This dissertation is mainly focused on schism in the Karma-kagjü school. The death of the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje († 1981), the head of Kagjüpa plunged Karma-kagjü school to inner struggle for power and prestige. Enmity was making progress slowly and hiddenly. Situation graded in clandestine fashion and culminated in 1992 when Ogyen Trinley Dorje was enthroned in Tibet as 17th Karmapa. Some of the regents had doubt about him being the Karmapa and consequently enthroned their own candidate for 17th Karmapa. This act entirely divided the Karma-kagjü school. The primary motive and goal of my dissertation is to find presence of materialistic or postmaterialistic values defined by Ronald Inglehart (Inglehart 1997) in interviews given by 17th Karmapas. I'm looking for difference in values and my methodical instrument is critical discourse analysis. After comparison of interviews of both 17th Karmapas I find the difference in their values. My conclusion is that when Ogyen Trinley Dorje has more materialistic values than Trinley Thaye Dorje. This dissertation contains history of Tibet, history of Buddhism in Tibet and foreign relation interference in practice of Buddhism in Tibet (China and Mongolia). In addition I describe political situation of Tibet and Tibetan exile government which interfere in...

This study illustrates the link between foreign policy, public diplomacy and the media, with reference to the South African Government’s refusal in 2009 and 2011 to issue visas to the Dalai Lama. The research question is: How do the South African media frame foreign policy and how do administrators react to this actuality? As there seems to be a void in South African international political communications, this is where this study purports to contribute. The aim is to investigate how the media frames foreign policy, specifically regarding the case study. Therefore, the media, human rights and foreign policies, and the diplomatic practices of the South African government are studied. The objective is not necessarily to prove or disprove the causal effect of media and public opinion on foreign policy but rather to illustrate the interaction between these elements in the case of the South African government’s denial of visas to the Dalai Lama. / Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

Cette thèse est consacrée à l’étude de la question tibétaine et des différents aspects sous lesquels elle est traitée : géographique, économiques, stratégiques et politiques. Nous étudions l’évolution des attitudes et les divergences d’opinion selon une polarisation allant du conservatisme au progressisme. Nous en mesurons les influences dans l’histoire récente et nous projetons les développements probables à court et moyen termes.- Cette thèse s’attache à démontrer que le Tibet reste un enjeu important pour la Chine et qu’à ce titre, la ligne de chemin de fer reliant le Qinghai au Tibet symbolise la politique et la solution chinoise vis-à-vis du Tibet. - Cette thèse s’attache à démontrer que le dalaï-lama est toujours considéré par les tibétains comme la seule instance à même de pouvoir résoudre les problèmes tibétains, et ceci en dépit des nombreuses crises auxquelles le chef spirituel a pu être confronté.- Enfin, cette thèse s’attache à démontrer que la société chinoise est en train d’évoluer vers une attitude plus progressiste. Sur cette question notamment, les intellectuels chinois ont acquis davantage d’influence que par le passé, influence qui pourrait, à l’avenir, se développer davantage. Ce travail, relevant d’un champ d’analyse pluridisciplinaire, couvre l’essentiel du XXème siècle et de l’époque actuelle. Il se focalise particulièrement sur la période postérieure aux années 1980, qui a été le témoin d’une internalisation plus poussée de la question tibétaine. / This thesis focuses on the Tibetan issue in its various aspects: geographic, economic, strategic and political. We examine the evolution of attitudes and differences of opinion according to their polarization ranging from conservatism to progressivism. We assess their influences in recent history and we project the likely developments in the near future.- This thesis aims at showing that Tibet remains an important matter at stake for China. Hence the Qinghai-Tibet rail link embodies the Chinese national policy as well as the Chinese solution vis-à-vis Tibet.- This thesis aims at demonstrating that the Dalai Lama is still regarded by Tibetans as the key to the resolution of Tibetan problems despite the many crises the spiritual leader has had to face.- Finally this thesis aims at pointing out that the Chinese society is evolving towards a more progressive attitude. On this issue Chinese intellectuals have acquired more influence than before and this influence could develop even further in the future. This work belongs to an inter-disciplinary field of study and covers most of the 20th century and present times. It focuses especially on the post 1980’s period when the Tibetan issue became more international.

The 14th Dalai Lama-Tenzin Gyatso (DL) has expressed strong support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). While this may seem to be consistent with his outspoken promotion of basic "human values" and "universal responsibility" (Piburn, 2002), there is an unresolved metaphysical conflict between his endorsement of the UDHR and concomitant ideas like "inherent dignity" and "inalienable rights," on the one hand, and, on the other, his espousal of the Buddhist "Middle Way" or "Centrist" (Madhyamaka) thesis that all phenomena (i.e., persons, things, and ideas like "human rights") lack "intrinsic existence" (svabhāva). In this dissertation I argue that an "unforced consensus" (Taylor 2011) on rights can be achieved through an application of the Madhyamaka interpretation of the "two truths" (dvasatya; bden pa gnyis). Metaphysics, however, is only one dimension of the Madhyamaka account of reality. There is an equally (if not more) important "cognitive dimension" that pertains to how one sees and interacts with the world (Westerhoff, 2009). I believe this can be effectively applied to an analysis of the psychology of human rights foundationalism (i.e., the mindset that reifies rights). The DL believes that ultimately the safeguarding of human rights culture depends on a cognitive shift at the individual level. I explore the philosophical implications of this belief, and I contend that it is consistent with the concept of human development and education in the UDHR. I conclude that Tibetan Buddhist ideas and practices can potentially help bridge the divide between human rights foundationalism and anti-foundationalism in a manner that reinvigorates the utility of the UDHR, and yet does not philosophically yield to an essentialist world-view.

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This study illustrates the link between foreign policy, public diplomacy and the media, with reference to the South African Government’s refusal in 2009 and 2011 to issue visas to the Dalai Lama. The research question is: How do the South African media frame foreign policy and how do administrators react to this actuality? As there seems to be a void in South African international political communications, this is where this study purports to contribute. The aim is to investigate how the media frames foreign policy, specifically regarding the case study. Therefore, the media, human rights and foreign policies, and the diplomatic practices of the South African government are studied. The objective is not necessarily to prove or disprove the causal effect of media and public opinion on foreign policy but rather to illustrate the interaction between these elements in the case of the South African government’s denial of visas to the Dalai Lama. / Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

In this research, Lua Nazerian examines the conceptualization of three different statements given by leaders of the Bahá'í, Catholic, and Tibetan Buddhist faiths on the topic of world peace. Moreover, through a comparative analysis, each conceptualization was examined in light of the different degrees they agree or contradict each other and whether a coherent contribution could be made to a common concept of world peace. The research was conducted in two stages, first, through the thematic analysis method some major principles and overarching themes specific to each statement and relevant to the concept of world peace were identified, followed by a comparative analysis with the support of two operative questions. Furthermore, as there are multiple challenges with studying the abstract and complex concepts of peace and religious voices, the study was conducted through the lens of the statements rather than through religions to avoid this pitfall. It was found that while determining the overall coherence of each perspective, some common philosophical premises and core understandings of human nature and interconnectedness appeared to cohere. Meanwhile, some fundamental differences arose on the level of theological starting points that affected the overarching approach to world peace as such. However, these differences did not contradict a coherent contribution of a common conceptualization of world peace. Although the findings of this research are in the emerging stages of the evolution of further research, the contribution of its undertaking is of value to the field of religion in peace and conflict studies.

For many decades, Buddhism in the West has been conceived as an ‘other-worldly’ religion with very little or –at least—limited authority in the public arena. This partial view of the Buddhist path overlooks the potential of Buddhism to interpret reality and help establish new causes and conditions to improve it. This thesis is rooted in Buddhism and seeks to develop a Buddhist theology in order to understand how international relations, as part of the contingent reality, are subject to change. Thus there is the possibility of reconstructing reality through the sum of individual will expressed in social groups, institutions and states. This Theology of International Relations follows a methodology of causality rooted in the dependent origination found in Buddhist theology. Thus, relative reality is conceived as the result of the interaction of different causes and conditions; individuals, through their thoughts and actions, provide new conditions which will be crystallized in particular social arrangements through an inter-subjective consensus. This arrangement is highly influenced by the individual’s allegiance with the sacred, however this is conceived, and thus establishes an ethical guideline in the individual’s relationship with other sentient beings and the ultimate level of existence. This dependent construction of reality goes from the individual level of analysis to the social, state, interstate and global levels in a chain of contingent reality. Therefore I suggest that states, institutions and society are the reflection of shared ideas, beliefs, goals and perceptions of reality between individuals. The human capacity to shape reality is rooted in the premise that they face a relative reality, one that is contingent on several causes and conditions. In Buddhism, all sentient beings play a key role in shaping reality but human beings play a unique role because they can overcome suffering when they recognize the interdependent relation of causes and conditions in a relative reality. If this is achieved, then absolute reality can be experienced, wherein the individual goes beyond all conceptions and senses in a state of emptiness of the self. These core ideas of a contingent reality, its construction through an inter-subjective consensus and the need to experience an absolute reality are premises which Buddhist theology developed and which this thesis explores. In chapter one this thesis considers the basis of Buddhist theology and how it explains the experience of the sacred, the role of religion and the potential for the construction of a relative reality. This thesis argues that religion is at the core of human existence as a vessel of faith which follows a particular theological path toward a communion with the divine. The Buddhist path, aware of the interaction of different levels of reality—relative and absolute—also conceives inner development and social change as key elements of an interdependent transformation. The idea of ‘world peace through inner peace’ is one advocated by ‘engaged Buddhists’ and found in the ethical code of Buddha’s message. Chapter two examines how international relations became the arena where individuals, institutions and states converge and reflect the basic premises of their world-views, whether rooted in anger, hatred and ignorance of the interdependent nature of all phenomena, or based in compassion and awareness of a shared common good. In addition, it addresses the issue of the resurgence of religion in international relations and how it is present or absent from political science theories and policy making. Through this analysis, several established elements such as the concept of the state, secularism and religion as a source of war, are challenged in a new era of multi-agency and mutual influence through religious ideas, groups and communities. Following this inter-subjective construction of the world, the thesis presents two case studies which argue that religious leaders exercise political influence through their actions, ideas and beliefs. The first is the life and works of Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in chapter three and the second is the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu in chapter four. The former having suffered the violent occupation of Tibet and the continuous attacks on Tibetan culture that led him into exile, and the latter having faced the policies of hatred under apartheid, the Dalai Lama and Tutu managed to suggest a world where forgiveness is rooted in compassion and were human beings share the responsibility of creating a compassionate reality. The final chapter develops a new approach to the study of religion and politics providing new variables of study and new categories to understand how international relations are influenced by religious ideas and movements. This thesis argues that there is a need to study and understand this interdependent relation between religious and secular actors through theoretical approaches in international relations and opens the discipline to new paradigms such as the Buddhist theological approach. The outcome of this partnership depends on the individual’s decision to engage, whether in negative causation that leads to violence, fear, terror and the perpetuation of suffering or in a positive one which opens the possibility of peace and liberation from suffering through compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation, recognizing our common humanity and shared universal responsibility.

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<p>Är Gud är död? Det påstod i alla fall Nietzsche vid förra sekelskiftet. Nu, när vi stigit in ett nytt sekel, och Nietzsche sedan länge är död, kan vi konstatera att för många på jorden är Gud i högsta grad levande. Här i Europa är det ändå tydligt att Gud, är på väg att tyna bort, särskilt i Sverige betyder Gud, religion och traditionella värderingar väldigt lite. Internationella undersökningar visar att vi svenskar är det mest sekulariserade folket i världen. Jung menade, för mer än femtio år sedan, att vi västerlänningar har tappat vår kapacitet för religiösa erfarenheter genom att vi har förlorat kunskap om vad religion ”egentligen” är, ett mänskligt grundbehov. Han menade att när människor är i livskriser kommer de närmare sin egen erfarenhetsgrund, då får de yttre historiskt och kulturellt burna symbolerna och myterna existentiell mening och bärkraft. De korresponderar med något inom människan, något givet.</p><p>Måste man hamna i en livskris för att ta sina egna livsfrågor och andliga längtan på djupt allvar? Ja kanske, många som söker sin andlighet har drabbats av någon större kris i sitt liv. Syftet med denna uppsats är att försöka finna hur den ”vanliga” människan, som har hamnat i en livskris i Gävle, ser på andlighet och hur de har funnit andlighet. Jag använde en kvalitativ metod och jämförde med tre experter på området. Den slutsats jag har kommit fram till genom detta arbete är att andlighet är en underutnyttjad resurs, som kan mätta vår vardag, att den som vet ”varför man lever”, uthärdar nästan varje ”hur man lever”, alltså funnit livets mening.</p>