Serenity

by Songül Arslan

When I think of serenity, I think of Buddhism. After all, meditation is a Buddhist practise and I can't think of a more serene activity on earth than peaceful meditation. In general Buddhism is not regarded as a formal religion but as a way of life. This does not mean you can't believe in Buddha in a religious way or organize your spiritual life around the concepts of Buddhism.

What I find more important is that this way of life does not exclude other religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism or any other big or lesser known religion. Buddhism goes beyond known boundaries and is open to everybody, no matter what your race or gender is. This is something that struck me from the first moment I studied some articles on Buddhism. It's this essence that makes it a very peaceful way of life in my eyes since it doesn't matter who or what you are or what ideas you already have. Most of the time it seems the the integration of other thoughts and ideas into an existing framework like a formal religion leads to bloody battle. Not so with Buddhism.

You would expect countries where Buddhism is practised to be some of the most peaceful ever. If you look at the geography of certain countries where Buddhism is practised, like Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal (though it is not as popular there), you will see that nature is helping to promote this expectation. Breathtaking mountain summits and mountain chains topped with powdery snow, crystal sparkling rivers like liquid diamonds that cross the country and vast lands where a Hobbit would feel at home provide a stunningly peaceful backdrop to these Buddhist nations.

Of all the Buddhist countries, Nepal and Tibet have an image of being the most spiritual. I can easily imagine this simply because Tibet is the world's highest plateau. Mountains are regarded as closer to heaven literally, and are therefore revered with colourful festivities. Tibetan culture is exceptional and had preserved its ancient culture from hundreds of centuries until 1950. The roots of the famous Dalai Lama who spreads a message of peace and understanding lie in Tibet.

Yet while all the conditions and criteria are being met for a spiritually refined situation, the political climate is far from ideal and serene. Tibetans are controlled by another country, the mighty China, which oppresses the Tibetans together with their culture that propagates serenity. Over the years of the Chinese occupation, monasteries have been destroyed and many Tibetans were forced to leave their country. Even the revered Dalai Lama fled Tibet. Some who stayed were imprisoned and some were tortured. Freedom of speech and expression is artificially confined by the oppressors and Tibet is not permitted to have news media. Some international organizations that monitor rights like the human right to expression have been refused entry to Tibet.

I have looked upon this situation as a paradox. The country that should be the most serene, is experiencing the opposite. Despite the beauty of its nature and the beauty of the way of life Buddhism exhumes, peace and peace of mind is hard to find.

The main reason China controls Tibet as a satellite state is--whatever else could it be?--money. Valuable resources like minerals can be easily translated into money. It has nothing to do with religion or a way of life--China is a Buddhist country itself--but everything to do with politics and money.

Yes, even in the most remote part of the world, the far end of the world where amazing beings such as the Yeti have become a part of legends, things are all about politics. As long as humans are involved I know what the outcome of the battle between peace and politics will be. You just have to look around you. I hope that serenity can be reached on a political level and not only in a meditative state of mind.