Folk customs and freedom of religion
( 2005-10-26 )

The state respects and safeguards the rights of the Tibetans and other ethnic groups in Tibet to live their lives and conduct social activities in accordance with their traditional customs, and their freedom to engage in normal religious activities and major religious and folk festival celebrations.

As society progresses, some decayed, backward old customs despising laboring people that bear a strong tinge of the feudal serf system have been abandoned, which reflects the Tibetans' pursuit of modern civilization and a healthy life as well as the continuous development of Tibetan culture in the new era. The Tibetan people, while maintaining their traditions, have greatly enriched their lives by absorbing many new cultural customs, as displayed in dress and adornments, diet, residence, weddings and funerals.

There are many traditional festivals and fairs in Tibet, including the Tibetan New Year, Sakadawa Festival, Ongkor (Bumper Harvest) Festival, Shoton (Yogurt) Festival, Bathing Festival, Butter Lamp Festival, Dharma Festival, Burning Offerings Festival, Garchachen Festival, and Horse Race Fair ofLhasaand the many festivals of other places. Religious festivals celebrated by monasteries include the Shimo Chento Festival ofTashilhunpo Monastery, Nganjo Festival ofGanden Monastery, Collecting Sutras and Religious Dance festivals of Samye Monastery, July Vajra Festival ofSakya Monastery, Erecting the Prayer Banner Pole Festival of Tsurpu Monastery, and Paltung Tanbo Festival of Radreng Monastery. In addition, the Tibetans also celebrate some national and international festivals such as International Working Women's Day (March 8), International Labor Day (May 1), Chinese Youth Festival (May 4), International Children's Day (June 1) andNational Day(October 1).

Combining new concepts and the new culture of modern civilization with the fine aspects of traditional Tibetan culture, Tibet has formed new customs and habits with the characteristics of both the ethnic group and the times.

The Central People's Government and the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region have paid special attention to respect for and protection of the freedom of religioun and normal religious activities of the Tibetan people. Since the Democratic Reform, religion-related cultural relics and historical sites, monasteries andtempleshave been well preserved at the behest of both clerics and secular masses. ThePotala Palace, the Three Grand Monasteries in Lhasa, Jokhang Temple and Tashilhunpo Monastery in Xigaze have been listed as important cultural relic sites under state-level protection by the Central Government. Murals, sculptures, statues,Thangkas (scroll paintings), artistic decorations, scriptures, offerings, ritualmusical instrumentsand shrines of Buddha of those monasteries, as well as the scripture halls, worship halls, monasteries, temples and pagodas, the carriers of religious culture, have been preserved as far as possible or have been repaired or restored to their original conditions.

Beginning in the 1980s, the state allocated large amounts of money for the reconstruction of some famous monasteries, including the Ganden, Yumbulagang and Sanggagorto monasteries, and the repairing of well-known but dilapidated monasteries, such as the Samye, Shalu, Sakya, Changzhug, Qamba Ling and Toling monasteries. The scriptures and classics of the Potala Palace, the Norbulingka and Sakya Monastery have been well preserved, with some edited and published as the Catalogue of the Classics of the Potala Palace, Ancient Books of the Snowland, and Origin of Religions by Deu. Now, Tibet is home to more than 1,700 monasteries, temples and other sites of religious activity, with more than 46,000 Buddhist monks and nuns. Each year, religious activities are held and important religious festivals are celebrated on schedule in the Autonomous Region. The Tibet Branch of the Buddhist Association of China, anumbrellaorganization of the various sects of TibetanBuddhism, now has seven prefecture (city)-level sub-branches, the journal Buddhism in Tibet in the Tibetan language, an institute of Buddhist theology and a Tibetan scripture-printinghouse.

Editor: Salina