Tracing the missing link of Tibetan civilisation

by Prof. A.D.T.E. Perera

Tibet locked within the mountains of the Himalayan range, and the Tibetan people, are a fascinating topic for the historian and the antiquary.

Nobody seems to have definitely expressed how the Tibetan people and their kingdom, ruled by the Dalai Lama had originated.

A few decades ago, the Communist Chinese regime had conquered Tibet and annexed it, the Tibetan Kingdom, to mainland China. Ethnically or linguistically or even culturally, the Tibetans or their country, have nothing to do with China. Even the northern neighbour of China namely, Mongolia, is a separate kingdom from China, from time immemorial and never wished to be part of China.

Military strength

In fact, the Mongals and the Tibetans were superior to the Chinese with regard to military strength, during the past. The Chinese have built the Great Wall, at their northern frontier due to fear and protect themselves from the mighty Mongolian armies, led by heroic military lords such as Kublai Khan and Jengish Mhan, and through fear of the Imperial Mongals.

Tibetan warriors

During the Middle Ages, the most powerful Tibetan Emperor, Tsrong-Tsen-Gam-Po, took his formidable army and the gallant Tibetan warriors and ransacked the Chinese capital city Canton. The Ming emperor of China was terror-stricken and surrendered to the Tibetan monarch Tsrong-Tsen-Gam-Po and offered his entire Kingdom to the Tibetan Monarch as a gesture of peace. The Tibetan monarch was such a good-hearted person that he gladly returned to the Chinese emperor his kingdom and throne. As a mark of subservience and gratitude, the Chinese emperor gave his only beautiful daughter in marriage to the Tibetan monarch Tsrong-Tsen-Gam-Po, who obliged to accept her as one of his harem queens

Along with his beautiful darling daughter, the Chinese emperor had gifted many other precious things to the Tibetan monarch, Tsrong-Tsen-Gam-Po. Among the gifts were Buddha statues, sacred relics of the Buddha and many other valuables.

The noble Tibetan monarch had pardoned the proud Emperor of China and gave back the Chinese emperor his kingdom as a deed of gift while the Chinese Emperor was humbly kneeling before the Tibetan King Trsong-Tsen-Gam-Po, as a mark of gratitude and subjugation to the Tibetan Monarch. The noble Tibetan king Trsong-Tsen-Gam-Po returned to Lhasa with his mighty army and the Chinese-booty.

This was the relationship between Tibet and China during the mediaeval centuries up to recent times. Since then, no one in the Asian theatre, dared to wage war with the Tibetans and they were invincible and unique. The Tibetans built their kingdom and the nation, according to their own rules, regulations and ancient Lamaic Buddhist teachings and customs.

Capture

However, recently, the Chinese Communist Army, made a sudden raid on Tibet and captured the Tibetan kingdom and annexed the Tibetan territory to China. The Tibetans who did not possess or did not went to possess modern lethal weapons were forced to surrender, before the unexpected appearance of the Chinese Red Army that had almost all the modern war machinery.

The Chinese tried to capture in vain the Tibetan leader and their de-facto spiritual monarch - the Dalai Lama. Fortunately, the Dalai Lama retreated to the Southern Himalayan range, with a large number of his followers while the Chinese grand army pursued him from behind.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his retinue had fled from their country and entered the Indian mainland, while being pursued by the Chinese Army. The Chinese Army came up to the Southern foot-hills of the Himalayas and did not pursue beyond, through fear of combined Indian and Tibetan militia.

The grateful Indian Government, having considered the plight of one of its former allies, gave political asylum to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and His Tibetan Buddhist retinue and carved out for them especially, a territory called "Dharamsala".

Thereafter, a large number of Tibetans and their Holy Monarch, the Dalai Lama, practised their age-old Tibetan Buddhist customs, traditions and values while being at "Dharamsala".

Chinese

As a matter-of-fact, the Tibetan scholars believe that the Chinese conquest of the Buddhist Kingdom of Tibet was a blessing in disguise", for Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhism. In fact, the Tibetan Buddhism had spread like wildfire, in the USA, and in Europe, including Britain. This in short is the 'prolegomenon', to the Great Tibetan Buddhist nation, and its age-old Buddhist traditions.

No one, either the scholar or the historian, knows, how 'Tibet' and her noble culture, and Tibetan Buddhism, namely-Lamaism originated.

Many scholars from the West, tried to solve this mystery, but in vain. There was only one scholar who was a Sri Lankan, who attempted this. But he too could not complete it.

He is Prof. Tissa Rajapatirana, who is now retired and living in Australia. I believe, I have found a plausible solution to this, and this brief essay is to place my thesis before the scholarly world at large. Modern historians and scholars, divide the ancient and the mediaeval civilised world into the following ethnic or linguistic families, namely the Aryan, African, Semetic and Mongolian.

This division is mostly or primarily based on language.

Aryan language

The Aryan language has seemingly, according to scholars, began from the European theatre and spread beyond the Middle-East, through Turkey, Persia and South Russian Steppes and then to the Indian Sub-continent and finally to Sri Lanka at the Southern most tip.

The Semetic language, spoken by the Jews Arabs and Tamils (also known as Damilas or Dravidas) also spread from the Meditteranean regions such as Egypt, Israel (Hebrew) and Arabia (Arabic) and the Dravida (or Tamil) group who settled for a short period in the Indis-Valley region (at Harappa and Mohenjodaro) until they were driven further to the South (in mainland India), by the invading Vedic Aryans (who were the first to possess iron weapons in the world) and came from Nordic Europe and South Russian steppes.

Origin

From where did the Tibetan people originate? They do not belong to any of those prominent ethnic or linguistic groups, namely Aryan or Semitic groups.

I believe I can offer a plausible answer to this problem, which may be accepted or rejected by the scholars.

With the help of the pre-historic legends and tales, among the Sinhalese (of Sri Lanka), that are sporadically found in the two great Sanskrit epics of India, namely the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, I shall try to connect the missing link of the age-old Tibetan civilisation.

In the Ramayana epic poem, it is said that the mighty king of Lanka (present day Sri Lanka) named Ravana who held sway in the entire region of South and South-East Asia (proved to some extant by archaeological and literary evidence, in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam), had quarrelled with his steo-brother who was the then Lord of Lanka", namely, Kuvera or Kupira, the Lord of the yaksha/Yakkha community, of pre-Vijayan Sri Lanka. His figure sculpture is found in several early Buddhist Stupa railings in India, for example, Mathura, Sanchi, Bharhut, and referred to as - Kupiro Yako.

King Ravana had defeated him in battle and chased Kuvera away from his formidable city in Sri Lanka. I was the first to identity his (Kuvera's) palace in pre-historic Sri Lanka, with the formidable rock-fortress Sigiriya in central Sri Lanka, a few decades ago.

Having read my thesis that was published in several Sri Lankan journals, the scholar Buddhist prelate, the late Ven. Pandit Baddegama Wimalavansa Anunayaka Maha Thera of the Ramanna Mahanikaya, said that the remnant of the Yakkha city is still found close to Sigiriya and it is now known as "Yakkure" which is nothing but a derivative from yakpure, the city of Yakkas (see, A.D.T.E. Perera, Sigiriya, was it the Mohenjodaro of Sri Lanka? The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Sri Lanka branch, New Series, Vol.17, for 1973, pp.xxviii,f.f.)

King Kuvera

According to the Epic Ramayana, King Kuvera (or Kupiro Yako) through fear of his step brother, Ravana the Lord of Lanka, retreated to India and fled to the Himalayan terrain with his Yakkha legions and founded for himself a kingdom in the Himalayan terrain at the Kailasa Peak and founded a city by the name of Alaka Manda.

No one has so far discovered or bothered to discover such a prosperous and beautiful city called Alaka (pura) in the Himalayan terrain, known as Kailasa.

Unfortunately, this city and the kingdom of Kuvera, were confined to poetic imagery of poet laureates such as Bana harsha, and Kalidasa of India and mediaeval Sri Lankan poets such as Rahula, Gurulugomi, Kumaradasa and Vidyacakkravarti and were never taken up for investigation by the historian or literary genii.

Many scholars thought that these references to a mighty land-locked Himalayan kingdom the Alaka Manda have come from poetic imagery and they have pronounced that these references were nothing but fanciful fairy tales.

However, with my academic research, I would like to identify the imaginary city "Kailasa" (of mediaeval poets) in the Himalayan terrain, was nothing but the present city of Lhasa (sans, "Kai"), of the Tibetans, which has a hoary antiquity.

Tibetan language

The Tibetan language has nothing to do with the existing linguistic families, I have referred to above. The Tibetan script too is of unknown origin, that has battled internationally famous scholars and linguistic.

Taking into consideration all the above facts I would like to suggest that the Tibetan people, their language, culture and the most precious treasure the Buddha's doctrine should not be merely thrown aside as a fanciful and whimsical imagination of a group of wandering hill-tribes, locked within a mountainous Himalayan terrain for a long period of time in the history of mankind.

The noble Tibetan nation is a survival of the exodus from Sri Lanka during the time of king Ravana's rule. They are the kinsmen of Kuvera, who fled from Sri Lanka, through fear of his step-brother, the mighty king Ravana.

It is mentioned in ancient Sinhala books, and in Indian Sanskrit literary works, that the famous king Kuvera, the Lord of Treasures, established his kingdom in the Himalayan terrain at Kailasa and his grand palance was known as Alakamanda.

Kuvera and his Yakkhas community were so rich and civilised that they did not bother to depend on outside states or kingdoms.

Spiritual head

Tibet was quite rich in resources and was not dependent on countries outside Tibet. Their king was both the temporal and spiritual head, the Dalai Lama.

Tibet and Tibetans are a unique state and a unique nation.

Tibet is the lost Alaka Manda kingdom of Kuvera, the brother of the mighty king Ravana of pre-historic Sri Lanka.

The Tibetan race has no comparison or similarity with any other race in the Asian theatre. Their language and the script too are also likewise - no comparison with any other language or script.

Their origin is hidden in hoary antiquity. But they were brave enough to survive like a civilised nation, more civilised and cultured than most of the nations around their vicinity.

Their roots could be found within the longest serving nation in the Asian theatre - namely the Sinhalayo of Sri Lanka.

Tibet is one of the wonders of the human civilisation and the entire human society is beholden to Tibetans and their temporal and spiritual ruler, the brave and dignified Dalai Lama, whose demeanour is worthy of emulation.

Tibetan kingdom

Let as all get together and present this case of injustice done to a primordial Buddhist community and a nation existing from time immemorial from the times of the pre-historic Sri Lankan emperor Ravana of epic fame, before an international court of justice, and more appropriately before the UNO.

The Sinhala Buddhists of Sri Lanka have a moral right to promote the Tibetan cause especially their plight, caused by the unexpected amalgamation of the Tibetan kingdom to the mainland China and the self-imposed exile of the Tibetan spiritual and temporal monarch, the most Ven. and dignified His majesty Dalai Lama.

The Sinhala Buddhists of Sri Lanka have a moral obligation to support whole-heartedly, the "cause of Tibet and her progeny the noble Tibetans".

Not only the Sinhala Buddhists of Sri Lanka but also the Buddhist nations all over the world should take up the case of "the plight of Tibetan Buddhists" and make a formidable struggle until fair play and justice will be offered to our erstwhile kinsman-Buddhist brethren - the Tibetan Buddhists and their de facto monarch, His temporal and spiritual majesty, the Dalai Lama.

The writer is a former Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of New Mexico, the United States.