When we talk about China's Christian mission, we also have to talk about Tibet. The mission grows very slowly in the region because of the horrible climate of the plateau, access difficulties and the strong impact of Tibetan Buddhism. Although, there are published Bibles and brochures in Zang language and radio programs spoken in Zang language, Tibet has not received or acquired these available materials yet.
According to Hudson Taylor, founder of Chian Inland Mission, it is very dangerous to do missions in Tibet. Several missionaries admitted the difficulty in converting Tibetans from Buddhism because of the dominating tradition and culture of Buddhism in the country. The people are also very religious.
Among the estimated 7 million Tibetans, only a few hundreds are Christian believers.
A missionary to Tibet once shared his experience. He, from the Han ethnic group, was called by God to preach the Gospel in Tibet where he met a local sister. Although his wife believed in Jesus, her faith was not stable partly because of the spiritual atmosphere in Tibet and she is young in her Christian faith.
Many Tibetans consider Christianity's God as one of the many Gods already known by people or show no interest at all in Jesus' salvation. A young missionary realized the lack of interest in Tibetans regarding Christianity after he sent out many Gospel leaflets on a large scale.
Tibet is actually considered by many Western missionaries' desirable mission field. According to a scholar studying Tibet named Robert in Columbia University, of the 400 foreigners living in Xining, 80% to 90% are missionaries. They try to get in touch with the local people through their charity work, education and medical work, along with sending out free Bibles and CDs of praise songs and testimonies translated in Zang, paying special attention to the young generation.
This kind of strategy contributes to the development of economics, education and charity, diminishing the influence of Tibetan Buddhism in some degree.
- Translated by Alvin Zhou
