Tsia Tung: Can you give an
example?
Fu Hsiang: We can take the
invasion of Tibet itself. When Mao defeated the
armies of Chiang Kai-Shek in 1949, he took
control of China. Once he had control, he
realised that he had the power to take Tibet,
which was weakly defended and no match for his
armies. So he annexed Tibet and captured great
territories for China. There was little noble
about what he did. His aim was totally aggressive
and was executed with no regard for the wishes of
the Tibetans themselves. We can say that Mao
intended a brutal seizure of Tibet in 1950 and
this is exactly what happened. Now it is also
true that that brutal seizure of Tibet in 1950 is
one and the same with the event that brought
Tibetan Buddhism to the West. But Mao did not
intend to disseminate Tibetan Buddhism to the
West! I'm sure he would be dismayed at the
thought that his invasion disseminated a culture
that he did his best to stamp out.
Men Chow: He certainly did; many
scrolls were destroyed and monasteries were burnt
to the ground. Fu Hsiang:
Intentions are rather like stories themselves.
When we resolve to do something, gain a
promotion, win honour, conquer a country, we
frame a story to ourselves. This story is a story
of how great things will be if we accomplish our
dream. Being a story it is incomplete and lacks
detail, and in our story we may seem like heroes.
Of course our motives may be totally unworthy.
The difference between a daydream and an
intention is that a daydream stays as a story;
but a genuine intention is put into effect. If we
genuinely intend something, we try to make the
story come true. If we are successful, then it
does become true.
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