Mipham Rinpoche 1846-1912

http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Mipham_Rinpoche#Biography

begin quote from above website:
Ju Mipham Rinpoche (Wyl. 'ju mi pham) or Jamgön Mipham Gyatso (Wyl. 'jam mgon mi pham rgya mtsho) (1846-1912) - a great Nyingma master and writer of the last century, student of Jamgön Kongtrul, Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo and Patrul Rinpoche. Blessed by Manjushri, he became one of the greatest scholars of his time. His collected works fill more than thirty volumes. His chief disciple was Shechen Gyaltsab Pema Namgyal.---

Shortly before he passed away, he told his attendant Lama Ösel:

Nowadays, if you speak the truth, there is nobody to listen; if you speak lies everyone thinks it is true. I have never said this before: I am not an ordinary person; I am a bodhisattva who has taken rebirth through aspiration. The suffering experienced in this body is just the residue of karma; but from now on I will never again have to experience karmic obscuration. … Now, in this final age, the barbarians beyond the frontier are close to undermining the teaching. [So] there is no point whatsoever in my taking rebirth here…I have no reason to take birth in impure realms ever again. end quote.

To put this into context for someone from the Western World, first of all, barbarians, would refer to anyone from a non-Asian point of view. This was a view held by traditional people of Asia until this Century in many cases. I suppose there are still people born during the early 1900s or even today that might share this view about Europeans and North Americans.

Traditional Tibetans and Lamas of the 19th and early 20th Century tried to protect themselves from the "Corrupting influences" of other cultures because everyone outside of their culture was deemed a "Barbarian" and uncultured.

Having met many Tibetan Lamas at this point I think I might even share this prejudice in some ways because of the sophistication of Tibetan philosophy and culture. However, I have other cultures that I have been taken with too.

However, without a big enough army even the Himalayas weren't going to protect the Tibetans from invasion eventually.

So if I were to say what I like about some different cultures here goes:

United States-ultimately utilitarian culture

French culture-ultimate in food cuisine and in the integrating of love, ideas and philosophy in Europe. Amazing art and sculpture everywhere in Paris.

English Culture- The ultimate in Scientific thought and psychological order. Also, it is interesting that this could also be said for Germany.

Tibetan philosophic thought-probably the most sophisticated spiritual technology I have ever encountered on earth. I particularly like the 49,000 correct paths which likely would include every non-violent kind path on earth that one might think of.

Also, there is a book I read years ago that I really liked called: Mipam:The First Tibetan Novel(paperback) from amazon.com Albert Arthur Yongden, also called Lama Yongden and illustrated by Roger Williams