worn. One had no right to leave off one’s furs when one wanted to. Every year, after considerations of the omens, a day was fixed on which the nobles and monks put on summer dress†¦Summer dress must be worn from that date only. (Harrer, 1953 p182) Because religion is such an integral part of their lives, Buddhism unites the Tibetan people. I propose that the State