Published in October 2016 by Oxford University Press, “The Buddha Party: How the People’s Republic of China Works to Define and Control Tibetan Buddhism” by John Powers tells the story of how the PRC employs propaganda to define Tibetan Buddhist belief and sway opinion within the country and abroad.
From the Oxford University Press website:
Most of China’s leaders appear to deeply believe the official line regarding Tibet, which resonates with Han notions of themselves as China’s most advanced nationality and as a benevolent race that liberates and culturally uplifts minority peoples. This in turn profoundly affects how the leadership interacts with their counterparts in other countries. Powers’s study focuses in particular on the government’s “patriotic education” campaign-an initiative that forces monks and nuns to participate in propaganda sessions and repeat official dogma. Powers contextualizes this within a larger campaign to transform China’s religions into “patriotic” systems that endorse Communist Party policies. This book offers a powerful, comprehensive examination of this ongoing phenomenon, how it works and how Tibetans resist it.
Thank you to Kevin Carrico for the Tibet Reading Lists recommendations sent via Twitter.
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