Nearly 5,000 Tibetan villagers gathered to take vows of good behaviour at Soktsang monastery in Thangkor town, Dzoege County in Ngaba province on October 8.
The residents from seven villages: Chukra; Soktsang; Ka Barma; Ponkya; Dokok; Goser and Tsangwa assembled to pledge not to steal, gamble or kill, nor to get into fights or carry weapons.
Villagers gathered at Soktsang monastery in Thangkor town, Dzoege county
Photo: rfa.org
Representatives of each family from the seven villages promised to keep the vows for next five years. The reason cited for taking the pledge was to create a sense of unity, friendship and harmonious environment for the benefit of everyone living there, reported Radio Free Asia.
The gathering was initiated under the leadership of senior religious heads and local officials. The local source from Tibet reported that the villagers also agreed to adhere to a set of rules such as thieves being required to pay owners the value of their property plus a fine; and those who commit murder must pay 300,000 Chinese Yuan to the victim’s family.
They decided that any people who do not comply with the rules will be excluded from religious services at the local monastery for five years.
Radio Free Asia reported that Buddhist monasteries in Tibet form the focus of community activities, not only in religion but also in promoting Tibetan national and cultural values among the masses.
This gathering is the second of its sort. The first was in 2001 where people asserted their intention to live with Buddhist beliefs and Tibetan cultural identity.
Such gatherings are increasingly taking place in many Tibetan regions in the face of Beijing’s cultural and political domination.
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