It seems, with what limited reading I've done on the topic, that the Chinese takeover of Tibet was something of a fait accompli. Its recognition as independent prior seems to have been limited at best, and once China moved in, no one seemed to really care. So I won't dare ask you to start a firestorm and pick a side here (unless you want to!), but given that it seems it wasn't a big deal when it happened, how did the issue of Chinese sovereignty over Tibet become such a big issue later on? Or am I simply not aware of the shitstorm that erupted in 1949/1950?

Why was the death of the 5th Dalai Lama covered up for so long and how did this interfere with the discovery of the 6th?

On that note, have any Dalai Lamas after the 6th ever talked about why he was so...interesting, for lack of a better word?

I have heard that prior to the Chinese invasion that Tibet practiced serfdom, is this true? What did it look like?

Can you talk a little bit about the organization of the Tibetan empire under Songstan Gampo, particularly prior to, during, and after the conflict between the Tibetans and the Tang Dynasty? Also, can you speak about Tibetan reactions to the conflict with the Tang?

During the Cultural Revolution, China was filled with factional conflict that nearly erupted into civil war. Did the Tibetan leadership ever try to exploit this turmoil?

Switching gears a bit, can you talk about the origins of Nepalese democratic/republican agitation, and the roots of what would become the Maoist insurgency?

Can you speak to the exchange throughout history between places like Tibet and those such as Sikkim or Bhutan? Were there any particular envoys or exchanges of historical note that you find interesting? I'm also curious about heading further into places like Arunachal Pradesh or Assam, if you have something to say on that.

There's obviously a lot written about interactions between Tibet and China or Tibet and India, but I'm curious more about exchange along the edge of the plateau.

I hope you're still answering these. Could you elaborate on the extent of Nepal's knowledge of the fact that the CIA was using Nepali territory to destabilise the Chinese in Tibet by training and funding approx. 2000 Khampa rebels in Mustang? It was Tribhuvan ruling in Nepal then. What was Nepal's official stance towards the Chinese occupation of Tibet?

To what degree does the ethnic Tibetan community outside of Tibet view itself as "in exile"? Do view themselves chiefly as a linguistics community or a religious one?

The Dalai Lama has said in the past that he himself (the 14th of course) might be "The last Dalai Lama." Could you expand a bit on the sentiments behind this statement and how you think Tibet itself would react if this centuries-old institution were suddenly to end?

I saw a question earlier on this sub, who was living in Tibet in the time of Alexander the Great (let's say ~330 BC).

I thought it an interesting question. Were the Tibetians literate society? Do we have material artefacts of that periods? Buildings, castles? What would a life be like in that period, would I encounter social stratification akin to Mesopotamian Bronze Age empires? Were people tailing away on rocky fields with primitive agricultural instruments? Did they employ beasts of burden (yaks or horses), and did their diet have meat?

What was their relation to the surrounding mountains? Were they revering them? Fearing them as a place of ghosts and deamons? Did people hike them for pleasure or religious purposes? How would trade look like?

I remember being told that China's claim on Tibet originates in Mongol conquests back when they took China. And the Chinese don't like remembering that period but still claim the Yuan/Mongol conquests as belonging to historical China. Any truth to that?

Also, I've been told that the Tibetan common people are more pro-Chinese than the "Free Tibet" campaigners in the West make them out to be. That could be Chinese propaganda but i'd be interested in your opinion.

Ty

I hope you're still answering these. Can you talk a little bit about the entertainment industry's fascination with Tibet in the 20th century? How did a kind of vague, inchoate notion of "justice for Tibet" turn into a cause celebre?

What is your prediction for Nepal's future? Where are they headed? What kinds of big changes will they see in the future, and how do they fit in to the world of say, 2025ish?

Thanks for the AMA! I had two questions if that is okay.

1. I'm interested in studying Tibetan Buddhism. Would the study of that fall under History/History of Religion (and are those in your opinion two types of histories mutually exclusive) or Religious Studies?

2. My limited understanding of the Bon religion is that it was indigenous to Tibet before the arrival of Buddhism. What aspects of Bon aren't found in Tibetan Buddhism? Is there information I can read for the Bon faith alone, or is much of that history intertwined with Tibetan Buddhism? I know that some of the Dharmapalas were also deities in the Bon religion (or I could be wrong on that one, you're the expert!)

Thanks!

After the dissolution of the Tibetan Empire, what factors contributed to the disunity of the kingdom? From that point onwards, at least to me an amateur historian, the Tibetan kingdoms never managed to prevent outside meddling or interventions in their political affairs.

1. The way Tibetan words are usually transcribed has shit to do with pronounciation, how to deal with it? Like some bullshit like ksang-bsud and it is pronounced kagyü.

2. Did the yellow-hats (Gelugpas) take over Tibet from the red-hats (Sakyapas, Nyingmapas, Kagyüpas) largely because they asked for Mongolian military aid, or can one say they won the philosophical debate, the majority of population or at least of the monks really agreed with them?

3. We tend to romanticize Kham and Khampas see Alexandra David-Neel: "Gentleman brigands". How accurate it is? Is true the Khampas were the only ones to seriously resist the Chinese invasion?

4. Nepal. How are Hindus the majority and Buddhists the minority?

Sorry, more questions:

• We associate Tibet so much with Buddhism that it would be nice to see what else is there. Like, there is more to Rome than the Vatican. Is the parallel accurate? Or are/were they really that "devout" that their culture did not have many "secular" aspects?

• Tibetan Buddhism is generally equated with Vajrayana or tantric B. Is that accurate?

What was Tibet's experience with the Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Mongolian areas? On a recent visit to Mongolia I noticed nearly every religious structure was resolutely Tibetan Buddhist. What in Tibetan history could explain this?

Who is the historian and where were you trained?

Are you still answering?

Got a few questions about the greater Kathmandu.

• When the valley was attacked, why wasn't there a counter attack after the initial defeats?

Hey! Thanks for this AMA!

I would like to know what was the role of Tibet during the WWII.

Thanks!

Geographical: What are some of the most wondrous natural beauties of Tibet?

Cultural: How important is the Buddha's story to the average Tibetan today? Do you know any interesting stories about the Buddha mythology? Just generally, I'm curious about Buddhism in Tibet before the modern era and in it.

Why did British leave Nepal independent when they left India. British had their puppet Rana regime in Nepal, and as Nepal and India share so much culturally, was there ever a possibility for integration?

How opressive was pre-Occupation Tibet? Was it such a brutal backwards theocracy as often depicted?