Tibetan-Style Debates

Each monastery in Tibet has its own distinguishing characteristics. At the Sera Monastery, monks daily participate in lively afternoon courtyard debates. Though the debates were banned from tourists during the March-time protests—the government was afraid the monks would use the debates as a forum for protest—we were able to stay past closing time and sneak in. The empty courtyard itself was a beautiful site. White pebbles in the courtyard matched the white earthen buildings around the courtyard, and, when they arrived, the monks in their rich auburn attire provided a contrast of colors that mimicked that of the surrounding architecture.

Gradually filtering in, the monks first gathered en masse and sat on the ground, where they proceeded to chant deep guttural Tibetan chants in a spontaneous and free-flowing manner. The scene reminded me of a subdued Pentecostal gathering, without the dancing. After over an hour of spontaneous, hypnotic chanting, they dispersed into groups of eight or ten throughout the courtyard. Thus, the moment we had been waiting for: the debates began. Each small group sat in a horseshoe, inside which the teacher stood. He directed his attention to one of the hapless souls sitting at his feet and began to fire away theological questions. The student would then hazard an answer, sometimes not without some serious thinking. Then, in a dramatic gesture—and some had a flair for the dramatic—the teacher would bring his right arm up in the air, pause, and bring his hand crashing down onto the other, ending with a fully-stretched arm pointing toward the victim, accompanied by yet another question. And then another, and another. In this fashion, with their own mix of rigor and flair, the monks apparently learned to hone their capacity for logical reasoning, a fact that I find quite interesting. Tibetan Buddhism, famous for its mystical orientation, also regards training in logic a vital aspect of its education. Whereas many in the West often dismiss mystical religion as irrational wu-wu, the Tibetans seem to embrace both the rational mind and the mystical mind.