Neither Hindus, Buddhists nor Tibetans would ever contemplate to climb Kailas.

[Guest guest]

, " jagbir singh "

<adishakti_org wrote:

>

> At only 22,028 feet, Kailas is thousands of feet lower than Everest

> and other Himalayan peaks. Yet its extraordinary setting and

> appearance more than make up for its modest height. Kailas retains

> its grandeur when viewed from a distance. More than any other peak

> in the Himalayas, it opens the mind to the cosmos around it,

> evoking a sense of infinite space that makes one aware of a vaster

> universe encompassing the limited world of ordinary experience. It

> has served as an inspiration for numerous Hindu temples and shrines

> in the distant plains of India. The sight of the peak has a

> powerful effect, bringing tears to the eyes of many who behold it,

> leaving them convinced that they have glimpsed the abode of the

> Gods beyond the round of life and death. Neither Hindus, Buddhists,

> nor any Tibetans would ever contemplate trying to climb Kailas.

>

 

China Allows Assault on Mt. Kailash

The Observer, 1 April 2001.

 

It is the holiest mountain on Earth, Mount Kailash, a beautiful

pyramid which stands alone in a remote corner of Tibet, sacred to

millions of Buddhists and a billion Hindus, inviolate and venerated.

But less than a month after Afghanistan's rulers ordered the

destruction of the 2,000-year old statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan,

Chinese authorities in Tibet have given permission for a Spanish

expedition led by Jesús Martínez Novás to conquer the holy mountain.

If successful, Novás and his team will be the first men to reach its

summit since the 11th Century Tibetan poet and mystic Milarepa was

carried to the top on the rays of the morning sun.

 

The decision has led to a deep sense of concern among Buddhists and

accusations of cynical political propaganda against the Chinese.

Migyur Dorje, the Dalai Lama's representative in London, told The

Observer: " Mount Kailash should not be made a sporting arena. It

won't just offend Buddhists, it will offend Hindus as well. " Hindus

believe Kailash, 6,714 metres high, to be the home of Shiva and,

according to the Sanskrit tradition of Vishnu Purana, an earthly

representation of Mt Sumeru, the cosmic mountain at the centre of the

universe.

 

Alison Reynolds of the Free Tibet Campaign believes that the timing

of the climb is deliberate, coinciding with a renewed determination

by the Chinese to suppress Tibetan independence: " If the Chinese

authorities were to allow this climb to go ahead, it would be

profoundly symbolic of their attempts to crush Tibetan culture and

religion, which they see as obstacles to economic progress and

political control. Granting permission to climb Kailash would

demonstrate how China has abandoned all pretence at respecting

religious sensibilities and believes it has crushed Tibetan

nationalism. "

 

The Observer has learned that this is not the first time the Chinese

have tried to attract western mountaineers to climb Mount Kailash. In

the mid 1980s, the Italian climber Reinhold Messner sought permission

to walk around the peak, then heavily restricted by the Chinese.

Walking around Kailash is a common practice among Buddhist devotees

who believe that 108 circuits will lead the pilgrim to nirvana. In

his letter of permission Messner was formally told he could return

the following year to climb the mountain: " Of course I refused. It

would not have been intelligent to do otherwise. "

 

Last November, authorities in Lhasa praised the contribution

mountaineers in Tibet have made to the autonomous region's progress

as " a triumphant song of patriotism, collectivism, internationalism

and revolutionary heroism, " singling out the increasing numbers of

foreign climbers as being particularly helpful in Tibet's

development.

 

The Spanish climbers proposing to conquer Kailash have described

their attempt as a crusade against global environmental

degradation, " a collective action aimed at changing [humanity's] self-

destructive course. " Novás continues: " We want to enlist everyone in

the struggle for the transformation of our destructive habits. We are

nobody but we dream of mobilizing millions of people who view Kailash

as a sacred mountain to demand respect for nature and for humanity. "

 

Other mountaineers both in Spain and around the world have distanced

themselves from the climb. Doug Scott, the first Englishman to climb

Everest and the current President of the Alpine Club, urged the

Spanish to be cautious: " How will they feel later in life about

diminishing this mountain?

 

Once that sanctity is destroyed, it will be gone forever. They're

playing into the hands of the Chinese. " Reinhold Messner added: " If

we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in other people's

souls. I would suggest they go and climb something a little harder.

Kailash is not so high and not so hard.

 

The Observer, 1 April 2001

www.tew.org/archived/kailash.html

 

 

China to ban expeditions on Mt Kailash

The Times of India

Thursday, 7 June 2001

 

BEIJING: China has told India that it would not allow mountaineering

activities on Mt Kailash in Tibet which is considered sacred by

Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

 

" The Chinese government has already formally clarified to the Indian

embassy in Beijing, " Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said

while refuting as " totally baseless " Indian and western media reports

that Beijing had granted permission to a Spanish mountaineering team

to climb Mt Kailash. Indian embassy sources confirmed that New Delhi

had taken up the issue with China and that Beijing has clarified that

no mountaineering activities would be permitted on the 6,740 metre-

high Mt Kailash.

 

The reports of a Chinese permission to the Spanish mountaineering team

to scale Mt Kailash had led to an avalanche of protests world-wide.

" The Chinese government strictly prohibits any climbing activities on

Mt Kailash, " Sun said in response to a question.

 

" We have never permitted such activities and all these reports about

China agreeing to a Spanish mountaineering team to scale Mt Kailash

are totally baseless, " he said.

 

A report in a Hong Kong's leading newspaper, South China Morning Post

(SCMP) on June 2 had reported that Hindu, Buddhist and Jain community

leaders have united to oppose China's decision to allow a Spanish

mountaineering team led by Jesus Martinez Novas to climb Mt Kailash.

(PTI)

 

The Times of India

www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/2001/6/8_1.html