Pay your debts promptly. These Laws were recited daily by the children of Tibet in their classrooms in much the same way as the Pledge of Allegiance used to be here. Of course, the sheer enormity of it's gold reserves and it's strategic geographic position must have also seemed attractive. Western blindness to these facts seems inexcusable. Technocracy has reigned in the West since the Industrial Revolution and vested monetary interest contributed greatly to the social genocide performed in Tibet.
Tibetan society is a mystery to most people in our times.
It has been nearly 50 years since the walls have gone up. Lobsang's mission seems to have been futile. A wellspring of hope, however, is the series of books written by this wonderful author. As a historian I experience relief that all has not been lost. No amount of effort by the Chinese will ever be able to erase that which has been.