Tibet

The purpose of this term paper is to study a religion I am not familiar with. The religion can not be a from the USA. This narrows the options for my term paper. The paper must inform on historical parts of the religion. It also needs to present two problems the religion is going through.

Tibetan Buddhism is the religion I chose for my term paper topic. The religion has always spurred my interest me. The simplicity of the Tibetan monk’s life is amazing. They have no need for material possessions. They live off of what the earth offers them. I find that hard to understand, but very interesting.

China took over Tibet in 1959. Tibet was closed to outside visitors. The Tibetan Buddhist were severely brutalized. Their religion was repressed due to the communist regime that had taken over their home. This is one of the problems I will be discussing in my term paper.

Gender and identity are an issue that I plan on covering in my term paper. I am very curious to see what the gender roles are in this religion. They could be the same as what I am used to in the US, or they may be very different.

The most difficult part of this term paper for me will be finding the information I want to write about. I want to find information on gender and identity but I am not sure if it will be what I am looking for. It will also be difficult to be non bias. I was raised in a Christian home and I will find it hard to understand the Tibetan Buddhists.

Christianity is the religion I am most familiar with. I went to a private Christian school in elementary school. We went to church every morning at that school to learn about the bible. I also went three times a week with my grandparents to a Southern

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Baptist Church. Later in life I became the youth minister for the same church I attended as a child. I had no choice in the religion I belonged to. It was given to me. It was almost forced upon me.

The Dialogue Decalogue is very important in this type of term paper. There can be no bias. The reader does not want my opinion on Tibetan Buddhism. They want me to stick to the facts. Though the one part of this I find difficult is the part where I have to understand the religion completely. I am not sure if I can understand a religion so foreign