“Free Tibet” was something that hippies would say.

That is my first recollection of that slogan and of that part of our world. Tibet was something that was not free, for some reason, and for some other mysterious reason the people with the wild hair and tie dye shirts really, really cared about it. I was a kid, OK? I didn’t know much about the world. When you were flaky and couldn’t hold a job you would take drugs, have a lot of sex, and scream about wars and about Tibet. This is how my passing knowledge came to paint the issue in my small, formative years.

Later, as I came to know more, I began to understand what all the fuss was about, and I began to get angry. I understood why all those hippies had been yelling and stitching “Free Tibet” patches on their bags. It was an outrage, a global atrocity.

In 1950, the People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet, which by all accounts was an independent nation. China had seen itself as the rightful sovereign over Tibet since the 7th century, despite the fact that Tibet had international relations, and its own army, language, government, and culture. Instead of seeing itself as an invasion force, the Peoples Liberation army was “freeing” the Tibetans from Western imperialism. When no one was buying that story, and when they realized that the monks of Tibet were the land owners and aristocracy, they changed their tune and claimed that they were “modernizing” Tibet, that they were taking the power away from the Buddhist monks and giving it instead to the people, to the serfs.

Now, understand that Tibet is a very unique place. It is traditionally ruled by the Dalai Lama, a reincarnated being of pure compassion, and the ruling body is made up of what are essentially Buddhist monks. The monasteries received the large majority of the nations income. But they are not just centers of religion, they are also the centers of education, government, and culture. Imagine a nation governed by people who spent their whole lives studying about Buddhism, about compassion, suffering, philosophy, governance, and kindness. That is Tibet, a country centered around its religion and its monks.

That said, things were not perfect in Tibet before the Chinese “liberation”. They had poor people, and there was some systems of serfdom to be found. Those not in a position to be monks would mostly toil the land, and the country was not as technologically developed as most Western countries at the time. And so the Chinese came to help the poor Tibetans by taking away power from what they valued most- their religion.

This kind of attitude resulted in the deaths of countless monks and nuns, the destruction of thousands of monasteries and religious relics, the kidnapping of the Panchen Lama, and eventually the fleeing of the Dalai Lama in 1959 to India, where he established the Tibetan Government in Exile. Many Tibetans make this same trek into India, escaping China’s oppressive hold on Tibet by walking through the Himalayan mountains. Most of them are children, sent out so that they can be taught about their culture and about Buddhism, about where they really came from. The only religious practices allowed in Tibet are the ones sanctioned by the Chinese government. The Tibetans have to pay admission to get into their own temples, just like the tourists.

Around 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a result of China’s actions since 1950. Most of those died during the Great Leap Forward, when the farmers were forced to grow wheat instead of their usual staple- barley. The crops failed, so thousands died from starvation. Monks and nuns are imprisoned for decades for resisting or demonstrating against Chinese rule. Many do not survive their imprisonment, nor the exotic torture methods that are used.

I find it hard to stomach the argument that conditions were intolerable in Tibet before the Chinese invasion, especially in a religion that has difficulty harming something so small as a worm. But even if it is true, we would be switching one evil for another that is far worse. Tibetan culture is dieing. Last year construction was completed on a railway from China into the heart of Tibet, encouraging the already massive influx of Chinese immigrants. Recently a tenth of the population of Tibetans were forced to move out of their homes and into special villages set up by the Chinese government. They are being forced to move out at their own expense, and take out an exorbitant loan in order to cover the cost of the home. While some seem to welcome the change, the intent of the Chinese government seems clear- relocation and redistribution of the Tibetan people in order to phase out their culture and influence in the region.

I realize this is a bit of a rant, but after experiencing a religion full of common sense and wisdom, I feel that I am entitled to it. Buddhism is extraordinarily practical. It links that which we know to be right with our actions in the world. Buddhists have spent over a thousands of years studying the inner self- consciousness, psychology, and philosophy. Their texts and scriptures detail how we perceive the world and how we can get around the problems we face, how to be virtuous, how to practice what we all preach.

Buddhism, I would argue, solves that ailment which we all have. That inability to do which we know is right, the gap between our wisdom and our actions. Concentration is at the heart of Buddhist teachings, and the most important aspect of the eightfold path. Learn to be in the moment, to really see and experience what is all around you, what you pass by, what you would normally miss. See the world for what it is and you will see the problems in it and how you can respond. Be empathic, know that all creatures avoid pain and fear suffering and you will never let any being go through that which you yourself would find displeasing or horrible. That is Buddhism, and that is why it will be important to remember the nation that had those tenants as their constitution, that had those ideas embodied in their leader, the Dalai Lama.

We are so close to losing the rooftop of the world. The Dalai Lama doubts that he will be reincarnated again, that his role in this world is coming to an end. It must be so frustrating, to have the world sit by as your culture and religion die. When the embodiment of your spirituality is throwing in the towel. The true Panchen Lama has been hidden away, the Dalai Lama may not return, the Tibetan people are suffering, and no other country will recognize the crime that China has committed, nor the Tibetan Government in Exile as the rightful rulers of Tibet.

And “Free Tibet” is still something that you only hear from the disenfranchised youth in this country.