This is my response to the video, Tibet: The End of Time, that I viewed as part of my art history class.

Tibet: The End of Time

        The video I watched last week was a video from Time Life that discussed the culture and history of Tibet, a vast yet remote land surrounded on all sides by the 5-mile high Himalayan Mountains. The video covered the overall religious beliefs of Tibet, as well as the rise and fall of the civilization over the years.

        The religion celebrated by Tibetans is Buddhism, a religion founded upon the teachings of Buddha Sakayamuni (ca. 560-480 BCE), which aimed to reduce suffering, and to ultimately escape the bondage of rebirth. The Tibetans believe that the cycle of life follows three distinct phases: birth, death, and rebirth - the soul follows this cycle, each time entering a new body to live the next chapter of the soul's life. They also believe that the behavior of the soul in one life determines the body it will inhabit in the next life - if one leads an ill life, the soul may return in the body of some lowly animal, whereas if the life is favorably lived, the soul may return as royalty.

        In their religion, the Tibetan Buddhists believe that over the past 600 years, their leader has died 13 times, each time returning in a new body. They call their leader the Dalai Lama, which means "ocean of wisdom." As the god-king of Tibet, the Dalai Lama instructs his people on how to live their lives through the Buddhist religion.

        The current Dalai Lama, or Tenzin Gyatso, was born on July 6, 1935, recognized as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama two years later, and was enthroned on February 22, 1940 at the young age of 4. In order to prepare to lead the people of Tibetan Buddhism properly, the Dalai Lama endured extensive education not...